MICHAEL GARRISON

One of the most talented creators of electronic music

Country:
USA

Genre:

Electronic
Style:
Synth Pop, Ambient, Minimal

IN THE REGIONS OF SUNRETURN AND BEYOND (1979)

Tracklist :

01 To The Other Side Of The Sky (5:14)
02 The Search (5:42)
03 Dreams (3:38)
04 Take A Chance (3:28)
05 Twilights Returns (4:40)
06 Escape (4:31)
07 Animation (2:37)
08 Theme To Onday (5:51)
09 The Black Hole (2:14)
10 For You And Me (3:55)
11 The Voyage (6:02)

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25407682/in_the_regions_of_sunreturn_and_beyond_1979__224_kbs.rar.html

"He started his release history in '79 with In The Regions of Sunreturn, a marvelous compendium of eight songs created through two ARPs, a pair of Moogs, and a Synare. The tunes started as they've always been: simple, lush, and cosmic in the extreme. One listen and you know you're headed for Alpha Centauri on a transgalactic cruiser whilst, back on earth, compeers are content with Little Red Corvettes and Deuce Coupes. Like the mid-period T. Dreamers, Garrison made extensive use of thematics, anthems, and hooks, sometimes unloved quantities in the sometimes sniffy prog world he occupied the periphery of."
The cuts are chiefly slow majestic traipses through galactic sunfields, planetary byways, spatial back alleys, and dead civilizations. Even the revved-up tunes, such as "The Search," have a restraint that harnesses their splendor for more minute study. There exist ever-present shadows in Garrison's music - not ominous, just the natural inkiness of the gulf. Most of his catalogue is upbeat and awe-inspiring, exhilaratingly graphic, sci-fi written by a hip L. Frank Baum rather than Dante. As opposed to much of his brethren, none of the Garrisongs (also the name of his copyright) brood or nihilate, they're interested in vivacity and exploration, life and wonders, ever refreshing over and above absorbing introspective bases."

"I first heard this album playing in a record store in Pacific Grove CA in 1980. I bought it that same day! Up until then I had only heard electronic music by Isao Tomita and Mike Pinder's Moog/melotron with the Moody Blues. This takes those concepts to the next level. Songs composed entirely on electronic "instruments". The rhythm and beat of the songs, while slow, are listenable without having to dance to them. Think of Yanni or Keiko Matsui's early keyboard works, throw in some futuristic (at times) sounds and you get MG!The slower songs are almost mournful but for the most part it is up-lifting and spirited. When I started listening to Techno a few years ago I decided to look into some of my old favorites, Tomita and Mike Garrison. While I like a lot of the modern stuff, I still like Garrison's IN THE REGION OF SUNRETURN the best.

"Considered a staple of the Electonica World. A very rhythmic and melodic album, the songs Escape and The Search have become all time classics to European Electonica fans. "























PRISMS (1981)

Tracklist :

01 Eruption (8:05)
02 Interphase (1:50)
03 Tranquility Rush (5:02)
04 Runaway (4:22)
05 Motion Fascination (3:27)
06 Sequencing Blue (4:16)
07 Metltdown (1:52)
08 Pre-Dawn Flight (5:45)
09 The Runners Theme (7:02)
10 Lasers (3:54)

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24900085/michael_garrison-prisms.rar.html

"Sunreturn's debut was so positively received that Prisms issued in 1981, commencing in the energetic "Eruption," illuminating the fact that Sunreturn had been far from a fluke. Adding a Syntar and more electronic percussion, he gained sonic ground. The already huge backdrops expanded, painting every corner of the environment in rich hues, crackling with energy. Moods shifted and overlapped but were shackled to the imagery. Like Roach, Garrison had a sound, an ecosphere, and knew it intimately; he limned it in the same way a graphic artist manipulates visual media. A bit airier than its progenitor, Prisms addressed Garrison's benchmarks effusively.






















