"The newest release from Ashera ( We Gaia ) featuring heavenly voices, pedal steel guitar and some of the most outstanding traditional ambient passages created today. A must have for ambient music connoisseur" James Jhonson - ambient composer / Zero Music.

"Strikingly original and at times almost ethereally beautiful, this album is a marvel ... Ashera has produced some really unique ways of using vocalizings as part of this music. This is unlike a lot of what you have probably heard .... Cobalt 144 is filled with ambitious, even ingenious music. It stands several ambient conventions on their posteriors and strikes out in some interesting directions. Frankly, I can't believe this guy is not going to be a major player - and soon. Hell, he may be one already! "...Bill Binkelman Wind & Wire. For complete original review click here

"This baby ( We Gaia ) gets two thumbs up! ANT can do no wrong. Highly recommended for maximum zone out modalities. This is bliss. WARNING: DO NOT CASUALLY DRIVE ON HIGHWAY IN WARM VEHICLE WITH THIS CD PLAYING. (I nearly caught some unplanned, "off-road" zzz's this morning at 60 mph!) (^;

John W. Patterson http://www.EER-MUSIC.com"

"It's a beauty!!! ( We GAIA ) Can't get enough of this CD's nuances. Cascading nuances that decorate the passage of time like a most precious bloom of emeralds and saphires. "We GAIA" is a MUST HAVE!!! Peter Schouten http://www.pyramid-sound.com"

"Colour Glow by Ashera inhabits a wondrous realm of beautiful sonic imagery and gentle synthetic atmospheres. Obviously, a great deal of attention has been devoted to designing each piece to rouse in us different shades of feelings. The tender timbres coaxed from Ashera's synthesizers glow with emotion, the sparse female guest vocals are reassuring and the only deep contrast felt is that between the saturation of benevolent harmonies and the untimely silence at album's end. While this album offers elements of the classic ambient style, Ashera incorporates a cadence in his music and so focus and direction. Colour Glow is electronic music realized through a system of intuition - the technology of the soul. The result is a relaxing, gentle experience with an intonation that will influence the listener in a positive way. - Chuck van Zyl / STAR'S END

"Ashera" is an Australian artist whose ambient productions are very much in the "classic" spirit of Brian Eno..... ....Like a lot of the more successful "soft ambient" sounds, these pieces give the feeling of gazing into a reflecting pool of water, which is occasionally stirred by wind, or by fish just below the surface. Ashera's music certainly does its job of calming the listener down; in fact, it can get downright sleep-inducing. It's best to listen to this album late at night, or at least at some time when you don't mind slipping off into dreamland. Rating: 8 out of 10 . Hannah M.G. Shapero _ ECLECTIC EARWIG REVIEWS

For complete review please visit: ECLECTIC EARWIG REVIEWS

"Quiet, introspective, minimal, shades of Harold Budd circa The Pearl; these are sonic excursions into meditative spaces. fragile compositions and simple melodies that suggest classic ambience. Those that like the shimmering imagery that Budd created on The Pearl and Plateau Of Mirrors will like a lot of this.

...for complete original review click here

"Ashera's Cobalt 144 will reward you as one of the most essential ambient recordings your collection will ever contain"

"BEAR" WWSP 90FM Ambient Hour ...for complete original review click here

"An absolute ambient gem conveys achingly peaceful moods in the warm ethereality" David J Opdyke - AMBIENTRANCE ( about "Colour Glow' ) ...for complete original review click here

"Ashera's third release is by far his best to date. It's a celebration of the sensuousness nature of ambient sounds. Slowly unfolding, hypnotic, cloud like at times in structure, the listener is lulled into a deep state of peace and relaxation. The more I hear it, the more I hear an intimate respect for silence. These are fragile soundworlds filled with a sense of beauty and grace" Hans Stove - POWERSPOT

...for complete original review click here

" Angelic is probably a good word to use here, without meaning to be in any way religious. I haven't been knocked out by too much as of late, especially of an Australian ilk, but this is quite unique. It's all pretty much alpha wave material, so expect to be relaxed and finding yourself going on a long journey into a deep sleep"

" Another batch of etherial beauty from Down Under " ( Cobalt 144 ) Dan Foley - AMBIENCE FOR THE MASSES ...for complete original review click here

