The Spectral Ships

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Rhode Island-based electronic musician Richard Bone now releases his first work on Hypnos Recordings, his ninth CD overall, The Spectral Ships.

All Bone's previous works, including the recent Electropica, have been released on his own QuirkWorks Laboratory Discs label. But this is not the first time Bone has worked with Hypnos - his track "Via Mycropia" can be found on the acclaimed Hypnos compilation The Other World, which was released at the beginning of 1998.

Richard's previous releases have received extensive airplay on the nationally syndicated radio programs "Echoes," "Musical Starstreams," and "Hearts of Space," as well as dozens of regional radio programs all over the world. The Spectral Ships will certainly be a pleasant surprise for Bone's existing fans, and should also convert many listeners who prefer non-rhythmic sounds.

Album Description
An entry into more atmospheric territory, The Spectral Ships is a work of smooth and lovely abstraction that will surprise many who have heard only Bone's rhythmic music. Those who enjoyed his 1995 release The Eternal Now will find this an even richer and more spacious exploration of the same deep ambient territory. At the same time, the tracks are more traditionally "composed" and structured than other Hypnos releases.

The nine tracks are named after actual "spectral ships" from nautical lore - ghost ships, which would appear on the horizon at dusk or dawn.

Tracks:

Sperpentine Arcade
Nocturna
Fata Morgana
Palantine
Waterton
Voltiguer
Wild Hunt
Astrea
Ephemera

Average customer rating:

Eerie and spooky
Brilliant!
What, no musical samples?

The Spectral Ships

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Ether Dome
The Eternal Now

ASIN: B00000JGMM
Release Date: 1998-05-15

Tracks:

The Serpentine Arcade
Nocturna
Fata Morgana
Palantine
Waterton
Voltiguer
The Wild Hunt
Astrea
Ephemera

Album Description

An entry into more atmospheric territory, The Spectral Ships is a work of smooth and lovely abstraction that will surprise many who have heard only Bone's rhythmic music. Those who enjoyed his 1995 release The Eternal Now will find this an even richer and more spacious exploration of the same deep ambient territory. At the same time, the tracks are more traditionally "composed" and structured than other Hypnos releases.

The nine tracks are named after actual "spectral ships" from nautical lore - ghost ships, which would appear on the horizon at dusk or dawn.

Customer Reviews:

Eerie and spooky.......2002-10-29

Richard Bone's first of his pair of spooky, eerie CDs (the 2nd was Ether Dome) consists of 9 tracks named for ghost ships or other mysterious ocean phenomena. His music here isn't necessarily scary or ominous/sinster sounding, but just a bit unsettling. The listener has no problem conjuring up images of ships with skeleton crews emerging from the fog, passing by, and continuing on their journey.

"Nocturna", with its radar blip, "Fata Morgana" and "Astrea" and their softly howling winds are my favorites, but all are terrific. This is ambient music with a solid and consistent theme at its best, recommended for dark ambient music lovers as well as electronic music gurus. And if you like it, I can almost guarantee you'll like "Ether Dome" too.

Brilliant!.......2000-12-20

"The Serpentine Arcade" hooks your attention from the very beginning of this album with a very hypnotic loop leading into an aural journey that I found especially intellectual and utterly riveting. In this soundscape Richard uses a rich palette of dark tonal qualities that inspire both the mood and image of ghostly, silent ships gliding across inky, glassine waters while seabirds wing from transparent masts to deck railings and one may hear the echo of their calls as they search the deep for food in vain effort.

Mummers voices and wavering images of those watery elementals, the undines, torment the unwary with their siren songs, and there is a sense of something menacing skulking within the silent sea. A pulse of thunder is heard and a flash of lightening turns the world into myriad shades of aquamarine. The universe breathes a gasping sigh and a breeze whispers across the unmoving sails. A voice comes forth from the midnight world whispering mystical truths into the mind and consciousness of the awakened ones on many levels. Suddenly, there is an eerie premonition of doom should the message be ignored. The Spectral Ships is a magnificent, brilliantly inspired, and richly conceived journey into time beyond time.

What, no musical samples?.......2000-09-23

OK, so you can't hear any of this music. How bad is that? Richard Bone's music is truly great to listen to, although I must admit that, of the three CDs carried by Amazon, this one ONLY gets four stars. (The other two, Etherdome and Ascensionism are definite fivers). This is a foray into deepest ambient space. I prefer ambient music which is still melodic, and this one is a little bit more into the intellectual end of the ambient sound. It is still good, don't get me wrong. But then Etherdome is one of my all-time favorite albums. For a feeling of what this CD sounds like, go to Etherdome and play the first cut, the Introduction of Gilbert Abbott. This will give you an idea of the music on this CD.

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