Mysterious ambient artist Ixohoxi last appeared on these shores with his fine collaboration with Denver ambient artist Numina: Starfarer's Tales, Vol. 1. Since then, both artists have stayed prolific, continually self-releasing material of an extremely ambient nature. Ixohoxi's series of atmospheric ambient discs, "Ambient Tone Poems" is already up to its third installment at the time of writing--I have the pleasure of reviewing the second volume, which proves, once and for all, that Ixohoxi is not an artist easily pigeon-holed.

"Amazonia Orthoptera Nymph Molts" begins the collection in a suitably environmental fashion, considering the title. Mysterious night-noises, the chittering of crickets, and the din of what I imagine to be cicadas, meld with other-worldly synth-sweeps that glide breathlessly along. Electronic shakers punctuate the ambience every so often, invoking a Jorge Reyes-styled tribal mood. The swirling storm of sound is peaceful, yet busy, until a bubbling ambient-techno groove pierces the veil of ambience. This groove is straight out of the Silent catalog, with unusual, textured synth backgrounds that keep the decidedly modern bent of the track earthed in the earlier ambience. Eventually, the atmospheric sounds dissipate, leaving only the groove behind, itself fading out soon thereafter. Next, "Soft Light and Temple Birds" continues the mid-nineties Silent tone with psychedelic synth tones and highly synthetic percussion, similar to the work of Alpha Wave Movement. A bowed, Japanese-sounding instrument begins lightly soloing along with the synthwork creating a strange combination of the natural and artificial, as if the temple of the title is nestled deep within a bustling city, a heart of peace within the chaos. The seemingly random synth-sequence tends to grate over the track's nearly ten minute length, but the lovely synth-pads cascading in the background add much to the equation. Perhaps not the strongest track on the album, in part due to the out-of-place soloing and somewhat static sequence. "Cetaceans" is next, a shimmering of synth-tones, decidedly watery in nature. These sea sounds submerge completely, revealing the hooning of whalesong, distorted under the ocean's waves. A piano melody appears from nowhere, accented by lovely synth pads. This track veers into new age territory, dwelling in a lighter, sunnier zone of influence. The end of the track plumbs ever deeper into strange, wholly synthetic, environs, an unusual transition, and perhaps not the most effective, as it breaks the spell rather decisively. "Small Mammal REM Cycle" is reminiscent of a certain Pink Floyd track with a similar title, with shrieking and unusual animal sounds combined with sonorous bell tones and odd synth noises that would not be out of place on a Ron Geesin record. The bells’ sustain has been seriously messed with, and we're in some lysergic woodland, with a temple not far off. This, the longest track on the album, stays fairly static, and is all the stronger for it. The unusual synth textures and various bell noises come together in an effectively trippy way; disorienting, but not uncomfortable to listen to. It's a vibrating, forest paradise, with a little bit of menace just out of the field of view. It's also, in my opinion, the best track on the album. Finally, "Incandescent Blue Morpho" returns to more familiar ambient territory: a fairly standard atmospheric floater. It's also quite good, with shifting synth tones and haunting pads that lend themselves well to repeat plays. A satisfying finish to an uneven album.

Ambient Tone Poems II is a strange beast of a disc. I was initially thrown by the title, expecting an album populated by tracks like "Incandescent Blue Morpho," drifting, vaporous, mysterious. While there are certainly tracks on the album that fit this description nicely, there are also tracks that are more difficult to pin down, dwelling in many different moods (often on the same track) that are not always complimentary. While the diversity of each track is commendable, especially given that the artist seems to create music almost solely on synth, it appears that Ixohoxi is at his best and most comfortable when he is not playing the sonic chameleon. It is on tracks such as "Small Mammal REM Cycle" and "Amazonia ..." that the ideas are allowed to slowly develop, seep into the listener's mind, and leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, when Ixohoxi hits the mark, the results are of high quality, and often impressive. Ambient Tone Poems II has the feel of a collection of disparate tracks, with little unified feel. Accordingly, some tracks will strike the listener's fancy more than others. While I hesitate to describe all of the music herein as traditionally ambient, as the title might suggest, there is more than enough interesting music here to please fans of early Alpha Wave Movement and the lighter styles of Michael Stearns. An intriguingly pleasant, if not strong, collection.