Comments on The Frozen Lake

Here are some comments recieved on the Mental Anguish Track 'The Frozen Lake".

Hal McGee said: Excellent sound quality, crisp production, crunchy gnarly crispy sounds. It's a tasty slab of sound-picture-making. The very best electronic music creates sound pictures in the mind of the listener. It creates in the listener a heightened state of awareness, in the sphere of Emotional Intellect. As I listened to "The Frozen Lake" I felt an icy shiver run up and down my spine. The music itself is a tangible object or organism, a hideous and majestic sound sculpture. Nothing else exists at this moment except for the sensations that I am feeling and experiencing as I exist inside this sound. This music is certainly abstract in the sense that it doesn't seem to refer to anything in normal earthly experience, but there is a palpable sensuality to it as well. It's a frightening piece of music, but it's as beautiful as it is terrifying. Is this a soundtrack to the experience of space exploration itself? In my opinion this is the most powerful piece of music created by Mental Anguish ever.

Charles Rice Goff III said: I've been soaking in the frozen lake for about 15 minutes now. Reminds me of the weather outside of my house. We've had a frozen lake in our driveway now for about three weeks. Unlike on Mars, it should evaporate some day. Yeah, this track has that good old 1980's atmosphere that puts a big smile on my face. Carmelita the kitty came in to listen to it and is purring noticably. Thanks much for sharing this one.

Scott Carr (Hebephrenic) said: Nice one! Thanks for the spaced out wake up.
Highly recommended.

Dave Fuglewicz said: Wow, I'm speechless, very nice and powerful throughout.

Björn Eriksson said: So awesome, this frozen lake tune! Dig it alot on repeat! :)

Ed Drury said: Finally got a chance to have a listen. Really nice stuff. You've assembled more equipment than most of the early space missions I think. Love the rich low frequencies which I'm attributing to the moog. Rich canvas and a most interesting inspiration. I just watched a special on 'warming up Mars' with green house gasses to liquify the water on the planet, then introduce microbes which make oxygen to bring the atmosphere up to a reasonable level to again support life. Great image of the lake on your page!

Mike & Ellie Haimsohn said: Chris, "The Frozen Lake" is amazing - long, but amazing! The visuals (for a short while) and the tune got me to relax enough to meditate...it was deep and good. The vibes were so cool. I'm taking yoga and meditation classes and think this is a wonderful solo piece.
I don't know what a gear based piece of music is...not so hi-tech. Have you built a larger following yet? It's wonderful! I'll play it for Mike tomorrow, as he's asleep on the couch.

Little Fyodor said: Thanks! Will check it out.

Cystem John Sosnowski said: cold, cold, cold....
great sounds! very dreamy...

Buzzsaw & the Shavings said: A most stunning etherial gem, hewn out of music. have indeed listened, and it is a stunning, heart-rending composition indeed that is more than vaguely symphonic. I might give up work on me symphony after hearing this gem. :) Bravo, sir....

Michael Thomas Jackson said: Excellent piece Chris ! Especially appropriate for such a cold-ass morning.

Scott Heller said: Thanks,. I am listening right now! I enjoyed the track.. Very cool. I hope I can make some stuff Like this as well but I am not all that skilled on the synth, yet...

Mike McGary said: Really love the piece. I can't believe that is all done with a Moog Rogue and some digital delay. Very nice.

Don Campau said: A stunning and gorgeous piece. I love how it floats along on its own
timetable. Beautiful work and I look forward to hearing it again and again.

Don Campau also said on cassette culture group list: By the way, the new Chris Phinney "Frozen Lake" piece is awesome. 28 minutes of moog and space bliss!

Gerard Greenway (Cultural Amnesia) said: Thanks, Chris. I listened and the new Moog sounds fun... ah stuff to buy, stuff one could buy... But I have never had a Moog and really everybody with an interest in synths needs to have possessed at least one in their time! I did read recently that there are lakes (unfrozen) beneath Antarctica, and that they've been sealed in ice for 10s of millions of years and
nobody knows what might be in them -- possibly some microscopic life.

Andrew McIntosh said: Very good work, very much early Tan Dream in sound to me. Got a nice raw
edge to it, I like a bit of distortion on synth. I'll add to my collection of Harsh Reality mp3s. Looked up the Martian frozen lake. Interesting that it's "only" five to seven million years old. I often wonder what'll happen to the world's religions when they find "extremophiles" or some such life on another
planet. They'll probably just ignore it.

Q-Cut said: Nice tune, very spacey sounding just right fer the subject i reckon. I thought it looked a bit long when it loaded up in winamp but it didnt seem it when listening, good spacey moody track. Aye good tune that good to hear the rogue in action :-)

Bev Stanton (Arthur Loves Plastic) said: I can't wait to hear it!! hardware!!!!! I finally had a chance to listen !! This is great!! Very haunting!!!

