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:: NEBULAE.
The second album from this Spanish synthesist has one foot in
electronic music and one in new age. The music is melodic,
cosmic, and gently rhythmic, with few dark elements. The sweeter,
new age tracks are in the Kitaro vein, while we prefer the more
traditionally EM tracks, which reflect the composer’s love of
Neuronium, Jarre, and Vangelis. 68-minutes.
© 2005 - KINESIS INC. USA.
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NEBULAE. Alidan hails from Spain
and makes ethereal space music. “Glider” is soft and not overly
sweet, floating gently by. More spacious sounds of American
synthesist Robert Carty come to mind. “Voyage” travels a similar
path, with easygoing sequencing and percussion added in for good
measure. Mostly music of the deep space floating variety, tracks
like “Flowers on the Wind” skirt along the edges of new age,
with pretty piano and softly textured electronics. “Cities of
Lights” has light, playful synth flutes and female choirs. Even
“Shaman,” which has some tribal touches, stays in a very
pleasant relaxed mode. Nebulae is not groundbreaking, but it
does go down easy.
© 2005 - Phil Derby, ELECTROAMBIENTSPACE. USA.
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NEBULAE. Here is an enjoyable exploration of an
assortment of retro electronic music, covering spacemusic,
Berlin, European, and assorted subgenres that harken back to
artists like Michael Stearns, David Lange, and other artists
whom emerged during the heyday of Hearts of Space (the label)
and other like it. I recommend the recording (for the most part)
as a solid and enjoyable collection of pieces that, despite the
presence of warm analog synths (whether "soft synths" or real, I
can't tell), and the retro nature of the compositions, still
sounds fresh and invigorating and not at all dated.
From the opening "Glider" which soars through the cosmos on
twinkling star shower keyboards and deep lush washes of synths
and "fat" floating chords, we travel to take a "Voyage" on
buoyant panned Berlin sequences imparted with a fluid movement
via washes and a high-pitched whistling lead melody line that
slowly evolves into a propulsive driving rhythm fest peppered
with snare, bass and cymbal beats. Later, "Inhabited Worlds"
tilts the music into a darker, yet still highly rhythmic and
powerful direction, featuring ping-ponging retro synths and
whirly-gigging noises and textures. A haunting melody weaves its
in amidst the rhythmic undercurrents, both intoxicating and
alluring, especially when more prominent percussion takes
control of the song.
Hard core EM fans will have to wade through songs such as "Flowers
in the Wind" which are "classic" synth-driven old-school new age
music (plucked harp keyboards, wavery synths, too-smooth strings,
bell tones, and a melody that fairly oozes romance, sweetness
and light. "City of Lights" (the piece which comes after the
aforementioned one) offers classic spacemusic washes and similar
retro-sounding effects and textures painting a nice SF-flavored
piece that at times reminds me of earlier Jarre recordings
crossed with David Lange, although the later use of plucked
guitar and sampled pan pipes strays over near the new age side
of the fence again with considerably better results, though. "Shaman"
returns to a more overt in-your-face EM style, with a vengeance.
Forceful rhythms and broad sweeping analog synths are carried
along by a Jonn Serrie (circa Flightpath/Tingri) lead keyboard
line. Oddly, a track that you'd expect to be overtly "new agey"
in sound, "Dolphins" while having friendly major chord/note
melodic content, as has its share of cosmic overtones, with
Demby-esque chorales married to midtempo beats of a retro/Quasi-Berlin
nature.
I was entertained by most of the album, and even the tracks that
crossed over or stumbled near to new age did so with grace and
class. After all, the new age music of the mid to late 1980s and
early 1990s bore a certain resemblance to both EM and spacemusic
(a lot more than current new age music does, that's for sure).
Nebuale's recording quality is impressive; engineering is
excellent as is production. I can't fault whatever Alidan uses
for his synths, controllers, or keyboards. While not as "warm"
as the music from "back then" actually was, this is still
pleasing to the ears and I never suffered aural fatigue or grew
tired of the assorted sounds. I think Alidan has a lot of talent
for composing music that borrows from the retro movement without
copying it or being purposely derivative. In particular, the
first four tracks on Nebulae are superb and on the basis of
those alone I recommend the album to EM and "classic" spacemusic
fans alike.
© 2005 - Bill Binkelman, WIND & WIRE. USA.
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NEBULAE. Un viaggio attorno all’Universo, un viaggio vicino alle
stelle, un viaggio dentro alla tua mente", queste sono le parole
con cui Alidan descrive il suo ultimo album "Nebulae", il quale
si presenta immediatamente con una maturazione musicale non
indifferente. L’artista esprime ancora una volta la
caratteristiche di un andamento non improntato sul ritmo,
l’espressione di sé stesso si riflette nella sua produzione,
facendo sì che ogni suono sia partecipe allo scorrere del tempo
e dello spazio senza che altro li scandiscano. Stavolta "Nebulae"
ci mostra una visione più complessa del lavoro di Alidan,
l’album si muove al di sopra e al di sotto di un velo cupo che
fa rimanere la musica dentro specifici confini, senza mai
innalzare le note più di tanto né colorandole maggiormente.
Eppure ne viene fuori un CD di elettronica molto particolare,
sospesotra più stili, ma che regala un ascolto molto, molto
interessante ed un apprezzamento ancora più piacevole. Usa
qualche eco e sporadici effetti per sottolineare qualche
momento, mentre le tracce sono sempre semplici e delicate anche
quando i suoni si fanno più oscuri. Il viaggio passa da
un’elettronica più sostanziosa ad una più tenera e ricca di
sentimento, senza però mai subire accelerazioni ritmiche
nonostante le melodie molto fantasiose. Chi conosce Alidan sa
che i synths sono atti a creare un certo tipo di atmosfera, in
cui la tecnica non ha molta importanza, perché quanto ritiene
importante è l’evidenziare la profondità emotiva
dell’ispirazione.
L’eccezione all’impalpabilità c’è anche in questo caso: il brano
"Shaman" nella sua sublimità, acchiappa una percussione,
splendidi effetti e note più brillanti, per dar vita ad una
traccia sorprendente, l’unica pecca è che dura poco. "Nebulae" è
da ascoltare con la mente in pace, occorre lasciarsi trasportare
dalla sua fantasia, dalla sua semplicità, dal suo fascino
intrinseco, proseguire senza porsi domande… solo così si scopre
quanto la scelta dell’autore verso questo stile possa fruttare
nel nostro animo. I miei complimenti per la cura e
l’espressività che questo simpaticissimo ragazzo spagnolo ha
saputo applicare, dimostrando una sua spinta in avanti nella
musica, già comunque precedentemente apprezzato.
© 2005 - Stefania Carrezzoli, 21st CENTURY MUSIC MAGAZINE. ITALY.
::
Reviews 2004
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