New Review of UFOsmosis posted at:
http://www.prog4you .com/cd-reviews- 02-07/Cyndee_ Lee_Rule. htm

: : UFOsmosis : :

Cyndee Lee Turner is a US-based violinist, and UFOsmosis is her
debut album.

I got hold of this release by chance; as a discussion in a
progressive music forum quite unexpectedly lead to me getting in
touch with the artist personally; and she was nice enough to send me
a CD for reviewing purposes.

Musically her album is unlike anything I've ever heard before. Most
of the songs here are created by having a backdrop of drum machines
and synth sounds, and with violin sounds and solos placed on top of
that musical backdrop. But there's few examples of traditional
violin sounds and playing here; if you want your classic haunting
violin playing please look elsewhere. This is more experimental
fare, and more of interest to anyone into space rock and psychedelic
music.

This is an instrumental album, made to showcase the instrument of
the artist in question. And the main instrument here isn't the
traditional wooden violin, but a v-shaped 5-string electric "animal"
known as the Viper. I use the term animal here on purpose, as on
several tracks it sounds more like Cyndee is trying to tame a wild
beast rather than just playing an instrument.

The sounds emanating from the Viper can be smooth, but often there's
a wild frenzied tinge to the sounds, the sound of an untamed digital
beast trying to escape from it's electronic cage.

As for album and the songs as such, I find this to be a release of
uneven quality. Several tracks doesn't get to me at all, often due
to a plethora of sounds fighting in the soundscape, making the
listening experience way too psychedelic for my personal taste.
Heavy use of disharmonies in some tracks isn't quite my cup of tea
either.

But other tracks create extremely intriguing moods, luring me in to
enjoy musical landscapes I've never encountered before.

Tracks to check out: "Assassins of Allah" - quite an interesting
version of a classic Hawkwind track, "What On Earth" - a song not
too un-similar to Tangerine Dream's more mellow
outings, "Telekinetigram" - a song with a cold alien feel to it as
well as some excellent eastern tinges, "Something I Should Have
Said" - a mood-heavy dreamy affair with ominous dark sounds in the
back of the soundscape.

Rating: 7 (out of 10)
Reviewer: Olav Björnsen

Cyndee

Cyndee Lee Rule
UFOsmosis
A review by Paul Angelosanto

For those not in the know, Cyndee Lee Rule is a classically trained viper violin player. The viper violin is a specially constructed electronic violin that enables the performer to let fly with old and new school style music.
Some CDs are good for relaxation, background music at parties or dinner, yoga, hitting on your favorite bong, bumping and bopping in your bedroom, and just plain old rocking out. It’s rare that one CD can hit all that turf and more. Cyndee Lee Rule’s UFOsmosis scores on all those fronts. If you want exotica, prog, ambient sounds, and good old fashioned space rock in one package this is the disc to dig. You’re going to be giving this all instrumental CD some serious play. It’s damn hard to believe this is her first solo effort.
We start off with Putting the Rip in Strip, a seven minute plus tune that builds from an ambient/noise exploration into a down tempo techno style song. It has a snaky rhythm that pulses under a sonic violin attack. It kind of seems an odd choice to open the CD until you hear more later and realize that Cyndee’s opening gives a sampling of the sound banquet that awaits your hungry ears. This number opens the doorway.
Congress Reel is the second track and it is an electronic kick start rework of a traditional arrangement. There is slamming speed and skillful dynamics that’ll push you up and out of your bean bag chair. Molten violin screeches that fire at transcendental speed.
My woman is a Beatles chick. I could already smell the incense burning when she told me that there was a cover of the George Harrison tune, The Inner Light, on UFOsmosis, I, being a philistine, hadn’t known. Sure it’s a raga tripped out hippie smoke shop song, but Cyndee’s version surpasses that and it is a fab re-tooling of the sitar feel with vipor flair.
Scarborough Fair is another nice restructured classic. I should also point out that the other players on this disc; Greg Amov and Steven Davies Morris create some impressive landscapes of sound for Cyndee’s violins to fly over. Rule also hits the keys and programming herself.
Not only is Seven Cities of Gold filled with progtastical moments of grandeur and changing complexity it’s also infused with dandy Spanish guitar. Try drinking margaritas to it, or play it whilst wooing your senorita. Either way its like golden tequila, it’ll burn you smoothly. This showcase piece clocks in at just a bit over nine minutes which keeps this prognaut very pleased.
Cyndee also favors us with an ultra slab of space rock. Cyndee gives an amped up, warp drive, solar flaring, version of the Hawkwind tune, Assassins of Allah. I will declare it here and now, her version is better than the original. I’ve gotten tired of this song showing up on every Hawkwind live release lately and was getting sick of the song in general, but thanks to Rule I am back on board. Her instrumental speed dive violin workout leaves me forced to peal myself off the ceiling in the morning. I also dig the fact that it has a brilliant false ending which makes me give praise when the viper swings back in for one more super sonic assault.
Weekend Affair is for the lovers and the lounge lizards. It has hipster cool exotic bachelor pad charms, filled with dames with bedroom eyes. Don’t think I’m getting down on this songs vibe. I dig it all the way. Martin Denny or Les Baxter would chew their orchestras up with jealousy if they heard this retro cool number.
Something I Should Have Said closes up the shop. It’s deep into the creepy cool of trip hop. Haunting melodies, siren like, with strings dripping something ethereal and other worldly that you can’t quite see, and beats from the deep fade out and down with us. This song would be perfect on the soundtrack to a hipster ghost flick. It’s a spooky send off from a mansion of beautiful songs.

