I’m not sure when the term “dream team” was first coined. I will always associate it with the 1992 American Olympic basketball team. Now I loosely use the term anytime those who are at the top of their profession pair up. Gareth Koch and Martin Kennedy in my mind are a dream team. Both are regarded as being at the top of their profession. Multi-instrumentalist, Martin Kenndy is considered to be one of the best ambient music producers. Gareth Koch is an award winning classical and flamenco guitarist. There’s a couple of reasons I imagine the two linked up. For one, they’re based in Australia. Certainly, artists of such caliber crossed paths at one point or another. Another reason is both have worked with renowned singer/songwriter Steve Kilby who famously played with The Church. Today we debut their collaborative album, Music In The Afterlife.
Blazing the way is “Trance” whose guitar notes systematically land like piano keys. Wind chime sounds hanging in a fog of misty delicate synths are spectacular. Hard hitting root bass notes augment the powerful bass drum kicks. This is the track that plays when one looks out of the window, in a foreign city on a rainy day. Grab your umbrella.
Their vision was to produce the soundtrack for floating souls looking to find their way to heaven’s gates. Each single has a floating dream quality. As the music plays on, every track offers its own experience. “Valley Of Echoes” for example, flutters with serenity as chirping birds and synth pad clouds calmly blow by. Almost like a VR experience, as “Valley Of The Echoes” leaves our senses, “Adrift” comes into focus.
The way the album moves reminds me of how deep/ambient house music DJ’s play a set. Utilizing song placement not only enhances their impact but it also allows each song to shine in its own right. The big hitters are “Dune”, “Trance” and “Waiting” respectively. Blissfully atmospheric are “Resignation” and “Afterlife”. Gareth’s guitar tone pierces the soul, cutting through like a hot knife through butter. On “Elysium” his guitar playing invokes images of western frontier life. The movie Young Guns 2 comes to mind. The only other artist I can think of that touches this kind of realm is Anglo-Swiss producer Little People but clearly Kock & Kennedy are in a league of their own.