Cyclotimia – Celestis
Label: Shadowplay Release – SPR 114, Zhelezobeton – ZHB-XXIX, Monopoly Records – none
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue
Country: Russia
Released: 30 Oct 2010
Style: Downtempo, Experimental, Ambient

Cyclotimia’s album “Celestis: Space Ceremonial Music” is inspired by the activity of a well-known American aerospace company Space Services Inc. which among other things specializes in sending human ashes into space (via their subsidiary Celestis Inc.). Moreover, the compact discs with this music have prowled the outer space twice while being on board rockets launched from the spaceport America in New Mexico. This happened for the first time in April 2007 (“Legacy” project), and for the second time in May 2010 (“Pioneer Flight” project). Cyclotimia’s music obtained the status of the official soundtrack to both events.

“Celestis” definitely stands out in the discography of this project, known mainly for its post-industrial and avant-garde recordings. It would be no exaggeration to say that this is their most accessible work (in a good sense) correlating with the best examples of such acclaimed masters of the “space genre” as Jean-Michel Jarre or Klaus Schulze. At the same time the music on “Celestis” is in no way secondary, it is modern and quite craftily made.

From the opening theme “Capsula” the album’s atmosphere plunges the listener into a world of spiritual experience, calls to take an imaginary space travel; fly towards Space along with the remains held in capsulas… It’s worth mentioning that the CD comes with a 12-page booklet narrating about the activities of the company. This release differs from the first edition (2007) as it contains an additional exclusive track “Another Time Another Place” – a 15-minute “space suite” recorded by the project in 2009.