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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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