artist: Spacecraft country of origin: USA style(s): Spacemusic, Berlin-school, ambient trance essential releases: Hummel (1998, Lektronic) Earthtime Tapestry (1999, Lektronic) Kaleida Dreams (1999, Space For Music) Summertown (2001, Space For Music) Cybersphere (2001, Space For Music)

Spacecraft is an actual band, an exception in the digital age where the sub-genre of spacemusic is usually navigated by solo fliers. What Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and other Berlin-school pioneers started in the late 1960's Spacecraft have continued magnificently. Yet the band's love of improvisation produces music that is not simply recycling the past; the best albums have a cosmic sound that is at once familiar and fresh. Like Jonn Serrie the trio has done planetarium shows and soundtracks but airy minimal drone music ala Serrie is not their defining style. In fact they play a busier and more intricate style of spacemusic than most of their peers.

The story of group's genesis is often told but worth repeating. In 1996 inspiration struck when friends Tony Gerber and John Rose (later joined by Dianne Timmons to make a trio) listened to "sound mappings" collected from the space probe Voyager. Intrigued as to its deeper meanings and musical potential, they used this data as the genetic code to create banks of new sounds and samples on their digital synths. Blending these sounds with some classic analogue e-instruments and leaning towards an improvised approach, Spacecraft was born.

The five albums listed above are all first-rate and comprise the bulk of the band's discography. Earthtime Tapestry, Kaleida Dreams and Cybersphere come in bite-size pieces with tracks averaging five to six minutes in length. Live percussion, processed guitars and Timmon's choral-like vocals add variety from time to time but even without these elements Spacecraft's sonic range is extraordinarily wide for an e-music group and the flow of each album is ever-changing. This richness is undoubtedly due in part to Gerber and Rose's extensive solo careers pre-dating Spacecraft and their experience across a range of genres going back to the 1970's. Guest synthesist Giles Reaves also makes significant contributions to these albums.

The live recordings Hummel and Summer Town are mostly beatless and capture the band at its subtlest. Hummel unashamedly recalls the quieter moments of the Berlin-school legends and it's done with tremendous style. Timmon's wordless vocals take on the quality of a boy soprano, adding a strong sacred dimension. Summer Town is a single extended track and the band's most meditative album, drifting from one phase to the next with the kind of lunar grace that makes it exquisite late night or early morning listening.

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