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A Journey into sound and Mind (an Introduction to the World of Scott Lawlor)

by Scott Lawlor

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Final Exit 10:01
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about

My vision in creating this compilation was to give new listeners a sample of my vast discography on Bandcamp in a concise manner while also giving people who have heard my music an opportunity to hear some unreleased tracks. The almost 2.5 hours of music was carefully mixed for a cohesive listening experience with an appropriate point for burning the collection on cd. Links for the individual albums are listed below as a reference for further exploration of my sonic imaginings.

"The intricacies of compositional structure and arrangement from Scott Lawlor have fascinated me, ever since I heard That Sanguine Light of November, so it is with excitement that I now enter the realm of this compilation called A Journey into Sound and Mind (an Introduction to the World of Scott Lawlor).
That journey begins with the chiming of the bell and a segment of footsteps that seemed to lead us through the corridors of musical mystery and mastery, on the piece Peine forte et dure. This clever link leads us directly to Show Me the Glint of Light. There is a certain ambience about Lawlor’s work, however on this long form track, we not only have that, we can also be a part of a piece that has a rich opening melodic start, and one that morphs directly into an old style of New Age music, that is seemingly making somewhat of a comeback these days. Listen carefully now to Show Me the Glint of Light, the build and progression of the composition, and the added layers upon layers of creative cleverness, that go to making this a most appealing offering, are a delight to listen to.
On The bureaucrats discover that the patient isn’t enrolled, apart from being a fascinating title header, is a deep and almost disturbing slice of dark ambient music. I have to add that that when you listen to the arrangement of the piece and sample the production quality of it, it is stunning. The narrative itself is dark and deep and this could easily be a soundtrack for a nightmare, perhaps the nightmare of a child in great distress!
This collection of works from Lawlor highlights his work in a most graphic way; take a listen now to Pain Can Give Access to Evil, a composition that flows from the dark corners of the previous track, and its constant reverberation of intent and sounds. Here is a mist filled realm of nowhere, a musical null space. I have a piece of art work that we once constructed called The Beach of Lost Souls; this would be the perfect musical partner for that. Whilst listening to this moody composition, one always feels on high alert for something jumping out of the shadows at you, the tension in this piece is incredible.
A slightly shorter composition now at just short of seven minutes is laid on our musical palette and called Feeling Tears. There is still a sense of a hovering uncertainty here, but one that has a deep sense of emotion built into its structure. The keyboards create a moment of sadness, but that sadness comes from a sense of realisation, perhaps a moment of truth and release. Scott Lawlor has really manifested something quite moving on this piece.
We slowly move deeper into this musical labyrinth of many moods and come across an ambient opus called, Where Blinking Embers Scarcely Grow. This is one I recommend you listen to a few times over; the performance here is captivating, and we have just over eleven minutes to enjoy a track that at times wends its way cleverly around the genres of Classical and Ambient, with a hint of minimalism. I personally found this piece very addictive to listen to and it has become one of my favourites from the release.
With time and attention we now arrive at our next port of call and come across a piece called Winds of Neptune. Now we mentioned ambience earlier on and on this piece you can hear it at its best. In Eno style, Lawlor is not afraid to use silence to illustrate his narrative and one could easily imagine sitting on the surface of this planet in light body form, and enjoying this vast musical oasis, whilst viewing the entire cosmos from this remote location, what a totally amazing arrangement, enjoy the wind chimes of Neptune.
With a certain warmth Lawlor moves us onto another piece called Brings a Warm Glow, the light energy of the keyboards here, brings a real feel good track into our view, a gentle melody and flute sounds almost give us a little “Deuter” moment to revel in.
From that state of almost reverie, we now move back into a more mournful repose, and once again an arrangement that has a slight hint of the classical. I remember vividly a piece called Pavane for a Dead Princess by Ravel and then later on Winter Tress by Kevin Kendle, there are similarities to both, but on the Pain of Being Fractured, Lawlor takes us one stage further in a performance that is deeply moving and emotive, but very real in its overall feel, one can also sense within the music, a deep reality and honesty, perhaps acceptance as well, no matter how hard the challenge is ahead.
Final Exit is a musical horse of a different colour, the emphasis here is more rooted in an electronically styled arrangement, but listen for those subtle nuances, especially around the six minute mark, when a whole new segment opens up that seems to create a portal to a new realm of tone, which is far more ambient in its construction, but almost Vangelis in approach, an extremely clever composition indeed.
Mystical Dance, Which Yonder Starry Sphere is up next, there was something a little Pink Floyd about the start here that reminded me in parts of the more electronic vibe they gave. That soon gave way to one of the most amazing slices of EM music pieces I have heard since the great Isao Tomita. This is a vast opus of sight and sound to take in, its range and creation of tone is sublime, and yes, this is yet another one of my personal favourites from the release. Mystical Dance, Which Yonder Starry Sphere, could be music from the orbs, this grand soundscape of well over 14 minutes is enough to pacify any long form fan, or simply a person who wishes to dive in deep and fully immerse themselves in a whole new dimension of musical genius, “Mystical Dance, Which Yonder Starry Sphere, and of planets fixed in all her wheels”, thank you John Milton, perhaps that Paradise once lost, can be found again, within this composition.
From that sublime moment of grandeur, we’re about to enter another, this one is called Encountering the Ghostly Vision of Tatyana Prikhodko. I must admit I researched this one and found the story of a Russian National who butchered his family, both disturbing and dark; those atrocities have been laid to music, with a swirling effect on keyboards and with the added use of audio news segments of that time, in what is yet another addictive and engrossing piece from the artist.
Now many musicians passed on in 2016, but here on One World Music Radio many of our presenters were saddened to have lost the talents of one Edgar Froese. On Dreaming the Timeless Dream (a Tribute to Edgar Froese), we have over 15 minutes of eternal music from Scott Lawlor that may well take you back to the days of Tangerine Dream. The performance by Lawlor here is timed to perfection, and creatively arranged to give you a quarter of an hour to just sit and be in the moment with your memories.
We seem to have arrived at the borderlands of our penultimate piece. This little gem is called A Thousand Miles of Moonlight. The piano here drives a purposeful, but gentle narrative, along with a feeling of awe and splendour; there is also something rather cinematic about this composition. This carefully crafted track really creates a wonderful ageless feel within the music and allows the listener plenty of room to investigate within.
So our last offering, this last gift from the artist is The Curse of The Chamber of Tears. We end our sojourn with the musician with a return to the tones of mystery and imagination on this ten minute composition. Scott Lawlor will take you on a veritable ghost ride, and you will never know what to expect. What a stunning performance to end with, an electronically gifted slice of dark ambience that draws you deep within its chamber of tears, and leaves you in no uncertain terms that you have probably just listened to one of the most ominous compositions off the album.
Scott Lawlor has placed fifteen tracks on this release, an introduction to his work. His gifts and talents are displayed here and no one can doubt the artistry and compositional skills of the musician. His style is creative to say the least and those fans of high class electronic ambient arrangements, will be totally in there element, but for those out there who have a need to try something different, try something that is spacious, thought provoking and superbly produced and arranged, then you really need to give this album a shot, it’s a work of genius unleashed."
Review by Steve Sheppard, One World Music Radio
www.oneworldmusic.co.uk/scott-lawlor/4593904746