"Ashera - Colour Glow (Private release; 2000) *The 3rd album from Australian-based ambient musician Antonio Asher Wright. Again the same 2 female vocalists on his former album contribute in a marvelous way to a few of the 11 tracks available. Was I a bit remembered of the music of Eno in the past, now Ashera's music sounds more original than ever. We encounter over 62 minutes of very warm and embracing non-rhythmic ambientsoundtextures that give the listener both a very intimate & relaxing feel. The vocals in the outstanding titletrack (which lasts over 13 minutes) are somewhat in line of Enya, but are not-melodic. In the track Play Ground a very pleasant flute/mellotronsound is used which makes this track drift away. This excellent album almost feels as one of the proper guides for introspective voyaging ! "

Review by Bert Strolenberg, KLEM-issue The Netherlands*

"This 2-CD album, produced in Australia by Anthony Asher Wright and a couple of guest performers, is well within the "traditional" spirit of Brian Eno's original concept of ambient music. It is designed not to intrude, but to exist in the aural background of the listener's consciousness, and enhance calm or meditative moods. The album cover says "Play at lower level; do not operate machinery or drive vehicles." This sums it up pretty well. "Ashera' s" sounds feature, in different tracks, whispers of synthesizer chords, gently tinkling bells, Australian environmental sounds, and crooning female voices. It's soft, really soft. Even if you turn the volume up, it's still soft....

....One of "Ashera's" good points is that he picks good chords to float in. He likes modern jazz harmony, or perhaps a bit of French impressionism, all of it ever-so-drifting and ethereal, with that smooth shimmer that makes this kind of ambient so easy to listen to. There are a few slightly dissonant chords, which have a somewhat Roach-like feel to them, but even Steve Roach at his quietest was never THIS quiet. And "Ashera" stays well away from any evocation of either deserts, aborigines, or space; his track titles mostly allude to landscapes or nature.... Rating: 7 out of 10 Hannah M.G. Shapero 1/4/01 "

for complete review please visit _ ECLECTIC EARWIG REVIEWS

"Ashera Cobalt 144 Colour Glow CDAW 1212-9 & 2000-9 http://www.ashera.com I first came across Ashera (Anthony Wright) in my ambience days, when I got a copy of his "Ambient Selections¹, a double album and gentle ambient music from 1997. Looking at these albums, there is an obvious continuity - Caroline Wilson and Addiana Kopkosova are still providing voices, and the blue-moon face elf has become the diskprint, as well as appearing on one cover. The text has changed from handwritten script to a hardtogetused to typeface (very computer). Anyway, how has the music developed? Well, Ashera is the sort of artist that raises the new age/ambient question. He uses long and ringing tones, voice samples, percussion and some other keyboards to create a music of beauty and calm, mastered at a low volume, and intended to be played at same. Tracks are like glimpses into a timeless and endless melodic stream, only ending because Ashera decided so. We are treading the ground of post-Eno ambience, growing from the seeds of On Land or Ascent, watered by Bill Nelson and others, and carried through by practitioners such as Obmana, Scott Thompson and labels such as Hypnos. Beautiful music, but often with a touch of the sombre. To be honest I don¹t really know what New Age music is: at the Oworst¹ it seems to be music created to accompany meditation or relaxation, and seems very facile, other times (as I have said elsewhere) it seems that OWhat I like is ambient, what I don¹t is new age¹. And if you are into the darker, edgier end of ambient Ashera is not for you. But if you want some music which is satisfying, entrancing without being hypnotic, beautiful but with a certain edge, Ashera is a master composer in the field. Which sort of preempts a review, but here are some ideas of what¹s going on. Of the two, OCobalt 144¹ is darker, but also suggests a couple of other references: the opening ¹Cobalt friends¹ with its moody short descending tones, almost words singing and metal guitar put me in mind of Harold Budd, as did the tentative rhodes piano of "The cat¹ which also has a chittering pulse below and sparse noises scattered over - twinkles, bells, percussion and so on. Two consecutive tracks "Patio wall¹ and "River farm¹ are a melodic pair, the first using slow reverberating tones (like a tuned percussion) and light colouring, while the second has a similar feel with less sustain and a squeaky background. The other link is through the voice tones to the Cocteau Twins (rather than Enya) - in "Vertical tunnels¹ slow voices sample vowels and syllables, with a deep sustained male ground, and light synth and percussion towards the end. "Moonlight tides¹ and "Swimming cobalt waters¹ both use the voice samples, layering them in delicate yet forceful swelling atmospheres, the moon more spacey, the waters build to a supporting synth base. While the instrumental and voice carries across the other tracks, they are quite different. Almost a title track "144¹ shifts through strong long tones with shimmers into a powerful billowing sustain, then big metallic percussion joins in, then drops back a gear into a quieter twinkling and then long fade. Strangely thin pulsing tones underpin OTemple ritual¹, bubbling synths over the surface and sparse pedal steel keens. Jumping about (this is not in sequence) OLord shield pakal¹ seems to start with scratching strings, which run through but mutate into synth-notes, dark synth waves over, bells, a melodic voice all rising to a big metal shimmering end, and the final track OIn fifth densities¹ is a great conclusion - a noise rises in density and volume, and runs through the track, the closest we have come to pure abstract sound and blipping over the surface are fractured sonic events which could be reflections of the disc as a whole. These are all intriguing tracks, but my favourite is "Ultima thule¹. A long tone cloud leads off, shimmers and sparkles like splashes of lightning, a deep throb and then a treated guitar and a synth melody. Suddenly it becomes quite abstract, with deep dark drones and industrial like noises over then switcging again into a percussive shimmer. An impressive ride, and all reflected perhaps, in the dark blue/mauve tomb decoration on the cover.