ECLIPSE (1982)

Tracklist :

01 Departure (3:49)
02 Airborn (11:22)
03 Celestial Nights (2:33)
04 Daydreams (2:13)
05 The Elliptical Sun (4:37)
06 Interstellar Romance (6:10)
07 Dimensions (10:58)
08 The Awakening (5:03)
09 Cloud Burst 2001 (1:15)

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24925223/eclipse__1983__320_kbs_.rar.html

"Eclipse followed (1982), with no hint of backing off the trademark, once again billowing out, not just via hardware but now with sporadic vocals, in the person of the mellifluous Shari Barna. On the opener, Mike displays greater facility in lead lines and flowing layered textures. A guitar and what seems to be a bass, possibly a synth, also step in, the guitar pronouncedly leonine in "Airborne." Each song churns with interlocking keyboards and whooshing chuffing washes. His palette kept growing while the compositions became... not more complex necessarily, but deeper. Eclipse combines the straightforwardness of Sunreturn with Prism's pastellier nature, tracking in Barna's flowing vocals for an angelic element.

"One of Garrison's finest sequencer scorchers is featured, with some quiet, impressionistic moments to balance things out."

POINT OF IMPACT (1983)

Tracklist :

01 Daydreams (3:07)
02 Point Of Impact (3:19)
03 Forever Challenger (6:41)
04 Aftershock (3:29)
05 Upon The Horizons (2:45)
06 Reflections (4:21)
07 Bridge Of Air (8:06)
08 Colors (3:32)
09 Motion Fascination (4:59)

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24933884/michael__garrison-point_of_impact_1983_192_kbs.rar.html

"1983 saw Point Of Impact, boasting the particularly subtle "Daydreams," an almost tabernacularly moody number, a gem in the Garrison repertoire and unusually pensive. Much too short, it segued into a choppy intro for the title cut, which again featured Barna. With pleasure, the listener then encounters the hook, now taken into brisk life, shot into the stratosphere, crackling with tingling warp-outs. Without applying overt pyrotechnics, Garrison was able to nail down convincing authority. Impact also contains one of his more abstract pieces, "Bridge of Air," an eight-minute ramble that holds a theme but saunters hither and yon, aiming to no particular destination. Over it all, one thing had become noticeable: his entrancement with analogue equipment."

"My first love in synthesizers was the way you could modify sounds with unique filters, like on the old Arps and Moogs. You could work days modifying just one sound, making it fit perfectly. This, to me, was the ultimate machine. The only drawback for the early oscillator-driven synths is that they didn't have a full thick tone to them, most were monophonic and you couldn't play chords. Up stepped digital. Now, you have the perfect balance between the uniqueness of analog and the polyphonic power of digital. I think I really saw the balance on Jarré's Magnetic Fields. I could tell he was jumping all over the combination of sounds. It made for a powerful result. My studio has analog and digital synthesizers - I use all of them now." (Michael Garrison)

1985 saw an invitation to be published alongside the heavyweights, the musicians Garrison had drawn inspiration from: Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, and others:

"In 1985, we all worked together on the Wolkenreise Zwischen Traum und Phantasie album for Ariola Eurodisc in Munich, now known as BMG. Actually, there were more artists who contributed than I listed on my promo: Michael Cretu, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Eroc, Sky, Incantations, and a couple others. It sold well over 200,000 albums. It was a real honor to be a part of this project, by far the most successful compilation disc I'll probably ever do." (Michael Garrison)

IMAGES (1986)

Tracklist :

01 Synthation Flow (4:04)
02 Release (2:49)
03 Spectrum Phase (Part 1) (2:17)
04 Spectrum Phase (Part 2) (4:08)
05 Under The Orangish Sky (3:53)
06 For Illusions Far (4:45)
07 Distant Island Stars (4:23)
08 Visions Of The Aquasun (8:44)
09 Transition (3:49)
10 The Nebula Dream (5:21)

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24937588/images_192_kbs.rar.html

