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Realms of Light
by Iasos
Inter-Dimensional Music, 2000 (?)
http://iasos.com
The verbal presentation and packaging of this album make me cringe:
psychedelic cover, inscription printed on CD saying “Sparkle with light!
Glow with love!,” liner notes about “heart filled with overwhelming amount
of ecstacy (sic) and love…spark-ignites into a state of Rapture….journey
through higher-dimensions…music designed to function as a “Vibrational
Gateway” to celestial realms.” Yikes! Not to mention that the artist,
perhaps attempting to induce a meditative state, puts about 30 seconds of
silence between each track. 30 seconds turns out to be quite a long time
rather like waiting for a Website to download.
OK, that’s the bad stuff. The good stuff is the music itself. If you ignore
everything but the music (and that’s what really counts, anyway!) Iasos
brings you a delightful and very cheerful series of mostly electronic pieces
which evoke images of shimmering seas and sunny beaches, neon-bright theme
parks, fragrant gardens, and pretty crystalline neo-Pagan fantasies. I could
imagine this music being used as the soundtrack at Disney World (perhaps it
has been!). Iasos sometimes follows a style similar to his fellow Greek,
Vangelis, but unlike Vangelis with his simpler rock-based harmony, Iasos
uses sophisticated, jazz-Impressionistic harmonies based on ninth-,
eleventh-, and thirteenth-chords, often altered for even more exotic
effects. In my opinion, you just can’t go wrong with harmonies like that. He
stays with a bright, sharp, high-pitched electronic texture most of the
time, which brings out the visual association of brilliant sparkling light,
though on one track he also features a long, rambling flute solo, without
any synthesizers, in the tradition of Paul Horn.
Iasos is a veteran; I remember his “Angelic Music” from the early ‘80s. He
has stayed true to form: honest-to-Goddess NEW AGE Music, perfect for all
the escapist, warm, mystical, happy fantasies I might have on a cold winter’
s night. If you ignore the hype about ecstatic vibrational energies of the
heart’s rapture, and listen to Iasos’ music as it is, you’ll have a good
time.
Hannah M.G. Shapero
2/22/02
IASOS: Timeless Sound (CD, 60:58);
Inter-Dimensional Music, IDM 7002 1996
E-mail: iasos@nbn.com
Cyberhome: www.iasos.com
IASOS has been around a very long time, a bastion in the New Age movement of music.
He differs from many of the musicians of that formerly glorious era in that he actually
helped get it going, being someone who really believed and practiced tenets of the New
Age philosophy and as best as I can tell - is still faithful to olde school New Age isms.
His music is/ was an expression of his belief system and when IASOS indicated it is
meditative or "opens doorways" then that's exactly what he means and intends. This is
not one of those mere fast-profits nor shallow New Age-y vacuous releases that deluged
the record shelves for many years. This is "hard core" New Age foundational material.
However . . .
IASOS has performed an ingenious maneuver in that he has realized that strong
moments in earlier releases' shorter versions can be "re-cycled", literally, into looped,
extended ambient creations. I always felt upon hearing the original versions that IASOS
could have made the song much longer. Well, he did!
Track one, "Cloud Prayer", was on an old 1975! release, Inter-Dimensional
Music, alongside many other interesting cuts. I originally owned this on LP vinyl and
used it to "calm the house" when my children were younger. IASOS has taken a 4-5
minute slice of sound and pulled it out into 29:50! If you like this sort of ambience,
mindless background droning as I do - it works. If you want more, song-like variety you
may be dismayed. But IASOS does not intend it as song. He intends it as a vehicle and a
catalyst for "inducing profound stillness". I can dig it.
Track two, "Throne Realms", again 29:50 long, was a bit trickier for me to
backtrack and locate in my IASOS recordings but I found it on Elixir, released
back in 1983. This extended track comes from the last 8:00 of
"Crystal*White*Fire*Light" and again I always enjoyed that outro from a great old
IASOS release. IASOS has reworked it, emphasizing the low-end, basso
profundo drone, balancing in the firm mid-range spectrum of synths, and essentially
removing the former high-end, tinkling harp-like and bell-chiming effects and sprinklings
of crystalline splashings. It's amazing how the effect of a piece changes its mood with a
new mix.
This is good "space out" material if you want consistent drones and looping
soundscapes but if you want variety and multi-faceted synth journeys to tantalize you,
IASOS may only put you to sleep. Your call. My call? I enjoyed hearing IASOS in a new
extended format. It's time for some new ambient works I think. I know IASOS has it in
him. ~ John W. Patterson
Personnel: IASOS - all synths
Track Listing: Cloud Prayer, Throne Realms
IASOS: Angelic Music (CD, 60:09);
Inter-Dimensional Music, IDM 7001 1998
E-mail: iasos@nbn.com
Cyberhome: www.iasos.com
In case you haven't read my review of IASOS' Timeless Sound release, it
warrants repeating that . . .
"IASOS has been around a very long time, a bastion in the New Age movement of music.
He differs from many of the musicians of that formerly glorious era in that he actually
helped get it going, being someone who really believed and practiced tenets of the New
Age philosophy and as best as I can tell - is still faithful to olde school New Age isms.
His music is/ was an expression of his belief system and when IASOS indicated it is
meditative or "opens doorways" then that's exactly what he means and intends. This is
not one of those mere fast-profits nor shallow New Age-y vacuous releases that deluged
the record shelves for many years. This is "hard core" New Age foundational material.
However . . . IASOS has performed an ingenious maneuver in that he has realized that
strong moments in earlier releases' shorter versions can be "re-cycled", literally, into
looped, extended ambient creations. I always felt upon hearing the original versions that
IASOS could have made the song much longer. Well, he did!"
Track one, "The Angels of Comfort", comes from Elixir, released back in
1983. IASOS has taken a 10:59 song and pulled it out into 29:50. It might be bit
repetitive if you try to look for loopings. But if you just effortlessly enjoy the deeply
relaxing hot tub of synths, drones, and ebbings of bliss - you will then truly enter IASOS-
ville - a world of beauty and light.
Track two, "Angel Play", again 29:50 long, hails from a 8:50 long track on
Inter-Dimensional Music, released back in 1975. Enjoy environmental sounds
such as babbling brook, frog calls, and hear the truly unique and unadulterated essence of
classic IASOS synths. He is his own man in the "ambient" genre and deserves checking
out. Connect with that New Age era all over again, offered by one of its best composers
and performers.
I quote IASOS' website press, "The Psychology Department at Plymouth State
College had this music receive the highest rating, by quite a margin, for being 'most like
the heavenly music' heard by people who had had a near-death experience." So check
IASOS out for that "tunnel of light" soundtrack! ~ John W. Patterson
Personnel:
IASOS - all synths
GOD, the Creator - babbling brook, amphibian friends
Tracks:
The Angels of Comfort, Angel Play
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