"momentum" CD reviews

deep sky divers music first appeared on mp3.com in march 2000. Our debut cd NATURAL POWER followed one month later and, to our surprise, was quite successful...! All this music was recorded between 1991 and 1994 and had remained unheard and unreleased for the rest of the century. Our vague plans for this music suddenly took a dramatic twist and we found ourselves composing and recording music once again.

Initial plans for an early-2001 release of an album of completely new material were over-optimistic. But - we were desperate to get some new music out there. To speed up the process of making more quality deep sky divers music available, we decided to release a 'best of...' our first three cd's - NATURAL POWER, IN THE NORTHERN SKY (an unreleased collection of songs and music from the 1990's) and the forthcoming cd INCANDESCENT - then scheduled for summer 2001 release. And here it is... MOMENTUM.

Like all good plans, this one changed quite a bit. INCANDESCENT was eventually released in june 2004. Tracks from MOMENTUM also featured on THE NEW FAST LANE and HIGHLANDS & SKYLANDS. So, MOMENTUM has become the "best of" collection it was intended to be and is now available at a bargain-basement price...

Jon Short

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author

Jimmy D. - Instrumental Weekly (jan 2002):

"Instrumental fans who are looking for well produced and expertly executed music need look no further...."

review

Fun is not typically a word used to describe contemporary instrumental music, but everything found on today's album is simply good-time instrumental music. England's Jon Short and David Jones are the artists behind the Deep Sky Divers name, and their compilation release Momentum shows off their best stuff.

Featuring cuts from their three previous albums, Momentum opens with a short ambient piece called "Humdrum", and moves into a powerful track called "Eternia". This is a dramatic and sweeping composition that is over quickly, and you almost have to listen to it several times in a row to appreciate the gorgeous instrumentation contained within.

We move on to the more subtle "Raging Calm", which features lovely piano and shimmering synth. As you get further into the piece, it begins to build a pretty good amount of tension, which is then resolved by gently fading vocal-esque elements that quietly fade away.

Next up is "Parachute", one of the few new tracks on Momentum. This is a friendly, jazzy instrumental piece that really shows how much depth and ability Deep Sky Divers are capable of. The sound of cello is found throughout this piece, and for some reason reminds me of the more obscure work of In The Nursery. Keeping the jazzier elements going, "Cromarty Lights" is a recording from 1995 described as "summer evening music" in the liner notes. That's an apt description, and again provides a friendly and fun backdrop to the overall album. Richard Bone fans will love "Stride for Stride", with a mostly funky feel and slick beats to get you in the mood.

Surprisingly, there is a rock-based ballad found on track 12. "The One I Love", clocking in at just over seven minutes, features a soothing male vocal, somewhat like a laid-back Kenny Loggins. Though it may seem counter-intuitive to have such a cut on an instrumental recording, "The One I Love" fits in perfectly, and makes an interest wrap up to the rest of the album.

If you are new to Deep Sky Divers, Momentum is probably a great place to get maximum exposure to the different styles they work so well in. Instrumental fans who are looking for well produced and expertly executed music need look no further. Deep Sky Divers are here, and are hopefully here to stay.
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Bill Binkelman - Wind & Wire (oct 2001):

"an excellent introduction to a duo who have talent to spare and know what the hell to do with it..."

momentum, from deep sky divers, features a selection of tracks from the duo's previous albums (in the northern sky, natural power, and incandescent), as well as three new tracks. This was my first exposure to their unique blend of ambient, adult contemporary, neo-prog
instrumental and (what they refer to as) mood music. I was very impressed with the variety and accessibility of the music, as well as their proficiency moving through a variety of moods, tempos, and styles. All in all, if you have not gone "deep sky diving" yet, this would be a great place to start. And I heartily endorse this kind of "diving" to fans of
contemporary instrumental music.

