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Released on Liminal Noise Tapes: [LN002] liminalnoisetapes.bandcamp.com
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Previously on tape but is now sold out!
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Rainbow Valley:
rainbowvalleymusic.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Rainbow-Valley/107785602646343
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Review by Yeah I Know It Sucks:
"Pollux and Rainbow Valley are two different projects, one hailing from France and the other from Southen-On-Sea Uk. Their music, although different form, shape and content is perfectly compatible. To prove this the two music making artists have teamed up to gather their powers and created a very beautiful split. Not the one that leaves your legs muscles aching for days, but one that consists of the two producers providing a track. Pollux gives us a real emotional flow with his contributed ‘Coma’ track. Think of warm synth paths that floats in the air like the white fluff of an horse-flower. It goes up and down through the calm stream of air and comes across as a very stress relieving experience. If this is the sound that a person would encounter while being in the state of a coma, than this experience wouldn’t actually be so bad after all..

Rainbow Valley slips in a more brighter path of music. The high tones that are being sang by clear refreshing synth pads come across as the experience of a natural wonder. As if sparkles start to glitter in the early night and the landscape opens to reveal an oases of paradise.
The more Rainbow Valley whispers it’s prettiness inside our ears, the more dense the soundscape evolves. The air is gracefully embraced by this heaven of mysterious sound, and the ears of lucky listeners will be glad to pick the special seeds from this perfectly laid out ambience experience.

The more you hear, the more refreshing the music gets. It’s like a healing that clears the heart from all the smog of the city and replaces it will the wonderful sounds of human made nature.!"

Review by Theosophical Society:
"Minimal ambient c20, described by the label as “lobit" ambient, a phrase I hadn’t heard before. Evidently lobit artists specialize in creating music with low bit rates (sometimes as low as 16 or 20 kbps, far under the 128kbps of the average mp3), under the theory that if the music is good it doesn’t need to be duplicated in high fidelity. Fair enough; I suppose those of us who remain loyal to cassettes share a similar ideology on some level.

Pollux, creator of over 100 releases to date, starts things off with “Coma,” a glistening glacier of drones which evolve into complex momentary chord tones that swell and burst like gentle rainclouds. A 10 minute piece that seems to slide by in just a couple of moments. I will have to do further investigation of the extensive Pollux back catalogue.

Rainbow Valley is an artist I have followed avidly since the stunning “Tipoftheredgiantbranch” on ((Cave)) a couple years back. I had always marveled at how thick and immediate the sounds on that release are, and perhaps the lobit ethos is responsible. If that’s the trick, it’s a marvelous one, although credit must also be given to Rainbow Valley’s strong gift for composition and immaculate taste in textures. The grainy string swells on this release feel at once massive and far away, esoteric and illuminated, growing so subtly that the intensity the piece reaches comes as a pleasant surprise. Rainbow Valley always evokes nature images for me, and although the title of the piece is “Oceans,” this one brings to my mind deep-winter snow-capped mountains, silvered by moonlight and faintly glowing from within."
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Review by Level4 Magazine:
liminalnoise.blogspot.fr/2012/06/level-4-review-of-pollux-rainbow-valley.html
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Review by A Closer Listen:
"A C20? This brings back memories. Just as I finally sold the car with the cassette player, here come the cassettes. But that’s a good thing – either foolhardy, brave, nostalgic, wise, or some combination of the above. Liminal Noise Tapes is another new venture determined to swim against the tide, but as their location is Southend on Sea, they seem to have plenty of experience.

The two ten-minute tracks on this release (not a second wasted!) are accurate reflections of their titles, operating at different ends of the drone field and vibrating at vastly different frequencies. Pollux‘s “Coma” ventures early into some dark and dissonant notes, as if an organist’s hand had slipped off the keys. The song itself is not in a coma, but it possesses little brightness and even less energy. Given the fact that Arnaud Barbe has released over 130 recordings in five years, this comes as no surprise; perhaps it’s time to slow down. The expected ebb and flow are present, but the spirit is ailing.

Rainbow Valley‘s “Ocean” comes as a breath of fresh salt air. The spirits are lifted within seconds on bright floral notes that stream from the speakers like the rainbow of the artist’s moniker. (Graham Boosey also goes by Little Penguin, but that’s another story entirely.) This piece also ebbs and flows, but in less predictable fashion, just like the ocean of its namesake, whose waves vary in size, interval and direction. The changing thicknesses and volumes within this piece are a draw; the sculpting is creative and smooth. Best of all, the tone of the drone is hopeful and alive. As it’s ending, it’s still not enough.

“Coma” and “Ocean” operate together as yin and yang, rest and movement, darkness and light. Auto-flip isn’t suitable for this release; better to take it out, turn it over, and appreciate the difference. Now if only I hadn’t sold that car"
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