“How can I say? Daring, creativity, E-Rock, Berlin School sequencing, electronic prog-rock and a bit of craziness equal Hypnotized”
1 Clever Ape and The Guitar / Cyber Swamp Ambience 11:24
2 Language of Clouds / Split in the Prism of Emotions 15:57
3 Amorphous Time 5:09
4 Lost Among the Knobs 10:09
5 Tribal Essence in a High-Tech Society's Heart 10:05
6 Phantomology II (Ending Drone) 12:10
(CD/DDL 64:56) (V.F.)
(Neo Electronic Prog)
Przemysław Rudź is this kind of innovative artist who is not afraid to surprise his audience and even his peers. In an album inspired by the paintings of Maciej Świeszewski, the Polish musician presents an eclectic album where the genre ... let's say accessible flirts with a more daring genre. And when I say daring, it's out of respect for Przemysław. But knowing the synthesist, I think he is very comfortable when we tattoo his music sometimes totally crazy. Set on 6 musical paintings that range from 5 to 16 minutes and offered in both downloadable format and CD on Audio Cave, HYPNOTIZED wears well its title. One listens to the music by imagining the avenues, the directions that Przemysław Rudź wants us to take in order to understand and follow the colors of a music which forces our imagination to discover new worlds.
Clever Ape and The Guitar / Cyber Swamp Ambience offers the colors of an album that requires some listenings, especially for this title, and always ends up seducing. It's basically very representative of the Rudź universe. The title is made of atmospheres with an introduction fed by rumblings and solos of a rebellious guitar which weave these ambiences along with sonic graffiti of a synth in mode essays and attempts. The amalgam of the both instruments carves an approach which becomes gradually edible to the ears, especially with the development of the loops of a guitar (the information on the sleeve specifies that it is Dominik Chmurski on the electric violin) in mode Acid Rock, and with the synth effects which breathe the Hyperborea universe from Tangerine Dream. Language of Clouds / Split in the Prism of Emotions is the longest title here. Its first part is very ambiospherical, in harmony with the meaning of the title. Synth layers, some soaked of voices, form a peaceful stellar bed where sparkle effects of glass beads which break up in crumbling suspended drops. Their echoes dance with the tranquility of the layers' movement up until about the 9th minute when we hear a mass of rumblings and monastic voices. A good groove is then playing with good percussion and a bass line that crawls with our sense of rhythm whereas the synth multiplies great solos, bringing a dose of progressive rock to a more than very attractive finale. The music behind Amorphous Time is at the image of its title with lines of reverberations where hide a sound language and metal knocks which remain connected to more celestial synth pads. That would be a good ambient music for a sci-fi movie.
Lost Among the Knobs offers a fascinating rhythmic structure with sequences that rise and fall in an organic universe. The gradation in the voracity of this ambient rhythm gives a strong effect of intensity that comes and goes as the time flees the dial. A more pronounced rhythm emerges around the 5th minute, bickering with a world of distortions and effects of interference as well as white noises without bringing the music to another level. For lovers of sound and paranormal moods! Light butterflies flutter among chirps of electronic nightingales, structuring an intro of ambiences with chords as light as those of Tomita in Snowflakes are Dancing. With this introduction, the rhythm of Tribal Essence in a High Tech Society's Heart starts around 90 seconds with a series of riffs and percussion, almost molded on the dance of the riffs, which is making its way under synth effects more and more dense. Already, the rhythm expires a kind of trance which reaches its full size 15 seconds before the 4 minutes, propelling the music towards a kind of futuristic Funk and at the end, cosmic. The bass line is hungry for our dancing feet while the percussions and riffs are beating on the same pace and the synth throws its jets of mists and filaments which play with a pleasant nuance in their stridency. This is a strong title which joins the depth of Language of Clouds / Split in the Prism of Emotions. Phantomology II (Ending Drone) follows a little the same patterns, except that its introduction is darkened with more variegated tones. A bit like an organic fauna that rebels from its electronic effects. But the rhythm which follows is simply a strike of genius with a mesh of sequences and percussion which structures a very catchy approach of electronic rock. The neck rolls and the eyes are illuminated in front of this rock where organic bites get in and where are grafted splendid synth solos of. This is some great Przemysław Rudź who fills up our ears and emotions to the top with another great album which in the end is less difficult than that to tame.
Sylvain Lupari (August 11th, 2018) ****½* SynthSequences.com
Available on Przemysław Rudź's Bandcamp