Jeffrey Koepper - ARCTISONIA (CD)
This is the 7th album since 2003 that Jeffrey Koepper has produced and it encapsulates all he has done into one stunning musical package. From his earliest ETHEREA, an ambient opus of sublime majestic beauty, to SEQUENTARIA that sequential rattled the walls with its multi-timbered sequences and his Live recording RADIATE, which did just that in terms of melody and movement, Jeffrey has done it all very well. Now, ARTISONIA combines it all into one multi-sonic electronic wonderland of tracks. The opener, "Arctic Sunrise", is a shimmering hymn to the dawn of day, "Ilulissat" and "Snow Sequence" quicken the pulse with their melody and running sequences, "Glacial" and "Greenland" are impressionist soundscapes extraordinaire, filled with their diverse yet complementary undulating layers of melody and ambient tone colors. I'll leave "Avalanche" to your imagination and let you sample the albums other track sampled here for yourself. At this stage I'd have to say Jeffrey is the best America EM artist going. He creates, produces and performs all of the music himself, and his originality clearly shows!
For More INFO: JeffreyKoepper.com
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JEFFREY KOEPPER: Arctisonia (CD on Air Space Records)
This release from 2011 offers 73 minutes of frigid electronic music.
Delicate auralscapes consist of a plethora of synthesizers producing electronics of a frigid nature.
The general mood is one of relaxation. The electronics are crafted to sedate as they mesmerize, with melodic structures of gentle definition tempered by gurgling enhancements. Chords are established, coaxed into infinite sustains, then tinkered with to produce fragile variations in tandem with auxiliary harmonics.
Keyboards are utilized to embellish these soundscapes with more melodic characteristics. Riffs are handled in similar fashion to the background tones: patterns are generated and allowed to gradually evolve through variations of tender definition.
One track ("Avalanche") is nearly 21 minutes long. This extended duration affords the sonic components ample opportunities to evolve and accrete into a luscious composition of rather spry keyboard riffs with an undercurrent of tenuous (almost ominous) tonalities.
Rhythms play only an incidental role in this music, and those that are present are understated and relegated to vantages deep within the sparse mix. These tunes concentrate on a flowing nature that would only be disrupted by locomotion.
While this music bears a wintry flourish, the compositions bear evidence of meticulous craftiness as the tunes unfurl, maturing from simple repetitive structures into lush specimens of interweaving cycles.
Arctisonia (72'47") is the seventh album in the superb discography of Jeffrey Koepper. Based on an arctic theme, this CD offers the listener seven tracks of frozen atmospheres, cold textures and icy forms - all realized with classic analogue synth sounds. Including gear by Moog, ARP, Sequential Circuits, Oberheim, Roland, Yamaha and many others from a bygone era, the equipment list reads like a keyboard catalogue from the 1970-80s. While Jean Michel Jarre and Michael Garrison seem to hover over his music Koepper communes with his machines in a fight against the notion that this genre belongs to history rather than the present. He knows well the territory of plugs, cables and jacks and crafts a pleasing palate of unique electronic tones. Upon this foundation a great deal of sonic architecture may be constructed. At the center of this musical world are syncopated sequencer rhythms. With our focus deepening on these exquisite rippling pulsations the parallel narratives of the multi-layered patterns are discerned. Koepper's personal philosophy may be heard in the pulsing and pumping notes running in mechanical precision, which is where this music seems to "think". Attention is also paid to other aural aspects beyond that of pulse. Chirping modulations underline sustaining synth-string chords and tuneful melodies. A growling drone-bass fills the lower register as leadlines play rapidly above. Arctisonia explores many moods and colors as it re-interprets something classic. Jeffrey Koepper composes music that captures the spirit of innovation, technology and an era where the use of the imagination was paramount. His works provide more than ambiance - this music provokes thought.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 21 April 2011
Jeffrey Koepper Arctisonia
CD, Air Space Records, 2011
