cyberCHUMP is an electro-organic duo that explores aural soundscapes of rhythm and moment.  Subterrainian atmospherics give way to driving space melodies.  At once a mix of science beats, ambient texture and cinematic themes.  The duo works mostly separately at a distance from one another, to come together occasionally to finalize their work.  Their music is guided by very little discussion as they seek to evoke a place, time or mood, utilizing the studio as an instrument. 

Instrumentation
Jim Skeel: High & Low looped guitars, keyboards, bass, samples, manipulations
Mark G. E.: Altered keyboards, five-string fretless bass, guitar, treated accordian, samples, machines


Additional Sources
Jason Loveall: Violin
Jason Todd: Soprano Saxophone
Jeanne Marie Vielleux: Lead Voice
John Kruth: Argul, Riata
Julio Pabon: Digeridoo
Neal Rops: Sample Harvesting
Jahmes Finlayson: Percussion, Berimbau
David D. Gupta: Indian Tablas
Gregg Jackson: Percussion
Tim Higgins: Percussion
Paul Sadler: Percussion
Hafiza Capehart: Flute
Mike Kashou: Bass
Victor DeLorenzo: Phone Call
The Orbitan Voices: Theresa Ala Mode, Rebecca Brinkley

Art by J. Karl Bogartte - www.photomorphose.com

Achu: re-envisioning of unreleased track by Thin Films. Thin Films appears courtesy of Thin Recordings - www.thinfilms.co.uk

Boogie Caravan: originally created from samples for M2: Reconstructions on Magnanimous Records www.magnanimousrecords.com


Reviews
Sankhara (2006)

Another new artist to me is cyberCHUMP – the duo Mark G.E and Jim Skeel. They describe Sankhara as a collection of tone poems, and aural sculpture; and indeed it is. To achieve their sound a lot of sources are used from treated guitars and keyboards to Uilleann pipes and digeridoo, plus a voice. It's a rather abstract work and sonically clever because often the sources aren't obvious to the listener - even the voice is used very subtly.

The overall feel of the album is set in the first track “Anticipation (Something Out There)”. Humming drones create a backdrop over which resonant flutey refrains add to the pensive atmosphere. A variety of washes and almost melodic sounds fill out the soundfield.

An exemplar of the cyberCHUMP sound can be found on the longest track “Lay Your Head”. Warm tones like embers from a fire form a subtly shifting background in a way reminiscent of an Exuviae track called “Silencia”. Against this plucked guitar, gentle tinkles that echo off to the distance, and bass notes all go to create a slightly spooky yet calming mood.

Most of the time the mood just about stays on the vaguely unsettling side of things. The album rarely becomes dark per se, instead it tends to hint and look toward those aspects rather than forges ahead to explore them. What also works for me is how a mystery is hidden by the music, indeed the piece “Tremor” with its ghostly teasing melody, brief use of voice and rhythm, and spooky effects hints at all kinds of things without revealing them.

Sankhara is a pleasing and intriguing work from an artist I'll be looking out for in the future. It should have plenty of appeal to those who like amorphous ambience with little in the way rhythmic structures.

            -Melliflua.com

Secrets to Tell You (2005)
It's always a treat to see a new cyberCHUMP album, another transmission from a project that melt different sources and styles into a unique and exotic mixture. Jim Skeel (guitars, keyboards, loops, samples, manipulations) and Mark G.E. (bass guitars, keyboards, loops, samples, background voice) form the core of cyberCHUMP. On this outing they are assisted by Jason Loveall (violin), Jason Todd (saxophone), Jeanne Marie Viellux (lead voice), Theresa Ala Mode (background voice), and Neal Rops (sample harvesting). Very capable musicians, they have also sampled previous cyberCHUMP works to further enhance the vision of this recording.

