• Band / Artist : Simon Slator – mySpace
• Genre : Ambient / Progressive
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : N/A
• Free Digital Download : Jamendo
• Rating : 9.5 out of 10

Every now and then I find something that literally jumps out and shakes me, like a child with a rag doll and says “Play Me”. I found out about this particular release from the Indieish podcast, an interesting podcast that sends out a single track from a different artists nearly every day. I have to admit, many of the artists aren’t usually my cup of tea, but everyday now and again, I found an absolutely amazing artists like Simon Slator.

I was sold on the opening few seconds of this track, because it reminds me of one of my all time favorite ambient/progressive artists, Vangelis. The album consists of just two tracks, but quantity isn’t everything and this album still comes at a tad under 40 minutes.

Opening with “Mount Erebus”, which is just a perfect example of understated brilliance. It draws you in with a very simple, repeated melody and just transfixes you. Repetition is the key, but to anyone that knows me, this is a huge plus point, rather than a black mark. That is when it’s done right and here is just the perfect example. The title track is even more stark, but just as beautiful. It captures the very essence of Antarctica. Vast tracts of beautiful emptiness, but a landscape that slowly moves and evolves.

This album was originally released in 2003, but I’m glad I eventually found it. I have no doubt that I will be featuring more music from Simon of the coming year or so.

The only downside I have to Simon Slater’s works, has nothing to do with the music, but rather the distribution method. All the music is hosted on Jamendo, an excellent resource for freely available music. However this music can only be downloaded via BitTorrent and eMule, which means you’ll need an additional piece of software installed on your computer. This isn’t much of a problem for seasoned computer users, but is quite a hurdle for someone who doesn’t know much about computers and just wants to listen to the music. I’d love to see an additional distribution method that just allows you to download. If this means charging for downloads, I don’t think that’s such a bad idea, especially when the music is this good.

Conclusion : Simply magical and a must have addition to your music collection.