Mr Koepper describes the outcome of his sixth privately released album Arctisonia as loaded with analog synthesizer music- textural-sequencer driven-atmospheric, which according to the album sleeve is inspired by The Arctic. The sounds on the album are diverse, warm and very rich, and the seven lengthy tracks are cinematic and well composed. Theres a nice balance between sequenced parts, atmospheric passages and melodic lines, while the layering and combination of real vintage sounds is well done. Koeppers honest and well-crafted music is all about emotions and travelling through realms of time and space while displaying a whole range of colours and shapes. This all makes the well-produced, open and transparent sounding Arctisonia another fine recommendation for all die-hearts of the real analogue sound. Bert Strolenberg SonicImmersion.org
NEW 2011 release of superb classic instrumental synthesizer space music. Jeffrey Koepper has created another keyboard synth masterpiece. On this album we have an amazing blend of sounds in the TANGERINE DREAM, meets, BRIAN ENO, meets KLAUS SCHULZE meets BERND KISTENMACHER school of space synth music. It's a wonderful space journey and all of this artists releases are great! Cheers to Jeffrey as he adds yet another great creation to his musical canon!!!! GRADE A+
With glittering, sun-on-ice notes, Jeffrey Koepper begins his seventh analogue-only voyage, Arctisonia. Koepper patiently sets up his mathematical sequencer rhythms, balancing them atop one another, then lets the interplay of pulse and flow take over. There’s a hypnotic quality to the way the main algorithms seem to simply repeat. (Trust me, there’s actually nothing simple to them.) The dynamics at work shift glacially, change happening over the course of mental eons. By the time you perceive the change, it feels like it’s been there all along. As always, Koepper pays attention to both sides of the scale, the Berlin-school energy of sequencers and the windblown washes of pure synth pads. In “Ilulissat,” he hits a perfect Berlin stride, his geometric baseline laid rock-solid while his high, calm melodies move cloud-like over the top. Spirals of electronic twiddle punctuate the flow. This track makes a superb transition into “Ice Flow” which has to be heard to be appreciated. As “Ilulissat” wends down to a waveform drone, Koepper hits a switch that for all the world sounds like he simply tapped the “Marimba” automatic rhythm on a cheap keyboard. While it tick-tocks away, he begins to lay in walls of oscillating sound that take over as “Ice Flow” gets underway. A twangy beat rises to modernize that marimba, and Koepper’s off. The centerpiece is the 21-minute “Avalanche,” which has a great narrative flow. It begins with sequencer arpeggios appropriately racing at breathtaking speed before Koepper flattens them out to long, layered drones. Another round of sequencers rise to work through the drones. Koepper gives himself plenty of space to make this track work very effectively. There’s a great sense of development in all the pieces here, and Koepper brings them all to a solid sense of closure.
Arctisonia is a strong addition to the Koepper canon, well in keeping with what he’s done before. After seven discs of it, though, I’d love to hear what Jeffrey could do if he eschewed the sequencer rhythms and focused on the pure, atmospheric pads and washes he could cull from his collection of analogue synths. (Along the lines of “While We Sleep” from Etherea, or even the hushed lull of the first five minutes or so of “Greenland,” from this disc.) Until that happens, I’m content to further explore the expanses of Arctisonia.
"Quadranteon" by Jeffrey Koepper
"Quadranteon" is the latest release from Jeffrey Koepper, once again recorded using analog equipment that results in a very organic seventies feel. Divided into four long form pieces all sequenced together for continued listening, "Quadranteon" is a disc that captures the classic sound of electronic music as established by such notables as Tangerine Dream and Klaus Shulz. With a detailed gear list for each track "Quadranteon" does a wonderful job of celebrating the analog sound.
From the sweeping pads that open "Part I", fans of the space music genre will feel right at home. Thick synth sounds drift through the track, leading into a mesmerizing sequence pattern that spreads itself throughout the soundfield, making the most of the space to create a vibrant and vital sonic environment. Tones circle around, complementing and contrasting each other, constantly shifting and evolving. The sound changes with "Part II", a more understated track that's darker and more subdued, a slowly evolving piece of music where pacing is everything and the spaces between notes are just as important as the notes themselves. Repeated musical phrases create a bed over which new sounds and feelings develop. The original theme in this track is a simple repeated three note motif, but as time progresses it becomes more of a drifting sequenced piece, eventually turning into a slow and distant dream of itself.
