Acheloo

Cycle

"Cycle" is the fourth album of Carlo Luzi under the alias Acheloo.
This is a wonderfully dark ambient album, the mixture of electronics and guitar create wonderful soundscapes.
The sound cyclicity in every track is the recurring element and the thematic constant, as in the tracks titles, is present in various cultures and various ambits: an ancient Chinese numeral system ("ten"), the basic units of time -60 seconds, 60 minutes, 24 hours- can all perfectly divide by twelve ("twelve"), the Tonalpohualli, the Aztec Calendar, has cycles of 13 numbers ("thirteen"), in Christian symbolism there are 9 orders of angelic choirs in 9 circles of heaven and 9 orders of devils within 9 rings of hell ("nine"), the sun spot cycle is 11 years ("eleven").

Khimaira

Khimaira is the third digital release by Italian guitarist/keyboard maestro Acheloo, and it follows the same wonderfully haunting and etherial style of ambient electronica as the first two. AD Music really has discovered a star here; has ambient music ever sounded so good? Acheloo has a rare talent for making interesting and thought provoking minimalist ambient soundscapes using electronic music sounds and electric guitar that envelope and embrace the listener with a beauty the verges on the darkside.

Ishtar

This is a wonderfully dark, but at the same time beautiful album of ambient electronica. From the opening moments of "Earths Mistress" with its menacing John Carpenter style sequence, the listener is hooked. Strangely ethereal and cosmic, this is music for dark nights with the lights dimmed; haunting and hauntingly beautiful, yet somehow menacing without ever being unsettling. Carlo Luzi's superb musical soundscapes walk the thin line between the creative genius of new music and genuinely superb creative atmospheric music without ever allowing the listeners attention to wonder. Indeed, it's the ability of the composer to keep the listener transfixed that is the true testament to the music's brilliance.