At a recent Orion Sound Studios show, I saw Rule join Thee Maximalists for a set of entirely improvised music. Afterwards, she came back and played a set on her own, playing violin over a series of pre-recorded backing tracks. That performance gave me a pretty good idea what to expect from this CD. The backing tracks on the disc are provided by members of Systems Theory, with Rule creating the melodies and soloing on violin over top. The instrument is sometimes played "clean" and recognizable as a violin, but just as often it's heavily distorted or fed through processing and can sometimes sound like a guitar or some sort of growling, otherworldly beast.
The background music ranges from originals to traditional ("Congress Reel") to covers (The Beatles' "Inner Light"), with one track that fits both the traditional and cover categories ("Scarborough Fair"). The album is entirely instrumental. The use of programmed drums gives the music a somewhat artificial or "techno" feel, but it doesn't detract much overall. The music is generally upbeat, although the heavy use of synthesizers and loops creates a somewhat spacey sound, in line with the album title and front cover. In case you were wondering about the cover art, it was created by Daevid Allen of Gong fame.

Rule's violin playing is top notch, and does a nice job of walking the line between being melodic enough for enjoyment, but abrasive enough not to sound like elevator music. I enjoyed her brief set at Orion, and have found this CD to make for great headphone listening at work. I'm generally a fan of prog music with violin (Kansas, Boud Deun, Ozone Quartet, etc), and this album gives it a new twist. Worth picking up if you're similarly fond of violin and don't mind programmed drum tracks and synthesizers.

http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/display.php?rev=clr-ufo

Tracklist: Putting The Rip In Strip (7:17), Congress Reel (2:47), As
Go The Moments (6:24), The Inner Light (2:34), Scarborough Fair
(2:48), Seven Cities Of Gold (9:06), Assassins Of Allah (4:21),
Weekend Affair (6:16), What On Earth? (6:29), Telekinetigram (4:50),
Something I Should Have Said (6:03)

A recent Hawkwind biography revealed (to me anyway) that Simon
House, their in/out/in again violinist has taken to wearing dresses.
Perhaps he is feeling the heat of competition, as Cyndee Lee Rule is
a very fetching young lady and she sure plays a mean violin. She
also has a Hawkwind connection, having played with Nik Turner and
Spaceseed, as well as Thee Maximalists, Stellarscope, her current
band Scattered Planets and she also took part in the Systems Theory
Project. Greg Amov and Steven Devies-Morris, both from that project,
supply the musical backing on this, the debut solo release from Miss
Rule.

Both the title and the crazy cover art (by Daevid Allen of Gong)
place this disc firmly in the Space Rock genre, and whilst this is
borne out from the psychedelic opener Putting The Rip In Strip
onwards, it is also readily apparent from the outset that this is a
genre-busting cross-cultural pot-pourri of a disc. Dance beats and
Electronica, courtesy of the Systems Theory pair, rub shoulders with
Eastern motifs, Ozrics style rambling riffarama, Folk Jigs,
Symphonic sweeps, Jazz sensibilities and Hard Rock nous – you name
it, there's probably a hint of it here.