"Part III" brings a sense of hope and optimism to the mix, a more uptempo feeling that suggests growth and rebirth. There are a series of movements at play in this long form track, with lovely flowing ambience making up the first segment of the track, through the sequenced synthwork of the second movement (a percolating synth masterpiece that captures the analog ideal brilliantly), ending with the third movement which retains the sequences of the second, taking them in a more relaxed and dreamy direction. "Part IV" closes the disc with a similar dreamy vibe, with oscillating drones paired with pads resulting in a chilled synth soundscape where wind-driven tones pass through the mix, eventually closing out the track.
Koepper's work has always impressed me, from his debut release "Etherea" through his later discs "Momentium" and "Sequentaria". With the release of "Quadranteon" he continues to display his passion for synths in an entertaining and engaging way, creating some truly awesome electronic work that both celebrates and builds on a classic style. Highly recommended!!
Jeffrey Koepper - Radiate (2009)
Electronica, Ambient | MP3 CBR 320k | 205 MB
“ Recorded during a live performance for the famous The Gatherings concerts held in Philadelphia, on April 14th, 2008, Radiate is no more and less a kind of Jeffrey Koepper’s greatest hits. This concert celebrated the release of magnificent Sequenteria, where we find 8 titles, the 2 other tracks are result from albums Momentium (Byzantine Machine) and an album to appear later, Luminosity (Rising Sun). Played on completely analog equipment, Radiate is also masterised by a long time friend of Koepper, Steve Roach.
It is alone and surrounded with his vast outfit of analog instruments that Jeffrey Koepper begins this concert with Sequenteria’s opener Blue Sector, Astral Projection and Timeline. The music pours such a sweet analog poetry with an atmosphere which depicts aptly the depth of Sequenteria.
Byzantine Machine, (track which opens Momentium) replaces the dark and boiling Near Machinery with a magnificent cohesion between nervous rhythm and reverberating pulsation. A title which incorporates well in this analog universe where the crossed rhythms couple marvelously over more ethereal and atmospheric moments which Koepper manipulates with boss's hand.
A live album, Radiate is a magnificent interpretation of Sequenteria, and not a certified true copy. Jeffrey Koepper widens more his atmospheric field and is more caustic in his rhythmic blazes. A beautiful album which will delight those who already have Sequenteria and it’s an excellent way to discover an artist whose music is a crossing between Jean-Michel Jarre and Steve Roach. Simply delicious, I give it 41/2 stars on 5.
"QUADRANTEON" is the latest Fall 2009--(5th release) from Berlin school electronic music master JEFFREY KOEPPER! This is first rate electronic music done up right...the way it was done in the 1970's using vintage analog equipment and retaining the human feel and ambiance that is lacking in so much of today's electro music. The atmosphere of all the classics can be experienced here. Klaus Schulz--Moondawn, Kraftwerk--Autobahn, Tangerine Dream--Richochet, The Nightcrawlers, Ashra--New Age of Earth! All the best stuff is inspired in the grooves of these tunes. Highly recommended-grade A Berlin school electronic excursions! Long tracks that take you to other planets and back. GRADE A....(If you have never bought any of his cds, start with this and work your way back through his entire catalog. It's all great stuff!!!
The man who goes by “Analog Jeff” has outdone himself on Quadranteon, truly going back to the classic Berlin school sound. On prior albums, Koepper has excelled at the Tangerine Dream sound from the Schmoelling era, tightly crafted tunes with lots of sequencing and vintage synth sounds. This is his first foray into lengthier compositions, and it is equally successful if not more so than its predecessors. “Part I” is classic space music, floating and swirling about, clearly on the edge of developing into something more, teasing the listener until the first sequencing appears just ahead of the 5:00 mark. A couple of minutes later another loop is layered over the top, deftly interwoven for hypnotic effect. A single wavering synth bridges over to “Part II”, followed by bubbly space transmissions. As TD did in their heyday, Koepper knowingly transitions from one theme to the next before any particular passage overstays its welcome. This 20-minute section explores the reaches of space without any rhythm or sequencing, content to float among the stars. Tangram and Pergamon are the reference points that come to mind. Sequencing finally appears again about 4 minutes in the 28-minute excursion of “Part III”. It moves briskly along for several minutes before pulling back briefly, then taking off again. “Part IV” hovers seemingly forever on a single, warm synth tone, with subtle shadings of atmospheric touches around it. It is a beautifully understated way to finish the album, with sweeping whooshes of sound that appear to be paying homage to the end of Jean Michel Jarre’s classic Oxygene album. Quadranteon may very well assume the mantle of classic status as well; only time will tell.
