September 29, 2005: Readers of Atlanta newspaper Creative Loafing voted TouchXtone as the Best Local Electronic Act in the Best Of Atlanta issue. TouchXtone tied with Aerial, past winners of the category. Matt Jeanes' Larvae won the Critics poll.

September 2005: Netherlands electronic music magazine E-dition Magazine reviewed the first 2 TouchXtone CDs One & Two in their September 2005 issue. http://www.groove.nl/cd/g/gr4009e.html

Electroambient Space by Phil Derby

www.electroambientspace.com

August 2005 Artist Spotlight: TouchXtone

Michael Thomas Roe and Jim Combs are TouchXtone from Decatur, Georgia. These four currently available CDs are all rock solid, straddling Berlin school and ambient electronica realms. To get an idea of how inventive their music is, take a look at how many different artists I compare them to in the reviews below, just to try to give the reader a frame of reference. This very good music happened by Jim putting out an ad for a collaborator, and Michael responding. They started by playing three 2-hour sessions, and hit it off well enough to produce 2 CDs worth of music. More followed, and we are the happy recipients of the results. I highly recommend them all, let's take a closer look.

TouchXtone "One" (www.touchxtone.com, 2003) 1 track, 53.30 mins

One plays as a single continuous track, although the cover lists the starting times for the six movements. One starts with "Dub Chill 2," marked by light modern percussion and floating bass tones. The bass takes over on "Florian and Fauna," a mellow mood piece. "Kyoto Dragon" has a lilting sequencer that bubbles gently up and down, along with soft melodic piano. The piano playing is exceptional, and the overall composition is very strong. "Alien Radio on a Moonless Night," is the fourth section, the title piece. Dark churning mechanical sounds emerge, then a classic synth lead soars slowly over the top for just a few notes. The moody atmospherics continue, along with warbly electronics that could indeed pass for alien radio. "The Dawning" is the longest section at nearly 16 minutes, starting with smooth undulating pads. A gentle melody surfaces, and I can envision a beautiful sunrise accompanying the music. We then take a surprising turn into a more experimental section, nearly silent, with clicking buzzes and metallic sci-fi sounds. Softer sounds return, but in more melancholic fashion. A Vangelis-like synth lead appears briefly. The music is quiet but restless, creating a mild yet palpable tension that doesn't abate until we move into the last section, "Age of Desire."

Another mellow number, warbly space noises are followed by softly echoing choirs and tiny electronic pings that mark each measure, along with a great vintage lead line that plays a soft melody. Synth strings and sparse piano playing make a muted, effective conclusion. I like this disc a lot.

TouchXtone "Two" (www.touchxtone.com, 2003) 1 track, 68.30 mins

Like One, TouchXtone's Two plays as a single continuous track, the cover listing the starting times for each individual passage, of which there are eight for this go around. Oddly enough, "Dub Chill 2" appears on One, and Two begins with "Dub Chill 1." At any rate, this disc begins similarly to their first, with relaxed crisp percussion. A steady toe-tapping beat is nice, as is the pleasant synth lead that forms the melody. "Titans and Chariots" is up next, a dreamy combo of pads and strings, along with occasional beats, piano and other elements. It subtly shifts over the next 20 minutes before going "Subterranean," which indeed it does. The brief "Cat Got Your Tongue?" is piano and cat-like strings that meow in the higher range. The titles convey the imagery well, such as the cold crystals of "Ice Palace." This disc is mellower than One. Even the slightly foreboding "Imperial Standoff" is quiet in its menacing. This has the feel of a soundtrack to an epic film. "Cold Stone of Tiananmen Square" is the quietest, darkest track. The brief, bright "Life for a Thousand Years" has a hammered dulcimer quality to it, a marked contrast that sounds like the credits rolling to a movie's happy ending. Another winner.

TouchXtone "Three" (www.touchxtone.com, 2004) 7 tracks, 67.15 mins

Having discovered track indexing, TouchXtone's Three is a little easier to follow along than its predecessors. The oddly titled "Hello Hercules" makes for a quiet, somewhat experimental beginning, reminder me somewhat of Cluster's abstract sound when they played here in Portland in 1996. The intensity picks up toward the end as the music swirls about in a most unusual and fascinating way. On the face of it this track feels a bit disheveled, but it is compelling nonetheless.

The slightly oppressive quality is continued into "The Dawning". Eerie reverbing synth lines slowly evolve and eventually for a brief period become icily luminous as though a winter sun has risen, only to settle back into a spooky meditation. Finally, "Age Of Desire" finishes off the album with pensive chords and a respirating kind of refrain that for me is reminiscent of at least one track on David Parsons's Himalaya.