The more recent "Colour Glow¹ features three brightly coloured parrots, and a number of the tracks (for example "Savannah mirage¹ and "Music box¹) feature soft twitterings in parts, which sound like flocks of birds, but are subsumed within the overall music rather than being an "environmental¹ effect: more a subtle allusion. "Savannah mirage¹ opens with a strong, full on coloured ambience, voices, long descending tones, lush with some deeper tones intruding. Two shorter tracks follow "Mist veil¹ and "Two moons¹ which are much sparser with spaced keyboard or soft hoots emerging from the ground, which has some almost vent-industrial undercurrents. The title track is a long voice work, where almost words suggest a song, supported by a deep subtle tonal base. The aforementioned "Music box¹ develops slowly and seems even quieter, with high tones, tuned percussion (or synths thereof) and a whisperingwhip noise. In "Glowing wind¹ notes emerge from the quietness to be surrounded by a growing sussurus and later deep organ sustains; which switch into pulses in "Peace one¹ with a light voice, some shimmering and darker noises (banging, tones, guitar) over. Unfolding voices, twitters and tones roll through "Colour 11¹ which features some deeper mysterious rumbles suggest a threat. Tuned percussion is strong in "As always¹ with long tones and wooshes which seem to be searching for a centre; and in "Play around¹ flute and piano are obvious among the voices and tones. The conclusion "Two fflarian¹ takes some of the shadows suggested by the last minute of "Music box¹ and creates a dark ambience over an atonal base, before shifting into a lighter flute and chimes conclusion.

The touches of dark, hints of atonality and edges in the composition that make Ashera attractive to me. He is as accomplished as the more widely recognised practitioners of this ambient form and deserves to be more widely heard. Obviously if you are just into glitch, dark ambient or whatever, avoid these disks (although OCobalt 144¹ might just touch you); but if you also appreciate peace and beauty, have a look.

Jeremy - Ampersand Etcetera - 2001_12 "

"Ashera - "Colour Glow" (self-released 2000, CD)

This is subtly-textured ambient music by Anthony Wright of Sydney, where the liner notes politely instruct the listener to "please play at lower levels". Of course, Ashera are hardly the first ambient aritst from that continent down under, but still ... inspirations here certainly include Harold Budd and Brian Eno's 70's ambient work (although not Eno's tape experimentation that was especially evident in his Fripp collaborations); the female voicings on some tracks are very reminiscent of the less song-oriented side of the UK's 4AD label during the 80's. As expected with this sort of music, changes develop slowly, if at all, with subtle, airy melodies infused in the extended drones. The majority of the sounds appear to be electronic, rather than acoustic (not the "tribal" sound at all). Even the (very) occasional piercing (in this context!) bell/piano-type sounds have a smooth, electronic, sheen that fits the atmosphere here better than the "real thing" would. This is very restrained music, that makes mid-70's Cluster or Tangerine Dream sound like the work of amphetamine-crazed rockers. Having recently been in contact with mr. Wright (in a completely AI-unrelated forum), I look forward to hearing future releases from him, now that he has recently obtained an Alesis Andromeda A6, the first real honest-to-goodness *analog* keyboard synthesizer to be released since the mid-80's. Although I tend not to listen to much music quite this reserved, it's currently providing the perfect soundtrack to a grey and rainy spring afternoon in Northern California; perhaps that's why the New Age musical movement had much of its beginnings in this area. Reviewed by Doug Pearson - Aural-Innovations"

