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review by Dene Bebbington Collaborations seem to be as popular as ever, and as both Free System Projekt (Marcel Engels/Ruud Heij/Frank Van Der Wel) and Dweller at the Threshold (Dave Fulton/John Duval) have been creating music that harks back to 1970s Tangerine Dream, it makes sense that they'd come together. The music on Passenger 4 is taken from hours of music the two groups recorded together, though some tracks weren't composed and performed together. Specifically, the first track, "Pre-flight", was composed and performed by DATT, the second track, "Arrival" by FSP, and the remaining four tacks by both groups minus John Duval. Fortunately, Passenger 4 is not merely a clone of past Tangerine Dream glories. Though definitely retro, it's a series of compositions that blaze their own trail while also sounding comfortingly familiar. The liner notes contain a picture of a bus, yet the journey that the music brings to my mind is one through an aetherous space. In the non-sequencing sections, searing and sometimes mournful synths combine with other atmospheric, occasionally alien sounding, effects. When the sequencing gets underway, it sometimes has a more modern metallic quality than heard on the likes of TD's Rubycon and Phaedra. No retro album would be complete without at least a little bit of the male choral effects that have a churchly but otherworldly quality, though they are used very sparingly and only on "Arrival", as far as I can recall. Arguably, there's too much electronic music re-treading the musical territory pioneered by TD back in the 1970s. Curiously, though, I still find this kind of music enjoyable even if it has been done before. Nonetheless, and as with FSP's Atmospheric Conditions, this is another classy looking back to yesteryear album; both FSP and DATT use modular synths and obviously work well together. I can say without much doubt that retro fans will surely love this album, but it shouldn't only appeal to that audience - anyone who enjoys spacemusic and Berlin School sequencing would be advised to check it out. |
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