"Over the years the one question asked so many times is, what is your favorite album and song from your own personal catalog? "Actually, I really don't have a favorite, I enjoy all my albums equally but if there was one album I might lean toward deep down inside, I think it would be Images.Images captures the atmosphere I always wanted to create in my music, that special sound every artist strives for".
(Michael Garrison)

"Images (1986) capitalized on the composer's extremely attractive way with repeating melodies and hooks. Nearly every song boasted clever enneagrammatic convolutions amidst vaporous exhalations, twinkling novas, and distant vistas. Garrison was becoming stronger, more masterful every LP, buyers looked eagerly forward to new releases. They may have had to wait three years for this one but weren't disappointed, getting more of the anticipated beautiful presentations, landing in favored euphorics."

"The first album I owned from Michael Garrison was "In the regions of sunreturn". I think it's still a great album but was not able to order it from the "official "Michael Garrison" site. When I played this album at the house of a friend his classic loving mum replied positive to this music. Later I bought the "images" album which I very much like for the guitar rifs."

























AURORA DAWN (1988)

Tracklist :

01 Threshold
02 The Solar Sea
03 Magnetic Wind
04 Aurora Visage
05 Aurora Mist
06 Fade The Night
07 Aurora Dawn (Part 1)
08 Aurora Dawn (Part 2)
09 Aurora Dawn (Part 3)
10 Aurora Dawn (Part 4)
11 Aurora Dawn (Part 5)

Link to download (320 kbs):
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=ea64ba33d3ea607e17e9579c709304ff

"Aurora Dawn signalled a return to earlier environs, stepping back eight years but commencing with an accelerondo in chases which had never before quite so speedily marked Garrison's oft-recessed lead lines. Mike was nostalgic for the old days, the entire flavor of Aurora was markedly retro. He temporarily abandoned evolution for the joys of the fossil record. No one complained. Dragging a distorted guitar in, he unleashed chords that buzzsawed like a raggedly loping Korg. It was this perpetually Jurassic tone and continuing reliance upon golden-age synths that played into his evolution and made one wonder what he'd favor in advanced hardware."

"K.I.S.S.! You know that saying: 'Keep it simple, stupid'? Most artists are more into songwriting than being technicians. Some synthesizers today come with 2-inch manuals that take an electronics engineer a month to figure out. Most synth builders aren't songwriters and most songwriters are not synthesizer builders. We want cool sounds and a fairly quick and easy way to access them. Time's important in the recording studio, you don't want to take a whole day looking for one or two sounds. My ultimate synthesizer would be an ARP 2600 with sequencers, integrated with a mini-moog, and any of the Kurzweil full-piano-touch synths. If I could get all that in one synth, that'd be heaven." (Michael Garrison)

AN EARTH-STAR TRILOGY (1989)

Tracklist :

01 Shadows of Time
02 Theme to the Earth-Star
03 The Remebering
04 Rise of the Earth-Star
05 The Seventh Sun
06 Staccato Heaven
07 Sunrise on Mercury
08 Afterthought
09 The Crystal Moon
10 Festival of the Earth-Star
11 Lansdowne Cruise

Link to download :
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=64019be808a166d714f1dba855171e90

"An Earth-Star Trilogy (1989) came out. The songs had become more cinematic, gaining a dimension of motion seemingly timed to a script. Unlike progsters who'd been seduced by DX7ing (including Froese), Garrison stuck to his basic analogue guns and used purposely evanescent patches in properly airy ways, preserving helium transcendencies. "Aurora Visage" was almost a dewline change-agent, having a heavily filmic infusion while working on the old dreams."

"An Earth-Star Trilogy is a very rhythmic and melodic album that for the first time introduces traditional percussion. A different album in sound sculpture, it still captures the raw power of Michael Garrison's music"

"The new Mike Garrison is upbeat and spacey. This concept takes us through a journey of time. From the birth of the universe to the creation of our galaxy and finally to the birth of our world. It will remind you of some of the best recordings of Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream.Mike has given us great solid recordings and this newest is no exception."

