An appetising single of ambient electro, inviting us to a voyage of the heart and the spirit; the melodic lines, percussions/drums and sound effects form a universe of stark beauty, soothing for the ear and purifying for the soul.
I had first listened to Juan Shaman a few years ago, when his album Reevolucion was published on Jamendo. I was impressed by his very characteristic voice and the dark, rhythmic melodies of his songs, while his lyrics reminded me a little of Lorca's poetry - highly evocative, sometimes surreal, but also close to the pure lyrical and audacious imagery of traditional songs.
Five "cornerstone" poems by authors whose work marked Europe's (and the whole world's) literary history - the famous Shakespeare sonnet My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun, Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper and She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways, Home Is Where One Starts From by T. S. Eliot (from the Four Quartets) and When You Are Old by W. B. Yeats - set to music in an ambitious yet unpretentious album, merging past and modern resonances in a peculiarly attractive mix.
Leermond's music is defined by the composer himself (one half of the German duo Die Schatten) as "wandering through time and the senses" - and Castanea is an album that illustrates this description in the most representative manner. Deeply introspective and thought-provoking, the sound flirts with an assortment of styles and genres, claiming its own particular "signature" through the creative assimilation of its references.
Solanum or "nightshades" is the generic name for a variety of plants most of which are terminally toxic; in particular, black nightshade (Atropa Belladonna in Latin) is a subshrub of the Solanaceae family, whose poison is used in medicine to enlarge the pupils of the eyes - an effect provoked naturally by darkness itself, as vision strives to adapt to it.
Yggdrasil is, according to Norse mythology, the "world tree" that forms the link between the heavens and the sources of pure cold water and wisdom. A brilliant title for a musical work whose "branches" and "roots" extend into the many different aspects of our world - the heaven/hell of everyday life; the fragility of human relationships; the frightening night of the soul; and last but not least, the potential existence of intelligent life in outer space.
3908 is the fruit of an unexpected, if not improbable, collaboration between two artists whose diametrically opposite musical temperaments promise an intriguing (at least) auditory experience. The extremely minimalistic cover and laconic, enigmatic title do a really good job at disguising the tumultuous richness hidden within. This is an album that should by all means be seen - and most importantly, listened to - in conjunction with the personal view of art expressed by each one of its contributors.
Pink Radio by The Melchiades Estrada Band boasts an intriguing title and the weird beauty of a composite, multifaceted instrumental melody that bridges the colourful epopy of the '80s with the more introverted sophistication of the '90s, and at the same time illustrates the evolution of the composer's own musical universe and personal mythology. Its parts are held together by the thread of rhythm that unfolds in the background, like a rebellious planet with its own cadence of movement, which strangely keeps the rest of the orbits attuned to the universal harmony.
The new album by Der Tollwuetige Kasper (Arne Pahlke's side project) "welcomes us into our lives" - in a life that we shouldn't feel too happy or privileged to be living... I will not refer to the technicalities concerning this particular musical style - others have done that much better than I ever could - but I will approach this work subjectively and emotionally, based on my impressions after repeated listens of Manchmal kommen sie wieder.
Besides being the stunningly mature and elaborate work of a young prodigy, Music of Youth by The Melchiades Estrada Band constitutes also a historical point of reference for digitally composed music, since the medium used for the creation of these tracks (Protracker on an Amiga) is now obsolete. But the artistic value of this work is undeniable as well, demonstrating the composer's absolute mastery of his material and means.
Well, in fact this is a single that doesn't take itself too seriously, and for me at least, the cover is a clear indication of that. It's sensual in an ironical, self-deprecating way, and all that pink (strawberry and stuff) gives a note of exaggeration which I dare say was intentional.
This isn't usually the kind of music I listen to, but I was attracted by the black humor of the cover. The 1-hour track begins with a rhythm and female vocals that have a kind of dreamy quality, only for the rhythm to become gradually more energetic and invite the listeners to dance, or simply get immersed in the ambience and enjoy.
A very sweet and original album, conveying the alternating ambiences for the four seasons of love in a descriptive and at the same time pleasantly abstract and figurative way.
An extremely original mini album, creating a kind of "film noir" atmosphere through entrancing sounds and a beautiful voice.
Besides the powerful beauty of the music, one of the elements that always impress and pleasantly surprise me in both Digital series by Project System 12 is the titling of the tracks. Titles that could also refer to paintings or other works of visual art; unexpected combinations of words, pieces of sentences that seem to have been cut out of a narration, references to mythical events or unknown stories that the listener is tempted to "reconstruct", using his/her own imagination and feelings.
A pleasant album with nice lyrics and good recording quality. The singer's voice is very warm and the instrumental melodies create a dreamy atmosphere that carries the listener away.
It is always welcome and refreshing to see an original idea applied to well-known material. This album takes us back to the lost paradise of childhood, through beloved, universally familiar melodies.
Last in the series, the tenth Digital Wonderland album constitutes the epilogue to the fantasy saga of the same title. Powerful compositions of a cosmic magnificence are interspersed with dark, ominous ones or lighter and more playful, all characterised by enticing melodiousness and great beauty of form.
An interesting album whose tracks suggest a series of images, inviting the listener to visualise the scenes of a musically narrated chronicle. The story of the Zen Master's rise and fall is told in artful melodic sketches where moods and ambiences alternate.
With melodic echoes from the past combined with the epic-rhythmic element more prominent in the previous Digital Wonderland instalments, this album conjures up and invites us to explore a brightly coloured world of fantasy creatures and landscapes - unicorns, dreaming elves, dragonflies on parade, fairy princes, sleeping centaurs, sunsets and falling stars.
