"Fresh Wind In The Valley Of Dreams" mp3 Silent Flow 006 2009
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Blame me to be an anachronistic fool. Call me old-fashioned. Still I got to let you know: an analogue synthesizer sounds better than a digital one. It may act like a diva (detunes randomly, hisses like hell) but eventually you get a sound that has soul and a physical form. The Latvian duo Astrowind took the hard road and conquered their machines. Astrowind music flows like water. And like water can vary from runlet to tsunami, Tulo and Bukimi play with dynamics as well. Modus operandi changes from lovely to destructive, from contemplative to rude health - but the overall mood is august mellifluence. The cosmonautics reference works beautifully as well and given this, the link to 70's German Kosmische Musik ain't too far-fetched. Lovin' it. (Sven Swift)

"Der Leuchtturm" mp3 Resting Bells 042 2008
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78 minutes of warm and floating Astrowind-sounds. “Der Leuchtturm“ is the german phrase for “lighthouse“, and the album is dedicated to the old city Libava, now Liepaja, the baltic seaside and the lighthouses there. Warm and deep synth-drones are floating around like some obscure fog, and in-between little glitches, higher tones, samples from far, far away and melodie-fragments are blinking like an old lighthouse, guiding you through the dark and abyssal carpet, woven by old analog synths and desktop fx’s. Please have also a look on the fantastic artwork, done by Grisha Kochenov. (Christian Roth)

Fresh Wind in the Valley of Dreams mp3 Musica Excentrica 013 2008

After an excursion to Berlin-based Resting Bell Netlabel, Latvian Paleopsychedlic Ambient-duo Astrowind returns with an album for Moscow’s finest Netaudio-collective Musica Excentrica. The full-length release features an artwork by illustrator Grigory Kochenov and comes with eleven songs of huge synthesizer Ambient like it’s 1974. If you dug “The Night The Stars Flew” (@ElectroSound) or Astrowind’s epic “Into Vernadsky” (@12rec.) you’ll probably get along with their new album. I’m a sucker for their wonderful behind-the-times themes of philosophical esoterism and retro science-fiction extravaganca. Musically, I think that “Fresh Wind In The Valley Of Dreams” is Kriipis Tulo and Mahi Bukimi’s best work up to date. Well done, Astroboys! (Sven Swift)