"This isn't quite as frenetic and hard-edged as many of Garrison's previous releases"

THE RHYTHM OF LIFE (1991)

Tracklist :

01 Traveler
02 Carry On
03 The Autumnal Nocturne
04 Beyond The Cosmic Horizon
05 The Stars Tonight
06 Infinity Dream
07 Passages
08 Theme To Crystal Bay
09 Looking For You

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24942149/the_rhythm_of_life_192_kbs.rar.html

"1991 witnessed The Rhythm of Life, attempting to continue established progressions, trying to lose no antecedents. The new Shari Barna, Jeanne Jarvis, sang on two cuts; Clay Smith provided guitars on one. Also appearing was Garrison's mellowest and longest cut yet, the 11:28 "Infinity Dream." Though quite pleasant, it was his second-weakest song... right behind the follow-on, "Passages," his weakest. The track after both these was no prize-winner either. Garrison had finally published a CD that wasn't a solid gem. Was he "going Froese"? Fans waited nervously.

"If there was ever a studio album that represented all the musical styles of Michael Garrison, it would be The Rhythm of Life. From traditional percussion to rhythm computers, from upbeat fast pace sequences to quiet relaxing music, The Rhythm of Life captures the all around style of the Michael Garrison sound."

A POSITIVE REFLECTING OF GLOW - Anthology vol 1. (1992)

Tracklist :

01 Escape 4:37
02 Festival Of The Earth-Star 4:29
03 Departure 3:53
04 Runaway 4:14
05 Reflections 5:48
06 Magnetic Wind 4:50
07 Airborn 11:22
08 Carry On 5:46
09 Upon Blue Heaven 6:34
10 Distant Island Stars 4:13
11 Lansdowne Cruise

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25220818/a_positive_reflecting_glow_192_kbs.rar.html

TRANQUILITY COVE -Anthology vol 2. (1992)

Tracklist :

01 Infinity Dream 11:32
02 Under The Orangish Sky 4:03
03 Invisible Sun 6:10
04 The Nebula Dream 5:03
05 Beyond The Cosmic Horizon 6:09
06 The Distance From Here 6:17
07 Visions Of The Aquasun 8:51
08 Moonrise

Link to download (192 kbs):
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=860263a2242801ca8f240b87506ff8da

"Two long-awaited collections from Oregon synthesist Michael Garrison offer his broad body of music, broken down into his two predominate styles. A Positive Reflecting Glow covers the more uptempo, sequencer-driven tracks from his eight releases, plus one new track, "Upon Blue Heaven." "Tranquility Cove" gathers slower tracks from four of his albums, and again adds one unreleased piece, "Invisible Sun." Slow is only relative for Garrison's revved-up style, but the impact of his music, produced over the past decade, is heard to full advantage on these two strong compilations."


























LIVE vol 1.(1995)

Tracklist :

01 Arrival 3:38
02 Release 2:47
03 Departure 4:08
04 Rise Of The Earth-Star 5:59
05 Syntation Flow 3:30
06 Runaway 4:37
07 Under The Orangish Sky 4:05
08 Aurora Visage, Aurora Mist, Fade The Night 9:57
09 Visiions Of The Auqasun 6:30
10 Festival Of The Earth-Star 4:29
11 Aurora Dawn, Part 2 5:45
12 Glider

Link to donload :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25249058/live_1_320_kbs.rar.html

LIVE vol 2. (1995)

Tracklist :

01 Daydreams 2:37
02 The Elliptical Sun 4:49
03 Beyond The Cosmic Horizon 6:06
04 To The Other Side Of The Sky 4:34
05 The Search 5:38
06 Crystal Moon 3:55
07 Theme To The Earth-Star 3:27
08 Airborn 8:13
09 Everybody's Warrior 4:41
10 Escape 5:07
11 Landsdowne Cruise

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25256964/live_2_320_kbs.rar.html

"To fill a growing need, he issued two anthologies, A Positive Reflecting Glow and Tranquility Cove, in 1992. Each featured an unreleased cut and provided the perfect intro for anyone not familiar with him, a cross-section of what the last nine years had brought. Still not returning to the studio, 1995 saw another double release: Live, Volume 1 and Live, Volume 2, comprising a complete 1994 Cologne, Germany, concert, supplying a growing fanbase with long-awaited clues to his extemporaneous abilities. Garrison acquitted himself well, getting quickly back on his feet after Rhythm. If anything, the exposure brought even more élan to many of his already galvanized songs, and the audience was clearly enthusiastic."

