Si Matthews's Carpe Sonum debut, Tales of Ten Worlds, glorified the Namlook template to usher in new vistas of expansive headtones; to mix Fax-ian metaphors, something like an 'environmental space music' that trafficked in Germanic kosmische traditions while not becoming wholly subservient to them. On Across the Ether, Matthews' manages to find a way deeper into the cosmos with a purity of essence and engulfing outreach, using a broad range of merry modules to free your mind for your soul to follow.
Beginning with the prickly drone clusters, shimmering galactic bubblewrap, and moog-esque whoosh of opener "The Search", snatches of abandoned astronauts dialog frozen in a distant quasar's bandwidth eerily paint a picture of beings trapped in all-encompassing voids, the light of farflung orbs their only accompanying illumination. It's an utterly compelling beginning that finds Matthews doing what 'classic' synth/space music does best: erect whole new imagistic textures never before heard, considered, or contemplated. With the 'renaissance' of electronic and synth-generated music going on full-force for nigh on a decade now, Matthews remains one of the movement's most talented young whippersnappers, amorphous by decree, providing us with, to borrow an album title from Hawkwind, astounding sounds, amazing musi
Tracklist:

Disc: 1
1. The Search
2. Light Years Away
3. Isolated
4. Derelict Places
5. Circles in the Stars Above
6. Proxima Centauri
7. In Stone
8. Lunar Serenity
9. Last Exit

Disc: 2
1. Across the Ether Parts 1&2
2. Encountered
3. Escaping Gravity
4. Landing Probe
5. Speed of Thought
6. A New Horizon
7. Radial Velocity