After the short ambient electronic opening number (about thirty seconds), momentum heads straight into the duo's strengths on eternia. Those strengths include soaring keyboard chords, rhythmic synth effects, vibrant drums (the drums and how they are engineered and placed in the mix on various songs are textbook!) and a series of cascading repeating keyboard notes. The cut is over too soon, but what a great ride while it lasts! The
next song, raging calm, is one of my favorites. Piano and gentle synths (playing a great refrain) combine to paint a soundscape that is both serene yet holds a certain tension. The song builds throughout its six-plus minutes as more dramatic elements come into focus, such as swelling synth strings.

parachute, one of the new selections on this CD, mines the same vein as the (gone-but-not-forgotten) duo, Val Gardena, did on their three under-appreciated albums. Using guitar, keyboards, drums and bass (or keyboard approximations of any of these), the song combines the breezy ease of adult contemporary instrumental music with elements of jazz and prog-rock fusion. The rhythms are propulsive and the melodicism, while
somewhat restrained, is still quite catchy. Truthfully, except for the aforementioned Val Gardena, no other artists sound like this. Now that VG are more or less gone from the scene, it's great to see jon short and david jones (the men behind deep sky divers) recording in this almost totally unexplored subgenre.

cromarty lights is a semi-jazzy number, somewhat similar to Richard Bone's work in the cyber-jazz field (e.g. Electropica), except that the drums here are much farther forward in the mix. But that same cool-hip vibe is present in the use of a Hammond B3 for the melody (or sampled version of same) and a sultry rhythm track (nice bottom!). But the real Bone-ish comparison comes on track 7, stride for stride, with a funkified beat, acid jazz-like organ riffing, and overall Jack Daniels-on-the-rocks feel. This one will go down nice and smooth with fans of Coxa or Electropica (two of the Bone man's best CDs). The refrain is pure sensuality - 100% libido-infused vibe!

One of the things I admire most about this recording is the economy of scale exhibited by jon and david. They really have their act together, as most of these songs are short but punchy as hell, yet never too poppish or simple-minded. Writing good short songs is hard as hell, in my opinion. These guys have it nailed - dead solid perfect!

deep sky meditation is a slice of ambient heaven, mixing soft-as-a-feather reverbed piano with underlying billowing washes of synthesizers. While atypical from what has come before, it's mondo delicious just the same. This marked diversity cut-to-cut makes momentum a veritable treasure-house of surprises - yet never jarringly so. The album is a perfect example of making diversity work for (not against) a recording!

The remaining tracks on the album include the infectious title number (pumpin', thumpin' bass beats against a smooth expanse of keyboards) ,ivory coast, which explores some funky world-fusion territory (super bottom-heavy beats mirrored against assorted synths, including a to-die-for wood flute sample), and the gentle piano-led lost without you.
The lone vocal cut on the album (a relatively straight-up number called the one I love) is placed as the second to last track. It's a semi-power ballad kind of song - not really my cup of tea, but it's well-executed and sincere. Hey, that's what the skip button on CD players is for, right?

deep sky divers have a very distinctive sound - one that's fresh, exciting and (most importantly) fun to listen to. I encourage those of you who enjoy melodic and accessible music to give this one a try. It's an excellent introduction to a duo who have talent to spare and know what the hell to do with it as well! That's more than can be said of some other artists!
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P.D. - Sequences Magazine (march 2002):

"13 bite-sized morsels in all, each with a distinctive voice..."

A diverse array of mostly instrumental music is presented on this cd, which makes sense because it is a compilation of material by this sheffield band from 1991 though 2000. From quiet ambient to melodic new age, from jazz to pop, a range of style is covered, none of it especially adventurous but all of it good.

Eternia, for example, is powerful and majestic. But just as it gets going it gives way to Raging Calm, a beautiful piano piece accompanied by atmospheric synthesizers. Parachute is a pleasant hybrid of soft-rock and smooth-jazz, though they prefer to call it 'airborne ambient groove'. Even smoother is Cromarty Lights with cool beat and bass line and velvety electric keys. All very accessible. It is also largely quite enjoyable.

There are 13 bite-sized morsels in all, each with a distinctive voice. Natural Power (First Generation) has a Vangelis like quality to it with a good emotive quality and a dramatic punch at the end. Like Parachute, Stride for Stride tests my definition of genres versus their's. Acid-groove? Try smooth jazz. Deep Sky Meditation is a serene slice of ambience with more piano, a strength throughout the disc whenever it appears.

The smarmy liner notes are shameless self-promotion, telling us how wonderful each track is instead of letting us decide for ourselves. The music is solid enough - they should let it do the talking for them.

The lone vocal track The One I Love seems a bit out of place, but the rest works just fine.

(PS. The liner notes so disliked by the reviewer were meant as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek guide to aid the listener - a legacy from our mp3.com days when a listeners decision to listen or not often hinged on the textual introduction to each track. Point taken though - we don't want to be thought of as smarmy self-promotionalists...! - Jon Short)
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