Album Notes

"Atmospheres for your meditations ... sonic hymns to Creation, the wonderous All, surrounding us, in us, with us. These are sound tapestries, offerings, textures interweiving, morphing, singing. A gesture to the great cosmic expanse in which we are being. Meditations on Creation, for sound searchers and silent listeners."
~ Sylken ~

"Dense, deep atmospheric music full of lush and unique sounds, leaving one lost in swirling vibrations as if floating in a vast ocean of sound. This music will transport you to inner reaches of meditation and reflection as well as a relaxing hour of bliss."
~ Robert Carty ~

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" ... I love this disc, it is awesome!"
~ Roger Taylor / Beyond Our Galaxy ~

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"Robert Carty and Sylken may not be household names, but in select circles they are both known for quality space music, so it seems a natural pairing as they come together for this release. The result is velvety smooth on the expansive atmospheric sounds of the title track. There is a breathy quality to it, and the effect is most soothing. Low rumbles like thunder roll in for the latter half. 'Deep Distance' is not the classic Ashra song of the same name, but rather a churning, swirling electronic brew of sound. Richly textured, it feels like it has a melody but it isn’t readily apparent. The mood is at turns dreamy and somewhat majestic.

'Desire of the Ages' goes back to pure quiet floating, great for contemplation or just chilling. 'Of Space and Time' brings more of the same, dreamy space music filled with warmth. Each piece keeps to a central theme or set of sounds and explores the nuances therein over its allotted time, never overstaying its welcome before moving on to the next. The music shimmers even more radiantly on the last two tracks, keeping the proceedings light and cheerful throughout. 'The Endless Vista' is pure space music of the highest caliber."

~ © 2007 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space ~

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"... a lovely cd ... no more to be said ... really great!"
~ Mikel / Vancouver, BC ~

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"Eric Hopper of Sylken and Robert Carty join forces to create a stunning new cd! With the release of 'The Endless Vista' Eric continues the exploration of stars and space that has defined so much of his earlier work. With the help of collaborator Robert Carty, Hopper has crafted a deep space soundtrack for floating weightlessly through the cosmos, a work that stands with previous Sylken discs as true treasures in the pantheon of ambient music.

Title track 'The Endless Vista' is a spacey trip, the two artists fitting in with each other brilliantly. Tones pulse and stream, melody and drone work hand in hand to create something wonderful and beautiful that circles around a star, majestic and large in tone.

'Deep Distance' follows, a slightly more contained piece in terms of sound, high pitched pings and keyboard stabs, and sweeping tones like glittering stars adrift in the wash of space. Tones float around each other, shifting and moving through time. Beautiful.

'Desire of the Ages' twinkles and pulses, rich and deep with tone, pushing and pulling like the sound of gravity and the tides. A slow melody plays overtop, beautiful and mournful and all together lovely. The sounds of time passing, and passing time.

'Of Space and Time' rings and chimes with bells and tones, a beautiful piece where vocal like pads sing the songs of celestial bodies, riding the spaceways. Gurgling noises lie beneath the track, swelling up and circling the song. I don't know enough about astronomy to know what the gurgling noises are, but I know that I like them, so that's cool.

'Silent Splendours' pulls and pushes like tides, sparkling, twinkling like stars. It's a beautiful piece, something celestial and elegant.

'The Shores of Forever' closes the disc, shimmering, gentle bells, lovely playing over a deep rich pad. Sparse melodies and phrases play and tracks drone. It's a lovely thing, something rich and full of sound and beauty. Something full of stars ...

Eric and Robert prove themselves to be excellent tour guides on our journey in space. 'The Endless Vista' is a fabulous roadmap to lead us through the most interesting and appealing areas of the cosmos. I look forward to repeated listenings and opportunities to delve deeper into the wonders of this disc, and I also hope that we haven't heard the last from this very impressive pairing of talents."

~ © 2007 rik maclean / PiNG THiNGS ~

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" ... Robert Carty and Sylken teamed up to produce a wonderful album, The Endless Vista."
~ Scott Raymond / Secret Music WVKR-FM ~

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"The Endless Vista" is the new album by talented ambient musicians Robert Carty and Canadian artist Sylken. The title track starts out with beautiful soothing space textures, leading the way to five more tracks of freeform soundscapes. It’s harmony, balance, and dreamy atmospheres that form the red line through this album, music to reflect and contemplate with ... a perfect soothing, cosmic travelogue to warm the soul and make the mind settle down."

~ © 2007 Bert Strolenberg / Sonicimmersion, Netherlands ~

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" ... I truly love this album ... It really is a poetic space-surf ! "
~ Phil Ogison / guitarist, sound designer, Toronto ~

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"I am absolutely captivated by this music. The first album of the collection I listened to was "The Endless Vista" and the textural fidelity, not even considering the music itself, is astounding. The production is always the first thing that catches my ear, and only then can I settle into the music ... your music inspires greater adulations in me than most classical music, and that is saying a lot. This music does not sit on Earth; it seems to float away into the greatness and immensity of our cosmos. In "The Endless Vista" I can hear the sounds of a thousand years of human history and achievements, all culminating in that great reach for the heavens we have conducted since the dawn of the age of space travel. This music and project are a testament to human imagination, ability, and beauty. Everything in these compositions points to "masterpiece", a term which can seldom be attributed to modern music. This is some of the greatest, noble, and colourful ambient music I have ever heard ... I can't say enough about "The Endless Vista" as I think it's one of the best soundscapes ever made ... I have been inspired by your music beyond all things that I have heard before ... I love this music very much."
~ Ian Williams / Nova Scotia ~

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