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NEBULAE. For those not familiar, Alidan is an artist originally from Madrid,
Spain. This is his second album, the first being released in 2001. That being
said, this was my first exposure to his music.
In many ways, this recording was a refreshing change, in that, although ambient,
it lacked the dark elements that much of the genre works with. Rather than
layering deep imposing chords and tones, Alidan layers bright riffs and melodies.
It's certainly in the realm of New Age much of the time, yet not in the bad
sense that the genre name sometimes brings to mind. In addition, there's a
spheric component swooshing through the music, as can be seen by the flowing
nature of the titles such as Glider, Flowers on the Wind, or Dolphins. In
combination, these approaches make for some good music. After translating his
website, I found that the recording was made with the option of using the music
as soundtrack music for massage therapies, yoga, tai chi, and similar practices.
The "cheerfulness" of the music would certainly make sense in these
circumstances.
Equipment-wise, I'm told he uses Korg and Yamaha digital synthesizers with
additional analog synths, sequencers, and the miscellaneous computer and special
effects devices.
I must admit that this recording occasionally gets a bit too perky for my
personal taste, but still there's plenty of good material here to put up with
that.
© 2004 - Loren Bacon, ELECTRONICSHADOWS. USA / NORWAY. 24-09-04
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NEBULAE. "Nebulae" is an impressive symphony of mysterious melodies and magical
atmospheres, where the less abstract elements of Space Music merge with those
more ethereal ones from New Instrumental Music. The music is bright, full of
energy. Alidan is one of those artists that know how to take us into musical
landscapes full of melodic harmony. In all, these are ten themes that reveal the
artistic maturity of the composer, his liberal use of synthesizers, as well as
his wide musical vision. Ten themes aimed at making the listener dream.
"Nebulae" es una impresionante sinfonía de melodías misteriosas y atmósferas
mágicas, donde se fusionan los elementos menos abstractos de la Música Cósmica y
los rasgos más etéreos de la Nueva Música Instrumental. La música es luminosa,
llena de energía. Alidan es uno de esos artistas que saben cómo adentrarnos en
paisajes musicales llenos de melodiosa armonía. En total, son diez temas que
ponen de manifiesto la madurez artística del compositor, su liberal uso de
sintetizadores, y su amplia visión musical. Diez temas pensados para hacer
soñar.
© 2004 - Pascual Jurado, AMAZING SOUNDS. SPAIN. 13-09-04
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NEBULAE. Alidan nos sorprende en esta ocasión con un trabajo en el que, de
nuevo, combina perfectamente la capacidad de crear armonías melódicas junto a
sonidos evocadores. Dibujando una temática cósmica, los paisajes de este disco
producen una mezcla entre la electrónica clásica y la new-age. "Glider" es una
buena introducción para el trabajo, que consta de un total de 10 temas. Junto a
"Voyage", el segundo tema, forman un arranque muy cercano a la electrónica que
tanto nos gusta en Progweb. Lo mismo podemos decir de "Inhabited Worlds", donde
hace un adecuado uso de los efectos de delay. "Flowers On The Wind" tiene, sin
embargo, un estilo más cercano a la new-age, donde el piano y los sonidos de
cuerdas adquieren un mayor protagonismo.El resto de los temas navegan de nuevo
entre los estilos ya mencionados. Sin duda el interés de Alidan por los
instrumentos acústicos, además de los electrónicos, se observa en temas como "Shaman"
o "With An Angel". También la mínima presencia de elementos percusivos a lo
largo de todo el trabajo demuestran que este músico madrileño apuesta fuerte por
la melodía como base para todos sus temas. También puedo observar que, el
interés de Alidan por la musicoterapia, se ve en parte reflejado en este
trabajo. Y, con respecto a las influencias de otros músicos en Nebulae, veo
pasajes que me recuerdan fuertemente al japonés Kitaro, así como a Jean Michel
Jarre en sus temas más electrónicos, junto a los sonidos melodistas de Neuronium
y Vangelis. En definitiva, la constante búsqueda de nuevos espacios sonoros por
parte de Alidan, ha producido un interesante trabajo, muy correcto, con sonidos
limpios que producen una música muy visual, apta tanto para los aficionados a la
música relajante así como para los seguidores de la música electrónica clásica
en su vertiente más cósmica.
© 2004 - Jorge Sergio Iglesias, ARTICMIST. SPAIN.
21-08-04
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NEBULAE. Alidan is a Spanish synthesizerplayer. The last years some interesting
electronic musicalbums come from Spain so I was anxious to hear this CD. Don't
expect spacemusic, as title and cover indicate. Alidan gives us a varying whole
of diverse styles from electronic music. Glider does opens the CD slightly
cosmic with beautiful sounds. In Voyage the music is simpler with calm rhythms
and pulsating sequences. A bassolo starts The Kingdom Of Poseidon. Further this
is a composition that would do well as filmmusic. This also counts for Cities Of
Light. The variety on the CD brings the listener next to a little poppy
compositions, romantic pianomelodies and
even some ethnic influences. So, this is a rather exclusive CD with something
for everybody.
