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review by Mark Morton Navigator is a "Berlin school" band, primarily influenced by Tangerine Dream, circa 19876- 1982. Fans of the sequencer heavy style of that time would enjoy this offering. As I enjoy this type of music, I liked this CD and recommend it, with a few minor qualifiers. The band's strengths are primarily the creation of interesting and overlapping "Berlin" sequences that drive the pieces. Except for the dominating sequences, the pieces themselves and the ambient sections of the pieces, while competently done, are relatively unadventurous. Overall, the sequences make up for any stasis in the recordings and Berlin school fans will find much to enjoy here. "Flashing Blue" opens with some very nice interlocking sequences with overlapping and interesting rhythms. The stepwise descending chord progression that accompanies them has been heard before, but fits the sequences nicely. "Island of Silence" begins with an extended, orchestral-sounding ambient introduction that is creative, even veering off into some nicely done dark ambient sounds. More of this type of contrast would have been welcome. This is followed by another nice interlocking series of sequence that chugs along for a while before a Froese-like lead guitar plays over it. "Secrets of the Cave" begins with slow, echoey, flute and vocal pads before continuing with yet another intense interlocking sequence. A guitar theme is introduced and is very pretty and well-integrated with the sequences. "Oceanic Empire," the longest piece, sounds to me like several pieces tied together. The [song] begins with interesting mellotron-like sounds that mingle with a light harp-like sequence as vocal pads move in and out. There is a nice balance to all these things going on at once and a watery mood is maintained by sampled or synthesized wave sounds. This transitions into another ambient section with a somewhat lyrical melody and some ambient noise. The initial theme returns as a signal to trigger another section that features a bass sequence bubbling under some pleasant soloing. This leads to the climax of the piece, a delightful syncopated interlocking sequence that continually morphs and surprises. The finale is the excellent interaction of this sequence with some pads and solos marking this piece as the best on this cd. The final [tracks], "Peace Set I and II," are slow, sparse, simple melodies accompanied by simple harmony. The intended tranquility was not conveyed to me and these cuts failed to reach me like the others. |
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