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review by Bill Binkelman Enterphase are Fred Becker and Jeff Filbert and they are two highly talented synthesizer players, if Solar Promenades is any indication. Intermixing elements of traditional spacemusic, SF noises and effects, classic electronic new age music, and a few sidesteps into electronica, retro EM, and ambient, the CD is an adventurous yet wholly accessible musical excursion into the realm of outer space, or to mysterious locales on other planets, or even simply partaking of broad vistas on a deep violet night sky here on Earth. All in all, this is outstanding music to immerse oneself in, listening to it on headphones in a dark room and allowing oneself to float/cruise away into one's imagination. The title track starts things off nicely with twinkling sequenced notes, haunting washes of classic spacemusic keyboards, and some mildly distorted noise effects now and then. "After Service" begins with abrupt alien-ish sounds amidst skittering contemporary beats and textures and slowly the song incorporates more and more elements, while staying relatively low key. The mix is really dense on this cut, and it's fun to try to isolate all the musical components, whether they are whooshing and shushing sounds, soft synth strings, or other things out on the periphery. "Procession at Dawn" has a certain regal and stately feel to it (you'd expect as much with that title, right?) as fuzz tones, sequenced retro synth bleeps, and soaring keyboards swirl around each other. Throughout the album, the production, engineering and mix is outstanding, among the best I heard last year. It's difficult to believe that the two artists use only three different synths, although since they are assisted on various tracks by other notables in the EM and ambient world (Dean De Benedictis, David Wright, and John Dumitru), it's not really just two synths at times. Of course, it's nigh impossible (for me at least) to tell who is doing what, but in this case, the "whole" is so damned enjoyable that I don't mind being unable to differentiate. Other songs include the beautiful "Snow Paths" (a lovely song that manages to be "pretty" without being the least bit sappy), the relatively long (nine-and-a-half minutes) "Ray Bradbury's Ghost" (constantly evolving background spacemusic elements and cosmic noises bouncing and flowing over, around, and through a refrain on what sounds like guitar, but must be a synth instead) and "When the Morrow Breaks" (which starts slowly and somewhat dark with male chorales, bell tones, and lush washes, and folds into twinkling chimes and some exotic and semi-discordant electronic noises and pitch-bent synths, all the while retaining an overall element of melancholy music). This is Enterphase's third album and my first exposure to Becker and Filbert's unique take on combining retro and contemporary electronic music of assorted types. After thoroughly digesting Solar Promenades (I must have listened to it eight times already, at least), I only wish I had known of them sooner. It's great to hear music that sounds fresh and exciting every time I play it, and doubly so in that it pays homage to the beginnings of the spacemusic and EM genres at the same time it brings all sorts of contemporary wrinkles to the music as well. All in all, the CD is a delight and, in my opinion, an essential album to own if you love electronic spacemusic with elements of SF woven into it. Highly recommended. |
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