A leading light of new ambient, Saul Stokes, returns to the fold after 2003's marvelous Fields with a new disc on Databloem: Radiate. While not a new studio album per se, Radiate combines five tracks recorded live in San Francisco with two new studio tracks unavailable elsewhere. Fields operated in more melodic and traditionally musical territory, often eschewing the wild synth improv of his early works. Stokes's last live album, Abstraction, was at the other end of the spectrum; an ululating tableau of synth drone harmonics. Those who had trouble reconciling the two styles Stokes has oscillated between on his last few releases will find Radiate to be an exceptional meeting point--both the abstraction and melodic invention of Stokes's music can be heard in equal measures here.

Radiate begins with the title track, an ethereal, electrical dronescape recalling early Tetsu Inoue works. A lovely tone sequence that could have been lifted straight from Fields appears, a sunrise of electronic brilliance. Above all, Stokes's work is bright and warm--this track encapsulates the radiant ambience that made his name in the first place. Being a live recording, we segue straight into "Wave Image Wave" which features sci-fi waveform sounds and unusual stereo crackles recalling glitchier electronic works. Rather than the clinical sterility of Steve Roden, we are treated to understated electronic chirruping accompanied by a reverent synth drone appearing from nowhere. We're circling some warm planet--from within the troposphere we find radio interference, ambient radiation, bright, unfiltered sun, and occasional sonic debris in the form of stark synth stabs. The sounds seem to heat up into motion, and by the middle of the track are buzzing with the sounds of the spheres. This is space music at its most alien. Fans who've missed Stokes's improvisational style from Outfolding need look no further than here for more of the same. "Nano Flame" is something of a throwback to the style of Stokes's earlier albums: containing a fairly standard synth drone overlaid by mechanistic percussion. Above all, Stokes's early works brought thoughts of air-travel by swift flitter to mind; mid-tempo journeys over landscapes both alien and strangely familiar. "Nano Flame" is another classic "future nostalgia" moment of drift and glide through various atmospheres, huddled safely in a cocoon of super-strong plastics. "Oceans Light the Shore" is similar to "Wave Image Wave," beginning quietly like that earlier track, its burbling sonics eventually conjoined with a strange chiming melody that could have been lifted from Kraftwerk's Ralf und Florian. More bright synth tones follow, illuminating the constant flux of Stokes's impossibly organic-sounding synths. "Hard Landing" crashes us straight back into Tetsu Inoue-land, a theme-park of gurgle rides and dot-matrix orchestras. This is the most willfully experimental track on the album, inhabiting Atom Heart-style grooves and atmospheres--uneasy listening, of a sort. This is, like each preceding track, lightened by almost Eno-esque stabs of atmosphere; cloudy and vibrant. A stunning finish.

Radiate's two studio tracks follow more clearly in the footsteps of Fields. In "Curve of Symphony," an underlying drone is manipulated subtly, almost in the style of Fennesz's more listenable material. Stokes's increased attention to technoid grooves appears, the quietly shifting tones becoming an armchair techno delight. After four minutes we're steadfastly on the "frozen dancefloor," transfixed by pretty melodies and creative percussion programming. The middle of the track is as close as Stokes gets to electronic freq-out, and it's a wonder to behold. A return to melody for the last few, almost melancholic, moments, and we've just heard one of Stokes's finest tracks. Finally, "Vast" puts everything we've heard before into perspective--a hushed, chill ambient track with subtle grooves and an almost Harold Budd melodic presence. Shades of The Black Dog's more Plaid moments arrive (perhaps Detroit's isn't all that far from Stokes's hometown) and we finish with an elegant example of intelligent techno that ends almost too abruptly.

The title couldn't be more appropriate: Radiate is a startlingly bright and beautiful album, with sonic washes both warm and experimental. It also offers newcomers their best glimpse at the two modes of Stokes's work--willful improvisation and chilled ambient-techno. Those who found Fields a little too musical will find plenty of strange electronics to buzz along to--though I myself find Stokes's newer direction into melodic territory extremely refreshing and welcome. Stokes is clearly inspired by more modern electronic forms on his newest work, bringing a sheen largely absent from artists operating in square one Eno or Berlin School modes. I hope more ambient artists will take Stokes's lead in touching upon techno and clicks and cuts style electronic forms, bringing ambient into the twenty-first century. Above all, Radiate continues Saul Stokes's development, validating that he is in no way out of steam after the triumph of Fields. I've already felt Stokes was the artist to watch for some time--Radiate only confirms that he is also one of the most important, and likely influential, artists in new ambient's worldwide milieu.

A Databloem release.

since July 15, 2003