I would like to focus on this rather unknown project leaded by California based sound designer John Broaddus. Even if Laocoön "Immersion" CD was released long time ago, back in 1998, on John's own Parnassus Nump Records, to me, this album is like well-hidden treasure that should deserve more attention from ambient community even if widely accessible and reviewed at the end of the 90's. Followed by "4 at 18" CD in 2003, this time under John's own name, and after 8-year break, finally, 2011 brings two download albums "-afield-" and "A Strange Mint". Let's move back to "Immersion" CD, the opener, "Molecular Streams" unveils with darker, but hauntingly textured and uplifting ambience with deeply echoed cavernous feel. A very strong introduction of Laocoön's own sonic sceneries that are unified and dedicated to water. "Hollow Tranquility" keeps on the darker route, more minimal and static, flavored with occasional sounds of bells or gongs, reaching deeply submersible effect evoking breathtaking bathyscaph odyssey taking us directly to the seafloor to explore its mysteries with fluorescing organisms. Some ghostly femme-like sounds color "Liquid Prism" and floate above meditative dronescapes, again spiced with catchy bell sounds and effects. Distant rumblings and alien effects open "Transcendence", later transforming into lighter and relieving ambience, a very attractively structured breathing and tranquilizing composition. Darker and minimal resonating drones with slowly evolving structure assemble "Leviathan" and dive deeper into the oceanic depths for fascinating search of sea monsters and other creatures that inhabit this deep shadowy realm. "Mist" is by far lighter exploration, a truly serene journey taking us much higher to discover diverse underwater structures of coral reefs. "Submersion" is calling and we are leaving this marvelous rainforest of the sea for 25-minute long opus, more colossal, nocturnal and static dronescape navigating us again to the bottom of the sea to continue our exploration of bizarre and wondrous creatures. "Immersion" is a truly fascinating bioluminescent odyssey loaded with minimal, but highly effective, colorful and adventurous sonic wizardry by John Broaddus, the sole creator of Laocoön. A very impressive debut and I hope the near future will bring more releases by John Broaddus on CD format, it would be well deserved!!!

Richard Gürtler (Nov 27, 2011, Bratislava, Slovakia)
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Ah, yes.. imagine the perfect soundtrack for a chilling space movie, set in the dark, bottomless and sparkling depths of the cosmos; or perhaps an underwater expedition somewhere in the neighborhood of the movie,"Sphere." Full of mystery, these ambient, electonic soundscapes not only awaken your ears but instantly evoke images and stories, filling up all the senses. Both eerie and ethereal, these journeys ripple and reverberate, immersing the listener in a watery, liquid sound of digital and analog chasms.
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eno would be proud...does that say anything for you?...this watery, drfting, subtle, airy disc is an amazing effort that bears multiple listens...especially with headphones...it reminds you of floating in the pool forgetting theres a world around you, the water distorting the sounds around you to the point of tranquility...the only complaint is the back of the cd...how cheesy...it screams new age but believe me folks this aint
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Of the four discs I most recently purchased from CD Baby, this is my least favorite. It's not bad, but there are sections where it just drones on and on, with mysterious rumbles and pings punctuating (or competing with) the music.  

As the title -- Immersion -- indicates, the compositions are supposed to evoke a feeling of being underwater. And they do, but that's not entirely a good thing, especially for 67 minutes!  After a while, I felt like I'm drowning!  

If you like dark, heavy, ambient music, and don't mind submarine sound effects, you'll probably like this disc. Otherwise, you'll probably find yourself truning it off partway through.
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