Mainly co-composed by Cyndee, with one or other of Morris or Amov,
they find room for two traditional tunes Scarborough Fair and
Congress Reel, and a cover each from George Harrison – The Inner
Light – and Hawkwind – Assassins Of Allah (Perhaps it's this that
has got Mr House worried! Actually, he shouldn't be – this version
lacks the punch of the original, though it doesn't try to reproduce
the sound, going instead for a tribal/electro feel).

The original material is pretty strong throughout, but steadily
improves as the disc progresses, with What On Earth? and Something I
Should Have Said both being standout cuts.

For my money, I'd leave out the folk tunes, they do add variety, but
they are not as strong as the original material, and Congress Reel
in particular, sounds like the cast of Riverdance on speed, quite an
unsettling thought! I'd also like to hear Cyndee play with a more
conventional band line-up, as the programmed drums sometimes grate
on me – this is a personal preference though and your mileage may
vary.

So, for the most part, a thoroughly enjoyable first outing for a
talented violinist, and it should find favour with
Hawkwind/Ozrics/Gong fans and also possibly have a high cross-over
potential to fans of other genres like techno, world beat and fusion
to name but three.

Conclusion: 7 out of 10

DAVE SISSONS

InTheZone: February 07, 2006
I must agree with Uncle Leggy: the violin work on 'UFOsmosis' is amazing, taking the electric violin into guitar shredder territory. Ms. Rule is a major talent and a name to mark for the future. Paul's review touched on the relationship between Ms. Rule and the Systems Theory project, which is important in understanding the approach to music at the heart of the album. 'UFOsmosis' was produced by Steven Davies-Morris, with many of the tracks originating with him and Greg Amov (Systems Theory). the overlap, not just in personnel, occurs in those tunes -- the more progressive, psychedelic pieces that Paul mentioned. If you like highly creative electronic music, the kind that fuses rock and world influences to create a fascinating spaced hybrid, then there's a lot of magic in this disc. Also worth investigating (at Big Balloon) is the recent 'Soundtracks For Imaginary Movies' by Systems Theory, which Paul also reviewed on this site.

Cyndee Lee Rule is one of the musicians in the very impressive Systems Theory project which I have reviewed recently on here, so if that is anything to go, it looks like we might well be in for another treat here.

In the first few moments of 'Putting the rip in strip' it seems that the treats are very much about to be delivered as a quiet ambient calm and psychedelic string instrumentation mixture opens proceeding, reminding me mostly of early Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles, King Crimson and Radio Massacre International.

'Congress reel' completely changes the mood with some very Celtic sounding violins over rather upbeat rhythms. To be honest though I prefer the more progressive, psychedelic pieces such as the opener, 'As go the moments', 'What on earth?', songs that have less structure and more wayward sounding atmospheres. Some interesting noises in this album.

"Uncle Leggy: February 06, 2006
Having been heavily into everything from traditional folk and blues
through to the latest version of King Crim or wilder excesses of
Acid Mothers Temple since the late sixties, when I say that this is
the first time I have made a comment on-line about a CD, then I hope
it shows some of the affect hearing this CD has had on me.
Its all there. Heavy, soft, slow ambient to fast mind-boggling
virtuosity. Its amazing how many sounds and textures one person can
squeeze out of a violin and effects pedal.
The CD also comes with a cover specially designed for Cyndee by the
Legendary Daevid Allen of Gong.
You can hear clips on the soundclick site and find the links to
purchase it. I ordered mine from the Big Ballon site and they
shipped it to the UK the same day for about £7. A Bargain for one of
the best CD`s I have heard in over 30 years."

First thing I noticed with Cyndee Lee Rule is the high energy level that is in this disc.

Very Energetic, mixing world, space rock, middle eastern, Spanish flamenco, dance music, experimental music, and even some progressive music into a very visual artistic and sonic statement for the masses. She is very proficient and passionate on the viper and wood violins creating some of the most original sounding music I've heard in a long time. If you let the music guide you, you will in up in exotic cities of Calcutta, Istanbul, Katmandu, and Bangkok, Casablanca, Baghdad, Amman, and even Jerusalem.

