Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ashera: Cobalt 144

180

Ashera: Cobalt 144

By

Sign in to view read count
Ashera: Cobalt 144
“Ashera” is an Australian artist whose ambient productions are very much in the “classic” spirit of Brian Eno. You will hear the by-now-familiar sounds of Ambient in Cobalt 144 : rhythm-less floating synthesizer or electric guitar tones, sighing and whispering wordless female voices, tinkling or rattling percussion accents, heavily filtered electric piano notes, bells, and environmental sounds. All the tracks are soft in volume, designed to be a kind of “audible incense” to perfume the environment.

Even though the style of these pieces doesn’t offer a lot of variety or change, and they are (as it were) designed to be ignored, it is worth listening more closely to one or two of the tracks, because Ashera has added some smooth and pleasant tone-colors to his delicate mix. His chord choices are an ultra-diluted tincture of modernist jazz. Track 6, “144,” which is longer than the others at about 13 minutes, is especially pretty. It drifts along on sonic shimmer with a few moments of heavier percussion and gongs, and at some points actually gets loud. Another longer track, number 8, “Ultima Thule,” has a slightly “darker” feel but is also good listening. (Note: I think these are the titles; this album has the most unreadable type I’ve ever encountered on a CD cover.)

Like a lot of the more successful “soft ambient” sounds, these pieces give the feeling of gazing into a reflecting pool of water, which is occasionally stirred by wind, or by fish just below the surface. Ashera’s music certainly does its job of calming the listener down; in fact, it can get downright sleep-inducing. It’s best to listen to this album late at night, or at least at some time when you don’t mind slipping off into dreamland.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Cobalt 144 | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Anthony Wright

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.