"I headlined the KLEM Festival (now the E-Live Festival) in Nijmegen, Holland. I think it was in 1995. There were seven bands that day, over 3000 people attended. Live shows are a lot of hard work and getting equipment overseas can be nothing short of a nightmare. I wish we had world music fests here in the U.S. but logistics make it really tough for most artists to participate. I played a fest at the base of Mt. Shasta, California, a few years back; that was real fun, I'd do it again in a heartbeat: easy on the equipment and no jet lag. Perfect."
(Michael Garrison)

Why, then, hasn't he been more apparent at American progfests?

"I get asked all the time but it really depends on who's behind the event. People just don't understand the effort, money, and organizational skills involved. If I do an event, I like to have my own sponsor, someone I know and can trust will pay the appearance fee, handle all my expenses, travel, food, lodging, etc.. When I played Mt. Shasta, a doctor-friend who lives in the Bay Area paid all my expenses. It really makes things easy and you know your time and energy won't be wasted." (Michael Garrison)

This bridges into his planetarium appearances and the question of what he plays in concert.

"Most people want to hear the songs they're familiar with, but it's always fun to include new stuff. It's also important to know what kind of format the planetarium is doing: deep space with a floating haunting feel to it or up-beat with the idea of space travel? Sometimes, it's just a laser show, so you need to be flexible." (Michael Garrison)

More review :
http://www.synthmusicdirect.com/garrlive.cfm

BRAVE NEW WORLD (1998)

Tracklist :

01 Vertical Circles
02 Call Me Down
03 Rings Of Pegasus
04 Renegade Moon
05 Journey Of Thoughts
06 Into The Distance
07 Visions

Link to download :
http://rapidshare.com/files/24929751/brave_new_world__192_kbs.rar.html

"The last release to appear, Brave New Worlds in 1998, marked a return to the Froese Syndrome, wherein Garrison "went modern," with mixed results. Amidst some great lines and colorations, there's also a plenitude of soul-less Private Music and wallpaper synths. He seemed to have forgotten what his forté was, or perhaps had wearied of it after almost two decades. The compositions became rushed, the patterns less natural - after 13 releases, it had become slavish. There's a smattering of dynamite material but ennui is much too prevalent and dishabilitating."

"If you have liked Michael’s last few albums it is a dead cert that you will go for this one as well. He knows what his fans like and he serves it up for them in his typical no nonsense style. You wouldn’t exactly call his sounds or the way he uses them subtle but his music is certainly full of life, energy and enthusiasm.
‘Vertical Circles’ starts off with what sounds like a futuristic helicopter coming in to land but it isn’t long before instantly recognizable Michael Garrison sequences and lead lines combine to produce a very positive and happy piece. The melodies, especially in the second half of this track are very strong indeed. ‘Call me down’ gets straight into the sequence, blasting away at 100 miles an hour and not letting up for a second. Half way through we get a heavily vocoded female vocal sounding rather charming but I wouldn’t have been able to make out what was being said if the words hadn’t been printed in the booklet. Immediately after an awesome guitar sound adds to the epic nature of the track.
‘Rings of Pegasus’ combines a snare drum sequence with symphonic pads but then angelic vocal effects are used to soften the piece a little. A string fanfare provides (for Michael) a long intro of thirty seconds before the ballsy sequence gets ‘Renegade Moon’ under way. Very jolly stuff indeed. Staccato lead lines are much more the Garrison trade mark than long held down pads and they punch home the melody in exciting fashion. ‘Journey of Thoughts’ is the longest track at over twelve minutes but it is also one of the most relaxed. Of course we still get the Garrison sequences and rhythms but they provide structure to dreamy melodies rather than a hurricane blast. Some gentle female vocoded vocals can be heard and then to give contrast, aggressive guitar chords.
‘Into The Distance’ makes use of an exquisite rumbling sequence which as in the previous track caresses the senses rather than acting as a rhythmic assault. A lovely track. We then get the piece ‘Visions’, originally released on the ‘Eclipse’ album which I think came out about ten years ago. Unless he has changed the title of it it was not on the CD release however. Instrumentally it is a very orchestrated piece but it is the vocal, again angelic, that provides the main focus. I wonder why this track wasn’t on the CD? Can any Garrison fan tell me as I would be interested to know? (DL) "

