Albumreview by John Shanahan (hypnagogue.net): Ambient musician Mario Grönnert releases his first full-length work, From Land to Light, and in doing so comes across as a thought-provoking artist who actively strives to avoid simple characterization. The disc mixes a couple of cold, unwelcoming atmospheres into what’s otherwise a very delicate and graceful set of New Age-leaning vignettes. You’re brought into Grönnert’s vision with the chill winds of “Inland,” five minutes of moaning drones, quietly ghoulish sighs, and a heartbeat-like pulse. It’s effectively off-putting, and, had you not read this review first, would certainly make you think you’d found a new dark ambient artist. But then comes its follow-up, “The Plateau,” which is something of an Eno-esque piece with tinkling keys and wafting ambient pads. “Fading Shoreline” is another minimalist piece built on the sound of a hissing wind and tap-tap percussion, and then we’re into the gentle electric piano composition, “Long Term Transmission.” This is a soft-edged piece where string sounds draw curved supporting lines around the melody, which simply takes its time in making its point. At this point, Grönnert seems to decide to stick mostly with the approachable stuff, and it’s a pleasure. “Another Blue Day” is a beautiful ballad with a slightly sad feel. I like the way the last couple of notes strive hopefully upward and then just–stop. ”Message from a Dream” has a Mark Isham feel in the mix of emotional melody and quieted back-up in strings and bass. And the closer, “Mirrors Shine,” rings with its own slowly described poetry, echoing electric piano notes marking the path of a marginally melancholy tale. From Land to Light seems like it might have benefited from the excision of the two darker tracks. Even the one remaining track that takes a slightly more experimental route, “Pathway,” is lighter, electronic notes reverberating and bouncing over a slow, droning backdrop. Grönnert is an excellent musician, capable of drawing real feeling out of his compositions. There’s a deep thoughtfulness to them, a perfectly established line from inner feeling to outward expression, and it draws the listener in. On top of that, there’s a lot of sonic detail at work here. This is a nice casual listen, but Grönnert does a great job with the small sounds that add depth. From Land to Light works a lot of impact into its scant 45 minutes, and should leave the listener expecting even more from Mario Grönnert. Albumreview by Jan Roos (TransparentVelvet): Mario Grönnerts debut album "From Land To Light" starts of with "Inland". Siren-like drones, like ghost-ships calling through the fog, with heart beats pulsating. It's certainly somewhat on the dark side of ambient. But also intriguing, it feels as if we are leaving land, traveling to distant shores. So as the second track "The Plateau" begins, with melodic bells and piano, nicely layered up, with great attention to detail both sonically and composition-wise, it certainly comes as a somewhat unexpected surprise. The composition is very well crafted, and sounds perhaps slightly like a blend of Brian Eno and Vangelis. Track 3, "Fading Shoreline", is another dark ambient affair, similar to the opening piece. The mood is very dream-like... But there's more a sense of mystery than a sense of terror or fear. Track 4: "Long Term Transmission", takes us gently back to the Eno-esque tonal landscapes. Grönnert takes his time, letting the music slowly make it's point. From this point the rest of the album keeps this direction of more approachable compositions, leaving the more abstract soundscapes behind. Track 5 "Another Blue Day" continues with a gentle, fragile piano theme unfolding. The composition is slightly more twinkly. The sounds are simple, the layering sparse. But that is in reality a good thing, as these compositions stand best on their own "tonal and harmonic feet". Steve Roach-like sonic spaces within these compositions would be completely missing the point. On a critical note, some of the delay effects are overdone. Track 8, "Pathway", being the strongest example here, and track 6 "If you noticed" to a lesser extent. It cheapens the sound somewhat. Thankfully, it is not a big problem on the album as a whole. The album continues with more compositions of the same caliber and style. The compositions in general have an open quality to them. They sound, in one way, well crafted and organized. But at the same time open and improvised, almost like they have a slight touch of "generated music" feel. This blend of familiarity and openness works very well, indeed, and is perhaps the biggest strength of the album over time. The same can be said about the moods. They are crafted in such a manner that the listeners perception colors the experience very much. The real beauty of the album is that it exists in a landscape where it can be listened to as either dark or light, or even both at once; it's up to the listener. Mario Grönnert delivers a great debut with "From Land to Light". It's an album that seems to have grown each time you return to listen to it.