"Enviro by Ashera I once read a review of Ashera's Colour Glow
that posited the music therein was inescapably derivative of past
ambient works, too obviously pretty, and lacking in creative inspiration.
This is why I dislike music reviews, and, in turn, why I started The
Ambient Review. If there are no voices of sense in this world, no
written words in this world that can trumpet the pursuit of beauty,
the search for radiant meaning through art; if there is only the insistent
murmur of "not difficult enough" or "not demanding enough"--then we
truly should not appreciate art and music for what it is. We should
give all of our intellectual and artistic pursuits up, and dwell in
some grey aesthetic factory--no music, no art, just the dronings of
some florid music critic. Thank heavens criticism is only an opinion--what
world would we live in if it were truth? It is in this spirit of unabashed
beauty and unobfuscated charm of composition, we have Enviro, the
fifth album by Australian ambient artist Ashera. This is pure atmospheric
ambient music, in the undiluted vein of classic Harold Budd releases
like The White Arcades. Budd pursued beautiful music for its own sake,
as a reaction to many of the more difficult experimental composers
of the time. Anthony Wright, as Ashera, has the same goal; arguably
in a musical landscape where beauty is often looked upon as a negative
or "easy" attribute rather than a positive, enriching quality. This
attitude is abject nonsense--Wright has crafted five albums of utmost
beauty, the type of beauty anyone can find in their lives--if they
know where to look. Enviro's cover portrays a colorful landscape of
washed-out skies, bloomed fields, pastoral farmhouses and their occupants.
Listening to an Ashera record recalls all the greatest childhood memories--whether
you grew up in a bucolic landscape like the cover's, or a booming
metropolis (or somewhere in between, like myself). While the practiced
Ashera formula is indeed present here, echoing past triumphs like
the before-mentioned Colour Glow, the first lilts of track one, "Welcome
Aura Mar" remind us this is a newer, fresher work--mindful of earlier
work, but with a forward outlook. Wright's instrumentation has always
been deceptively simple--warm synth textures, pretty female vox, bell
tones, and other accents. This usual spareness of sound makes new
vocabularies all the more stark and exotic--in this case, a sonorous
organ or a mellotron-type synth sound. Wright's attention to breathtaking
sounds and the all-important spaces between notes is impeccable--rivaling
Budd's, to this listener's ears. "After the Drought" has an almost
tentative feel, as if a child looks slowly around a corner wondering
what she might view. Here, there are no horrors--only marvels, like
a colossal never-ending summer. This is the understated strength of
an Ashera CD, it is the sound of the feeling you get when the world
spins around you, and you and the universe seem to move in unison--a
joyous, harmonious dance of life well-lived. "Two Be Three" is a dramatic
tableau of shifting organ tones, somehow serious but welcoming. Here
we hear: looking into a new lover's eyes, all that mystery yet unfolded.
"Smile and Nostalgia" pretty much sums up the terrific appeal of Ashera
for me--it is unquestionably the type of listening experience that
brings back pleasant, ethereal memories unbidden. Childhoods well-spent
reading good books, playing in innocent harmony with other children,
laying back on warm, dry grass, and imagining the earth move beneath
as the clouds inexorably roll by. I often find myself sighing when
listening to music of this nature--it's really quite an invigorating
tonic. The tracks of Enviro wash over you repeatedly, warmly cascading,
inducing guilty chills down the spine. If this is music that should
be ashamed of itself for not breaking down creative barriers, or being
difficult, rigorous listening--well, count me in as one of the happily
ashamed. This is music that will remind you of lovers, past and present;
old glories, relived. I want to be reminded of these things, and this
music takes me there every time. This is the music of a better world,
where everyone knows when to slow down, smile, relax. If a little
beauty like this can be shared as simply as listening to a recording
like this, the world is in good hands with Anthony Wright's Ashera
project. Enviro is seventy plus minutes of pure bliss; like staring
into a cerulean pool's depths just because it's gorgeous. Perhaps
Enviro answers no questions, assumes too little. Perhaps. But this
record promises no answers in the first place. It is solace, pure
and simple. It serves as a reminder that beauty is not lost in this
world, nor should it ever be. Anyone who tells you to be ashamed by
the appreciation of unassuming beauty is a fool--one should cherish
it in all its forms, large or small. Though Enviro is not the tour
de force performance of the previous Ashera work, We Gaia, it is a
more than worthy entry in Wright's recent, stunning career in modern
ambient music. And that is nothing to be ashamed about. My highest
recommendation. Available on Ashera's website. "
Brian Bieniowski's Ambient Review webzine: updated regularly with
in-depth reviews covering the latest ambient/electronic sounds! http://www.ambientreview.com/
"Ashera - Enviro (Eigen beheer CD; 2003) The 5th album of Anthony
Asher Wright continues where his former albums already took him. In
addition to his former albums this one features the Hammond B3 organ,
which gives things a twist. Each of the 11 tracks hold the key for
a slow drift into a sedative soundscape, very welcome music in nowadays
busy times. Here and there appear delicate xylofoon-like keysounds,
leading the listener into an introspective world of tranquillity.
The titeltrack and Earth Sirens e.g feature the airy female voice
of Donna van de Wijngaart, a great match with Anthony's serene sonic
backdrop. The track "The Seeder" features a bit more "active" ambient
with its soft drone and shifting textures, although things stay very
relaxed. Another marvelous & nicely produced album with drift-off
music, perfect for introspection and to feel at ease with. Like his
other albums, its highly recommended. Bert Strolenberg KLEM Magazine
The Netherlands Bert Strolenberg Betuwestraat 35 6137 KB Sittard The
Netherlands E-mail: Bert.Strolenberg@hetnet.nl