After four albums of tightly constructed, sequencer-based pieces crafted on restored analog synthesizers, Jeffrey Koepper has apparently decided to give himself a little more time and space to create longer tightly constructed, sequencer-based pieces crafted on restored analog synthesizers for his new release, Quadranteon. All the standard Koepper memes are here: cleanly pulsing, layered sequencer lines that weave around themselves with serpentine smoothness; spacey rushes of electro-wind bridging gaps; long, breathy spacemusic pads—all bearing that certain sonic seventies-ish something that marks the instruments at hand as coming from another time. What’s different on this outing is the length of the four tracks. Koepper has essentially written four short symphonies for an analog orchestra. Each piece here, titled only by its “Part,” glides through its own set of movements, telling its tale and expressing its fluid identities over the course of (respectively) 16, 20, 27 and 9 minutes. Koepper flows one part directly into the next for a seamless 70-minute ride. It’s a pleasure listening to him forge new directions in which to take the very distinct sound and feel of this subgenre of music and keep it fresh. At the same time, the easy familiarity that his sound evokes—perhaps particularly among (ahem) older listeners—helps to ground the experience and provide a nice point of reference. (And the references in question, which are obvious and well-noted in pretty much every Koepper review, are given their proper homage.) I particularly like the hypnotic “Part II,” which gives it first 10 minutes over to an unabashedly repetitious three-chord flow that eventually melts into a brain-massaging stretch of long-held pads that waver and warble like some nefarious alien device in an old sci-fi movie. You will lose chunks of time to this section of the CD because it’s going to lull you into a glorious nap-like stupor. Enjoy it. (Luckily, it gives way to the high-energy pulse and urgency of Part III, so you’ll wake right back up.) It goes without saying that fans of sequencer music will do better with Quadranteon than those looking for something less (apparently) clinical and programmed. But if you’re a Koepper fan and an analog appreciator, like me, those are exactly the qualities you’re looking for. In that, Quadranteon delivers nicely.
This release from 2009 features 72 minutes of dreamy electronic music.
Koepper plays a diverse selection of synthesizers and electronic equipment.
Dreamy atmospherics unfurl with cosmic stature, while each piece comfortably evolves into lustrous passages that glitter with keyboard embellishment.
Koepper establishes pacific backdrops, then stretches things out into elegantly extended intros. New layers are gradually accrued. Cyclic keyboards emerge with subsidiary harmonics. Spacey chords breathe into action and keep on coming. These various threads intertwine, producing a panorama of pulsations designed to separate the listener from reality.
There�s a delicate density here that manages to remain ethereal despite its understated puissance. Pleasant harmonics transform into melodic currents of mesmerizing charm. A delightful level of sonic enthusiasm is achieved and maintained.
While no percussion is utilized. When a rhythmic presence is achieved, it is done so through the application of repetitive keyboard strikes. This style maintains a sneaky manner of locomotion in the otherwise flowing music.
These are long-form compositions in which things progress slowly (but diligently), building from vaporous openings to enthralling passages rich with supernal characteristics, penultimately reaching cerebrally stimulating pinnacles which then recede into gentle outros. Koepper has an excellent command of this methodology.
Jeffrey Koepper's internal wiring seems at odds with modern times. In a culture where the ringtone passes for art and music is frozen and compressed into ninety-nine cent sound files Koepper's expressive use of Electronic Music equipment boldly aligns with the mechanisms of the mind rather than mere fleeting trends. His precisely programmed swirling Spacemusic seduces listeners into a kaleidoscopic inner-sanctum where time is suspended and the outside world fades away. His CD Quadranteon (72'25") was realized using a wonderful set of musical colors made on vintage analog gear - a process of going back to go further. The rounded tones of synth lead lines hover and float above ever-changing sequencer territory. With the structural divisions less clear-cut the four interconnected pieces progress through a mindscape of phase-shifted pads, windy white noise sweeps and contrapuntal fantasies of mechanistic synchronization. Koepper's echoing tone patterns capture the kinetic energy of traveling through space - this music without sharp dramatic climaxes is all about the journey. Koepper is excited by all that is going on in his music, and its features that seem to point far into the future.