Bret Hart said: I'm listening to FROZEN LAKE right now. Very awesome layers and interpolation of texture. Nice. Cool, as I am also interested in space research, particularly photography from
OUT THERE. I'm very interested in collaborating with you, as it is occuring to me that some of what I did
with ASTEROID SCHOOLHOUSE... reminds me, in ways of what you seem to be after.
Can I send you some sourcetracks to work against/with?

Lord Litter said: ---> the streaming works extremly well! Sounds GREAT!!!! ... absolutely NOTHING can beat these old soundsources!!! .. all this new stuff sometimes sounds *good* .. but often no depth ... no
feeling ... ..ah - and the piece sure sounds like *Chris Phinney*!!! ... well done!!! ... no > it's excellent!! ... really arises pictures!! ---> VERY good move!!! ... one can really concentrate on the depth of the
scape!! .. on the depth of the actual *sound*!! ---> in a certain way it was best *scape* I heard in years .. 'n I'm into scapes mucho at the moment caus of my work with Der Mondaene Tiger
http://www.DerMondaeneTiger.com ...!

iN ThE HousE/kalmar said: Wow, excellent. I have listened to it two times since yesterday. In fact its on my stereo right know since 20 minutes back. This piece is extremly relaxing and I love it a lot. Its like going back where the electronica began for 40/50 years ago. Could easilly fit on any early kraftwerkrecords too. I can imagine myself walking around on some kind of arty 80-s exhibition with this tune coming from everywhere.Yes you have really managed to create a genuin synthesizerpiece in the
best of the old schoolstyle. Do keep it among your best ones because it is a true masterwork, I tell u.
As Ive said before, when u are in the right mood u create things that certainly kick ass. And i really mean, kick ass. I will save every MB of this tune, listen to it again several times in the future. GREAT!
Chris

Carl Howard (NoMusic) said: I commence now, the listening to...
Funny, it sounds like the opening instrument is piano strings or something.
Yes, this is really good drone stuff.
We need to come up with, like, a 24 hour loop of stuff we've all done over the
years, to play continuously for Doug and Fran to keep them warm.

Mike Bowman said: wow, this is a great piece of music. this put me in mind of a thing
one of the guys in droneforest just did -- an extended thing about
chernobyl-- you can check it out at http://droneforest.com/wormwood.html

Terry Howell said: Stunningly beautiful! I would have responded sooner but have been at a loss for descriptors. After repeated listens, I can only say that I am struck by the profundity of the concept, capable of being expressed solo with a just a single piece of gear but with implications that unravel the more you think and hear about them, like the edges of a fractal diagram. Hopefully this is just a segment of a much larger project.

Heuristics Inc. said: I do enjoy this piece, Mr. Phinney - thanks for the tip, nice to see you using the hardware!

Craig Tanis (CRT) said: I was going to wait until I had a chance to let this epic track sink in, but I didn't want you to think I didn't get your message. I can tell off the bat that the sounds are great, and I look forward to spending more time with it.
I just got a Little Phatty, so I have joined the ranks of moog owners. How proud I am. And boy do I understand what you mean about finally doing a "strictly gear based" piece of music. This new Moog
has really inspired me to work on integrating my hardware and software in new ways.

Jerry Kranitz (Aural innovations) said: Sorry for the delayed response. I had a busy week. But I downloaded and listened to the track this morning and this is very cool. Like the good old
kosmiche album days. I just chilled out for the half hour wishing I had an album cover to gaze.
I'm preparing an Electronic Cottage show for next weekend. Is this game for
airplay?

Omnitechnomatrix said: I listened to "Frozen Lake". Very Nice Work! I like that synth alot. Big sounds with killer feed back at times. It really reminded Of A haunting space epic. Someday I'll have try making a tune like that!!

Mystery Hearsay said: Very nice track Chris. I've always enjoyed long tracks like this. They make me feel time has stopped and i'm drifting freely in space. I don't see any problem with filliing a whole cd with it. It reminds me of discs like Steve Roach "Darkness before dawn" or the Klinik "orion" on the akhet disc. Good stuff!

Daniel Prendiville said: Great stuff! Listening to it right now again. Who'd've thunk it - ambeint
music coming from Memphis TN?:-). What would Chuck Berry have said?

Mystified said: Thanks for the note Chris! Hope you are well.

Ken Clinger said: I'm *finally* getting back to you on this fine ambientish texturish piece! I'm playing "part 1" (the first 5 minutes) on Bovine Music Show 070617. Now you know how long it takes me to make
it thru my "list of artists".