PRESS > THE TALISMAN

(Colin Lynch. Something Instrumental magazine)

Max Corbacho composed The Talisman between 2004 and 2006 which is essentially made up of a series of beautifully arranged, atemporal, and ocassionaly improvised ambient recordings that all share the artist's passion for creating atmospheric and deeply contemplative sounds and textures.

Armed with his undeniably perceptive inspirations and imaginings, Max worked tirelessly (particularly with his Korg Triton and Z1) to produce a magnificent album that ranks very highly in the league of major post-2000 contributions to the genre.

" In the planning stage, I have developed an intense activity in deeply programming new sounds in my habitual equipment, my beloved Korg Triton & Korg Z1, and sound processing outboard expansion units such Reverbs and Delays, as well some other esoteric gear. I have tried to create all the songs of this work "inside" my synthesizers exclusively, inside this deeply isolated world, an amniotic-like innerspace that develops in the synth and multieffects circuits, without insert any "external" element except for the voices in the first song. Also, I have experimented more and more with long, spacious reverbs and looping treatments ".

There isn't one track on this album that I don't like; all of which, have been carefully crafted with a sense of passion and appreciation that Max has managed to interpret and transform into the kind of waves and peaks we love. Watch out for the incredibly effective use of delay and loops that are blended subtely with some truly enjoyable pads and sweeps.

The Talisman Max Corbacho's sense of what's vital in creating and inspiring moods based on a love of life and it's very important that you share that sense immediately.

Colin Lynch

(Matt Howarth. SONIC CURIOSITY)

This release from 2006 offers 72 minutes of calming ambience.

Expansive tonalities conspire with dramatic electronics to generate lavish soundscapes linking abstract realms with human ambitions. Textures flow seamlessly, ascending to untold altitudes while simultaneously burrowing deep into the listener's cerebellum. Ponderous tones swirl and coalesce while delicate embellishments waft through this sonic medium. Tenuous sounds gurgle softly in the distance, approaching to loom overhead as they evoke moody sedation.

Swaying from lobe to lobe, the harmonic streams connect instinct and deduction, blurring the distinctions between these ruminations with fragile structures of drifting resonance. Contemplation is urged into being, rousing cognitive associations between outer physicality and inner reflection.

While generally harmonic in nature, this music does possess a hint of melodic substance which remains meticulously just beyond clear perception, inciting the listener to reach past their peripheral hearing and discover an external psychic territory. This extraneous region is seasoned by luxurious electronic effects of subtle definition which suitably flavor the harmonic flow without interfering with the tuneage's overall soothing efficacy.

Minimal substantiality adopts a greater proportion as the textural currents produce an infinite panorama of pensive disposition. Introspective passages are drenched with shrewdly crafted ambience that stimulates cellular memory, filling the listener's mind with vast potential.

This music achieves a lofty presence very much in the vein of Steve Roach's tranquil compositions

(Morpheus Music & The Mall Magazine)
STYLE
Expansive beatless spacey ambience created by the establishing of immense translucent zones of overlapping tonal masses. These swelling multiple layers are lustrous and dense like massive backlit clouds drifting in darkness. A warmth breathes into some pieces, still panoramic and open, but with waves and undulations of harmony and serenity. In other places the sound drops away into unfathomable depths where fractal lights play lazily on the surface of the abyss. The density of the music almost impenetrable at times - suggestive of enormity and endlessness. Amnios contains whispering voices, echoing sussurations, a hint of humanity adrift on meandering tides. Ruby For The Sun builds on a rumbling weight of sound, the glisten and shimmer of gossamer membranes unfolding their colour above - electronic washes bathing everything in gliding radiance. Cellular Memory contains near percussive flashes of white noise and trickles of glassy synthesiser, liquid clear amid the oceanic swell and pull of steady drones - the track fading almost imperceptibly, slowly, off into infinite distance ...

MOOD
The Talisman engenders a definite sense of awe and wonder - a feeling of universal enormity pervades the whole album shot through with delicate filaments of light and colour. In general the mood is one of ponderous, harmonious drama, the occasional dissonant tones and grumbling clouds usually brightened by shifting unseen luminaries. Rather like a series of aural nebulae - each track has its own distinct personality but all clearly share a common structural nature.

ARTWORK
The imagery on this album is very beautiful - fractal swirls and organic loops and skins laid out one on top of another - all in luscious hues of green, olive and pale yellow. The designs were apparently created using Apophysis 2.04 beta - a neat piece of software ideally suited to producing abstract graphics. Subtle olive lettering disturbs the visual impact as little as possible - tidy and tasteful. Internal panels make use of black and white versions of similar images - with an explanation of the project, recording details and contact information laid out in a simple white font.

OVERALL
Max Corbacho seems to be growing in stature with each release - this is a very ambitious sound presented with a high degree of polish and attention to detail. There are eleven compositions on the album, each created sometime between 2004 and 2006. Max's promotional material explains that "most of these songs were composed during various, long, deep meditative improvisation sessions". Equipment used for the project included "my beloved Korg Triton & Korg Z1, and sound processing outboard expansion units such Reverbs and Delays, as well some other esoteric gear". The results are timeless, placeless, progression free infusions of harmony, floating as if suspended in the vastness of eternity. The Talisman is released via ad21 Music - a label set up in 1998 by Max and fellow musician Bruno Sanfilippo to showcase their own ambient and contemporary electronic music releases.


WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you like Steve Roach's work, The Talisman might well be right up your street. Professionally produced ambient grandeur - free of beats and melodies, but thick with tenebrous drones and glowing textural density.

( Marius-Christian Burcea, Host of "Journeys to the Infinite)

There are many ways to describe "Talisman" but the best way is to try it for oneself, and that is what this album is all about:
the experience of fragile vastness of our psyche. Max Corbacho provides mind altering soundscapes as each track connect us to Luminous Bliss. "Talisman" is an ambient opus invitating us to explore the inner fathoms. Excellent work

(Paul Rijkens, E-dition magazine)

The Spaniard Max Corbacho is a master in creating atmospheres. It is not the first time that I have put my admiration for his music in writing, for "The Talisman" this will not be different. Stronger: in my opinion with this album he has created his best work until now. Armed with modern synthesizers like Korg Triton and Z1, he makes wonderful stretched sounds that together form a magnificent moody image. But the music absolutely not sounds if he uses the presets from these instruments. The cd has eleven tracks but they all flow into each other in an intriguing way. Corbacho's sounds are warm, intense, deep but also accessible. Actually, he goes further where Steve Roach, apparently a great example, has started long ago. It sounds like a text of an advertisement or tearsheet but I can't help it because you must undergo this music like a warm glow. Tracks like "Reborn To Expansion", "Three Circles", "The Talisman" (especially this one) and "Cellular Memory" are absolute masterpieces in this ambient/space-area. For me personally the music of Max Corbacho is the absolute top in this genre at this moment. It seems a pleasure for me to see this man live some time.
Info: www.maxcorbacho.com; www.ad21music.com
Paul Rijkens

( Phil Derby / Electroambient Space.)
Gorgeous and breathtaking, The Talisman is pure floating space music of the highest caliber. Delicate drifting soundscapes pass effortlessly by. From the opening passages of “Amnios,” there is a metallic shimmer to much of the sonic textures. Layers upon layers of soft sounds are gently weaved together, one sliding smoothly over the top of another. Soft brushes of percussion occasionally appear, maybe an electronic twitter here and there, but such moments are few and far between. “Reborn To Expansion” is softer still, and a shade brighter, although the disc retains a certain enjoyable darkness throughout. “Connected Spirits” Things mellow out even further, if that’s possible, on “Connected Spirits” and “Three Circles.” Low resonant drones rumble along in “Garden of Revealed Flame,” and I imagine a descent into a deep, dark cavern. Thunder-like undercurrents continue on “Ruby for the Sun,” churning restlessly though still quite soothing in their own way. The title track majestically enters, dramatic without being showy, powerful yet understated. “The Endless Knot” coolly mixes dark ambient with deep space; imagine if Steve Roach’s The Magnificent Void collided with “Moogetique” from Klaus Schulze, and it might sound something like this. Shimmering higher glassy timbres tinge “Wind’s Gallery.” Throughout The Talisman, melody and rhythm are virtually nonexistent, leaving only vestiges of music behind. The end result is velvety smooth and very good.

© 2006 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

(Stéphan Geschiere , independent reviewer, Holland)

"The Talisman feels like awakening in an ever-evolving ocean of pure sonic bliss"

...tapped from Max Corbacho's deepest sound-research, one of Spain's finest soundpainters, here he represents his latest most exquisite release to date, 'The Talisman'.

Working, studying, digging on this sacred project for quite some time, envelopping, constucting, growing into various forms, it finally has reached for the light. The title refers to the mysterious, sacred meaning of the amulette to those people who wearing it, believing in the fortunate, the spiritual them to happen.. only for those who truly believe, them will happen the incredibility ..

The Talisman is divided in 11 tracks stretching nearly over its 73 minute during soundexcursion. Ranging from 11 till 3 minute pieces, all full with miniature details and sonic twists. It took me some time to take a grab on this ever-morphing ocean of simmering fuzz. But once that gate is open, the discoveries within are endless.. and beyond. The Talisman is defined as Max' most intriging, finest and deepest work to date.

From the opening track 'Amnios' we are slowly on spiralling -as you can feel the air starts to thicken- into other-worldly, dense atmospheric realms of stark expansiveness beauty and wonderful luminosity. There's a constant flow, rising and ebbing, of deep intimicy and utter calmness. Vibrating tone zones where Max find it's comfort and challenge at the same time, reflecting upon them. We move from the expanding & the majestic with rising and falling soundoceans 'Reborn in Expansion' to slowly blooming, beautiful pieces like 'Connected Spirits' & 'Three Circles' We can hear hints of distant angelic voices surrounded by sonorous synth pulses, floating in and out.. all nourishing from start till end. The soundscaping here is elegant, deep & sensitive.

We can feel that Max meditated carefully and deeply onto this project, and the results here are simply exceptional.. feel and hear, surrender yourself to the world of 'The Talisman'.

(Bert Strolenberg , Journalist E-dition magazine, www.e-ditionmag.com )