The album begins with the soft launch of "Plateaux", swirling mystery with bass guitar pluckings, drones and cricket glitch. "Lighten" follows, a soft chiming melody with dark organic rustlings underneath and power drones coming in later. The beats arrive in track 3, "The Atmosphere Next Door", nice synth, tasteful guitar, and heavenly vocals over chugging trip hop rhythms. "Healing Time " is next, swirling keyboards and soloing guitar dancing with metronomic hi-hat sounds and percussion. The fifth track, "Among The Islands" features a tribal rhythm section, keyboards, and rock guitar building repeated crescendos. Ambient jazz fusion describes the blend of guitar, percussion, keys and drum loops in "Boogie Caravan". Next is "Tango", downtempo ambient funk anchors a Middle Eastern melody with some smooth violin. The title track "Secrets To Tell You" has chiming bell like synths dancing over an electro rhythm with some svelte, whispery female background vocals and soloing guitar. The ninth track "Achu" is a robotic jewelry box mutating into a shuffling rhythm with synths and electro bass. "Spanish Funk" is next, a loping fusion riddim with synths, violin and buried male vocals. The album finishes with "Yearning", dubby bass anchoring grainy pulses, drum sticks, samples and keyboards.

This is an album that cuts across many genres, and the variety of sounds and textures makes for exciting listening. Not content to repeat safe formulas, cyberCHUMP is about exploring and fusing different elements. It sounds like the musicians had a lot of fun making this, and that positive energy is felt by the listener! Recommended, especially to lovers of fusion and rhythmic ambient, this is a great addition to any ambient music collection!

            - Dodds Wiley on Ambient.us


As your digits fidget to open cyberCHUMP's fifth collection of ambient music, Secrets to Tell You, you'll notice the statement on the disc reading, "Somehow a travelogue." Milwaukee's Mark G.E. and Kansas City's Jim Skeel, the duo behind cyberCHUMP, attempt to prove that ambient can not only create an environment, but also shuffle you through it. The album begins on a calming note, with the prolonged opening, "Plateaux." At the same time the sound of a skipping record needle beckons you to sleep, the motion starts: A feverish dream with dark riddles and eerie mutations of man and machine that could only take place in the intense stages of REM sleep, plus a dramatic avant-garde score coated with textures that give winks to Eno, Bowie and Tangerine Dream.

Skeel's tendencies to jam are an intriguing counterpoint to Mark G.E.'s methodical experimentation and provide an emotionally rewarding payoff, but the album's low point, "Among the Islands," seems inappropriate given the record's otherwise ultramodern feel. The song has value as a piece of '90s new-age instrumental nostalgia straight out of the video Beyond the Mind's Eye. Since listening to the music was the best part of watching that long-forgotten chestnut anyway, this small misstep can be forgiven.

            - Jason Keil : The Shepherd Express


Secrets to Tell You Liner Notes by Bill Binkelman - Wind and Wire
Music critics all look for different things in judging the recordings they receive for review. Some of us value originality above all else, while others prize recording technique, musical talent, or artistic vision. However, imagination in the service of poorly recorded music results in sloppy zaniness, while meticulous engineering and production of mediocre "safe" music is like vanilla ice cream without any toppings (or even a cone)! Raw talent can only go so far if the artist has no vision other than to stay on tune, and an overly ambitious idea without the chops to back it up ends up in a brave but totally inadequate if not unlistenable mess. Pity us poor critics the most, though, when we are confronted by a combination of ALL the above traits. We are left to scratching our heads, reaching for thesauri, and retreating to our copies of Lester Bangs anthologies for literary inspiration!<

This now leads us to Jim Skeel and Mark G.E., the brains, brawn, guts, and spirit behind cyberCHUMP, one of the most intriguing, unpredictable, and (most gratifying to yours truly) ENJOYABLE recording acts in ambient music. With the music of cyberCHUMP, (whether it be the globe-hopping fusion funk of Inner Grooves, the sample-fest of electronica on Dreams Groove, the smooth flowing ambient soundworlds of Abstract Air or the mind-blowing genre-smashing bravado of my personal fave, Scientists in the Trees) these two guys throw the listener more curves than a Cy Young award winner on his best day. Yet, their tongues are frequently tucked neatly in their cheeks, so you can count on a "nudge nudge wink wink" attitude to surface now and then, as well as some deliciously subversive musical elements. However, they can also steer straight-ahead and craft wonderful ambient music too, which is where Abstract Air shines brightest. Skeel and G.E. are the definitive renaissance men when it comes to integrating musical explorations into an accessible framework in such a way that the timid are comforted with "just enough" accessibility while the courageous are rewarded with idiosyncratic moments galore.

