Aloof Proof - Expo One (Limited Exposition 1994) download free

I would love to have heard this when it came out, but reviewing it nearly 10 years later after finding it on ebay, this sounds like another classic ambient cd from the mid nineties. Starting off with a very gentle and warm analogue sound that becomes mournful by the time the horn notes arrive, The Search is a great 12min starting point, with only a few 'scary' sounds that don't really point to The Virus with it's screeching industrial sounds over washing synths. If you can resist the temptation to press the 'next' button, it manages to sink into the background too, and although it will make you jump out of bed if you were asleep and you can't have a conversation to it, it certainly has it's place. Imagine taking the more unlistenable parts of Irritant by X-Dream and removing the pounding techno beats and you'll understand. It grows on you :) by the time you get into songs 3 and 4 which are more mellow and soundtrack-ish you realise this is a very good album indeed. I wouldn't call it dark ambient but it is certainly sad and yearning - say like Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid but with more artificial, warm sounds. In any case, it's beautiful, and it's a tragedy that this is now so hard to find...