"Ashera - "Cobalt 144" (self-released 1999, CD) Ashera's music is typically quiet, slowly moving space ambient music. There seems to be so little going most of the time but I felt like I was traveling down a dark but heavenly corridor. The ethereal female vocals on tracks like "Cobalt Friends", "Vertical Tunnels", "Moonlight Tides", and "Swimming Cobalt Waters" embellish the music nicely and were among the highlights for me. On "Vertical Tunnels" in particular, the voice is more prominent, it's ethereal presence just as much a part of the landscape as the music. Ashera excels at creating beauty and tension out of subtlety, not unlike much of Eno's work. Less is more indeed. In fact, most of the tracks are in the 4-5 minute range. But as the music just continually "happens" I'm not sure the extended tracks matter in terms of Ashera being able to "stretch out" more. "144" is the one track that breaks the 10 minute mark, but rather than developing more than the other tracks it takes on a somewhat different character being a fuller symphonic piece and maybe even a little New Agey at times. Yet it's a really nice track that conveys a spiritually uplifting feel. "Ultima Thule" delves just a bit into the avant-garde with what sounds like raking over piano strings and such. The sounds fit well with the ambience and help to give variety to the album. Finally, "Lord Shield Pakal" is one of my favorite tracks with its tense rushing waves of ambient sound along with slight bits of percussion, bird chirps, and other minimalist bits thrown in. Overall, nothing special or different here. Just really well done ambient soundscape music. Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz Aural Innovations."

Australian Anthony Asher Wright, also known as "Ashera," returns with another album of feather-soft, ultrarelaxing music. Wright plays the synthesizers and keyboards, while his friend Gary Brown plays a selection of vintage guitars, most of them electric.This is no "power sound" though ­ Brown drops notes into the pool one at a time. The sound is complemented by the caressing female voices of Valerie Willemsen and Caroline Wilson, who sound like angels in bikinis, the sensuous beauties of some impossible, perfect resort. There is no rhythm, only the slow wavelike undulations of note on note, gliding on a sea of reverb, with some understated percussion here and there or some nature sounds of rustling and tweeting. There is a definite Brian Eno influence in some of the tracks, but "Ashera" has a fairly characteristic style all his own. The Ashera sound is tropical, watery, languid, the background to fantasies of misty shores and shimmering oceans. There's hardly ever a "dark" moment ­ the harmonies rely on those warm ambient standards of French-impressionist eleventh and thirteenth-chords, or on even simpler notes in thirds. One standout track is "Mother…" which swathes the listener in fluffy layers of synthesizer chords, while clear little bells tinkle over the virtual cradle. The next track, "They are leaving," is quite different and is the closest that this album gets to "darkness." A weird alien mooing repeats in the distance under mildly foreboding synthesizer textures. Track 6, "Expectations," is a flood of ecstatic tones, almost narcotic in its intensity, and probably the best track on the album. The titles of "Reef Beach" and "Warmth" (tracks 7 and 8) speak for themselves ­ I'll listen to something titled "Warmth" any day. The last track, "Forward, In To the Light," drifts you off into a sun-kissed Aussie neverland. I highly recommend this album to those who yearn for a virtual vacation on a gentle, friendly Earth where nothing harsh or violent intrudes and nothing can go wrong. Hannah M.G. Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com 3/26/02 P.S. Thanks to "Ashera" for their kind mention of me in the album credits but they spelled my first name wrong. It's Hannah with a final H. Some proofreading is also needed in the titles: Track 1 is misspelled "…Begining" instead of "Beginning." EER-MUSIC.com Editor's notes: It seems "ANT" aka Ashera can do no wrong in spite of spelling errors, as John Patterson in the CD credits is spelled JHON PATTERSON -- oh well. What is superb is this MUSIC! I too received this demo and it gets repeat plays now alongwith my top 25 ambient listening materials At times I seemed to hear a stringed machine similar to one Jim Bartz is using these days so some of We Gaia had that Pictures of Earth and Space feel. This baby gets two thumbs up! ANT can do no wrong. Highly recommended for maximum zone out modalities. This is bliss. WARNING: DO NOT CASUALLY DRIVE ON HIGHWAY IN WARM VEHICLE WITH THIS CD PLAYING. (I nearly caught some unplanned, "off-road" zzz's one morning at 60 mph!) (^; John W. Patterson, Editor: EER-MUSIC.com ANT, you just keep getting better! Bravo! We want more!