“Quandranteon”, by analogue synth-wizzard Jeffrey Koepper, contains four extended parts in which he succeeds in stretching the boundaries of his vintage gearand their lovely, warm sounds a bit further. Not only does “AnalogueJeff” create the nicest range of sounds from his instruments, he also knows how to implement each of them into evocative compositions. Slowly rising out of retro effects and synth noise, the music smoothly evolves in each of the four “Parts” with attractive sequencing, immersive synth pads and solo voices. All the way the strong organic sound spectrum remains transparent, due to Jeff’s carefully and keen layering of textures.
“Quandranteon” is some tasty vintage stuff which one shouldn’t miss out on.
Bert Strolenberg
www.sonicimmersion.org
JEFFREY KOEPPER: Radiate (CD on Ricochet Dream
This release from 2009 offers 71 minutes of dreamy electronic tuneage recorded live at the Gatherings concert series in Philadelphia on April 14, 2008.
Luxurious harmonic threads ripple in the air like expanding banners, twirling around each other to form an exquisite helix of pulsating electronic sound. Each sonic strand embodies a glistening riff, some ephemeral, others comprised of keyboard loops. As the music unfolds, the tendrils meld into wondrous interaction and merge to create complex patterns of delicate melodic beauty.
As the concert progresses, the pace increases. The notes flash faster as if engaged in a personal race with each other. More demonstrative chords surface, mirroring the escalation. Rhythmics briefly enter the mix. A dramatic tension is achieved.
This level of activity follows a syne curve through the concert, rising to briskly animated passages, then plunging into stretches of slow-burning ambience, consecutively giving birth to new melodic coils and perpetuating the continuance.
Each surging rise and ethereal interlude display fresh substance, yet evoke a common mood of effulgent dreaminess. The stamina found in the livelier pieces maintains a gentle fluidity. A relentless flow is achieved as cyclic sequences combine to form engaging electronic assemblies.
The compositions are poignantly retro in style. Vaporous moods coalesce, evolving into multilayered tunes that flaunt a crystalline demeanor. The music seduces the audience into an astral trance tastily laced with sprightly passages.
The bulk of this live performance features material from Koepper's Sequentaria album.
There are a lot of sounds flashbacks that cross me ears listening the intro of Part I. From No Man’s Land (TD’s Hyperborea) to Equinox (JM Jarre), Quadranteon’s intro starts on cosmic steam which wave such as auroras borealis and roll as starlit foams waves. A sweet intro, with slow perfumed oscillations of synthesized breezes which mould a sweet and progressive rhythmic tangent that skips in a sound universe stuffed with synth to droning waves. Of this fine movement, animated of a warm synthesized life, flees tones of felted sirens which cross a spatial nebulosity battling against permutated sequences and fabulous solos of a poetic delicacy. Jeffrey Koepper's world is in constant harmony with a warm and boiling spatial music. An euphony created with accuracy by its analog gear and its personal vision of a fanciful cosmos, to moving constellations.
This 5th studio opus from the American synthesist pursues its mythical collection of the cosmic tones elaborated from sound searches, a creative imagination and a strong work of composition. Quadranteon is divided into 4 parts: 2 are very full of rhythmic lives and the other 2 are more atmospheric. A skillful musical blend that pushes the listener through 2 existential possibilities: the being and the non-being. If Part I is slowly animated by a pleasantly progressive rhythm, Part II plunges us into the spheres of a distant cosmos which we gravitate with sweet intoxication, as an ascent slowed down by the effect of weightlessness. Arpeggios float in echo, orbiting slowly Quadranteon timeless stairway. The sound world is skillfully built. Dressed it is by super analog effects which sway lazily on of beautiful skin-tight and waltzing stratas as well as minimalism chords which indicate and trace out the celestial way to be followed. A length (it is the first impression) but delicious journey as astral as meditative which overflows on the wild and biting Part III.
Juxtaposed synthesized waves float with romantic at the opening of Quadranteon best track. Part III is livening up on a synth to biting reverberations, announcing a pace which hems with a felted heaviness. Linear and minimalism chords follow with a sober frenzy which is accentuating with a new layer of keys so much minimalism, but intertwined by more crystal clear ones. Part III becomes more ardent and fuses of melodious synthesized tones which involve perfectly in this astral jungle to variables rhythmic pulsations which feed a structure more and more complex, all wrapped she is of heavy pads from a synth to the multiple musical variances. A brief atmospheric moment cuts the piece, which returns with a new hooked rhythmic structure mainly on a beautiful bass sequence coated progressively by a synth as vaporous as warm. A very beautiful and powerful track which joins the analogical lineages of the French era with Jarre on Equinoxe and Mercier on his delicious Music from France.