Putting the Rip in Strip has an Middle eastern feel to it with some beatnik bongos thrown in here and there to give it a hippie vibe too. The only thing missing was the poem??

Get ready to fly as she speeds along to Congress Reel. Someone described her playing style on this song as a wild banshee gone mad. I would have to agree.

What a rush. Lots of energy

As Go the Moments has a world beat feel to it and it is nice and mellow song that is very trippy sounding. Can you say hallucinogens?

At first I thought this was an ELO song that had warped into a psychedelic magic carpet ride.

I even checked to make sure it wasn't a ELO song and it's not. I think it had more to do with the keyboards which have that ELO sound/feel.

The Inner Light kinda sounds like an Indian snake charmer song only with a little more pizzazz. She does make the viper sing in this song.

Funny I should think of this when I hear Cyndee's version of Scarborough Fair. But if any of you have seen the Knights Tale, This would fit perfectly in the scene where they are dancing. Nice world beat dance tune.

Seven Cities of Gold has a Spanish flamenco guitar and a Middle Eastern mix to it; almost like the rulers Spain and India decided to have an opium peace party, it's a very peaceful song.

Cyndee rips through Assassins of Allah with lots of frenzy; in some spots in the song she uses the pedals to get that warped rapid fire delivery. Reminding me of what it musta been like during the gun battles in Baghdad or any other war for that matter. The programmed drum tracks are rapid fire too.

Weekend Affair has some nice keyboard washes at the beginning and it picks up at about the 1:30 minute mark. Another one of those warped ELO sounding rides that just really warms my heart as it does not go haywire but is a pleasant ride. Nice sonic textures.

What on Earth? Really smooth space rock tune. It has a very warm feel to it and lots of passion in the keys and violin. Nice work!

Telekinetigram has a sound that feels like a fortune teller's booth at a carnival anticipating the karma that is to be your fortune. Almost like a fidgety kid waiting to see if he will be dealt the death card.

Something I Should Have Said has a warm glow to it and is a very peaceful piece that showcases Cyndee's Mastery of the violin and the keyboard is so wonderfully played it's reminds me of a lullaby in a way, which closes out this cd nicely. It is my favorite piece on the album.

(P.H.)

Drawing from a diverse palette of global influences - including Hawkwind, Gong, Afro-Celt Sound System and Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Cyndee Lee Rule's debut CD UFOsmosis deftly, and sometimes arbitrarily, fuses elements of space rock, new age, neo-progressive rock, world music and ambient dance into an occasionally bewildering and often breath-taking panorama of first realizations. Fiercely eclectic, UFOsmosis is intent on dissolving sonic boundaries while at the same time resolving the inherent contradictions that seemingly distinguish musical genres. Rule's axe du jour is electric violin, but on many of the eleven songs on UFOsmosis she wisely sheds the instrument's association with art music and instead shreds like some demented banshee on psilocybin. Strangely guitar-like, often shrieking and soaring, but with a brutal elegance rarely associated with the instrument, Rule's 5-string Viper rips through the electronically processed soundscapes of pieces like "Seven Cities of Gold" "What on Earth?" with a vengeance that reminds one of Didier Lockwood's demolition of the instrument with the early incarnation of Magma or Jean-Luc Ponty's similar chain saw pyrotechnics with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. "Congress Reel," for instance, features plenty of hot licks that ascend and spiral like floating cobras in a dervish dream of serpentine Persian scales, while "The Inner Light," a curious cover of a late Beatles curio, roils with the neo-futurist groove of Massive Attack crossbred with the wailing spiritual surrender of a Shankar raga. On the other hand, Rule's dynamic cover of Hawkwind's "Assassins of Allah" strips away the song's original heavy rock bias and imparts to it a sleeker, more frenetic edge, as if a troupe of traveling Bedouins had fired up the hookah, the drum machines and the synthesizers, plugged the violin into a Marshall stack and rocked the djinn down in a Tangier garage. "Telekinetigram" continues the calculated merger of 1st world technology with 3rd world sensibilities. Here Rule allows her violin to take wings and dive bomb through the starry ether, while buoyed to earth by a super-gooey LFO-modulated synth arpeggio. Both manic and mannered, with a fiery finesse that embraces a studied classicism without sacrificing emotional intensity, UFOsmosis is a cathartic hour under the headphones.