"The last release to appear, Brave New Worlds in 1998, marked a return to the Froese Syndrome, wherein Garrison "went modern," with mixed results. Amidst some great lines and colorations, there's also a plenitude of soul-less Private Music and wallpaper synths. He seemed to have forgotten what his forté was, or perhaps had wearied of it after almost two decades. The compositions became rushed, the patterns less natural - after 13 releases, it had become slavish. There's a smattering of dynamite material but ennui is much too prevalent and dishabilitating.
From then to now, there hasn't been a new Garrison CD. That's five years. It makes one wonder how he views changes in the field."

From then to now, there hasn't been a new Garrison CD. That's five years. It makes one wonder how he views changes in the field

"I love them. The discs I get from overseas and in the states are fantastic. There's some incredible talent out there and it's getting better all the time. Artists are working a lot harder on their skills; sometimes I get discs with one guy playing ten instruments very well. I wish they were getting more exposure. With labels cutting back, it's going to make it much more difficult for artists to get music out. It's a shame because it's a no-win situation for everyone."
(Michael garrison)

And the advent of laptoppers and box-manipulators?

"I hope this isn't a matter of artists thinking: 'Hey, I can make it in the music biz without learning to play an instrument!' I'm kind of old-fashioned here. I think some decent musical training and lots of practice are the backbone of a career, but I also think creativity is the ultimate goal of any artist. If someone feels he can create a unique sound people will enjoy, and if he has fun and is challenged with what he's doing, then he or she should go for it; but I've yet to hear pedals, mixing boards, or junction boxes write a beautiful melody - that comes from the hearts, souls, and minds of artists."
(Michael Garrison)

And so we wait for his next garland of interplanetary canvases. In sum, Michael Garrison's work represents a unique underpopulated niche in electronic and progressive musics, one abandoned far too hastily while everyone was sprinting to "out-new" everyone else. He hadn't sold all those many discs because he was amateuristic, not by any means. The tail end of his output has shown a lull period, from which he may recover and go on to greater things - that supposition only makes the most fundamental sense - but the bulk of his music is as fresh as the day it was issued and will remain so. Most of his fellow DIYers fell by the wayside (Lauri Paisley, the Nightcrawlers, etc.) chiefly because the largest part of their musics didn't age gracefully at all, but Garrison's oeuvre has a quiet fire and élan that is inextinguishable and will weather the endless changes yet to come in the ever-metamorphosing world of progressive music.

various - To The Sky And Beyond The Stars - A Tribute To Michael Garrison (2005)

CD 1.

01 Redshift - Crystalline 94 (6:47)
02 Erik Wøllo - The Flight (5:04)
03 Jonn Serrie - The Star Road (7:06)
04 Axess - The Pilgrim Soul (7:52)
05 Venja - Astral Waves (4:49)
06 Callisto - Chilled Naiad (5:47)
07 Gert Emmens - The Beginning Of A New Day (5:15)
08 Craig Padilla - Parallels (7:18)
09 Paul Lawler - Neon Lights (5:08)
10 Thought Guild - Return To The Sun (5:41)
11 Something Completely Different - Adagio For Michael (8:05)
12 Keller & Schönwälder , Bas Broekhuis - Water Music 2 (7:00)

Links to download (192 kbs) :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25240143/tribute_cd1_a__192_kbs.rar.html

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=e5aeeb6e976f3609dff3463f8d3adb1c

CD 2.

