"Wine Songs" is the first Blue Lily Commission album. Recorded through spring and summer 2000 it features seven tracks: Locust Swarm, Harp, Inundation, The Goddess Nekhebit, Scarab, Lilyhead and Boat of the Goddess Maat. For those who would like a listen, The Goddess Nekhebit and Scarab are available as free MP3 downloads from the peoplesound.com website.

Steve uses Apple Mac and Korg hardware. Many of the sounds and samples were made from his collection of ethnic instruments...

The debut solo album from the leader of the ambient music group Mooch, this sees Steve coming up with a varied and consistent set of tracks that you just can't fail to enjoy. Each of the seven tracks lasts around nine minutes, so you get something to really dive into but nothing overdone or overly long for the ideas on offer... With the rhythms travelling deliberately through the mix, it is left to the electronics and bass undercurrents to provide the textures... middle-eastern sounding synth melodies create a sort of mystic eastern Tangerine Dream like quality that builds into something symphonic and majestic... emotion and exoticism in perfect harmony; the mix of West and East never sounded so good.

A true trancey little number with loads of atmospherics and samples fading in and out. This is a great album to chill to... if you're into trance then you will probably want to buy it. (24/7 is a Westcountry music magazine.)

Brilliantly produced, perfect for fans of Mike Oldfield.

"Wine Songs" is a self-produced cd... that is going to appeal to those into easy going Eat Static or System 7.

Firstly, reading 'middle east trance fusion' I half expected a Muslimgauze clone, and there is a little of that in the first track, 'Locust Swarm'; it's in the rhythms but not in the instrumentation, which is more Egyptian and Turkish (the whole sleeve concept is Egyptian, more to read at the website I'm afraid). Then, on first listen, the whole thing washed over me a bit. I think that was just the trance like qualities in full effect because this is a really nice piece of work. Obviously Steve Palmer is greatly influenced by Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk, though he has seamlessly melded these influences with his interests in middle-eastern instrumentation to achieve his goal of middle-east trance fusion. On 'Harp', the sequenced parts throb nicely, drawing you in; then you start to become aware of slightly unfamiliar and unexpected though not unwelcome sounds. There are seven tracks spread over an hour or so and none outstay their welcome. A lot of care, effort, knowledge and expertise have gone into this project, which I feel fans of music produced by Loop Guru, or perhaps Muslimgauze fans seeking that sound without the strident politicisation would really enjoy. Harking back to the website, there was news of a second album which I very much look forward to hearing. I encourage you to check this one out ASAP.

The music on Wine Songs is spiritually uplifting, yet by NO means in a fluffy New Age manner. The disc opens with "Locust Swarm" on which we're introduced to syncopated synth patterns, but also a strong drifting quality that recalls Tangerine Dream and even Ash Ra Tempel. "Harp" includes a similar combination of synth patterns, but a prominent keyboard melody takes the lead with a spacey Egyptian feel. I really liked the keyboard sound on this tune, that is both pulsating and orchestral. The combined orchestral and more mechanically patterned synths make for a good contrast that works well together. The saz also crops up intermittently to give an added ethnic boost to the music. "Inundation" is a quietly floating piece that combines droning and patterned synth lines with various percussion instruments. "The Goddess Nekhebit" is similar but with lots of competing synth patterns, percussion bits and sounds - a bit like Shadowfax. "Scarab" is a standout track with tribal percussion and wailing Rick Wright styled keyboards. "Lilyhead" is similar, but the percussion is more light and trippy, and the keys have a more lush orchestral quality. And "Boat Of The Goddess Maat" is like "Lilyhead" but combines a spiritual horn call with a playful synth pattern and percussion, and some cool Ash Ra Tempel guitar to go with the electronics. Fans of Tangerine Dream and electronic Ash Ra Tempel who like an ethnic flavor will enjoy Blue Lily Commission, as will Shadowfax fans who enjoy ambient electronic music.

The sleeve design gives the instant impression of a Egyptian-influenced album, and that's exactly what you get on this 7-track CD-R release. Those who've heard some of the Real World label albums may know of Hossan Ramzy, the percussionist who has played with Peter Gabriel, Jah Wobble and many other world music-influenced artists, and "Locust Swarm" opens with what sounds like a Ramzy loop - sadly I don't know the names of all those exotic Egyptian drums, but you get the idea. (Steve's note: it's a derahboukah.) Synthy strings swirl underneath the mix, while on "Harp", though the percussion seems more Western, the scales are definitely still Eastern, and the combination of played and sample-looped instruments remains fascinating. On "Inundation" the pace slows - think Cleopatra processing down the Nile on a big barge - while on "The Goddess Nekhebit" there's an interesting combination of drum machines, slow choir chords, hand percussion and droning bass... deserves release as a 'real' CD.