1992’s TERRACE OF MEMORIES is an organic ambient album of longing and gentle melancholic minimalism. Sam Rosenthal (Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s founder/synthesist, then based in Los Angeles) and Dirk Serries (then recording under the moniker vdnaObmana in Belgium) blended their atmospheres and somber contemplative electronics on this timeless album filled with lush, dark and beautiful impressions. Energized by a passage of text written by Sam concerning a lost love, the swelling deep waves of the five tracks suggest memories of more pleasant times lost forever in the cold, lifeless present. The pieces are appropriately mournful with a slow grace as they drift through a world of remembrances, an endless stream of succulent and stirring reflections.
England's MUSIC FROM THE EMPTY QUARTER wrote in ‘92: More than ever before, Sam lets his emotions run away on a tide of ambient turbulence. Five drifting movements ride the intake of senses, breathing the air of life and surrounding beauty. As fullsome as the cycle of seasons, cascading visions of past and present contact loop and collide. A very deep personal intrusion into the mind & heart, represented by a dark, mysterious and sensual music. Cast adrift into the caring hands of this truly original and honest artist who not only lives within himself, but sheds his soul through others as well.
Rosenthal and Obmana created this album the old fashioned way — by sending tapes in the mail across the world. They captured the essence at ambient music’s core, creating a dreamlike, surreal universe, and wrapping listeners in the fascinating soundscapes. Obmana’s cold and isolating textures are beautifully contrasted by Rosenthal's warmer synthetic presence. It’s a blissful, slowly spinning environment for those contemplative rainy or winter nights. This is ambient minimalism at its best.
Lose yourself in TERRACE OF MEMORIES' green and grey charms.
• Brand New master by Dirk Serries
• 140 Gram LP, 2 color variations
• Limited edition 500 CD, 250 of each color variation
• Their only collaboration: organic ambient and gentle melancholic minimalism
Released Mid January 2024 by Projekt.
Tracks Listing:
01. These Ancient Halls (2024 remaster)
02. Dark Mist, Rain (2024 remaster)
03. Terrace of Memories (2024 remaster)
04. From Within the Cold (a fragment) (2024 remaster)
05. Of Silent Crossings (2024 remaster)