“MoonSatellite continues the exploration of Jean-Michel Jarre's first 2 opuses”
1 Sequenzer I 17:37
2 Sequenzer II 7:11
3 Sequenzer III 17:05
4 Sequenzer IV 5:36
5 Sequenzer V 6:59
(DDL 55:14) (V.F.)
(French School, Cosmic Rock)
Hum .... The sweet feeling of traveling in time and put for the nth time Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygen on my Linn turntable. SEQUENZER is the first opus of MoonSatellite and it's also a pleasant time travel where the doors of the cosmos and stars open on delicious sequences and synth lines that have made the beauty of Jarre's first 2 albums. A pale imitation? No! MoonSatellite continues the exploration of cosmic waves, abandoned by the French musician after Magnetic Fields, to deepen an EM with temperate rhythms but with an even more spatial approach to what is being done today. Sounds of shooting stars that sparkle while moving at a crazy speed or bathing in a motionless poetic, SEQUENZER is skillfully built in a mold where the dream goes to the door of the stars and extends over 5 titles that intertwine in a delicious intergalactic nectar.
A spatial wind blows on the cosmic plains of the SEQUENZER solar system. Sequenzer I opens this quest for synthesizer and sequencer with a sweet and warm breath that ripples among a plethora of sound effects and of galactic white noises, while a synth wave strokes the stars of its singing. A soft sequence waddles while alternating its delicate strikes. The synth is soft and whispers cosmic and celestial songs on a minimalist sequenced movement that establishes a hypnotic rhythm surrounded by cosmic effects. Sweet and poetic, Sequenzer I offers a dreamlike introduction. The synth lines float and blow astral songs on sounding streamers that flow like sidereal larvae in a cosmos animated with a tender haunting sequence. The first strokes of cymbals and percussion isolate a sequence around the 9th minute. She jumps on the spot while the synth solos fuse and contort in a cosmic whirlwind shaken by percussion strikes and syncopated sequences. A sumptuous concert of solos follows. They float and fly over a slightly modified rhythm with a circular approach with its stroboscopic sequences and its pounded strikes. Sequenzer II continues on the ashes of Sequenzer I with alternative sequences that make jump 3 successive chords in a minimalist rhythm twirling in a hoop that seems infinite. The synth deposits delicate nasal layers, throwing a bit of solemnity to Sequenzer II. Beautiful layers emit reminiscences of Klaus Schulze and his layers of laminated organs. A synthesized choir accompanies this solitary sequential dance, moderating the movement of the organ layers and initiating the return of noises and galactic sound effects.
Sequenzer III starts with thin, jerky layers that form a delicate tempo immediately covered by a soft mellotron synth effect. A synth whose strata waltz slowly, mixing its layers with oneiric vocal lines. This is a good intro cast in ether and makes us travel among stars and constellations on a flexible rhythm fed by soft modulations and around good synth solos. The further we move in Sequenzer III, the more cosmic noise clutches around the solos as the rhythm switches to a more animated tangent in the second half. With its subtleties on a harder and harder rhythm, the title expands its resemblance with Magnetic Fields. And the synths and cosmic noises that surround the arrhythmic union of percussions and sequences don't deceive anyone as to the influences that inspire the talent of MoonSatellite. After a more ambient and still cosmic Sequenzer IV, reminiscent of the atmospheres of Oxygene V, Sequenzer V weighs on the accelerator with heavy circular sequences that spew a heavy and jerky tempo whose minimalist axis is nourished by powerful pulsations. Synth layers spin over a structure that has become more flexible and fluid with the arrival of percussion. Synth layers multiply their presence with a superabundance of pleasant and enticing lines carrying cosmic sound effects.
Good sequenced structures, great solos and a combination synth / sequencer weaver of very realistic cosmic ambiences, SEQUENZER presents an artist shaped in the mold of Jean-Michel Jarre. In fact, we are surprised here to say that the Lyon's born musician, just like MoonSatellite by the way, could have remained in the paths of Oxygen and nobody would have been offended. Very good!
Sylvain Lupari (July 15th, 2011) *****
Available at MoonSatellite Bandcamp