So, now they have released what is arguably their most diverse work yet, namely the CD you hold in your muddy little paws, Secrets to Tell You. The CD kicks off with the subtly scratchy sublime floating caresses and pinging echoes of "Plateaux" (reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Meddle) and then heads into mysterious territory on "Lighten" with its cyber-lounge opening which transforms into a miasmic whirlpool of drones and textures. cyberCHUMP fans (would they be called CHUMPETTES?) who are wondering "Hey, where are the beats?" need wait no longer than track three, "The Atmosphere Next Door" wherein glitch beats meld with electric guitar, Jason Todd's sultry saxophone and the voice talent of Jeanne Marie Vielleux yielding a neon-tinted 2 am whisky glow awash in futuristic textures. "Healing Time" explores that lush beautiful electronica exemplified by fellow ambient artists Crown Invisible and Dome (from the Cursor Club consortium), as waves of synths ebb and flow underneath gracefully chattering beats. Of course, Skeel and G.E. are just warming up, and soon head off into familiarly bizarre rhythm fests like the playful "Boogie Caravan (Stratosphere Mix)" with an explosive eruption of trap drum loops in the latter half of the song. The title track pulses and twinkles and whirrs and buzzes with more electronic sounds and effects than you'll ever be able to keep in focus, which is the point, right? "Spanish Funk" finds a perfect midtempo groove, plants its happy feet, and then proceeds to rip up the place, thanks to Jason Loveall's flights of fancy on his violin, soaring and dipping over the bed of percolating rhythms.

Oh hell, there's plenty more pleasant musical mayhem awaiting you on Secrets to Tell You, but there's no sense in my going on further. CHUMPETTES know what's in store and you rookies will just have to earn your stripes by playing this until your synapses fire in time with the beats, buoyed along by layer upon layer of flowing electronic melodies. Prepare to be dazzled but not dazed. After all, cyberCHUMP are not out to scare you. Maybe shake up your timid narrow view of ambient music a bit, but that's a good thing, yes? No, in fact, it's bloody brilliant. Dive in and enjoy, pilgrims!

            - Bill Binkelman - Wind and Wire 4/05



Scientists in the Trees (2004) - Wind & Wire Top Ambient Release of 2004
"One of the most rewarding aspects (yet arduous tasks) of being a music reviewer is reviewing music which is innovative, creative, and difficult to describe using ordinary methods. Such is the case with this, the latest release from the duo cyberCHUMP (Jim Skeel and Mark G.E.). Trying to sum up this brilliant and highly infectious recording, I found myself stymied at every attempt: Funky rhythms meet cinematic melodies? Kinetic cyber-organic beats meet catchy refrains? Crisscrossing drum kits meet swirling tonalities? Constantly shape-shifting micro-sonic landscapes that fluctuate between whimsical, haunting, trippy and intelligent?

As they say in Minnesota, "Whatever!" Scientists in the Trees is a party and a half, a CD comprised of ten selections that never wear out their welcome even after numerous playings. Drum loops, snippets of melody on assorted real and sampled instruments, electronic textures, memorable refrains, cascading rhythms, and adventurous turns onto unexpected pathways, each one of the ten tracks offers the listener something new to delve into and explore.

