When we left Dino last time (see &etc v1.9) he had transformed from a jazz-tinged loungey guitarist into a more keyboard-driven ambient musician, still interested in playing with some beats. His musical journey was jagged and non-pigeonhole-able as elements cropped up in various stages of the discography (some ambience early, guitar later). The new disk, 'Hallowed Ground', continues the musical evolution, taking him further into the area of tonal ambience, though with some variations up his sleeve. The longest track, 'Solace', opens the album with a beautiful, tonal ambience: there are long tones, shimmering percussion, tones that sound like voices, drifting variations, all built to create a sparse yet intensely coloured landscape, somewhat like the cover. From here Pacifici moves to more varying pieces: 'Timeshift' begins with some distorted voice samples, which recur, followed by long, hollow ringings that drone mysteriously. A slow drum starts a beat, which then anchors the central part: swirling synths, calls, rising tones sweep across the rhythmed landscape until, in the final part, the beat drops out, voices return and a managed uncertainty comes over the drifting tones. The title track introduces a more complex beat pattern, reflecting ethnic and world musics, which signals that the second half of the album will be more rhythmic. After a sunrise-like opening of birdcalls and drones, the beat enters, rising and falling in focus as drones and squirls, tonal melodies, wind sounds, shakers and a distant squeaky voice vie for the foreground of this intense track. 'Warp' continues the rhythmic direction with a clicking loop, overlaid with electric piano and drone and various industrial, voice and electro noises, producing a dark mood, with intricate intro and outro sections, which are a feature of a number of tracks here. Almost spacey 'The ice fields of Neptune' features a tinkling, blippy main synthline with pan-pipes, solar wind blowing through chimes and a voice-choir providing the cold planetary atmosphere. The neoprimitive returns in the simple flute, synthesised percussion runs (which are gated at times to a grunted chant) and driving drum-pattern that take us out with 'Cave dweller'. his is a complex and mature release from Pacifici - a dense album full of interesting components cleverly constructed and integrated - he also allows the music to speak without liner notes. The mood, while primarily relaxed and bright, does countenance some darker moments. This is Pacifici's best album to date -which combines his interest in rhythm with varied instrumentation - and is a joy to listen to, simply delightful. Jeremy Keens - Ampersandetc