|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
reviewed by Dene Bebbington Readers of Wind & Wire are likely to be familiar with Tony Gerber who is a founding member of Spacecraft and an executive of the Space for Music label. On top of all that he has also released several solo works. I was intrigued by the title of this album to the point that I did some investigation, this led to a website showing that Altamira is a cave in Spain containing Palaeolithic drawings, many being of animals such as bison and horses. The theme of the music is, thus, prehistoric life and times. Back in prehistoric times, the world would probably have been a daunting place for humans, yet free of all the modern artifacts that have changed the landscape and made nature more remote literally and emotionally. The music on Altamira is good at evoking images and feelings of how one imagines the prehistoric world to have been. There are seven tracks, ranging from around 6 to 13 minutes in length. The first one, "Prehistoric Heart," sets the mood of the disc. There is sequencing which sounds like an arhythmically beating heart accompanied by a kind of "sliding" synth sound, and in parts a subtle guitar is heard in the background. In the next track called "The Hunt" the pace picks up, this one's lead is a drawn out -- almost doleful -- sound with sequencing conveying the sense of a chase. This hopefully gives a flavour of what to expect, I won't go into a description of every piece; overall the emotional resonance is subdued but atmospheric, particularly where guitars are used. A lot of feeling and thought has surely gone into Altamira. It comes across as well-crafted music with lots of clever touches and subtleties. Nevertheless, it is an interesting challenge for me. It is very good at creating an atmosphere that fits in well with the idea of the prehistoric world, yet musically I didn't find it satisfying. |
|