Wind Journey

Erik Wollo's works are overlooked gems of modern instrumental music. From his home in Norway, Wollo's been sending out missives of mood and ambience since the mid-1980s with albums like Silver Beach and Solstice. Last year's U.S. release of Guitar Nova explored the acoustic-guitar side of this musician in multilayered, overdubbed soundscapes that retained the ambience and structure of his electronic works. With Wind Journey, he returns to synthesizers but keeps his electric guitar at hand for some gloriously heroic solos, especially on "Dream Line." A subtle, tugging ostinato pattern builds into layers of keyboard orchestrations topped by guitar, which starts out in a pastoral, acoustic mode but segues into a soaring lead solo that recalls Steve Hackett during his Spectral Mornings era. Wind Journey is centered by Seasons Suite, a 10-part sequence of moody vignettes. Erik Wollo's roots in progressive rock are clear and he uses them to articulate a cinematic music. While Wollo lives in a country with some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in the world, he composes much of his music in a basement studio. The worlds he creates are strictly from the imagination, and what a vivid imagination it is. --John Diliberto