Artist description A fluidic ensemble of ambient electronic musicians and artists dedicated to the creation of imaginative and inspiring environmental musical sound~experiences.

Music Style Ambient electronic musical atmospheres, soundtracks to life.

Musical Influences The Spirit of Music and other creative sound-experience artists.

Similar Artists We are unlike ...

Artist History Sylken creates original electronic ambient music atmospheres and sonic landscapes for a growing audience. The Sylken debut CD "Illusions Of Light" was released to acclaim in Aug 2002. A new live CD titled "PiNG" is being released June 24, 2003.

Group Members Eric Hopper - Sylken founder and core artist, joined by fellow musicians of like mind and creative heart.

Instruments ~ the electronic paintbrush ~

Albums 'Illusions Of Light' , 'PiNG'

Press Reviews ...::: PiNG :::... "This is great -- congratulations! It sounds like the desires and dreams of a Film Noir-ish Los Angeles on rainy night in the Orion Nebula .... a really cool blend of light and dark. I can't believe you play this live -- so many rich, interesting things going on and the sound is really good -- big, clear and dynamic." ~ Sara Ayers ... vocalist, composer, performing artist ~ "Following up on last year's brilliant 'Illusions of Light' CD, Sylken releases 'PiNG', a stunning live presentation of this ever evolving musical collective. Opening with 'Here, Then Gone', Sylken creates a deep and foreboding environment given a small hint of light by a lonely trumpet played masterfully by Wally Jericho, a frequent contributor to the project. Quiet synth lines pass by in the darkness, like comets travelling through space, burning brightly for only an instant, a faded memory the next. I'll comment here that both Sylken's Eric Hopper and frequent collaborator Steven Sauve of Karmafarm have a masterful approach to creating beautiful and emotional music through their keyboards, coaxing notes and tones that others would be unable to create. Hearing the sonic bliss they're responsible for I'm oftentimes more inclined to think of the two of them as magicians more than musicians. 'This Sonorous Apparition' follows in the same dark vein, sound bended and folded in ways that shouldn't be possible, and yet becomes all the more beautiful for it. It's all good ... 'NGC 720' closes the disc, conjuring images of distant stars and nebulae swirling in the depths of space, a ballet of astronomy. Notes ebb and flow, grow and swell, rise and fall in a rapturous swirl, sweetly caressing the listener. Sensual. Three pieces of long form ambience, all with their own unique charms. 'PiNG' by Sylken fully captures the magic of ambient performance and the beauty of space. Highly recommended." ~ rik maclean ... PiNG THiNGS ~ "This CD is loaded with great experimental atmospheres and deep e-music. Dark textures create auras of mass confusion. This music is perfect for 'hard' listening." ~ Jim Brenholts ... The Ambient Nnavigator ~ ...::: Illusions Of Light :::... "SYLKEN creates stunningly vital, emotionally charged music that responds to the surrounding environment and pulses with a life of it's own. Their shows are truly moving musical events, magical experiences that often leave me breathless ... The debut album, 'Illusions Of Light' brings together seven pieces highlighting some of the different permutations of the project, and brilliantly represents the magic of SYLKEN ... 'Illusions of Light' presents a perfect mixture of organic living sounds and carefully crafted synthesized tones. Subtly processed guitar glides, trumpet sweeps like the passing of angels, and exquisitely delicate synth arrangements lie underneath it all, caressing the listener ... Bliss." ~ rik maclean, PiNG THiNGS ~ "Here is an excellent 'new' take on electric guitar ambient music. Comparing the music on this recording to anything else out there is more or less pointless. Sylken is an original and creative group. "Fearless", which opens the album, displays their uniqueness nicely, with its opening looped melancholic echoed guitars and soaring lead lines played over a bed of synths. Later, the track brings pulsing midtempo synth rhythms into play, along with more dramatic keyboards. The lead guitar lines sting and cry amidst this undercurrent - well engineered, I might add, with every instrument expertly-placed in the mix. For me, the highlight of this excellent album is the third track, "Spirals". Opening with spacy synths, the cut veers straight into space-jazz territory with the blending in of brilliant subdued muted trumpet. Shimmering synths counterpoint the bluesy trumpet as Sylken takes the music in a warmer and more earthbound direction. However you add it up, it's brilliant. I can't get enough of this song. I love the juxtaposition of jazz/blues trumpet amidst all the spacier textures. The music is much more textural than melodic, but it's a helluva lot more enjoyable, for me at least, than the current drone recordings which everyone else seems to orgasm over these days. Make no mistake about it - this is music. In fact, at times, it's downright beautiful (the song "Illusions" has moments, when the pealing guitar notes bounce off of sparkling synth notes, that are positively enchanting). "Sleepless" closes the album with one of the more intriguing selections - gentle rhythms accompany looped guitars, a lonely lead guitar line, and mysterioso electronic effects buried deep in the mix. The music of Sylken is well-crafted, deeply evocative and thoroughly engaging. Amazing is all I can say. This album is ideally suited for late- night listening when you need something with more 'meat' but still firmly rooted in ambient sensibility." ~ Bill Binkelman, Wind & Wire ~

Additional Info http://www.theambientping.com

Location Toronto, Ontario - Canada

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