It is in the peaceful spatial that concludes Quadranteon, with the morphic and unctuous Part IV. There where the effect of floating in our head is also omnipresent as on Part II, but in shorter. A sweet and slow black waltz where furtive sliding cadences prevail on this binary measures. Beautiful and soft, warm and inviting! Reflecting this beautiful and poetic cosmic ode of Koepper who, year after year, invites us to his analog musical rendez-vous so unique in these days of contemporary gestation. If Jean Michel Jarre's first works appeal you, the music of Jeffrey Koepper is simply a must.
With this brand new release, Radiate, Jeffrey Koepper’s music has reached its zenith. Perhaps no one today makes sequential electronics as well as him. He layers melody, rhythmic energy and spatial vibrations into dynamic and celestial spacescapes that transports your mind far off into deep synthetic space.
I continue to be impressed by the high quality of Jeffrey Koepper’s releases, fantastic music in the style of late 70s and early 80s Tangerine Dream. As usual, Luminosity is filled with great sequencing, tight melodies, and beautifully atmospheric space music. The breadth and depth of Koepper’s talent is on full display within the first three tracks, starting with catchy moderately paced sequencing and synths on “Reflection.” In perfect contrast, “Light and Truth” is very airy, light but not insubstantial, full of bright shimmering tones in relaxed sonic hues. “Artifacts” goes pure retro, but in a stripped down way, using three synths to capture the essence of the old classic Mellotron flutes, strings, and a simple cadence in the background to keep time. It is wonderful in its sparseness, as is the next track, “Winter Space.” In fact, this is a considerably mellower affair throughout than its predecessor, Sequentaria. “Life Clock” continues the easygoing pace, ticking slowly with cool space twitters along the way. The lead synth line here is very reminiscent of vintage Klaus Schulze. Gently pulsating sequences pick up the tempo a little on the next couple of tracks, but throughout the disc shows considerable restraint, focusing on setting a hypnotic mood and maintaining it, particularly in the case of the 11-minute “Transmission,” the longest track and yet the one you may miss most after it fades. “Dusk Till Dawn” is the most minimal track, mostly water and low drones, with a sparse melody toward the end, very cool. “Rising Sun” is a warm, relaxing number to finish off a great album in style.
© 2009 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space
Jeffrey Koepper – Radiate
CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009
“Radiate” is the first live cd of “AnalogueJeff” Koepper, documenting the concert he did at The Gatherings on 14th April, 2008 in Philadelphia. Well, the outcome is an 71-minute energetic, analogue feast, featuring all tracks (except “Near Machinery”) from his album third album “Sequentaria”, to which “Byzantine Machine” (the opening track of “Momentium”) and “Rising Sun” (from “Luminosity”) are added.
Fans of vintage music will sure enjoy this album, of which the final mastering again was done by Steve Roach.
JEFFREY KOEPPER: Luminosity (CD on Air Space Records)
This CD from 2009 offers 73 minutes of gentle electronic music.
Delicate keyboards are augmented by atmospheric electronics, resulting in tuneage of superior distinction.
Utilizing airy tones, the keyboards fashion ethereal melodics that lend calmness a glistening demeanor. As chords sigh to each other, generating swaying pulsations, moods of serenity are established, rich with the promise of potential enlightenment.
Some of the electronics convey an arid quality, the notes wavering and rising like heat from a vast plain. Once airborne, the chords resist breezes, drifting under Koepper’s meticulous guidance. Their movement becomes sideways, punctuated periodically by the chortle of synthetic bubbles.
While percussion is unnecessary, there are passages that use blooping cycles to approximate gentle rhythms. These beats blend nicely with the flowing electronics, masking themselves from obvious notice.
At times, the placid mesmerization falls away as the riffs mount in puissance, expressing a gradual accumulation of vigor. These ascensions swell with gathering majesty, peeling away the listener’s stress and inciting optimistic anticipation.
