Sphäre Sechs Paint the Cosmos with an Improvised Ode to an Exoplanet

One of the most unique and spellbinding acts in the modern dark ambient scene is returning, this time to explore and commemorate the discovery of one of the first exoplanets, Exoplanet Beta Pictoris. Formed in 2001, Sphäre Sechs is composed of Martin Stürtzer and Christian Stritzel, and the two have spent the past twenty years periodically recording and performing improvisational and impromptu ambient soundscape shows. Beta Pictoris marks the fifth such collaboration between the two audio sculptures, and was recorded live, remotely between them, and is an improvisational showpiece of patience and artistic cooperation. There honestly is no effective way to describe how impressed I am at such an event, all I can merely write is that I have the utmost regard and respect for such a feat!

Utilizing analog equipment with various fx - Stritzel employs a theremin(!) - Beta Pictoris is an adept ode to the exoplanet for which it is named. Subdued synth pads usher the lister upon dreamy waves, each song an ebb and flow with and ephemeral haze of echoes. The structures of the songs feel completely organic (as I discovered this was a live improv at the time of the writing of this article), yet with a glitter about certain sounds that add a sense of tensile surface to the erstwhile cloud of synths.

It is an exercise in improvisational brilliance, as well as a keen ear for texture and timbre - building a model of unfolding, cosmic development - in my mind, I can picture one small part of the Song of Creation, if only for a moment, as the songs gently guide you further into the Void. Beta Pictoris was recorded in Wuppertal in Autumn and Winter 2020 and is available on the Cryo Chamber Bandcamp page, in CD digipak and digital formats on May 18, 2021