Reviewed by Charles Van de Kree

Violin-biased albums still in short supply, Scattered Planets "Viperess" Cyndee Lee Rule breaks away to indulge her innermost electric desires with a robust debut that boasts enough variety for your average Sunday post-church picnic. And that's not all: UFOsmosis is quietly a trio album, with two-thirds of Systems Theory-- Steven Davies-Morris and Greg Amov--onboard to lend their technical and compositional expertise. Of the eleven compositions, two are traditional pieces arranged by Rule and two are covers of well-known vintage rock gems; the remaining seven see Davies-Morris or Amov (on one track, both) share the writing credit. All three contributed alternately in the areas of melodic and textural treatments; Davies-Morris took on the venerable task of mixing. The outcome is a variably alloyed gumbo of styles in a single volley--under a Daevid Allen illustration--that's almost too exhaustive for its own good.
For full review see link.

Reviewer: David Frain: V Motion Picture Lab
Throughout her work, Cyndee Lee Rule successfully explores and expands a spectrum of style from the traditional to the experimental. Title by title, the listener’s experiences range from warm to surreal, from floating to accelerating, from euphoria to hazy and classy aural erotica. Defying the philosophy that a work (or body of work) has to grow to the exposure of the listener in order to be appreciated, UFOsmosis starts strongly in curious arrest and holds the listener through a trail of artistic exploration. The voyage takes the listener on a fly-by of intangible musical sensory experience from Eire to the East and into scenes from centuries that have yet to dawn. Imaginative authoring, flawless engineering, this is a get-comfortable-and-pay-attention work. The 3-2-1 knock-out of the final three songs really punctuates the experience in anticipation of Cyndee’s future offerings. (What On Earth alone is worth the price of this album!) This listener is not qualified to assess the delivery of Cyndee’s attack, but when the paint is dripping from the ceiling in this listening room, that should be some indication of the energy produced by her burning mastery.

Some of the highlights of UFOsmosis are Cyndee’s take on the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Scarborough Fair” and George Harrison’s “The Inner Light”. Both of which are uniquely reworked to suit the violin.

HOORAY FOR CYNDEE!!

She has every right to be excited - this CD SMOKES!! Her playing is simply fantastic - the tunes shine and sparkle and are a true representation of this wonderful artist... Mark and I can't stop listening to it...

SO RUN, DON'T WALK, TO HER WEBSITE AND ORDER A COPY FOR YOURSELF!

"Systems Theory is hard to classify because their sound crosses over into many genres including electronica based ambient, some rock both hard and spacey to world music. Most of the tracks were featured on previous demo releases so it was very nice to see the finished product. On Soundtracks For Imaginary Movies, the band adds guest musicians to their 3 piece core to help flesh out their musical vision. The guest musicians include violinist Cyndee Lee Rule who does some fantastic violin playing on Cool Vibe of Asia C.. Also a guitarist named Dun, that added his touch as well." Ron Fuchs

For full text of review:
http://www.geocities.com/prognaut/reviews/systems-theory3.html

"The first of the last trio of tunes, “Zero Sum Equation,” is a most stupendous composition, one that awaits its cue in some yet-to-be-filmed opus of excess further on in Dario Argento’s career. The ‘Tron lines and drumming are spot-on — I say drumming because the programming is bound to fool most pairs of ears. Aided by guest Dun Strummin’s lead guitar and the violin talent of Cyndee Lee Rule, aural glimpses of Wallenstein’s debut, Ashra’s Correlations, and Ponty’s Civilized Evil flash throughout like a phantasmal rogue’s gallery. It isn’t often a track of such quality to match the old masters comes about — here’s one. " Elias Granillo

"As far as individual track recognition is concerned, the honors go to “ Zero Sum Equation”. The “processed” so sound prevalent on the rest of the disc is minimized here and we get to hear a more organic sounding Systems Theory. Guest guitarists Brian Daly and Dun Strummin offer up some scintillating fretwork , which is front and center, and accentuated by some beautiful vioin courtesy of guest musician Cyndee Lee Rule. It is my honest belief that this balance of synthesized/ organic instrumentation is what works best for the group." Yves Dube

For full text of review:
http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=2018