Ocean of Light (Best of AD Music Vol 1) (2005)

“Electronic ballads flirting with New Age abound in the world of AD Music and it’s very representative of this nice compilation”

1 Sub Aqua (Bekki Williams) 2:03

2 Ocean of Light (Kobolt) 6:22

3 24am (Code Indigo) 6:01

4 Queen of Hearts (Remix) (Robert Fox) 5:35

5 Beyond Paradise (David Wright) 5:46

6 In the Arms of Morpheus (Remix) (Bekki Williams) 5:49

7 A Certain Malaise (David Wright) 2:16

8 Ultraviolet (Witchcraft) 4:03

9 And All Shall Be Well (Robert

Fox) 4:38

10 Ovi (Raviv Gazit) 2:35

11 Code 14 (Code Indigo) 6:19

12 Water Music (Robert Fox) 3:55

13 Stasis (Code Indigo) 3:34

14 Elara (Callisto) 5:17

15 Snow Paths (Enterphase) 4:07

16 Walking with Ghosts (David Wright) 5:07

17 We Rest (Witchcraft) 4:27

18 Postlude (Catalin Marin) 1:46

19 Iosphere (Callisto)

20 Fading (Bekki Williams)

AD01DVD

(CD/DVD 88:02) (V.F.)

(E.M. New Age. Prog Rock EM)

AD Music is an English label that specializes in the production of a more melodious EM, rhythmic with a progressive and sometimes relaxing touch. Founded in 1989, this label run by Elaine and David Wright has built a solid reputation among EM fans. Its productions are airy and make breath a comfortable fragrance of lightness, freedom and fantasy. It's musical poetry with diverse styles, navigating between melodies of Enigma to the harmonious fascinations of Mike Oldfield. It is on this label that we find such famous artists like Robert Fox and David Wright, co-founders of the famous band Code Indigo. Over the years, David has added a bunch of artists to his label who are featured in this compilation. Promising artists that we know little about. I am thinking in particular of Bekki Williams, Raviv Gazit, Enterphase, Kobolt and Callisto. OCEAN OF LIGHT (Best of AD Music Vol 1) is a great way to experience them. It is a compilation which includes 18 little sweets flowing like musical pearls with delight and harmony.

Electronic ballads flirting with New Age abound in the world of AD Music. And the genre is fairly well represented in this compilation which will allow you to discover amazing artists, with complex dimensions, sometimes progressive, but always harmonious. Superb ballads like 24 AM, Beyond Paradise, Ultraviolet, Water Music, Stasis, We Rest and Postlude will guide you to the arms of Morpheus. If the relaxation is total, I do not guarantee sleep because the orchestral arrangements and the jerky sequences are enough to attract curiosity and even keep us awake. The New Berlin School with its sequenced rhythms over complex structures is also in the spotlight with Ocean of Light, Queen of Hearts, In the Arms of Morpheus, And All Shall Be Well, Ovi, Elara and Snow Paths. And there are also a little more raw titles, with heavy percussions and riffs like A Certain Malaise by David Wright, which also offers us 2 very melodious titles from his classic Walking with Ghosts, Code14 by Code Indigo, which also offers classics such as Stasis and 24am, and finally the amazing Ovi by Raviv Gazit, an artist unknown to me. Two first unreleased tracks were added with Sub Aqua by Bekki Williams and Ocean of Light by Kobolt, a group made up of the two Massey brothers, including Dave.

One year after the release of this compilation on CD, AD Music produced a DVD adding 2 bonus tracks; Iosphere by Callisto and Fading by Bekki Williams. The theme being water and the brightness of the reflections on the water, AD Music presents 20 tracks for nearly 90 minutes where some very beautiful music accompanies a montage of very beautiful video clips. We see water in all its forms; sunk, danced, tormented, tumbled and bubbled to a completely ideal music. The result is good. It's not the sea to drink, but it is certainly one of the beautiful audio / DVD montages that I have seen. Very beautiful music, on beautiful images, this is what awaits you on OCEAN OF LIGHT (Best of AD Music Vol 1). Do yourself a favor, go with the flow and go in search of the discoveries of AD Music. Let yourself be lulled by the emotions that emerge from the compositions of this collection of beautiful music that reaches us right in the soul

Sylvain Lupari (December 21st, 2005) ***½**

SynthSequences.com

Available at AD Music