“Evolving beats and moods with a unique pattern of melodious sequencing, Strange Music is another strike of magic from MoonSatellite”
1 Strange Music #1 13:42 2 Strange Music #2 7:32 3 Strange Music #3 9:36 4 Strange Music #4 13:17 5 Strange Music #5 5:48 6 Strange Music #6 8:50 7 Strange Music #7 7:04 MoonSatellite Music
(DDL 65:52) (V.F.) (French School's Cosmic Rock) STRANGE MUSIC is another strike of magic from MoonSatellite. Album after album, the musician from Nantes raises the bar of his art by revivifying this magic which continues to grow since he thrown us his Sequenzer - Volume 1 between the ears in 2009. For Lone Wolf, this album is also the culmination of Dark Summer. And according to its melancholy precepts, STRANGE MUSIC initiates another lyrical and oneiric journey where melancholic tears and sighs from synths get mingle to melodic sequences where blow synth pads which make us drift into a cosmos whose energy stars warm the tones rather analog of the synths. Another nice album where our senses are invaded by the magic of MoonSatellite, and it doesn't take too much time!
After the usual electronic noises, a symphony of layers with an analog sweetness gets in our ears. The movement is drifting and is embellished of monastic voices. More than 3 minutes later, the sequencer goes into harmonic mode. And one of the riches, because there are several, of Lone Wolf's repertoire is his ability to sculpt harmonic rhythms which always remain in a hovering state, even if the sequences are kicking for a pulsating rhythm which buzzes of several other sequences. There are two lines of rhythms on Strange Music # 1. An oscillating one with a melody weaver of earworm clinging to its loops, and another pulsatory line which is trying to assert its dominance. And through it, twinkle and skip a swarm of sequences with interstellar tones. Attached to our ears, this harmonic rhythmic structure unfolds its ample oscillating loops which float between anesthetic layers and seraphic thin lines of voices. The nuances in the comfort of the layers and the rhythmic oscillations are sweet for our ears which hear the music spun between our senses as fast as its seconds. Strange Music # 2 clings to the last ambiospheric breaths of Strange Music # 1 with a more pronounced sequencer movement which extends an ambient and slowly strobing structure in a splendid cosmic setting. Even if the rhythm is much more alive and accentuates its presence over the seconds, the music remains always at the doors of the melancholy. Strange Music # 3 is the rhythmic heart, the pinnacle of the beat of STRANGE MUSIC. The rhythm is lively with sequenced keys jumping in this swarm of sequences which follows the rhythmic romances of MoonSatellite's latest album. Stationary, the rhythm jumps from one chord to another while organic sequences crumble their distortions and other sequences bubble up to thicken the rhythmic sauce. Tears of synths moan with a melancholy vision while cosmic arrangements impose a sound decor which let entering no air bubble.
Divided into 2 parts, Strange Music # 4 offers an opening woven of ambiences' elements where float a mass of cosmic mist. A recital for wandering souls stands out and the stars twinkle to make even more touching this lunar melody which hums in the core of this magma of ambiences. A movement of the sequencer gets out to untie a binary rhythm. One in harmony and the other all in rhythm! This structure is decorated of percussive effects and interstellar chirps which follow its captivating oscillating bend. Much like the 2nd title, Strange Music # 5 is another good cosmic rock which revolves around the oscillating loops of a structure always revitalized by native sequences which come and go across the spaces of this album. After a theatrical introduction fed by cosmic and electronic orchestrations, Strange Music # 6 explodes with a lively rhythm guided by lines of contiguous sequences. If a line is harmonic, the layers which enfold it are just as much with contrasting effects. The nuances here fill the spaces and especially feed these oscillating loops which go up and down since the first rhythmic steps of the album, thus giving this richness in its decoration as well as all the latitude necessary for MoonSatellite to deepen its rhythms more ambient than driver of frenzy on a dance floor. Strange Music # 7 offers a finale to the greatness of this album. A lively rhythm which is both melodious and stationary rich in contrasts, both in tones and their impulses tenderly submerged of restraint. The synth pads are equal to these ambivalent structures. Most are enveloping and carved to float in cosmos, while others stand out to form small lines of harmonies which fit well enough philosophy and vision that both romantic and poetic of Lone Wolf who remains one of the most beautiful EM artists made in France.
STRANGE MUSIC is quite an album of this 70's music which flows in my headphones as well as in my speakers. The sound is rich and very enveloping. The sharpness of the sequences is dazzling for the ears. And remember that if you missed those musical-cosmic frescoes from Jean-Michel Jarre and the musical poems of artists such as Age, Thierry Fervant, Frédéric Mercier and I forget so many, MoonSatellite is the antidote to your needs with a more contemporary vision. Powerful and intimidating!
Sylvain Lupari (June 20th, 2018) ****½*
Available at MoonSatellite Bandcamp