As reviewed by me in January 1995:Summary: Super, independently-released musical ambience with applications of various brain state concepts (binaural beats, primordial sounds, Tomatis enhancement, 3D placement).In my last batch of reviews I told you about Michael Mantra's meditative Sonic Alter album on Silent. At the time I had nothing to compare it to other than the Voyager mind machine, one of those devices with the flashing LED goggles and headphones. Well, now I've got something to compare it to: track 8 of Mystical Sun's debut CD.The intense "Journey to Samadhi" buries all of Sonic Alter and then some. In fact, all of Primordial Atmospheres kicks my ambient ass. Composed over a 4-year period, assembled, manufactured, promoted and distributed entirely by the Sarasota, Florida based artist, this album comes as a welcome departure from the flood of synth-washes-with-beats and cut-n-paste-samples-overload brands of ambient that seem to attract the most attention these days.Tracks 1–7 comprise the "Astral Dreams" suite for the conscious mind, soothingly melodic yet the melodies are de-emphasized, allowing the rest of the sounds to integrate as important components of the songs. What impresses me most is the depth of production, which is on par with Sun Electric in terms of the dynamics and types of sounds used. Perhaps this sounds lighter than Sun Electric's ambient tracks, but this is not a New Age battle of the presets. Each track creates a new atmosphere, lush with a mixture of soundtrack moodiness and an organic, emotive quality. Entirely the opposite of West Coast ambient. I love it. He knows when to move on to new sounds and when to make the most of the sounds he's got. This is *music*. The 33 minute opus "Journey to Samadhi" is a trip: 20+ layers of ocean waves (don't cringe!), binaural beats, drones and a resonant Tibetan bell. The ocean waves are processed (well, EVERYTHING is processed) and the result is gripping. I tried several times to use it as background music but each time it just sucked me right in.The binaural beats use bass frequencies which are much more effective than Michael Mantra's higher pitched tones. Binaural beats are two tones at slightly different frequencies. The theory is that part of the human brain synchronizes itself to the beat frequency, i.e. the difference between the two frequencies, thus inducing an altered state of consciousness. Well, let me tell you, I've had Voyager sessions, and it works. I've listened to this CD, and it works too.My one complaint is that one of the tracks contains That Damned Shakuhachi Flute. I asked the artist about it and he said at the time he wrote the song the sound had not been so overused in other music. He considered taking it out but decided the song sounded best with it in there; just try to forget everywhere else you've heard it. Heh.

So wonderful album. I've just found this artist and he makes amazing music. Worth listening. Very relaxing ambient tracks with some percussion.