"Signals" blends sonar-bleeps, trap kit drums, hand percussion and electronic beats, swirling synths, and a plaintive undercurrent of sparse piano, all of it added a layer at a time and building into a nice alchemical infusion of rhythm and slightly foreboding melodies. "Pressure Tactic" adds some scratch noise effects to echoed chimes, bass beats, and glitch textures, anchored by trap kit drum loops (lots of the rhythms on this recording are based on real drum kit sounds) and buoyed by flowing tones. The title track is one of my favorites, opening with an Asian-flavored tubular bell reverberating over a pleasant drone, morphing into a bouncy jazz/funky trip-out piece, via great cymbal rhythms, a truly inspired electric bass riff, cascading synth bells, and beautiful underlying floating chords. "Sarin" (the next song) drastically changes the mood from the previous light-hearted piece to one of somber and menacing slow tempo scratch effects, electronic swirls, booming bass rhythms, and eerie upper register church organ chords and what sound like shakuhachi flute samples. That even this quasi-experimental tune still carries an element of accessibility is a testament to G.E. and Skeel. "River of Doubt" reverses field and traipses over into pounding tom-tom led beats, soaring electric guitar lead lines, a percolating bass line, and furious tribal rhythms that erupt and then submerge beneath a gentle miasma of amorphous textures and bloops and bleeps, only to reemerge now and then, amidst much drama and forceful drumming. Things get slow and quiet down with "Presidents from Another Planet" a funkified bit of dissonant textures, snappy snares, heavy bottom stand-up bass, kinetic cyber-beats, and coming from almost out of nowhere, a delta blues acoustic guitar riff!

By now, you can understand why this is a confounding and almost irritatingly complex recording to review in concrete terms. These tracks are so continuous in their evolving characteristics, so unusual in how they mash genes together in creative ways, and yet so professionally accomplished that my brain gets tired just contemplating finishing this review. Suffice to say that Scientists in the Trees will delight you if you are open to music that breaks rules while still retaining a strong hold on accessible melodies, catchy rhythms, and a blend of high tech futurism and back-to-basics instrumentation (the drum kit loops are fantastic, conducive to all manner of ass-shakin', foot-tappin', and general body movement). Never too slick, never too "out there," never crossing over to outright pretension nor wandering over to "safe" territory, this is music that will challenge you even while it entertains your "inner child" that only wants to have a funky old time (the CD itself is imprinted with the following: "Lay Between Speaker System and Crank it Up!"I'd heed that advice, if I were you!Highly recommended!"

             - Bill Binkelman - Wind and Wire


When we last heard from our intrepid ambient music explorers Jim Skeel and Mark G.E., known as cyberCHUMP, they were making deep ambient music of a haunting, mostly beatless nature. Things have changed however, and this release brings a lot of beats to the party and gets things moving in a lively fashion.

Track 1, "Signals" has a percolating beat with a beeping pulse and a recurring piano figure, topped off with some nice synth work. It's a great opening track. "Pressure Tactic" follows, a jagged drumkit rhythm with some layered effects and a recurring middle eastern melody fragment. The third track, "Helium Device" starts with bell like tones and synth, as a jazzy fusion rhythm emerges to push things along. Next is "Scientists In The Trees" , a pulsing beat with a very cool jazz rock electrobass, with guitar floating on top and some wild jungle vocals. "Sarin" is fifth, creepy layers of synth and effects, with some panning beats. Tribal drums and sweeping effects begin "River Of Doubt", which slips into still heavier beat territory with guitar sounds and synth bass. The seventh track "Presidents From Another Planet" has a skittering beat that changes up, with some bluesy acoustic guitar and flute sounds. "Vulcan's Forge" follows, with gently distorted, glitchy rhythms and recurring tympani with some horns. Next is "Glimmer" a start/stop rhythm with strings, percussion, snare drum, bagpipe sounds joining in. The tenth and final track, "The Charmer" has futuristic beats, percussion, guitar, deep bass, and Andean pipe sounds swirling in a dervish dance.

Throughout this disc Jim and Mark put forth some strong, innovative arrangements and some masterful playing. The surprising combinations of instruments and sophisticated rhythms create an intoxicating blend. These guys are very good at what they do! Enough said, the play button needs to be hit again.

            - Dodds Wiley at www.ambient.us


"A blurb on the back of this CD refers to the music as "aural sculpting meets the beat," but that doesn't quite come close to describing this infectious blend of funky grooves, downtempo luster, and a playfully experimental sensibility. cyberChump (secret identities: Jim Skeel and Mark G.E.) know the value of a body-bouncing bass line and how to blend it with floating melodics for a smooth ride--check out the CD's title track, a fine example of a perfect sonic cocktail. They also know when to darken things up, as with the grim "Helium Device" and "Vulcan's Forge," or to slam the listener with solid drum 'n bass, as in the excellently assaultive "River of Doubt," one of the highlights of this very good CD.

