Music
Press
- "Magnificent arrangement. Absolutely beautiful, romantic piece. A+."
- "...is truly a fine example of how the economy of notes can make a melody stick in your mind."
- "The writing skill of this artist is impressive, as is the arrangement of this piece. The technical skill demonstrated is really top-of-the-line."
- "Swirling artificial strings, huge reverberated drums and light drifting synth leads give your imagination the space it needs to breath."
- "...it is evident that he knows what he’s doing."
- "...the piece is nicely engineered and mastered, very clear and bright."
- "Music to travel into sensations, oneiric and delicate landscapes, painted with the aid of electronical machines."
- "...even if you normally don’t have an interest in the New Age genre, don’t be shy about checking out his music."
- "Lush production from the word go. Good feeling throughout."
- "...shouldn't you be doing soundtracks for something? You certainly know what your doing."
- "This track has a great cinematic mood. This should be in an Imax film somewhere."
- "If this were on a CD rack with other songs like this, I would definitely purchase it, because it's so relaxing and entertaining."
- "Why hasn't this person been hired to do a movie score?"
- "There is a lot of detail in the song, and when you think you have the direction figured out, a new element enters into the mix keeping you on your toes. A well conceived and executed track."
- "I was thoroughly impressed with the production value and the way this song unfolded. Excellent."
- "This song had me hooked at the ten second mark."
- "I love it literally!" - Various people
Whoa. I was definitely surprised to hear this track. You can never really expect the kind of artistry you hear in this song from most people. "Steps", with its masterfully melodic guitar arrangements, well laid keyboard synth sounds, and beautiful cadence, will definitely take you to one epic place. And I was expecting your run-of-the-mill home made house electronica, for some reason. It's like taking a sip out of a glass expecting Boone's and getting Shiraz. It's almost like there's a movie scene out there missing its soundtrack.
The instrumentation in this song is mainly a classical guitar, background synth sounds, an occasional flute (well done flute, that is), and a veeeery, very brief intermission of drums and percussion. The rhythm and the timing on this piece are perfect -- absolutely great changes and resolutions. Also, the length of this track definitely makes it listenable; even for folks who are fans of the harder stuff. Seriously -- my compliments to Becker on a fine piece of work. Everything develops in this song rather nicely. Almost in ... well ... steps, I guess. Yeah, that's it. Steps.
Oh -- okay, I get it.
Thomas Becker, a new age, progressive electronic, trance, ambient, drum 'n' bass, space jazz, ethnic musician out of Milano, Italy (how's *that* for keywords, Avallon?) started taking piano lessons at 10 years old. Active on the internet scene since before any of you can remember (unless BBS-es were your thing back in the late eighties and early nineties), Thomas' approach, skills, mindset (and equipment) have evolved over the past decade into something of a multifaceted creator/performer of many genres and the fusion in between. In fact, his musical catalog has been quite busy over these past years -- with over 100,000 downloads and getting busier all the time. Currently, his catalog has over 90 free tracks for your listening enjoyment. So let me wrap this up, because it looks like you all have work to do.
This track is definitely recommended for fans of Steve Roach, Ray Lynch, instrumentals and movie tracks in general. "Steps" is definitely going in my morning playlist for when I'm doing my yoga ... er ... I mean push ups and free weights ... in the morning.
Now get over there and do some downloading. - Hitclick/Bandfreaks
- "Magnificent arrangement. Absolutely beautiful, romantic piece. A+."
- "...is truly a fine example of how the economy of notes can make a melody stick in your mind."
- "The writing skill of this artist is impressive, as is the arrangement of this piece. The technical skill demonstrated is really top-of-the-line."
- "Swirling artificial strings, huge reverberated drums and light drifting synth leads give your imagination the space it needs to breath."
- "...it is evident that he knows what he’s doing."
- "...the piece is nicely engineered and mastered, very clear and bright."
- "Music to travel into sensations, oneiric and delicate landscapes, painted with the aid of electronical machines."
- "...even if you normally don’t have an interest in the New Age genre, don’t be shy about checking out his music."
- "Lush production from the word go. Good feeling throughout."
- "...shouldn't you be doing soundtracks for something? You certainly know what your doing."
- "This track has a great cinematic mood. This should be in an Imax film somewhere."
- "If this were on a CD rack with other songs like this, I would definitely purchase it, because it's so relaxing and entertaining."