Despite the occasionally weak passage, One is a worthy achievement. Not since The Glimmer Room's Grey Mirrors have I been so enthralled by a one track album that naturally takes one through different moods. One is ideal for listening to on late nights or on dark winter afternoons when all is still. For the duration of this album the alien radio signals are out there waiting to be picked up.

Review from Melliflua by Dene Bebbington

TouchXtone - HeadmiX - Real Vine Music (2005)

HeadmiX is one of the recent albums to be released by duo Jim Combs and Michael Thomas Roe, aka TouchXtone. Like some of their other albums it's a combination of atmospheric and chill-out electronic music that is difficult not to enjoy. In comparison to their earlier improvisational works this album has discrete tracks - four in all ranging from around eleven to twenty two minutes.

The opening (and longest) track "red-head" has got to be my favourite, it's also the most varied since it moves through rhythmic and atmospheric styles while managing to keep a sense of cohesion. A jaunty and shuffling

rhythm gets the piece going with a quirky melody played out on vaguely vocal "wah" sounds. After a little while the main rhythm ends and a gentle one is heard in the background as peaceful effects and dipping sounds make one imagine walking through an alien meadow. Further on the alien scenery becomes quite dramatic when a mid-tempo but increasingly powerful rhythm takes over, here water drums and synth refrains add a sense of expectancy and promise of distant splendours. Finally the track closes off with a few minutes of rhythms that are a kind of faster version of what started the track.

Over the following three tracks the style is often rhythmic in nature, though sometimes interspersed with flowing/drifting sections or augmented with pleasant melodies. The second track "blue-head" is notable for its melody. A frenetic, almost industrial, rhythm soon gives way to a fun slower tempo rhythm keeping time as a lyrical melody played by a smooth harmonica sound and some other effects makes this a beautifully wistful piece.

The last two tracks are very different to each other. On "white-head" glistening flowing synth effects create a sense of interested calm before giving way to a tinkering and not very engaging rhythm. Bringing the album to a close "flesh-head" is a bit peculiar and experimental but finishes nicely with electronic waves and swirling winds.

What I particularly like about this album is the atmospheric passages, a couple of which reminded me of Enterphases's alien pastoral "Altarian Meadow" on their Phase One album. On the whole I rate HeadmiX as a very good album and recommend it.

Review from Melliflua by Dene Bebbington

TouchXtone - One - Michael Thomas Roe and James Combs (2003)

TouchXtone was born when Jim Combs advertised for sound and visual artists to collaborate on a multimedia project and Michael was one of the first people to respond. Their jam sessions worked so well that One is the first of two albums put together from three improvisational sessions. The sound is a mixture of atmospheric ambient and general EM, with a noticeable influence of EM luminaries such as Vangelis and Tangerine Dream.

There's one fifty three minute track called "Alien Radio On A Moonless Night" divided into six seamless parts encompassing different styles. The first part, "Dub Chill 2", has fanfare like refrains creating an aural vision of a colourful city heralded by pipers, meanwhile a mid-tempo puttering beat and percussion plus some synth whooshing add to the atmosphere.

Wave World have a knack of creating sounds that convey the idea of being on an alien world where everything is unusual but not totally out of kilter. TouchXtone have done something similar on certain parts of this album, particularly "Florian and Fauna" and "Alien Radio On A Moonless Night". Listening to the latter is like being in the wilderness of an alien planet where high pitched buzzes dance around, various echoes and vaguely animal sounds inhabit the distance, and quietly flitting or crashing sounds in the background suggest unknown creatures lurking out of sight.

Review from Melliflua by Dene Bebbington

TouchXtone - Two - Michael Thomas Roe and James Combs (2003)

Two is appropriately enough the second album containing music from three improvisational sessions Michael and Jim had in late 2002/early 2003. Like its predecessor One, the album Two contains just one track that is broken down into seamless parts - the CD jacket handily gives the start times delimiting these parts. The track is called "Life For A Thousand Years", and with part names like "Titans and Chariots" and "Imperial Standoff" it suggests big historical themes and grand panoramas. Apart from the short parts "Dub Chill 1" and "Cat Got Your Tongue?", the atmospheres tend towards the oppressive and pensive end of the spectrum.

For the first few minutes in "Dub Chill 1" there is mainly a pleasant melody over an unexceptional metallic rhumba kind of rhythm that is probably a preset. Things start to get interesting in the next part, "Titans and Chariots", which lasts nearly twenty minutes. Serious minded reverbing synths seesaw along then start to give way to droney chords and brief martial but wordless vocals in the background. Further developments include Stentorian drums; at this point it's easy to visualise the rowing being kept in time for warships of ancient Greece.

