Wavestar was an English
new-age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
music duo active in the 1980s. Formed in 1983, the band consisted of John Dyson and David Ward-Hunt,
both of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
.
Dyson and Ward-Hunt shared
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
and
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
of the band's music. Both musicians contributed
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s,
keyboards and
sequencers, while Dyson also played
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
.
[ Allmusic in its review of 1987's ''Moonwind'', released on the now defunct US label Audion Recording Company,][ noted influence of ]Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
, Kitaro and the electronic rock
Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
of Europe, describing the album as "excellent electronic music" and "a rather essential space music
Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of ambient music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from new-age music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music ...
release."[ In its 1988 review of ''Moonwind'', '']Stereo Review
''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'' recommended its readers "keep an ear out" on the band,[
Dyson continued to work solo, releasing albums and contributing to various compilations.][ Ward-Hunt died in 1999.][
In 1997, Dyson released a fourth Wavestar album, ''Out of Time'', composed primarily of material the duo had recorded between 1986 and 1988, which was intended to have gone into the follow-up to ''Moonwind''.][
]
References
External links
John Dyson Official website
* ttp://www.gepr.net/di.html#JOHNDYSON JD entry in the New`Gibraltar Encyclopaedia of Progressive Rock
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British new-age music groups
English electronic music duos
Musical groups from Sheffield