ALPHA LYRA: Music for the Stars (2005)

“A stunning first album, between dream and rhythm, on a starry cosmic background between myth and dream”

1 North Star 8:08

2 Bételgeuse 18:29

3 Altaïr 10:00

4 Deneb 20:06

5 North Star (Remix) 8:15

Alpha Lyra Music

(DDL 64:59) (V.F.)

(Ambient)

Alpha Lyra is the French synthesist Christian Piednoir. An artist strongly influenced Klaus Schulze as well as analog and experimental electronic music. MUSIC FOR THE STARS is his first opus. An astonishing work, between dream and rhythm, on a starry cosmic background between myth and dream.

Like in a reverie, where a nostalgic dust paces our memories, North Star opens this album with a melodious promise. Limpid and crystalline, the notes of the piano parade in a superb harmonious carousel. An acoustic guitar, equally sweet, makes walk its notes in the shadow of the piano movement that obsesses our passion. North Star is a silk. A superb piece to introduce us into the sweet musical world of Alpha Lyra. From an astral corridor, the introduction of Betelgeuse progresses on a fine bass pulsation, creating the link between the atmosphere and the rhythm. Bewitching with its deep textures, the synth layers are floating in a nuanced atmosphere between its environmental sluggishness and its harmonious wandering. Quietly the sequence goes off to let the synth waltz with its chords and escape on solitary movements. Altaïr is hallucinating of depth. A synthetic wave unfolds, like a sound beacon, to auscultate the darkness with graceful gestures on dust of light chimes. Dense with long passionate impulses, Altaïr joins the silences and harmonizes its environment on heavy and mysterious synthesized impulses.

Deneb is the most beautiful title here. It's a long musical exploration between sequenced movements and ambient passages that are adorned with beautiful piano melodies and melodious segments that gravitate in suspension in the atmospheric meanders, still well exploited by the synths of Christian Piednoir. The second part is simply bewitching with its weak pulsation which cohabit with a growing sequence, fed with greedy strata. Minimalism and hypnotic, Deneb transposes us in the arms of Morpheus with an infinite softness. A very good track to lead us to sleep. A remix of North Star concludes this first work of Alpha Lyra. Equally melodious, the choirs replace the synthesized layers, while a keyboard uncouples the celestial notes of this superb melodious chimera. At the doors of the New Age that we would be, that I would be satisfied, so sweetness is heavenly.

MUSIC FOR THE STARS is an ode to stars. De Vega, also known as Alpha Lyra, is a constellation of the Lyre with bright blue colors, Christian Piednoir makes us enter with all the splendor of a Boreal beauty. This first opus is a shower of freshness in the landscape of EM. Harmonious music on long movements with nuanced modulations, between atmospheres and melodious sequences, in a heavenly ambience.

Sylvain Lupari (January 26th, 2007) ***½**

SynthSequences.com

Available at Alpha Lyra Bandcamp