Scientists also slips in plenty of interesting rogue sounds, from a twangy slide guitar to nearly buried jazzy horns making brief-but-effective cameo appearances in the midst of pure electronica. Each track is expertly crafted, with sound-layers existing in perfect symbiosis, and the flow from one track to the next is flawless. Perfect for up-front listening or an unobtrusive ambient experience."

             - Hypnagogue


"From the opening bleeps, minimalist techno may spring to mind, but jumping to conclusions can be the inappropriate thing to do as this instrumental develops into quite a melodic outing that has a decent beat with drums. "Signals" contain the notations that are just short of being totally melodic and therefore remain within the contemporary regime. It blooms when the speakers are allowed sufficient power to do justice to the bass. A complete change of tempo is to be found on "Pressure Tactic" where slightly distorted sounds flick between the speakers and the drums are recorded with excellent clarity. It is certainly an interesting track as there is a lot to take in on the first listening session, but you're hooked instantly. The gongs announce the arrival of "Helium Device" onto which precisely controlled feedback and lo-fi drums are included. The drums do change into a top-heavy sound with distortion and the haunting melody has a slightly unsettling edge to it. The title track consists of a very powerful bass line, easy listening acoustic guitar sections and strange noises all contributing to a great instrumental. Another brilliant track is "Presidents from Another Planet" with its distinctive modified sound of something vaguely similar to opening a gate along with the rolling bass notes all contributing a very intriguing instrumental that has many musical twist and turns. Described on the sleeve as aural sculpting meets the beats is a very fair account of this marvelous CD by Jim Skeel and Mark G.E." (Brooky)

            - www.modern-dance.uk



Abstract Air (2003)
"The approach to atmosphere on this album is very refreshing and intriguing. The combination with different elements and instruments lifts the overall strength of the album to a higher level, and the repetitive and thematic structure on tracks like 'Amniotic World' is strong and focused. Excellent album."

            - VidnaObmana


It is a wonderful cd! "The Kursk Suite" is a phenomenal set dedicated to the Russian submarine. Highly recommended!

            - Jim Brenholts - Ambient Visions


Flowing in on a glistening sea of fizziness, The Darkest Hour/Dawning (14:19) spreads across a vaporous expanse, with assorted timbres of rarefied guitar and voice occasionally seeping into its gauzey everdrone. Ripples, tinkles and twirls, oh my... the translucent waveforms of Overlook perform soft, slow-motion acrobatics in the sky.

A potentially morbid theme is rendered in feathery abstractions as three-part The Kursk Suite submerges for nearly 20 minutes of hazily ringing spirals; Amnionic World glows amid a rhythm of softly thumping blurts, subsequent The Infinite Now goes into deeper and darker, yet still-ethereal waters. Elastic streamers and low pulsations color Requiem for the Kursk (4:32) with more beauty than sadness.

The last of seven, the title track billows in sublimely gentle cloudmotions, steaming with pretty tonal whiffs, and closing the 56-minute disc with nearly 11 minutes of stunningly sweet stuff!

A beguiling detour from cyberCHUMP's "normal" more-overt output. Just-right amounts of tonality and ephemera make Abstract Air appropriate for superbly soft listening

            - AmbiEntrance


This is the third outing for this duo, but the delightful ambient themes are a departure from their normal Electro sound. Mark G E and Jim Skeel have put together a 7 track CD with a difference. Three of the pieces form the Kursk Suite, which graphically displays in the aural sense the tragedy surrounding the sinking of the Russian Submarine. The opening track, The Darkest Hour/Dawning naturally starts very quietly with the gentle stirring of the deep-water chasms, which gives a distinct feeling of isolation. Overlook is more upbeat with short notes that resemble sonar blips, but does not sound like them. The slow moving moody theme portrays an underlying powerful theme. The first of the suite is entitled Amniotic World with deep notes and loud chord structures to imply the mighty almost regal and certainly untouchable nature of this mysterious product of creation. The middle section is much quieter and again more traditionally ambient and perhaps remaining bold on the outside, but with a vulnerable section. I could easily become engrossed listenening to The Infinite Now on a pair of headphones in a dimly lit room. The finale of the suite is Requiem For The Kirsk and contains solemn themes. Calling was recorded back in 1985 and so it's interesting to note that there's no sign of a dated sound. The use of vocal sounds to enhance the mood is alluring. The very mellow title track is one of those rich textured pieces that are a true delight to listen to when you're feeling knackered. Although this is an ambient product, the textures and sound layering produce a dark and very moody feel. This is no lightweight trip into happy melodic tunes for kiddies, but rather a mature, thoughtful and ultimately pleasing album for grown ups.