© 2004 - Paul Rijkens, Dutch progressive rockmagazine iO Pages NETHERLANDS.
02-08-04
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NEBULAE. Nebulae is an album of drifting Space Music and melodic ambient
atmospheres, plus several upbeat melodic tracks. The first four tracks are very
good. Two of them ("Glider" and "The Kingdom of Poseidon") are drifting, while
the other two ("Voyage" and "Inhabited Worlds") are more upbeat, the former
featuring lots of sequences and the latter being the best cut on the album if
you ask me. I heard some lovely analog-like leads on "Glider", so I was hoping
to hear more of this stuff during the course of this album, but - alas, got
none. Unfortunately, after the first four tracks, the album delves into sweet,
Kitaro-like keyboard New Age Music. Both "Flowers On the Wind" and "Cities of
Light" are very New Agey. Not that they are bad tracks, it's just that my own
preferences tend to drift to darker and more experimental realms. Thankfully,
the album gains momentum once again with the very upbeat "Shaman" and the
atmospheric "Dolphins", both of which are ok. "With An Angel" and
"Introspection" close the album on once again a melodic and sweet Kitaro-ish New
Age note. Overall, it's a diverse collection of music that will appeal to a wide
audience and is well worth checking out. I think if Alidan continues in the vein
of "Voyage" and "Inhabited Worlds" he may soon surprise us with a great bunch of
upbeat melodic EM tracks.
© 2004 Artemi Pugachov, Encyclopedia of Electronic Music. RUSSIA. 10-07-04
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NEBULAE. A new name to me, this Spanish synthesist/ composer is unique as he
combines deeply spheric ambient sounds with elaborate melodic themes and exotic/
sensual soundscapes. This resulting combination is symphonic, cosmic and filled
with rhythms and pulses that echo the past and reverberates with new sounds as
well.
© 2004 Archie Patterson, EUROCK. USA.
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NEBULAE. Second album by this notorius Spanish composer.The music on the new
album, Nebulae, keeps all the qualities from the debut, but adds new kinds of
sounds and grooves, new exciting dimensions to the Alidan sound. Alidan´s music
is unique for its artful combination of amazing melodies with spheric ambient
sounds. His talent for extremely sensual soudscapes is another of the Spanish
composer´s big assets.
© 2004 Rafa Dorado, MARGEN MAGAZINE. SPAIN.
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NOOSPHERE. Música suave, densa, agradable de escuchar, con melodías de corte
místico-romántico aunque sin resultar dulzonas en exceso. Alidan también hace
una buena labor con las orquestaciones, ricas en texturas cálidas y en matices.
© 2004 Hector Jordan, AMAZING SOUNDS. SPAIN.
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NOOSPHERE. Dalla penisola ispanica si presenta Alidan con il suo "Noosphere",
ispirandosi alla Coscienza Planetaria, contenente i sentimenti, le emozioni, le
idee di tutto il genere umano, un tramutarsi in energia che viene definita
"noosfera", appunto. L'autore cerca così di dare all'ascoltatore lo spunto per
rinvigorire l'interiorità con una musica rilassante, tuttavia senza appiattire
le melodie con quei tappeti meditativi, che hanno poco a che fare con una new
age-elettronica ben fatta. Per dare una maggiore enfasi ai brani, egli si affida
a musicisti di supporto per quanto riguarda il flauto, la chitarra e le
percussioni, oltre la voce di Marta Villavecchia nell'ultimo brano. Affascinante
è "Camino De Luz", in cui il flauto crea un'atmosfera leggiadra e malinconica,
mentre una stupenda melodia lo alterna, facendone una traccia davvero
incantevole. I synths, ora presenti ora di sottofondo, sono splendidi, e
raggiungono l'apice quando tutto impera e si espande, come un'orchestra che
suona lo stesso strumento. "Amazonia" è una suite in cui la voce della natura,
del flauto e i synths danno vita ad una magia sonora a spirale, mentre si
rabbrividisce quando degli echi elettronici pervadono l'intera melodia, che si
confonde con l'ambient e riaffiora come elettronica di incredibile bellezza. E'
un brano di alto livello, in cui Alidan dà davvero tutto se stesso per questo
risultato sorprendente. Splendido e delicato è "Gaia", nostalgico e struggente è
"Parte De Mi", che lento ricama sensazioni dolcissime.Si potrebbe parlare di
ogni singola traccia, ma credo che l'ascolto sia la migliore cosa per farsi
penetrare da questa bella musica che Alidan dona così volentieri. Cd alla
portata di tutti.
© 2004 Stefania Carrezzoli 21st CENTURY MUSIC MAGAZINE. ITALY.
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Reviews 2005 |
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