“Composed 10 years before, Journey into Space unveils these harmonious rhythms soaked of sparkling dancing keys in dense fog”
1 Lost in Space 7:28
2 Journey into Space 14:25
3 Cosmic Opera 11:48
4 Another Dimension 7:38
5 Dance of the Aliens 7:56
6 Chandra 6:33
7 Move on into Space 11:04
(DDL 66:50) (V.F.)
(Ambient New Berlin School)
Slow and elongated synth layers, embroidered into nostalgic violins, encircle a soft sequenced pulsation which fixes to the strikings of ambient electronic percussions. It's with this mixture of cosmic vibes and with these delicate orchestral perfumes that Lost in Strange gets out of the void and entails us in the nebulous structures of JOURNEY INTO SPACE. Already, we recognize the signature of the German duo. Mostly based on harmonious sequences, the movement is serene and at both lascivious, and introduce us to the very first work of Realtime which had charmed so many ears last year with their Solar Walk, a realization of SynGate. This time, Thomas Bock and Norbert Hensellek dust out their two first albums, the other one being Lights of the Universe, to update the sounds and put a bonus track on it; Move on into Space. Composed between 2003 and 2004, JOURNEY INTO SPACE unveils these harmonious rhythms which are soaked of dense paintings of fog and where the sequenced keys sparkle as much that they dance.
The title-track offers a line of sequences fatten of organic tones which rolls in loops on the carpet of a bumpy conveyor. Another line of sequences makes dance its keys to structure a hyper syncopated movement which quivers in cosmic mist, where are also hidden sweet secret voices of Elfs. A bass line makes vibrate its discreet pulses while that some orchestral thin lines are escaping from a spatial drizzle to try to tame this rebel minimalist rhythm of which the hypnotic loops are rather seeking for the calm of a fluty Mellotron line. Draped of dense sieved fog, of mystic choruses, silky orchestrations and cosmic atmospheres; the staccato rhythm hiccups, gallops and hiccups again up until embracing a more technoïd approach a la Manuel Gottsching. A good mixture of vintage and New Berlin School with a dose of cosmic trance, this wild rhythm, but much more viral, finds its niche on Cosmic Opera where more nervous sequences are stamping and yoke together in a rhythmic mass which oscillates subtly in corridors encircled of haunting voices. Related pulsations, percussions hammered as in a dance of zombies and jingles of cymbals are boosting this minimalist rhythm which beats of its linear measures in a lunar decoration and which fails on a void in a rather abrupt way. It's doubtless with the spheroidal rhythm of Another Dimension that JOURNEY INTO SPACE has literally at first caught the interest of my ears. How to say it... Two lines of sequences, one of bass and the other with a more crystal-clear tone, crisscross their cosmic keys which dance in parallel, while avoiding any cohesion, and intertwine into two stroboscopic thin lines with rather chipped rhythmic harmonies. The movement hangs onto the ear immediately and establishes a scent of déjà-entendu while the vibes of astral cloudiness, in particular the orchestrations, which encircle all the environment of the album are spattering with more of ethereal depth. Candy for the ears! Variations on the same theme? We can say that, with the circular rhythm of Dance of the Aliens which offers in return a rhythm which pounds in silk and felt. And this in spite of these metallic knockings here and there which disorientate the listening. This is also good but, if it was of me, the order of those 2 tracks should have been inverted in order to offer a punchier crescendo. Especially that Chandra, which originally ended the album, follows with a great harmonious structure with keys dancing such as blades of scissors which cut frantically silky hair in a wave-like movement of goes and comes. This track reminds me enormously the music of Software with stars which sparkle and orchestral knocks of percussions which thunder in a movement of sequences of which the many interlacing disrupt the winds and singings of Orion. Written in 2013, Move on into Space corresponds exactly to these movements of sequences which shape the crisscrossed rhythms of JOURNEY INTO SPACE. The movement is always so minimalist and draws long imperfect circles which are immersed by a cosmic approach more contemporary.
Sylvain Lupari (July 8th, 2014) ***¼**
Available at SynGate Bandcamp