Album Notes

"...the sound of a very personal gnosis, the kind of spiritual leavening that, once glimpsed into, reveals itself to be deep and vast....These Innertones capture a sense of the eternal, somehow, as only the best of ambient music can. This stolen glimpse into an oceanic landscape, foreign and seductive and familiar, is a place that we will never truly know in its entirety....Luckily, we have these marvelous Spectral Voices to guide us to that place, wherever it may be, and I think you’ll find that these ghostly inner journeys are no less sweet in spite of their tantalizing ephemerality."

...Brian Bieniowski - excerpted from the liner notes of Innertones

Some reviews of Innertones:

Jim Cole's harmonic overtone singing is both sublime and powerful. It is amazing to realize that all the sounds on this CD were created with the human voice. You'd swear you are hearing a full symphony of electronic instruments and choirs, but yet it is indeed the hidden power of this singular voice as revealed by Cole (and on four pieces two other singers join him). Overtone singing, a vocal technique from Asia, allows one voice to create several sounds simultaneously that blend in very engaging and ethereal ways. Over the course of several albums, Cole has refined his craft into a dynamic and heartfelt musical language all his own. Innertones is the sublime soundtrack music of our time, perfect for quiet contemplation, meditation, artistic inspiration, and trips to the stars.

~ Christopher Cameron, former radio host "Music of the Spheres"


Jim Cole + Spectral Voices create intimate Ambient Music by the simplest means. Using only their voices and both natural reverberation and a few electronic effects, this ensemble produces powerful soundscapes drawn from a deep interior silence. The CD Innertones (71'14") compiles six pieces from various points in the evolution of this unique vocal group. Every track has its own character and energy. From joyous and celebratory to minimalistic and ceremonial, Innertones aspires to the highest levels of human expression....Waves of sound resonate beyond the individual parts to create voice-filled ethereal sound structures. Both chilling and glorious, the whistling overtones that characterize this singing style magically materialize in the swirling atmosphere above the sustaining bass and mid-range lines. A fragile apparitional sound, this mystical second tone above the root note comes from just one singer - and provides a deeply profound listening experience.

~ Chuck van Zyl, STAR'S END



There is music that you listen to, and there is music that you exist within. Innertones, from Jim Cole & Spectral Voices, is an example of the latter—music that peacefully and completely surrounds and envelops you. From the first soft note there is an air of sanctity and sanctuary, and that feeling pervades the entire disk....Between the pitch-perfect harmonies, the graceful pace of the songs, the intriguing textures of polyphonic singing, and the natural resonance and sustain of the water tower, Innertones develops, across its course, into something akin to a meditative mass for the ambient believers. The sound falls perfectly between hymn and chant....In headphones the full richness of the sounds truly comes through—deep throat-sung bass rumbles, angelic highs that spiral toward the top of the tower, lingering echoes twisting easily into each other in the air....While there are six distinct pieces here, Innertones is a singular experience that needs to considered in its peaceful entirety. You simply must come and exist within it, just for a while, to understand how unique and moving it is. Innertones is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.

~ John Shanahan, Hypnogogue