STAR'S END Update 08.08.21

[Chuck van Zyl]

Juha-Matti Rautiainen has realized yet another striking work. Strong feelings are present throughout STILL WATER (40'49"), not measured out, but flowing, echoing the essence of the artist. The warm, rounded music brings light to a room. Traversing distances of thought, Rautiainen enters his own wilderness to reveal inner complications. We must listen closely, because there is a lot of life within these four tracks. In the inspired force of quiet softness this album comes off sounding perfect and effortless. Fully invested in making its own kind of magic in its own time the atmosphere of STILL WATER goes where words cannot. Unforced yet densely composed, it invites the listener along on a journey. An intimate stillness and fragmentary near-narratives infuse the story with a subtle spacey strength. As the stars wander darkly, then halt in the air, nothing stirs within the stillness of these depths. In a mix of harmonious designs and anomalous forms dreams emerge with straightforward emotional force. When bright tones give way to rumbling drones the listener fades. Even as consonance is eventually restored we feel unbound from within. Cycling steps of sequencer blips surface, circling the listening area on a pulsing electrical current. But further in the instrumentation gradually contracts. Once the mix of electronic sounds, bass guitar and looping textures dissipates STILL WATER is left with just the layered lament of a human voice - exposing the deepest disclosure this musician hopes to convey in his creations. This project may have served Rautiainen as a personal expression, or an internal exploration, but it belongs to all of us now - its shape and grace helping us believe that we live in a better world.

Please tune in to the 08.08.21 broadcast of STAR'S END Ambient Radio for music from STILL WATER, the recent release by Juha-Matti Rautiainen

For more on STILL WATER, please access: http://www.juhamattirautiainen.com

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Tim Motzer - live on STAR'S END 08.08.21

The music of Tim Motzer travels on the reverb laden phrases of shimmering steel strings. Where electric guitar solos rise in ever strengthening leads, a rolling slow-flow of calm and color radiates below - as the expressive array of sonic shades and whispering washes clings willingly to the ears.

Please tune in to the 08.08.21 broadcast of STAR'S END for a live-to-air radio concert with Tim Motzer as part of the STAR'S END Space Camp 2021 series:

http://www.starsend.org/spacecamp2021.html

Note: An effort will be made to live stream this on-air radio concert. Please tune in for details, and access:

http://www.youtube.com/chuckvanzyl

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STAR'S END - WXPN's Archived Stream

Beginning with the 10.07.18 edition, an archived stream of each broadcast of STAR'S END will be available through the WXPN website. To listen anytime, please access: http://tinyurl.com/starsendarchive

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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday Night/Sunday Morning from 1:00am til 6:00am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.1fm WXPH Harrisburg, PA
90.5fm WKHS Worton/Baltimore, MD
91.9fm WXPJ Hackettstown, NJ
104.9fm Allentown, PA

and live on the world wide web at: http://www.xpn.org

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Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org