S.E.T.I. -- Above Black -- Ash International

Track Listing

1. Revelation
2. Intuition
3. Outpost Receiving
4. VLA
5. Visions Through Other Minds
6. Ghosts of M31
7. Three Mode

For the past 30 years the world's most powerful radio telescopes have been scanning the heavens, searching for signals from alien civilizations. This project is called SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. It's an interesting admission of the possibilities of intelligent alien existence, and something that has inspired the themes of countless movies, books, and TV shows. This is the first time I have witnessed it translated into an audio format since Clock DVA's "Sign" in '92, which was also the year that saw the first SETI release.

There is no percussion on the entire disk, which paves the way for a variety of subtle ambience. Thematically "Above Black" delves deep into sci-fi, and the music itself is just as futuristic. Calm, smooth soundscapes deal with the infection of digitized voices and a textured layer of noises and samples. Near the middle of the lengthy first track, "Revelation", the sounds sharply escalate into a harsh clamour of noise. The drastic increase in pitch and volume catch you off guard after the opening segment's drifting tones. It almost acts as an alarm clock in case the intro set you dreaming about aliens.

SETI is a solo project from Andrew Lagowski, who is quite serious about this album's concept. He also disputes the common accusation of too many late night X-Files reruns. "It's just one idea" he claims, "there are so many possibilities about aliens that I don't know what to believe. I just want people to think about what might be happening."