- "Why hasn't this person been hired to do a movie score?"
- "There is a lot of detail in the song, and when you think you have the direction figured out, a new element enters into the mix keeping you on your toes. A well conceived and executed track."
- "I was thoroughly impressed with the production value and the way this song unfolded. Excellent."
- "This song had me hooked at the ten second mark."
- "I love it literally!" - Various people
Letting your spirit flow to a different level of awareness, and allowing a momentary escape from the rigors of life, are frequently the effects that good New Age music induces on your mind, your body, and in your soul. ‘In the Middle of the Ocean’, by Thomas Becker, does exactly this.
Starting with some very nice sustained synth strings and a delicate bell-like pad providing some motion, Mr. Becker does set a mood that draws on floating out on the ocean. At its simplest, the delicate fluid melody that makes its entrance at 1:36 into the piece is truly a fine example of how the economy of notes can make a melody stick in your mind. On another level, it shows how a good composer knows when to get out of his own way and not to muddle a simple song by trying to ‘fill in the blank spots’.
The second verse, at 3:20, provides a slight background percussion that adds nicely to the motion of the piece as it continues on its journey. My only problem, and this is purely a subjective thing, is the entrance of the sampled tenor voice at 3:42 into the piece. For me, this really interrupts the mood that this song has set. I have never much liked the use of voice patches that sound too real in New Age music. I would have used a synth vocal pad for this to form a better blend with the other electronic instruments.
The writing skill of this artist is impressive, as is the arrangement of this piece. The technical skill demonstrated is really top-of-the-line. As far as the recording and mastering is concerned, I think I would have used a little more spread on the instrument placement to further enhance the floating and wandering feel. Again, this is also a subjective matter.
This song has a nice appeal to it, and is one of those numbers that you can listen to any number of times and never tire of it. When you stop by his website, be sure to check out some of the other numbers there. You will not be disappointed! - Gods Of Music
Milan-based musician Thomas Becker's song Milano by Night is a spacey sounding slice of unique electronic music that has kind of a relaxing, loungey feel to it. It would not be difficult to imagine having this tune on in the background during a romantic evening full of hushed conversation and wine sipping.
The track is about four minutes long and consists of a smooth and deliberate programmed drum beat, a sensuous bass line and several synth sounds that waft in and out, along with some piano and other atmospheric touches. The bass is really the part that carries this song, as it gurgles and bounces throughout the entire track, while being accentuated by well-played piano parts and some lush background synths.
The recording quality is quite good, and the track is also mixed superbly. Each instrument, whether it is piano or synth or bass or whatever else, has its own space in the sonic field, and the song never sounds either too empty or too muddled.
Milano by Night is a very aptly titled song. It truly does give one the feeling of what it may actually feel like to stroll through one of Europe's most stylish cities. And it's a good feeling, indeed. - Gods Of Music
Letting your spirit flow to a different level of awareness, and allowing a momentary escape from the rigors of life, are frequently the effects that good New Age music induces on your mind, your body, and in your soul. ‘In the Middle of the Ocean’, by Thomas Becker, does exactly this.
Starting with some very nice sustained synth strings and a delicate bell-like pad providing some motion, Mr. Becker does set a mood that draws on floating out on the ocean. At its simplest, the delicate fluid melody that makes its entrance at 1:36 into the piece is truly a fine example of how the economy of notes can make a melody stick in your mind. On another level, it shows how a good composer knows when to get out of his own way and not to muddle a simple song by trying to ‘fill in the blank spots’.
The second verse, at 3:20, provides a slight background percussion that adds nicely to the motion of the piece as it continues on its journey. My only problem, and this is purely a subjective thing, is the entrance of the sampled tenor voice at 3:42 into the piece. For me, this really interrupts the mood that this song has set. I have never much liked the use of voice patches that sound too real in New Age music. I would have used a synth vocal pad for this to form a better blend with the other electronic instruments.
The writing skill of this artist is impressive, as is the arrangement of this piece. The technical skill demonstrated is really top-of-the-line. As far as the recording and mastering is concerned, I think I would have used a little more spread on the instrument placement to further enhance the floating and wandering feel. Again, this is also a subjective matter.
