Virgo SC by Alisa Coral's Neutron Star

Alisa Coral's new solo album (feat. special guest Yael Kroy) of electronic kosmische music in style of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Tim Blake, etc. dedicated to the selected galaxies from Virgo Supercluster.
Music from this album can be used for any educational podcasts, videos or blogs for free under the CC license, just make sure it's credited correctly.

Record label: Atomic Age Records, Cat. # AAR22-06

All images are the property of ESO (www.eso.org) and used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please visit their site for more incredible cosmic images!

Review by Andy Gee (Gee Force Radio, Inkeys):

From the musician and composer behind the Space Mirrors band, here's her first solo synthesizer album in a long, long time.
Featuring Alisa on synths, keyboards and mellotron, plus pianist Yael Kroy on thre of the album's 8 tracks, this is a magnificently melodic, musical journey through the galaxy.
Starting with “NGC 4216”, you're immediately plunged into a universe of doppler effect synths, soaring electronic leads, a textural backdrop depicting the cosmos and a sinewy lead synth that weaves in and out, as the piece alternately builds and drops, at one minute quite stark, then with several layers pushing it on, pulsing and shimmering as it travels. Just short of the three minute mark, the pianist enters to provide an extra layer as the rippling notes add to the now smooth layers of electronics that are flowing over the space synth swoops that occur all around, and ultimately taking the track to its conclusion.
“Virgo A (M87)” fires up with rhythmic notes, washes of sound down below as a bass synth texture wells up and starts to burn, over which a melody line is heard in the distance, as the sequencer-styled rhythms now take over the landscape amid all manner of sinewave synth swoops and flying leads swirl all around, creating a vast cosmos of sound that still has an edge and a darkness running through the individual layers. All of this changes shape but keeps to its core rhythmic pattern, ultimately shedding layers as it reaches an end, but then the surprising entry from the pianist gives it a conclusion that you least expected, with some quite powerful playing. “Virgo B (M49)” by contrast, starts in cosmic mode as amorphous synths spread across the horizon, staying in that spacey cosmic flow for the duration of the track, adding assorted electronics along the way, a bit like a spacey Tim Blake in slow motion.
“Triangulum Galaxy” opens with cyclical synths rising and falling above a myriad of swooping leads, eventually more of a pulsing sea of rhythms that take centre stage, allowing everything else to swirl, dive and resonate, all around the evolving rhythmic heartland. In a completely new universe, “Virgocentric Flow” is simply gorgeous as this almost orchestral wave of space synths and mellotron, stretches out to infinity, again accompanied out the back by rising and falling synth sequences, but the beauty of the central heart of synths and mellotrons, a musical canvas that is truly breathtaking. “Andromeda Galaxy” intensifies the space music with an altogether darker mood as synths shimmer, a low range chord flares out, the track pulsing with authority as layers and textures slowly build and spread over the distant horizon, in fact remarkably close to some of the ways a Klaus Schulze track of yore might have gone.
“Via Lactea” starts with a sequencer-like rhythm on piano and distant space bass, adding a whole new dimension to this type of rhythm, under which appears a distant mellotron choir, space synth swooshes, space synths and more as the track drives forward, the rhythms subside, reappear, new textures are added and the ever moving track strays into deep darkness and stark space.
The album ends on the 8+ minutes of “Andromeda-Milky Way Collision”. It starts with drift, melody and cosmic space as a cyclical sequencer rhythm begins, a mellotron melody appears, synth comets swoop and soar, all of which builds before the rhythm drops back to lower range, the horizon disappears and a striking piano rhythm bursts in to accompany the existing one.
All of this then drops back to pure space music, which then cruises effortlessly on to end the track.
Overall, as a synth album standing alone, it's got the fine balance between cosmic, melodic and rhythmic, spot on.

Cosmic ambient project by Alisa Coral from Space Mirrors.