Altus – City of Ashes
CD-r, Private Release, 2009On the audio/visual concept project “City of Ashes”, Canadian musician Mike Carss pairs his orchestral-oriented and minimal/fluid ambient work with the extraordinary photography of Shawn Sintzel.
Well, listening and experiencing the mysterious, highly atmospheric outcome is like stepping through a mirror and landing in an alternate world among us. Its lush textural outcome is a velvet tapestry of expansiveness, a celebration of beauty in its own form. Of all tracks, especially “Prisoner of Sanctuary” stands out as a real beauty.
The release is indeed by far the most cinematic music Mike has released to date: the images and expertly rendered music beautifully interact as a film-like soundtrack to Sintzel’s gloomy and austere photography.
The 53-minute album is available as free high-quality download from Mike’s site
www.altusmusic.ca Recommended.
Bert Strolenberg
www.sonicimmersion.org