Lainhart, Richard / Ten Thousand Shades of Blue
Album: Ten Thousand Shades of Blue   Collection:General
Artist:Lainhart, Richard   Added:Nov 2001
Label:Xi Records  

Recent Airplay
1. May 27, 2008: nag champa orangeasm
Bronze Cloud Disk
3. Jan 25, 2002: Umami Jazz Program
Cities of Light
2. Mar 06, 2002: Brownian Motion
Two Mirrors Face One Another
4. Jan 23, 2002: Brownian Motion
Bronze Cloud Disk

Album Review
Your Imaginary Friend
Reviewed 2002-01-08
Document of an old school electronic music artist’s works from 1975 to 1989, spanning the advent of digital. Mostly long droning tones, manipulated and treated w/o variation, just the dynamics of the tapes and the natural tones. The way it should be, very organic sounding. However, in the end the CD illustrates why digital/computers have no place in “electronic music”: frankly, his later work sounds like shit you hear in a planetarium or at the Manatee exhibit at Sea World (sorry). HOWEVER: the analog tracks are all fantastically hypnotic and ethereal. For fans of Eliane Radigue, Lull, AMP, Flying Saucer Attack, minimalism. Those w/o a long attention span need not apply. The soundtrack of my dreams. Two CDs, 6 tracks, most of which are very long.

CD1:
1) low drones with overtones, Eliane Raigue’esque, runs almost 33 min, bowed cymbals layered, heavenly
2) multiple toned drones in stereo layers, still hypnotic, Japanese temple bells, 40 minutes

CD2:
1) mid/low drones, amazingly beautiful, actually throat singing, like falling asleep on a jetliner with your head against the window
2) this one surely announces the appearance of digital: it has that “electronic” sound, still pretty and dreamy, but not as organic as previous tracks
3) digital sense continues and this borders on “new age” planetarium music
4) chiming computer music, pretty but doesn’t drone

Track Listing
1. Bronze Cloud Disk   4. Ten Thousand Shades of Blue
2. Two Mirrors Face One Another   5. Staring at the Moon
3. Cities of Light   6. Walking Slowly Backwards