"Ashera & Brennan Lane - Sextant (Self-released CD; 2003) Anthony Wright and Brannan Lane join forces on this disc, offering 69 minutes of exquisite and delightful ambientmusic. "Sextant" offers 5 extended tracks of slowly morphing freeform textural ambient carrying a deep sense of introspection and solitude. The delicately shifting soundtapestries with some soft drony passages and bell sounds incorporate highly visual and dreamy components which makes this immersive music a bit comparable to Roach 's Quiet Music of Structures from Silence, but is also leans towards the drifting space-excursions of Mr Lane. Great imaginative music for the mind. Let the journey unfold.. Info at www.ashera.com Bert Strolenberg KLEM Magazine The Netherlands "

Sextant by Ashera & Brannan Lane.

" As much as I love full-length solo albums, there is always a different, special feeling when I encounter the collaborative work of a favorite artist. It gives an artist previously familiar to the listener a chance to stretch out and try new ideas and sounds--often freshening that artist's sound considerably in the process. Ambient music collaborations are common, thankfully, and often represent the best albums the genre has to offer. While I certainly don't believe Anthony Wright's musical project Ashera needs any sound freshening, I was particularly interested to see what regions he'd end up in throughout his first collaboration with the prolific Brannan Lane, Sextant. Ashera's sound occupies a narrow (though impressively expressive and beautiful) niche in ambient. Lane himself is something of a stylistic chameleon, creating varied works in each of the ambient sub-genres, though never with a voice that one can consider Lane's own. Just where would a collaboration between these two go, and would it be a complimentary journey? Sextant drops Ashera's tendency to create shorter tracks in favor of five sprawling ambient pieces, the shortest of which is over ten and a half minutes long. There is an appropriately nautical flavor to each of the track titles and we begin with the quiet "A Very Large Sail." This is a striking, synth-drone track that transmits a feeling of vast spaces--they may be endless, open seas (as hinted at by the title), or the arguable infinity of deep space. The drone is punctuated by lovely tones of different pitches, like interstellar bells, and eventually a feeling of gradual motion is introduced by sweeping synth chords. Ashera touches are evident, like a swelling universe infused with the spirit of Harold Budd. This is a lovely mixture of traditional ambient touches and deep space harmonics; an excellent start to the disc. "Old Ghost Ship" is ethereal and slightly darker. Strange, subtly phased sounds give the impression of wind rushing by one's ears. There's a slight tension to the track, but the overwhelming feeling here is still one of vastness and peace--all via the tradewinds of sea and space. Next, "Budd's Boat," references perhaps both Budds, Harold and Billy. While the sonic focus here is certainly not similar to the trademark minimal tendencies of Harold, we do have a compositional ambiguity more suited to Melville's protagonist. This track meanders a bit less purposefully than the previous two, but is no less strong for it. One gets the impression there's no destination to this journey, and that we may be lost in the infinity with only the frighteningly far horizons to view. If the fear of being lost is great now on our journey, we can always turn to "Sextant." A deep synth drone, and the gonging of bells, forms a tight beam illuminating our way. This is a zone of trippy synth sweeps with some heart-stopping low end vibrations that massage the ears and resonate within the chest. The deep sonics of this track are particularly memorable, and occasionally muted nature samples remind us this journey is most likely earthbound. If the previous track meandered less purposefully, "Sextant" brings us right back on course. After the previous elucidation, "The Navigator" brings the album to a satisfying close with a suitably earthy flavor. Guitar feedback and strange, echoed noises phase across the speakers as we drift gently atop Ashera's synth chords. Celestial synthwork glistens here, as if we are looping around an undersea reef; more Captain Nemo than Captain Ahab. Psychedelic atmospheric effects abound, and while this is the most "melodic" track on the disc, it closes abruptly with no real resolution. This particular journey into infinity is clearly cut from larger sailcloth. With its lush photographs of sailing ships and ocean craft, Sextant is an album that manages to reference ocean journeys without dwelling too much on limiting nautical sonics. The sounds and moods presented are soft, though vast, enveloping the listener in waves of warm, though not completely unthreatening, sound. This is atmospheric drift par excellence, and while not particularly diverse throughout its length, manages to hold the listener’s attention throughout. Fans of Ashera may be hard pressed to hear much of Wright's tuneful style on this album, as the disc tends to dwell more on deep ambience rather than Eno/Budd vignettes. It's more than worth the effort of listening deeply, as Lane and Wright present some of the prettiest (though still challengingly ambient) deep space/high seas work I've heard from both of them.

Recommended."

B.B - The Ambient Review