Keeping the mood in a heavy vein is "Subterranean" where various dark drones and bass cast a view of a deep shadowed world. Later on "Ice Palace" is a pensive aural picture of an awe inspiring structure. This part begins

with loud piano refrains separated by pregnant pauses, icy synth lines then join in and the piano becomes more insistent to create a curiously discordant harmony with the synths. As this passage progresses the piano disappears and the sounds become more inviting, it's as though an ominous building now has the sun on it to reveal a harsh beauty.

Improvisational sessions can be a double edged sword because they can produce some inspired music but at the same time run of the mill music is all too likely as well. While Two is enjoyable as far as it goes, I would have to say that it's eclipsed by One.

Review from Melliflua by Dene Bebbington

TouchXtone - Astroboy - Michael Thomas Roe and James Combs (2005)

Here's another recent release to come from the TouchXtone duo, the title of which is taken from Jim's favourite boyhood cartoon. Whereas there other recent album HeadmiX consists of remixed versions of unreleased material, Astroboy is taken from a live performance at the JavaMonkey show. Some familiar elements of TouchXtone's sound can be found here, especially in the rhythmic sections which often have a lot going on.

The opening title track is a good introduction to what much of the album has to offer. Curious electronic rubbing and chirping sounds permeate this track while a variety of beats and rhythms keep the pace moving nicely for much of the time. Sometimes there's a metallic beat which is reminiscent of the track "Multitrack Suggestion" on Vangelis's See You Later.

About halfway through an excited melody is played out on shimmering notes, then towards the end sparse piano notes help bring the piece down to a quiet finish.

Making a significant contrast is the next track "Time Capsule X-3". A repeating refrain that varies a little in intensity inhabits the background in a subterranean manner, like large drops of water falling melodically in a cave. Over this we hear a melange of effects swirling around. Later on it all becomes more lively with thunderous drums and discordant rhythms and melody.

Where TouchXtone excel is in atmospherics, and in some places hints of the alien pastoral elements on HeadmiX can be detected. A stand out track in the atmospheric vein is "Halley's Snow Cone". A sleigh bell sound creates a nice rhythm and it's not hard to imagine a trotting horse pulling a sleigh through snow covered winter fields. At the same time delightful synth pads fill out the soundscape and add an otherworldly hue to the sonic proceedings. Also worth special mention is the final track "Goodnight Moonlight Ladies" throughout which smooth harmonica and accordion sounds deliver a charming valedictory melody. Sustained synth pads eventually joined by a gentle bing-bong accompaniment add to the sorrowful edge of what is the perfect choice of track to close the album.

Astroboy tends towards experimentalism in many of the tracks, this makes it a more challenging listen than other albums from TouchXtone. Though there are a few tracks that had me reaching for the skip button there were also some that I wanted to repeat.

TouchXtone Music On Radio:

TouchXtone track Astroboy was a Vassar College (NY) radio station WVKR-FM "Secret Music" Top 20 play during August 2005.

TouchXtone's music has been played on the GALACTIC TRAVELS electronic, ambient, and space music show, (airs each Thursday at 11:00pm) on WDIY 88.1 FM, Allentown and Bethlehem, PA 93.9 FM in Easton, PA and Phillipsburg, NJ, 92.9 FM on Service Electric Cable, and webcasting on the internet.

• January 15, 2004
• October 14, 2004
• Top 20 For October 2004
• May 5, 2005
• May 12, 2005
• May 19, 2005
• May 26, 2005
• June 16, 2005
• June 30, 2005

We've also been aired on the AM/FM Show on WMUH Allentown, 91.7 FM and on the internet

• May 28, 2005

And on KXCI in Tuscon, AZ on the Brainwaves program (program airs each day at 6am) including Sept. 19-21, 2005.

Also on Still Stream internet radio and featured on their Organbient show on July 7, 2005 (6 songs).

TouchXtone is also being used as filler music on Focal Point, an independently produced talk radio program. This weekly one-hour interview series features the country's leading experts, authors, scientists and entertainers, providing listeners with the information and insight to form their own views and opinions.  The program airs on WEBR in Fairfax County. Virginia, WRBG in Southern Delaware and KSUA in Fairbanks, Alaska..

Two. "Spontaneous performance. Stunning." - Rik MacLean

Two. Reviewed by Glenn Folkvord in ElectronicShadows Magazine

Advertise for a musician in the newspaper, open a couple of beers and hook up your gear, then you'll get - for example - a couple of albums from jam sessions. Two is such an album, following the recipe above. According to the band, there are sections in this album where nobody is quite clear about who played what. That's the nature of improvisation and jamming for you! Two is nevertheless not a completely improvised album, it has all the structure and "parts" of a composed album.

