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Review by Mark Morton This release stands out from the spate of Berlin style sequenced music that is released on a consistent basis by this and other labels. The musicians have forged a winning formula, combining soft ambient pads with many short rhythmic sequences and executing the style with a clear sense of enjoyment and confidence that is communicated to the listener. The recording opens with "Echo System", the longest track. Some floating pads open the piece, sounding for all the world like a vintage Berlin school piece. The sequences that follow are lively and imaginative, the main difference between these and others I have spent time listening to lately appear to be that each sequence is firmly rooted in the blues scale, there is much delay used, and the motives introduced in the sequences are short. The sequences continually change timbre, tone and the range of pitch to keep the listener's interest and a nice, relaxed, exploratory prog-rock mood is created, circa mid- '70s electronic music. New sequences and timbres, often simply constructed ,constantly dance in and out of the mix. The rhythmic focus continually and subtly shifts. Key changes maintain harmonic interest and are well timed. This track contained all the virtues of the recording in microcosm and constituted an excellent start to the collection. "Windy Plains" is a shorter and less ambitious piece, staring with some wind sounds and progressing to a motoric, repeated note sequence that uses much delay and overlap with other 2 or 3 note sequences to produce its effect. The harmony and pad sounds are fairly static. The piece recalled, for me, the vast panoramas found in the more desolate plains of Kansas and Nebraska ."Writing On Water" begins tentatively, but quickly becomes a percolating swirl of abstract consonance. 2 sequences emerge, one high pitched, one lower sounding. However, the piece remains quiet and drifts across the listener's consciousness before a ricocheting simple motive establishes a pulse. Pads and wind sounds softly whisper below the main pulse. Gradually, they are mixed up as distant bell-like sounds begin to chime . Other sequences interlock with the pulse and the piece creeps slowly forward. The piece is all the better for the fact that a constant pulse is only established late in the game. "Shanti" begins with what sounds like a solo improvised melody using a nice synth square wave patch. The melody sounds like one of those you might hear on a Native American flute. This introduces once of the nicest, simplest Berlin sequences I have heard since I started listening . The haunting refrain fades in and out through the piece and is paired with more rhythmic sounds for contrast. Some of these short percussive sounds state or suggest melodies and the magic begins. A standout track, that caused much comment when played for friends or in the office. "Shadowlands" follows, with a nice space pad intro with lots of whooshing and creative use of panning, Sequences and a foundation or structure for the piece are absent, a nice contrast, as this piece relies on a relaxing echoey harmonic progression and pad sounds, together with shorter echoes. This piece is most effective while visualizing or actually looking at the night sky. The piece fades into "Everybody's Sky", which opens with processed vocal samples that sound like signals received form a distant radio station. The mood alters when long sweeps are introduced over a throbbing drone as short motivees echo up and down the tonal spectrum. This is followed by the fastest, most aggressive sequence on the recording. A slow modal melody plays as the sequence gathers momentum. A percussive sequenced sound becomes a companion to the main sequence and gradually becomes a secondary focus of the music. Meanwhile, there are many panned filter improvisations to keep the listeners attention. The unusually structured piece staggers to a close with a drone "outro" that mirrors the intro, including the recap of the "sky voices" that began the piece. The final piece, "Death of an ARP", begins with another wining, catchy, simple sequence that anchors the gurgling madness that shimmers around it. This piece is similar in structure to the opener and is the second longest on the recording. Frequent shifts in tonal emphasis make the piece more appealing to me, and the shifts are often reminiscent of rock or blues progressions. Here there are again multiple sequences, many just as catchy as the opener and well-presented in a way that propels the piece. The piece offers a short and poignant mood change in the latter half, that again uses imaginative sequences that are presented to their best advantage with good sound design. This is a highlight in a recording that does not want for highlights. It is difficult to see how I can keep this one off my best of the year list. I favor this recording over any of the solo output I have heard form either artist and I would strongly encourage them to follow this up. |
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