Balligomingo’s album Beneath The Surface is the first album I bought at the iTunes Music Store. It’s very good indeed, with an emphasis on binding electronic and classical melodies rather than relying on over-complicated percussion. Listen to the rhythm tracks and you’ll find they’re very traditional. Much like early- to mid-90s ambient. However what makes the album worth listening to are the melodies, the instrumental arrangements and the vocals. Reminds me of No Man too.

Being signed to Windham Hill is a good indicator of quality – this also provides a good idea of what it’ll sound like, although with the 30 second samples on the store you don’t really need to guess. The only problem with the store is you have to dig around to find out who does what – that’s what the Composer part of ID3 tags are for. So here we are:

Garrett Schwarz is the main man, joined by sometime Delerium lead singer Kristy Thirsk (and some of her vocals are fantastic). In addition to Thirsk, Balligomingo features the ethereal vocals of Camille Miller (from Vancouver), Jody Quine (Calgary), Jennifer Baldwin (Dallas), Colleen Coadic (Anchorage), Jennifer Hershman (Vancouver), and Beverley Staunton (Vancouver). There’s also the string section of the Mark Ferris Orchestra and the Juno Award-winning ensemble The Rose Chronicles.

Kristy Thirsk appears on my track of the day, Heat. It’s very very good.

For more on Balligomingo, click here.