A dreamy disposition marks these compositions. The tunes are soothing yet inherently stimulating. These type of harmonic melodies etch themselves into the cortex and emerge later on as idly hummed riffs. Their streaming nature is designed to slowly mutate as they progress, doing so covertly while remaining basically loyal to a central theme.
Radiate is a sonic document of his set at The Gatherings and traverses much of the same territory as his two previous concert outings (on STAR'S END and opening for Steve Roach). With an emphasis on works from his new CD Sequentaria (released at The Gatherings that night) the set began with some vintage phase shifted synth pads, heroic E-drums and dancing arpeggio scales. Drawing on the musical era that spawned such albums as Poland, Logos and White Eagle; Koepper ran through a fascinating range of sequencer based pieces - his full-throated lead lines soaring above. His stage set-up included several keyboards, among them vintage museum grade synths - right alongside the latest retro analogue technology. Between each of the rhythmic sections Koepper lulled the audience with deep drones and airy synthetic harmonies and effects. To close out the night, Jeff played lovely chord progressions on the Prophet-8 over a simple run of tones from the arpeggiator on the Jupiter-6. Looking back, this uncluttered and pure piece of music was a perfect way to wind the concert down - with a few quiet and intimate moments spent between the artist and audience. At The Gatherings Concert Series complex stories are often told with simple sounds. Radiate is full of these human details, spoken in the public luster of the live concert.
In his exploration of analogue synthesis, Jeffrey Koepper continually comes up with music less lab experiment than works of personal expression. On Luminosity (73'32") Koepper realizes nine multi-layered and multi-faceted electronic pieces that fit nicely alongside precedent releases by acclaimed Spacemusic luminaries. The distinguishing characteristic of Luminosity is its cerebral (sometimes solemn, sometimes ecstatic) energy. This CD achieves the heights of Koepper's best work all the while reaching into the depths for meaning - taking us even further into Koepper's creative center. Avoiding digitalism he leads listeners on a heady musical journey full of Mellotron pads, buzzing filter sweeps, simple waveforms and a complex landscape of synchronized sequencer controlled patterns. Stepping through each measure, the machine-like rhythms repeat and grow additional lines - each in and of itself a deceptively simple arrangement of rests and notes. Taken together this music works as a mysterious system that perfectly occupies a plane where the human spirit, music technology and the cosmos coexist.
Jeffrey Koeppers 4th solo album is titled LUMINOSITY and it is just that. Musically it combines gorgeous melodies and atmospherics with ebbing and flowing themes at times propelled by rippling, thundering sequences. Over the span of his albums each has complemented the other beautifully. Taken as a whole they make for absolutely captivating listening.
This release from 2009 features 72 minutes of dreamy electronic music.
Koepper plays a diverse selection of synthesizers and electronic equipment.
Dreamy atmospherics unfurl with cosmic stature, while each piece comfortably evolves into lustrous passages that glitter with keyboard embellishment.
Koepper establishes pacific backdrops, then stretches things out into elegantly extended intros. New layers are gradually accrued. Cyclic keyboards emerge with subsidiary harmonics. Spacey chords breathe into action and keep on coming. These various threads intertwine, producing a panorama of pulsations designed to separate the listener from reality.
There’s a delicate density here that manages to remain ethereal despite its understated puissance. Pleasant harmonics transform into melodic currents of mesmerizing charm. A delightful level of sonic enthusiasm is achieved and maintained.
While no percussion is utilized. When a rhythmic presence is achieved, it is done so through the application of repetitive keyboard strikes. This style maintains a sneaky manner of locomotion in the otherwise flowing music.
These are long-form compositions in which things progress slowly (but diligently), building from vaporous openings to enthralling passages rich with supernal characteristics, penultimately reaching cerebrally stimulating pinnacles which then recede into gentle outros. Koepper has an excellent command of this methodology.
His newest cd for 2009,Luminosity. This is JEFFREY KOEPPER'S 4th release and it's the *BEST ONE* so far!!! This artist just keeps getting better all the time. Beautiful soundscapes for fans of ENO, TANGERINE DREAM, ASHRA, STEVE ROACH, KELVIN SMITH, MICHAEL GARRISON, and HAROLD BUDD. GRADE A Electronic instrumental music!