“Rich in tones of all kinds and in diversified beats, it goes in this new Dance Music of RS”
1 Magnetics 13:53
2 Groove Electronically 9:52
3 The Zong 8:05
4 Funky Spacetrip 8:44
5 Foaming Waves 10:29
6 Simply Cream 16:43
(CD 67:52) (V.F.)
(New Dance Music & Berlin School)
Hum…! Robert Schroeder's musical adventures are rich in both sounds and rhythms. Since his musical renaissance in 2005, he has modified his style to the taste of an always avant-garde technology in the instruments he designs. He explores Funk, Groove and electronic dance music (EDM) on heavy percussions surrounded by the richest tones of his synthesizers. A mixture of genres, rich and creamy! Like CREAM! This 22nd album of the mythical German synthesist explores all the contrasts of his creativity. At the same time soft and tempestuous, the rhythms follow the slow evolution of the introductions with explosions from the heavy electronic percussions imitating bongos and congas style. Rhythms that fracture and intersect while being wrapped with synths that disjoint their layers to sculpt choirs, mists and angelic breaths without forgetting the vocoder effects. In short, a powerful album with ambivalent rhythms which crosses the times and his musical styles since his Paradise album in 1983.
Arpeggios jump awkwardly at the opening of Magnetics. They adopt a delicate bass line that sculpts a discreet funky rhythm on fine percussions, while beautiful mellotron layers float lightly above this atmosphere subdued by cosmic sound effects. Like everywhere on CREAM, Magnetics flows and stirs in a rich and unctuous sound cream where different instrumentations enrich its minimalist and hypnotic structure. The synths flow with abundance and nuance, skillfully mixing voices, melodious solos and ethereal layers that fly over this rhythm sometimes shaken by scattered percussion strokes and keyboard chords that quack like a galactic duck. Groove Electronically is a great track with its piano notes that unfold in a cosmic atmosphere where whispers, very plaintive synths and sound effects cover this strange ethereal intro. Hesitant pulsations finely animate the rhythm, treading the romance of this series of minimalist piano notes. Percussions come in and increase the rhythm's pace a notch. Except that Groove Electronically remains secretly delightful despite the array of percussions and variegated sonorities that surge through an ever-changing structure and whose rhythmic contrasts can be heard underneath sharp and prismatic synth layers. The percussion rolls and the jerky keyboard chords feed in parallel this rhythm which gallops under wandering synthesizer undulations, like crystalline prisms which ululate between brief and tasty solos. This rhythm rich in sonorities dies out in the notes of this piano so tasty, even if minimalist. Robert Schroeder's sound universe is complex and harmonious. And he doesn't hesitate to embellish the whole of CREAM with a quantity of instruments that give off clouds of sounds as intriguing than attractive. Thus The Zong starts with heavy metallic sounds, like the robot monsters in The War of the Worlds. As the rhythm becomes heavier and more intense, The Zong evolves into a carnival-like atmosphere with a half funky, half jazzy beat that zigzags over circular keyboard chords and creepy pulses.
Funky Spacetrip is very representative of its title. A big cosmic Funk with vocoder, powerful percussions and a vaguely undulating rhythm accompanied by a synth whose lines are subdivided in order to create a rich atmosphere where solos are next to ethereal orchestral strings. A very rich track and close to the structures of Groove Electronically. Languorous and sensual, Foaming Waves is simply enthralling with its soft rhythmic that flows like a graceful exotic dance under soft misty layers. Suggestive and daring, the title almost embraces the textures of an electronic and cosmic blues on a cadence that gradually increases the pace with subdivided chords under an exquisitely wailing synth. A good track whose musical intensity increases, bringing us closer to the Paradise and Time Waves era, with unctuous synth solos that flow under the pulsations of an enticing bass line. Hesitant piano notes, sensual whispers and pulses open Simply Cream. Bongo percussions surge over this languid rhythm, somewhere between Funk and Groove, which is topped with gorgeous layers of hazy mellotron. The synth is sweet, the rhythm suggestive and the keyboards draw fine jerky lines, crowning a catchy synth melody. Finally and the end, Simply Cream is a sensual anthem with a musical retrospective of CREAM's first 5 tracks.
Rich, CREAM is! Rich in sonorities of all kinds and in diversified rhythms by a Robert Schroeder who manipulates his synths with his incredible skill to make us discover another of his tonal richness where the reliefs are felt as much as they are heard. A pure marvel where we are screwed to our loudspeakers so much the rhythms and ambiances are finely cut and rendered with a surgical precision. A good, rich and unctuous cream that dilutes very well in the universe of dreams where the music of the 80's, with the technology and the sound of today, floods our ears with soft and tempestuous rhythms, unique to his rich universe.
Sylvain Lupari (November 29th, 2010) ***¾**
Available at Spheric Music
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