The music floats between electrojazz-ish passages and darker ambient passages, of which many (of the latter) could be fitting for horror movies. And I think it's the latter style that shows most talent, because with lack of melodies or a lead instrument, and you only have a few sounds to paint with, that forces you to push yourself to find the exact mix that works.

Two is for me more exciting when it explores darker ambient territory than the semi-melodic and semi-improvisional stuff. Not only are the moods and atmospheres better in the ambient parts, but the sounds are more clever and original too.

Creative Loafing Sound Menu, Staff Event Picks/Review, Gabriela Alvarez also chose the EyeDrum gig with this short CD review: “Michael Thomas Roe and Jim Combs form Atlanta-based bass 'n' drum ambient outfit Touchxtone. Two is the second half of an improvised recording session, but the music is so free flowing and the result so seamless, that you would never guess it.”

In Access Atlanta (AJC), Shane Harrison chose the TouchXtone/Democracy Of Chaos show at EyeDrum as one of his“live music picks” for the 2003 July 4th weekend.

TouchXtone CDs One & Two "Some of the most fun electronic music I've heard in some time. These two records form a live,spontaneous gumbo of retro Berlin stuff, experimental electroacoustic noise, some romantic touches a la Sr. V. O. Papathanassiou, and a healthy jolt of modern chillout ambient pulse music to put a nicely modern sheen on things. Remarkable debut."- Mike Metlay

TouchXtone Music On TV:

TouchXtone's music was used as the soundtrack to Cathode Ray Tube Episodes 9 & 10.

Virgin Saw is a featured track on the sampler CD that accompanies UK Sequences Magazine, No. 30, April 2005.

TouchXtone. "2 parts ambient synth. One part visual. There is something to be said for a group which turns out 10 cds in just 2 years. The music created by this trio at times seems more at home in a David Lynch film, than in a live performance. The visual, however, brings this project back into perspective while adding to the experience. Better served chilled, than to heat things up." - description of why TouchXtone was selected 78th in the top 100 Atlanta bands of 2004 in Fatbird/ATL::magazine's Local Music Issue.

One. "I think that improvisation and spontaneity has always been at the heart of ambient music. As a result of its free form nature, it’s a genre that lends itself well to the idea of letting things happen naturally, going with the flow.

"One” by TouchXtone is a prime example of the results of that spirit of improvisation. The collaborative project of Michael Thomas Roe and Jim Combs, TouchXTone is the result of a series of three two-hour recording sessions where both recorded live to a two track CD recorder. And it’s a testimony to the talents of both how seamless the recording is, how natural it sounds despite the lack of rehearsals, or familiarity with each other.

Presented as a longform piece divided up into 6 smaller movements, “One” has an elegance and sophistication about it that I find most refreshing, most appealing. Dancing along the periphery of different styles, TouchXtone creates a work of great depth and great emotion having been able to tap into something primal and shared between us all, made all the more impressive by its natural origins.

“One” by TouchXtone is a beautiful example of the power of spontaneity, and the inherent beauty of music in it’s purest, most unadulterated form. Brilliant." - Rik MacLean

TouchXtone CDs One & Two Reviewed In Latest Edition #38 Of Alfa Centauri Magazine (Dutch Language)

From TAXI, an independent A&R outfit in California: This is a very nice piece. Ambient, electronica, reminiscent of artists like Vangelis, Andreas Vollenweider, early William Orbit. The music has an open, free form quality that is easy on the ears and on the mind. Nice job with the production – the recording is clean and well mixed. The melodic elements in this particular ‘movement’ are engaging – the sounds lack structure (verse, chorus, verse) but that’s not an issue here given the overall direction of this music. The vibe is most important and there is certainly a lot of it here. I could very easily hear this CD being used in doctor’s offices, massage or other relaxation sessions. I could also see it on the racks at lifestyle stores and wellnessor health related stores. As well, this composition hints at the ability to compose score music for film or television or industrial uses. Dulcimer sounds have a lot of vibe, add some earthy textures and creates a certain mysterious atmosphere. Synths are well arranged - nice , positive feeling comes through in the music. Very open, loose structure – feels a lot like a piece of sci fi film score for electronic instrumentation. Cool title.

Three. "I just wanted to write to you and tell how much I liked your latest CD! My friend here, Otso (Ozone Player) gave your record to me for listening. It is good!"

"The sounds are somehow fuller than on number two, and I liked that, they are somehow more visual, more story-telling than pieces on number two... I think. I just love to watch the pictures music brings into my mind and this record did it beautifully!" - Heidi Hyvönen

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