“Uwe Saher knows how to nuance the genres and insert things that make us start”
1 Neo Intro 1:55
2 Quakebeat 2006 8:02
3 Bluenoon 7:48
4 Blaster 5:36
5 Loungebar 8:35
6 Euphoria 9:07
7 Mindscapes 8:55
8 Road to Amnesia 2006 7:53
9 Peaktime 6:16
10 F.X. 8:33
11 Blaster (J.B. Remix) 6:15
(CD-R 79:15) (V.F.)
(EDM, Techno & Trance)
Element 4 is a musical project parallel to Brainwork, the same musician who gave us Soundclouds, one of EM's best albums in 2006. Guided by German synthesist Uwe Saher, E4 has been rocking the dance floors since 1995 with the album Elements of Trance. NEOTUNES is the 6th CD from the man with two hats. A very different one from Brainwork because if Soundclouds made us travel without moving, NEOTUNES makes us move without really traveling.
Neo Intro is a short floating introduction where the layers move heavily in a harmonious sound sphere that makes us dream of Soundclouds. Quakebeat 2006 lights the fire with a lively sequence. Synth streaks rip apart the panorama with the tssitt-tssitt of cymbals that draw a pounding line of rhythm. The bass in the floor perfectly matches the heartbeat. The rhythm is infernal. The synth envelops it with a superb melodious line that nervously besieges this blistering rhythm. Far from being hypnotic, it nuances its magnetism with this crossing of multi-sound stripes and by superb bypasses and strong nuances in the tones with good sound effects. Bluenoon continues the pounding on a more minimalist rhythm hammered with percussions that drop its percussive effects, giving an industrial dimension to a melodious movement à la Jean-Michel Jarre. Blaster is even more striking! On a hard beat, the sequence spins briskly in a rotating circle that the percussions chase through the jerky grooves. Loungebar tempers this high voltage session with a lounge beat that is supported by good percussion, good bass playing and beautiful harmonies that keep coming back on discrete layers that become more and more apparent.
Euphoria is the very concept of techno dance for a mummified soul (sic!). It moves, it stuns on rhythms with changing pulsations and a bass which massages the feet of its enormous fields of reverberations. A track for possessed zombies where the eyes are often behind the head! Mindscapes is a well composed and well-arranged track. The drumming beat of its tam-tam percussions on an oscillating line that comes to life with a pounding pulse while syncopated synth pads put their foot on the brake. The result is surprising and pleasing. These contrasts draw in synth lines, both linear and circular, that crisscross at speeds as variable as the beat. At this point in NEOTUNES, it gives a new momentum while creating a surprise effect. Quite the opposite of the title-track where the ambiences are as significant as the beats. It's the same principle with Road to Amnesia 2006. The intro with vaporous percussions initiates a heavy pulsation whose resonance titillates the plantar muscles. We are in a lightning technoïd whirlwind which alters its movement to insert all the nuances in rotation and pulverize an even wilder rhythm. To a lesser extent, Peaktime is of the same mold. The rhythm is less lively, on the other hand there is a superb play of percussions and bass to make vibrate the chandeliers of the neighbors' downstairs. Compressed dynamite, which always has a piece of harmony to insert somewhere! An alien tribal techno, F.X. is an amazing track. On soft rhythms with plasma rigidities E4 exploits the most heterogeneous sonorities and forms an impulse with fragile cadences that exploit a frail techno, but succulent of ingenuity. Blaster concluded on a very conservative remix from Jean Baptiste.
I must admit that I was apprehensive about discovering NEOTUNES. I'm not a techno fan, nor of its thundering rhythms. But it was quite the opposite. NEOTUNES is nearly 80 minutes of music hammered by explosive rhythms. But it's also finesse in the arrangements. Uwe Saher knows how to nuance the genres and insert things that make us jump. Throughout this bomb, he changes the sequences and brings melodic nuances that change the game. Soundclouds and NEOTUNES! Brainwork or Element 4! Uwe Saher had a great year. I wish us more of those 😊!
Sylvain Lupari (January 6th, 2007) ***½**
Available at Brainwork Music