“A very good album for those who like to chill-out in mixed electronic ambiences”
1 Evolved Signs 6:23
2 Welcome to the New World 7:50
3 Prelude 7:56
4 Chill me 5:57
5 Dark Dark Heart 6:09
6 Life on Other Planets 9:23
7 Spaceborn 6:52
8 Down Back to my Soul 7:05
9 The First Time 9:54
10 In the Dawn of Evolution 8:53
(CD/DDL/Spotify 76:33) (V.F.)
(Electronica, New Berlin School)
For his 6th opus, Moonbooter has taken the gamble of uniting rhythms and sequences with more atmospheric music, always keeping his melodious approach. A daring bet, considering Bernd Scholl's passion for technoïd and heavy rhythms. All the more daring since COSMOCLIMAX was composed for a concert at the Planetarium in Bochum given on February 14, 2009. The German synthesist achieved his goal by offering a solid performance with this album which is his most mature to date.
A long rotating buzz opens Evolved Signs. Fine juicy chords pierce this incisive reverberation while a line of hiccupping sequences frees jerky spasms to bite this cosmic semi-atony. The percussions which come reorient this stationary rhythm towards a groove which roll under good orchestral arrangements. A thousand strings of lunar violins embrace this lascivious rhythm by adding an emotional depth to this introductory piece. Evolved Signs is built like Moonbooter can do it so well; heavy rhythm hesitant as furious with turns as surprising as unexpected and refrains sung by a dreamlike synth weaver of earworms. And therein lies all the charm of this album which flows with a sensual sweetness, imbued with a poetic cosmic melancholy. Like if space was Bernd Scholl's ultimate goal. This first track will tame you easily, but Welcome to the new World is likely to charm you even more. Rotating arpeggios, as if seized by a terrestrial attraction, revolve in a cylindrical space where heavy and juicy bass chords bite this structure of rhythm. A hypnotic structure which comes out of its immobility with very good percussions which crush both the soft hypnotic rhythm and our ears. The music continues this spatial romance with a minimalism cadence that a large synth envelops in its heavy layers, reducing the range of ethereal voices that float all around. And so goes COSMOCLIMAX. Ten songs where changing melodies and rhythms charm without making us work too hard to coax its structures.
Heavy and atmospheric, the introduction of Prelude is shaken by scattered percussions, opening the door to a progressive rhythm. Synth layers let hear ethereal voices which charm in this cosmic vision to land on a soft finely jerky tempo. Chill Me stands out with a strong Electronica approach which makes us dance more than dream, even with these atmospheric interludes which break up the progressions of this dance-music. On this title, they are veiled by a narrative voice which explains the genesis. Some pure Moonbooter that you can appreciate on the heavy and melodious Down Back to my Soul. Dark Dark Heart is possibly the title that hooks instantly with a nice female voice on a nervous rhythm. A cosmic opening on a hesitant and circular rhythmic structure, Life on Other Planets and In the Dawn of Evolution progress slowly before exploding in Techno with hybrid visions. The panoramas gradually change of atmospheric visions in accordance with these shields of the powerful and wild rhythms of the dance floors. The synths are soft with lyrical and cosmic moods. A bit like Spaceborn and The First Time which are quieter and melodious, and swirl in spatial atmospheres on very musical and softer structures.
COSMOCLIMAX follows the rhythmic and melodious paths of Moonbooter's albums. Except that this time, Bernd Scholl really succeeded in producing a hybrid EM, either between Electronica and electronic rock with powerful and catchy rhythms that border the moods of a metaphysical universe in formation. A very good album for those who like to chill-out in mixed electronic ambiences.
Sylvain Lupari (June 15th, 2009) ***½**
Available at MellowJet Records