notes from CandyL
This is a remarkable anthology of the music of Scott Lawlor. It truly represents Scotts' wonderfully diverse composing style. And is deep and meaningful, with equal parts intelligence and emotion, observation and introspection, pain and optimism. This collection offers an array of ambient pieces, from delicate melodies and synths, to dark and dispirited, to hard driving, metal inspired, experimental. Even some Space and Berlin style ambient. There are delicately deep pieces like Where Blinking Embers Scarcely Glow. Dark pieces like the excerpt from The Bureaucrats Discover That The Patient Isn't Covered and Encountering The Ghostly Image Of Tatyana Prikhodko. Lovely melodic pieces like The Pain Of Being Fractured. Emotional pieces like Feeling Tears, swelling with a sea of synths, approaching and receding.
Scott also included some lovely live pieces from Stillstream performances, like an excerpt from Winds Of Neptune. Brings A Warm Glow is a nice Berlin style piece.
I would say that this artist has been successful with his mission to present an introduction to his music. This is a well constructed view of the world of Scott Lawlor.
www.candylmusic.com

track 1 is from Ambient Online Compilation: Volume 4
ambientonline.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-online-compilation-volume-4
track 2 is from Show me the Glint of Light
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/show-me-the-glint-of-light
track 3 is from 2161866618216
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/2161866618216
tracks 4 and 5 are from Child of Rage
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/child-of-rage
track 8 is from Show me the Glint of Light
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/show-me-the-glint-of-light
Track 10 is from AlbumInADay/Vol10
www.bfwrecordings.com/releases/AlbumInADay/Vol10/
track 11 is from The Dark Descent and Up to Reascend
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/the-dark-descent-and-up-to-reascend
track 13 is from Legacy and Evolution: A Tribute to Edgar Froese
radbob.bandcamp.com/album/legacy-and-evolution-a-tribute-to-edgar-froese
track 14 is from revelations from the lightest side of the secret moon
scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-lightest-side-of-the-secret-moon
track 15 is from Ambient Online Compilation: Volume 7
ambientonline.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-online-compilation-volume-7

credits

released May 15, 2017

Cover photo and design: Wolfgang Gsell (
www.s-thetik.de

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Scott Lawlor Albuquerque, New Mexico

I am an ambient artist who composes in many sub-genres such as dark and light ambient, solo piano, cosmic drone, avant-garde and noise music both as a solo artist and as a collaborating partner. My music is created with intentionality, creating a sonic space for the unfolding of personal stories as well as exploration of spiritual and cultural themes which profoundly influence our society. ... more

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