“Ambiences and rhythms fed by beautiful melodies and a divinely poignant piano”
1 The Stirring of Echoes 5:32
2 Passing 6:33
3 What Dreams May Come 7:20
4 Until the End of Time 6:38
5 In Another Light 9:04
6 The Embrace of Eternity 13:13
7 The Timeless Mind 5:31
8 Spirit-Walking 5:18
9 The Gift of Goodbye 3:03
(CD-r/DDL 62:13) (V.F.)
(E-Rock, Synth-Wave, EDM)
Neil Fellowes (Code Indigo, Callisto and Trinity) is the man behind Geigertek. A musical project where the structures marry different facets in conformity with his very diversified influences, which go from John Foxx to Billy Currie, passing by Ultravox, Gary Numan and Enigma, without forgetting Isao Tomita, Erik Satie and David Wright. These influences are transposed on THE TIMELESS MIND with 9 tracks that evolve in ambivalent structures. Structures where curt, unbridled and hyper lively rhythms precede cosmic and/or ethereal atmospheres. Ambiences and rhythms fed by beautiful melodies, nice arrangements and good intrusions of a divinely poignant piano.
Tergiversating, The Stirring of Echoes travels between its rhythms and ambiances. It begins with a gloomy synth wave that roars and pushes hesitantly clear chords to migrate to a more melodic approach. One senses a rhythm that will bloom with an amalgam of nervous percussion and its flickering effects. The muffled and metallic strikes resonate in an industrial haze. Everything is in suspension as the rhythm comes out of its shyness with twisted synth solos that scream spectral breaths and take undulating curves to float on a melodious rhythmic approach tied to galloping percussion and a rumbling bass line. Passing is a strange track hesitating in an ambience of mystery and melancholy. The first part is full of heavy symphonic impulses that grind snatches of melodies as dark as moving, while a dark synth veil emerges and criss-crosses dark passages to end in the notes of a beautiful dreamy and striking piano. After a soft intro where the piano makes floating its nostalgic notes, the rhythm of What Dreams May Come gently awakens with muffled pulsations and discreet percussions that beat in an intense mellotron mist. Its rhythm is slow and feeds itself in a nice sonic fauna filled of howling solos. Gradually modifying its initial axis, it starts to bubble without ever bursting, preferring to drift towards a morphic structure. Until the End of Time plunges us slowly into a spatial approach with powerful sounds of a spaceship on the move. Superb cosmic waves waltz slowly and cover the sizzling and chirping of a boiling stellar fauna. The violins seem to be crying for the fate of humanity with poignant outbursts that flow into the heartbreaking and melancholic notes of a piano that seems to be the last hope of a world in perdition.
After a deeply atmospheric intro driven by cosmic winds, In Another Light shakes off its torpor with percussion that grows to create a slightly technoïd cadence. This nice harmonious track lives on a progressive movement. It unveils a good melody with keyboards chords jumping in their jerky echoes and circular strobe sequences that are hovered over with very good synth solos. The longest track on THE TIMELESS MIND, The Embrace of Eternity is based on an evolving structure. The sequences jump and flutter in a disorderly way after a cosmic intro. Following strange mermaids' chants, the rhythm comes alive with a minimalist sequencer movement where chords jump on different synth lines. Celestial or harmonious, these lines envelop the movement until they fade away and get entwined with misty breaths that come from the piano notes. This romantic finale gets on its feet with a less heavy and more melodious rhythm where the synth solos vaguely recall the universe of Vangelis. The title-track is created following the same pattern, except that the rhythm is wilder with sequences that pulsate at high speed and solid percussions that push the rhythm now surrounded by good multiple tones' synth solos. Spirit-Walking is a hyper nervous track where the sequences feed on their echoes, creating a frenetic movement hammered by good percussions. It's a movement whose subtle permutations add good rhythmic depth with fiery synth solos. And like everywhere on THE TIMELESS MIND's structures, the rhythm deviates again to a more melodic finale where the piano offers notes that dance and float on an ever so frenzied movement. The Gift of Goodbye concludes this second Geigertek album with a cheerful rhythm, like in a night-club atmosphere where jazz is on the menu. A final that precedes a long ambient intro, depicting quite well the musical universe all in contrast that inhabits THE TIMELESS MIND.
Sylvain Lupari (November 5th, 2011) ***½**
Available at AD Music