Having been familiar with many of the Hypnos label releases and expecting something similar on this release I was not prepared for what awaited me on this new album from the duo of Dave Fulton and Giles Reaves on the Hypnos/Binary release entitled The Range. Now granted my surprise was a good surprise but a surprise nonetheless. The music on The Range is not so easy to categorize as it blends many elements from ambient, electronic and progressive rock music all into one presentation that works quite well. This CD has been on the drawing boards for about 4 years now with work being done via the internet since Dave and Giles physically had some distance between them which necessitated a slower pace than what would have been possible had they been physically a little closer to one another. Add to that the fact that there were things going on in each of their lives that brought further delays to the project and it becomes readily apparent why it took 4 years to get this project finished. As I listened to this CD the fact that it took 4 years to complete was not evident on any of the tracks but instead the music seemed as cohesive and fresh as if these two artists had started this effort last month instead of 4 years ago.

The CD is broken down into 4 parts according to the listing of the tracks on the CD case. Part 1 is entitled Somedays Go On Forever and has one song in this part. Part 2 is called The First Day and contains 3 songs. Part 3 is called A Question of….. and contains 3 songs as well. Part 4 is called The Long Walk Away and closes out the CD with another 3 songs giving this CD a total of 10 tracks clocking in at 60 minutes. Musically the sections seem to have themes that are brought out by Fulton and Reaves as the listener is moved through this CD. What starts out in the opening parts of this CD as energetic and aggressive moves into a more brooding and melancholic mood by the time the CD hits part 3 and the track Enduring Time. The drums on this track are great and really go well with the mood that is being created by this time in the flow of the CD. This slower introspective flavor finishes out the CD with the last song, The Walk, creating a very floating kind of atmosphere with some nice synths providing the focus of the piece and with some other interesting sound effects and drums bringing the piece together and closing out the CD.

The CD opens in a similar way as to the way it closes with track 1 Endless Range and Time starting out by means of a few simple piano notes echoing on the landscape along with a small number of electronic effects and finally ending up with an electronic keyboard taking over while the piano still floats above the entire piece in what seems like a loop that keeps it suspended up there. This goes on right up to the point that the whole thing reaches a crescendo that shifts the song into part 2 track 2 called Fascination where the music steps into a progressive rock type piece with various great keyboard pieces and features some first-rate drumming as well. All of this acts to keep the piece moving ahead and adds to the stimulating feel of the song. I must admit that this is one of my favorite songs from this CD and the more that I listen to it the more I appreciate the complexities of all that is going on here.

Fulton and Reaves are able to move easily from the atmospheric pieces that dot the landscape back into the more energetic sections which allows them to dramatically change the aural soundscapes that surround and captivate their listeners. As in the movement from track 3 which definitely falls into the space style of mucic to track 4 that finds the end of the song Blinded by Time picking up a slight sequenced rhythm that immediately takes the song into a rhythmic beat that becomes the centerpiece of the next song entitled Troubled Skies. This track is another favorite song from this CD that I could listen to over and over again without ever getting tired of the picture that it paints. The marvelous guitar part on this track is perfectly placed in the mix on this cut and allows it to be a balanced part of the song without cutting into the focus of the sequenced beat that is the heart of this song. Again it is a testament to their abilities to pull this kind of integration off and do it over a 4 year period and having to work at a distance from one another.

The music on The Range is a dense soundscape that demands focused attention from the listener but will reward them greatly when they dig deeply into this refreshing world that Fulton and Reaves have created here. The CD consistently features some great textures that are interwoven into the very fabric of this project through the use of great production values and skillful hands on the mixing board. The music as times is dark and forboding as on track 6 which is called Being Within the Range but it does not leave you there but rather it keeps the listener moving ahead on this sonic journey. The overall feeling of this CD is one of exploration and Fulton and Reaves have done a great job of creating the intricate soundscape that is to be where the listener will spend the next 60 minutes and return again often so as to keep finding the nooks and crannies that were missed the first time through. An excellent effort from Dave Fulton and Giles Reaves and it will be interesting to see if they decide to do another one of these projects somewhere in the future. Perhaps in another 4 years maybe? AV recommended CD.

Reviewed by Michael Foster editor of Ambient Visions