This song has a nice appeal to it, and is one of those numbers that you can listen to any number of times and never tire of it. When you stop by his website, be sure to check out some of the other numbers there. You will not be disappointed! - Gods Of Music
Its nine o clock on a Saturday night and the usual crowd is in the hotel lounge. The slimeball real estate agent is trying tell some sucker that the red barren wasteland of Mars would be great for the sinuses. Some guy just got back from a year on a moon-base and has his eye on this hot android chick wearing fishnet stockings sitting at the bar. Becker is sitting over in the corner of the room playing his wave files on his laptop with a big glass jar for tips. Yeah its a laid back Saturday night at the "Space Hotel"
You know the term ambient music gets used to cover a lot different styles but this song truly creates the soundscape of a futuristic hotel lounge. It has the style of 50s "cool" jazz but the electronic timbre creates a unique sound that makes it different that most of that music.
It is a little long for commercial radio play but by jazz standards its a fairly short piece. The only thing that left me disappointed was the lack of one instrument breaking out of the laid back atmosphere, just to create some contrast to the way this piece just ambles along. Put this tune in the CD player while reading some Heinlein...Yeah I can grok it!! - Gods Of Music
Its nine o clock on a Saturday night and the usual crowd is in the hotel lounge. The slimeball real estate agent is trying tell some sucker that the red barren wasteland of Mars would be great for the sinuses. Some guy just got back from a year on a moon-base and has his eye on this hot android chick wearing fishnet stockings sitting at the bar. Becker is sitting over in the corner of the room playing his wave files on his laptop with a big glass jar for tips. Yeah its a laid back Saturday night at the "Space Hotel"
You know the term ambient music gets used to cover a lot different styles but this song truly creates the soundscape of a futuristic hotel lounge. It has the style of 50s "cool" jazz but the electronic timbre creates a unique sound that makes it different that most of that music.
It is a little long for commercial radio play but by jazz standards its a fairly short piece. The only thing that left me disappointed was the lack of one instrument breaking out of the laid back atmosphere, just to create some contrast to the way this piece just ambles along. Put this tune in the CD player while reading some Heinlein...Yeah I can grok it!! - Gods Of Music
Discography
- The tune "Migrating Birds" has been included on the CD of the february 2008 issue of New Age Music & New Sounds italian magazine, together with a three-page interview.
- The tunes "Cerebral Massage" and "Winding Winter Wind" have been included in the soundtrack of the Navigatris videogame by Sheeparcade.
- Some albums have been distributed online by the old MP3.com.
- The tune "Steps" appears in the Passion And Desire compilation by Trax In Space.
- Some tunes have been aired both online (including podcasts) and on traditional radio.
- Some tunes have been used during music-therapy sessions in a centre in Milano, Italy.
- The tune "Evening In The Fields" has been used in a multimedia CD-ROM.
- Some tunes have been used in games on a web site (http://skola.gov.mt/euro/) dedicated to teach how to use euro money to people from Malta.
- Some tunes have been used in italian television.
- And more (see main web site www.tbecker.net)
Photos
Bio
Thomas was born in 1976 in Italy, and loved music and computers already as a small child. When about 8 years old, he was programming his own computer games. For this reasons it was natural that at some point (when 15 years old in 1991) he began making music with computers. Before internet got wide-spread, there was another (kind of underground) way to communicate with computers: bulletin board systems. Thomas distributed his works this way, and got in contact with the so-called demo scene. He thus joined groups of creative people, and with them made kind of multimedia creations (so-called demos and intros), some of which won competitions, or got close to it.
The chance to get more known came with the internet. Since Thomas entered the internet world, in 1999, his music started to be downloaded much more than before.
In year 1998, Thomas unfortunately got injured at the spinal cord, and still now uses a wheel-chair. This has not hindered his musical activity; in fact he got active more than before. Between 1991 and 1998, Thomas composed about 40 tunes; between 1999 and 2005, the number of compositions has raised to over 100. And meanwhile he also took music lessons (harmony, composition, flute, guitar, keyboard), some of which are still going on.
Apart from composing, Thomas likes improvisation. Instead of learning to play other people's music with the guitar and keyboard, he prefers to become skillful at improvising his own music.
Thomas isn't bound to a sinlge genre, but likes to experiment. Some of his greatest influences have probably been: Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Enya, Alan Parsons Project, Decoryah, Astral Projection, Kit Watkins, Em:t label releases, Amiga-scene musicians.
He is currently in search for a record label to publish his works.
To listen to more music by Thomas, please visit the main online music archive at www.thomasbecker-music.tk.
Links
