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MP3 XCross - Kadath - The Dream Quest
12 MP3 Songs
ELECTRONIC: Soundscapes, ELECTRONIC: Ambient
Details:
Established in Severna Park, Maryland in 2006, XCross is Chris Wikman and Al Baldwin. Shared eclectic musical tastes (with special interests in progressive, electronic, and ambient styles) combine with affection for "weird tales" and all things unusual, creative skills in a variety of areas, an intense desire to create, and careers in technology-heavy fields to give birth to the XCross project.
XCross'' progressive / dark ambient music creates a moody, mysterious, and sometimes dark atmosphere, evoking other worlds and dreams. It is created primarily with electronic instrumentation where a mix of exotic instrument samples, sound textures, rhythmic elements, and percussion combine to create unique and evocative musical journeys. While some of their music has been compared with works of artists such as Kitaro, Tangerine Dream, and Andreas Vollenweider, other pieces have been compared to artists such as Monster Magnet and Nine Inch Nails. Each piece is crafted to express a specific musical idea, resulting in a variety of musical styles across an album as the album concept and artist intent dictate. At its core, the music creates a powerful and mystical atmosphere, evoking other worlds and the dreamscape of the listener. The first fruit of their collaboration is their debut album “Kadath – The Dream Quest”.
XCross was born out of years of friendship which included a lot of time spent listening to live and recorded music across a wide variety of styles with a healthy dose of progressive / “space rock” / alternative styles thrown in. This combined with musicianship begun in youth (Chris on piano and Al on guitar from about the age of 10). Ebbing and flowing over the years, both had re-engaged their practicing coincidently without any thought of forming a band. Throw in a healthy dose of Al’s writing and Chris’ graphic art and the creativity that drives XCross was born. Fueled by their natural intensity, Al and Chris spent long hours in their home studios and collaborating to produce the content of their debut album in about six months.
A seminal event in the founding of the group was an encounter with “The Gak Omek” on a hill during the North East Art Rock Festival of 2005. “The Gak Omek” himself spoke from behind them and gave them each a sample CD. This event resulted in a “we can do this too” moment, and XCross took its first step. A shared enjoyment of strange and weird tales led them to select “The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath” by H.P. Lovecraft as a basis for their first album.
Their first album, “Kadath – The Dream Quest” was released in May, 2007. Initial pre-release comments and reaction have been quite positive:
• “Pickman and Friends” reached Number 3 on Broadjam''s Top 10 New Age-Progressive list in March/April 2007, and three other album song titles reached the Top 10 as well
• Other peer review comments include "Hauntingly beautiful. Love it.", “Great dream like quality. Very very cool and floaty”, “Great mix of styles and instruments. Certainly progressive and great recording”, “Beautiful work! Slightly haunting and very well arranged”
The group is currently hard at work on their next project, a musical exploration of The Temple of Man in addition to several other projects as time and inspiration allow. They are also composing for film, television, and computer game projects.
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