            - Modern Dance


cyberCHUMP is the vessel of Mark G.E. and Jim Skeel and this cd is a collection of "experiments in aural sculpture". Spooky synths ebb and flow on top of a low rumbling drone announcing the beginning of this disc. Far off noises and distant chiming guitar add to the feeling of "The Darkest Hour/Dawning". This track captures that time of night when one's perceptions strain to comprehend, as darkness gives way to the light of a new day. Next is "Overlook" where guitar and synth weave and churn with each other,with electronic percussion and some far off saxophone. The next three tracks form "The Kursk Suite". Repetitive bass tones form an engine like presence as drones swirl with layers of synth in "The Amniotic World". Very immersive.In the fourth track,"The Infinate Now",a melancholy bass guitar wanders as metallic wind sounds and mournful synths drift in and out. Next is "Requiem For The Kursk", a gentle, haunting melodic figure with a soaring guitar above a low drone. This three song suite is a fabulous work. "Calling" has wordless chant vocals with a jagged guitar and some splintered keyboard sounds all colliding with each other in a very intriguing composition. "Abstact Air" closes the album,with gentle contemplative keyboards and a wistful synth melody,underpinned by some tasteful, minimal bass guitar. A feeling of peace and transcendence prevails. cyberCHUMP have fashioned a remarkable, first rate work. The quality of the compositions is strong,sound quality is excellent,and the sequencing of tracks is perfect. This disc is a real gem and fans of darker ambient should definitely seek it out.

            - Dodds Wiley on Ambient.us


Something tells me this recording slipped underneath everyone's radar screen as one of the top drifting ambient/spacemusic releases of 2003. From the duo also known as cyberCHUMP (Mark G.E. and Jim Skeel), who usually are ablaze with kinetic energy and fusion elements galore, Abstract Air presents seven selections of smooth ebbing and flowing ambience, sometimes neutral in mood, seldom what I would call dark, and usually exhibiting a warmth that is uncommon in this type of music, as well as some characteristic quirks (which are the hallmark of their alter ego cyberCHUMP).

Take "The Infinite Now" for example. Buried deep within the haunting drones and reverberating tones are a laid back thumping bass and what sounds like mystical wooden flutes. The washes, textures and drones alone make this an excellent drifting soundscape. The addition of the other two elements elevates it into something magical. I imagined myself walking through a fog-shrouded forest, bathed in diffuse light and not the least bit afraid but keenly aware of my insignificance in the cathedral of trees.

Abstract Air has plenty to offer in the way of slowly developing ambient and spacemusic. Rhythms are, for the most part, noticeably absent except those that derive from things like the pinging tones in "Requiem for the Kursk" (by the way, that track, "The Infinite Now" and "Amniotic World" are all parts of what is labeled "The Kursk Suite"). "Requiem..." combines the aforementioned tones with long drawn out processed electric guitar and a gently throbbing drone underneath everything else. One of the best cuts is the closing title track, which also appeared on the excellent Spiralight Recordings compilation Ambienism Volume 1. Sounding more than a little like Harold Budd, a warm and friendly series of notes played on what sounds like a Fender Rhodes electric piano repeats over and over against a gently floating wash along with sustained bass notes. The track is about ten minutes long and, later on, other musical elements are brought into play, but mostly just doing yeoman's duty as decorative touches (such as some beautiful flute work towards the end). In contrast to the enveloping warmth of the title song, the CD opens with "The Darkest Hour/Dawning" which, while darker than other pieces here, is still not intimidating or scary, being more along the lines of the deep space music from Michael Bentley (i.e. whooshing textures, humming drones, and ebbing and flowing synth chords, as well as some rustling effects now and then). At fourteen-plus minutes, placing this selection first is a bold move, but I would expect nothing less from Mark G.E. and Jim Skeel. This song does contain some percussion, by the way, but its muted and you'd need headphones to pick it out, I think. Later in the track's development, electric guitar and synth chorales take over as the main ingredients for awhile. Things get a bit intense and loud eventually, but the overall feeling is still not overbearing. In fact, the amalgam of drones and chorales reminded me a bit of Ligeti's music from 2001 at times. It had that same sense of grandeur without going over the top (no doubt, these moments in the song are meant to convey the "dawning" of the title).

