S T A R – Yaatri (BrainHeart Music) www.yaatri.com

S T A R apparently stands for Sound Transmission Active Recall, but also successfully represents the interstellar soundscapes of this purely synthesised music. Although I’ve owned my fair share of Tangerine Dream albums in the past, and certainly don’t mind the use of synths in most settings, I am generally wary of synth-only creations due to their tendency to lack that organic ‘human’ feel. Having said that, the attempt to make synthesisers approximate real instruments has always been a mixed blessing, and this CD is slightly unusual in that the sound palette comprises entirely of ‘real’ synth sounds; and by and large it works.

Apparently the music was channelled to Yaatri by higher beings and is currently being tested for its vibrational healing qualities. Having chatted to Yaatri he seems entirely sincere in his claims, but in my experience it’s rare for scientific testing within the new age arena to be sufficiently rigorous to prove diddly-squat. Hopefully Yaatri will be employing someone with a degree in experimental design and not one in wishful thinking.

The track playing is the title track, STAR, which I find (from a purely subjective point of view) really does have something magical and inspiring about it.