01 Dom F. Scab - 12 + 1 (6:43)
02 Wave World - Tirzan Sundance (3:47)
03 Numina - Within Worlds (6:50)
04 Rein Vd Oever - Bon Voyage (5:03)
05 Sayer - Amaranthine (6:31)
06 Binar - Into The West (5:05)
07 Rudy Adrian - Sisters (6:32)
08 Remy - Fade Away (5:53)
09 Rogue Element - A Different Sky (6:12)
10 Jeffrey Koepper - Godspeed (5:55)
11 Akikaze - The Iceland Error (5:33)
12 Fred Becker - River Reveree (3:32)
13 Stephen Parsick - Impact (2004 Remix) (5:35)
14 Cosmic Hoffmann - Requiem (6:49)

Link to download (192 kbs) :
http://rapidshare.com/files/25225089/tribute_cd2_a_192_kbs.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/25228328/tribute_cd2_b_192_kbs.rar.html

"Michael Garrison, one of America's synth music pioneers, tragically died last year. To the Sky and Beyond the Stars is a tribute to Michael by some of today's best electronic music artists. It's a double CD with 26 interpretations of Mike's music and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to mpower to help us raise awareness."

Detailed info on this release :
http://www.soniccuriosity.com/sc193.htm

and
http://www.synthmusicdirect.com/skygarr.cfm

Biography :

MICHAEL GARRISON Forgotten synth pioneer

"Michael Garrison was a holdover from the days when DIY had meaning, when the now completely corrupted phrase carried definition without its latter-day mainstream taint. In a small wave of underground, non-patronized, progressive musics that would soon transmute into the largely malodorous "neoprog underground," he distinguished himself, in a struggling community, as a musician with a solid '70's grounding in the Berlin school of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, as well as, to a much lesser degree, Adelbert Von Deyen, Dieter Schutze, and the European second-stringers."

Michael Garrison was an american musician,his style is electronic music.

He started to write music at the age of 13,although his family didn't have musical roots (father is banker,mother is house wife). He began to study music in the mid 70's.

The background of his first album was the mission of the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. He went to record shops personally to promote the album to increase the sales. In 1980 BMG offered him to release this album in Europe too. It was soon a great success. He became more popular mainly in German-speaking countries after his song "Departure" was choosen by WDR as a main theme of it's new series about electronic music in 1984. Ten years after he gave his first concert in Germany followed by some other shows. After his last album " Brave New World" his musical life was less active.

He died in 2004 when he had an accident (after a fall) at home.

More :
http://www.hyperionwebs.com/electronicshadows/special/rip_michaelgarrison.htm


ALBUMS
In the Regions of the Sunreturn and Beyond (Windspell, 1979) ***
Prisms (Windspell, 1981) *
Eclipse (Windspell, 1983) *
Point of Impact (Windspell, 1983) *
Images (Windspell, 1986) ***
Aurora Dawn (Windspell, 1988) *
An Earth-Star Trilogy (Windspell, 1989) *
Rhythm of Life (Windspell, 1991) ***
A Positive Reflecting Glow (Cue, 1992) *** anthology
Tranquility Cove (Cue, 1992) ** anthology
Live Volume 1 (Cue, 1994) * anthology
Live Volume 2 (Cue, 1995) * anthology
Brave New World (1998)

More info :

http://www.furious.com/Perfect/michaelgarrison.html my main and best source

http://www.synthy.de/kuenstler/G/mgarrison/garrison.htm

http://www.craigpadilla.com/michael_garrison.htm

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Garrison

http://www.mgawest.com/aboutmga.htm

http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/index.php?content=band&left=year&bandId=304&year=1982 reviews in German