Other songs include the desolate but not forbidding "Overlook" (love the twinkling tones later in the cut), "Amniotic World" (which has a fluid, if not viscous, sound and a beathing-like rhythm to its repeating tones and washes) and "Calling" (far and away the most abstract piece here, consisting of assorted wordless vocals, skittering noises that pan left to right and kalimba samples that repeat in the background). With its darker-tinted character, the piece reminded of Jeff Greinke's In Another Place to some degree, although Greinke's music evolved more than this does. "Calling" is probably the only cut I would consider weak on the album, and even then it suffers more simply by comparison to the other selections here.

For whatever reason, the huddled masses of drifting ambient and spacemusic lovers seem to have missed this recording when it came out. I'd urge them to seek it out now. It's a first-class collection of excursions into slowly shifting and repetitive musical worlds that retains a human sense of warmth and friendliness without crossing over into being "pretty." Exercising an uncanny sense of restraint, G.E. and Skeel display their talent for painting in subtle soft colors that evoke a sense of well-being even when the predominant nature of the music itself is emotionally neutral, if not even a bit dark. Highly recommended.

            - Bill Binkelman @ Wind and Wire



Inner Grooves (2002)
Jim Skeel and Mark G.E. get together to play with a bunch of friends; it sounds like they had a blast with the jam-sessions of Inner Grooves... Sprawling, guitar-led excursion DistortoGroove heads into smoother vibes of faux-ethno-influenced Desert Keys, still quite bouncy in its demeanor. A misty entry into Space is the Case turns prog-jazzy as spattered cymbals, radiant sax streams, cool bass and more, smoothly jam. Spirited rhythms stomp through a dreamworld of musical styles as The Orbulon takes the sci-fi road to a rocking good time.

Blurting out buzzy streams of retro-movie horns as well as lounge-o-tronic vibes, and glaring surf guitars, warm We mixes and matches instrumental types with playful abandon and skill. Eloquently sawed strings add a sensual, semi-symphonic wang to Reflecting Pool, while Inner Core is marked by a murkier cyclone of sweetly somber swirls.

             - AmbiEntrance



Dreams Groove (2000)
Cyberchump: Dreams Groove (Internal Combustion - 2000) (8.2/10) Dreams Groove contains a lot of both... I want... brainwashing is just one of the messages conveyed through wacky samples in NerveNut, a jammin' slab of electro. Quietly pattering tribal beats lead into Drums in Sleep to be joined by swaying bass lines and hypnotizing guitar duets. Backed by beats and static-blasted radio voices, transcendentally serpentine bass and guitar weave through Stalking (3:09), heading into tropical territories.

The Force offers some jangly, rockin' fun; in this track and others, borrowed samples appear, often to amusing effect. Soft freeform soundstreams flow through Crystalize (7:35), buoyed by big lolling bass waves peppered by hyperactive cymbalism.

Besides the panoramic guitar-meets-electronics tune-scapes and clever musicianship therein, you've got to give Jim Skeel (High & Low Guitars, Samples, Loops, Machines, Manipulations, Keyboards) and Mark G.E. (Keyboards, Monster Bass Keyboards, Accordian, Theremin, Machines, Noises, Voice) some credit just for possessing the cojones to name their project Cyberchump!

             - AmbiEntrance


"Funky Experimental Electronica"

             - Milwaukee Orbit, Issue Six August 2000