“TranceFusion requires a fairly open mind for a very diverse EM which slips quite often towards Rhythm & Groove beats”
1 Livin' on a Dream 7:01 2 Energy Fooled the Electrician 3:54 3 Fantasist's Mushroom Experience 8:36 4 Tequila Sunset 7:12 5 Trancefusion 8:08 6 On the Rebound 6:37 7 Smurfs in Space (VCO Edit) 14:07 8 Acid Drive 6:53 9 Leaving the Logic Sector 9:10 10 Track and Field 6:07 MellowJet Records|cdr-hm1802 (CD-R/DDL 77:35) (V.F.) (EDM, E-Rock, Dance Music, etc...) Inspired primarily by Mike Oldfield and by Alan Parsons' progressive rock, Rudolf Heimann's universe shifts from electronic rock to synth-pop, Funk with a catchy bass, Rhythm & Groove and a more progressive electronic rock where some perfumes smell the music of Jethro Tull. The gap is big? Hum ... Imagine now when Rap and Techno are added! We have here a macedonia of genres whose disparity of styles is always difficult to encircle. Holger Stausberg (Guitars), Marc Schreiner (Acoustic Guitar), Uta Minzberg (Flutes), Ralf Schönenberg (Tenor Sax), Wiebke Troue (Violin), Geesche Troue (Viola), Damien v. Helsing (Bass), Dirk J. Müller (Hammond) and Bernd Rasche (Programming) are the guest musicians in the creation of TRANCEFUSION which is actually the 3rd album of the German musician. Originally released on the Musique Intemporelle label in 1993, founded by Bernd Kistenmacher and which is now MIR, this album came back to the surface in 2006 on SynGate, which included a bonus track (John's Theme), and now on the MellowJet Records label, also with one more title (Track and Field) and remastered by Bernd Moonbooter Scholl on last September. But before going further, a statement is needed; open-mindedness and patience are required here! On the other hand, in this mishmash of styles, Rudolf Heimann always imposes a harmonious writing which facilitates the domestication of TRANCEFUSION.
And that begins with Livin' on a Dream and its oneiric introduction which fades and floats for a stroboscopic momentum before landing on a rock mould à la like Phil Collins and whose guitar is very Mike Oldfield. One can easily compares the approach here to the commercial period of the British musician, from Five Miles Out to the Islands years. The saxophone dominates this pop-rock without voice. Energy Fooled the Electrician immerses us in the German countryside with a quite charming bucolic vision. String instruments rule on a music that reminds me of a good Mannheim Steamroller. With a title such as Fantasist's Mushroom Experience, we are entitled to expect a totally crazy music? Well no! In a beautiful opening just as poetic as the opening title, the music transits between these atmospheres always very rustic to a nice slow tempo with a guitar and its poignant solos. The music is heavy, well packed by good percussion and as well wrapped in the caresses of a very discreet Hammond. The music of Tequila Sunset reflects the essence of its title. The bass is in Funky style, so the rhythm follows this trend? Not quite, the programming is excellent here with a very diverse rhythmic progression where all the instruments give a boost, the saxophone dominates just as much, to anchor itself to the evolution of the 7 minutes of Tequila Sunset. It's lively and melodic and it's not quite my style. The title track begins with the leaping of a half-metallic and half-wooden ball that raises a heat wave stormed by percussions rattling and hands' clapping. A line of organic sequences introduces a rhythmic croak which jumps in Techno mode supported by a bouncy and catchy bass line. A very Schmoelling piano frees two lines; one which accompanies the beat and the other which establishes the melodious parameters of Trancefusion. Among the usual effects of EM, others focused on a more abstract music, even orchestral, and on a Funk movement. The 8 minutes of this title-piece explains what TRANCEFUSION is made of.
On the Rebound is the Rythm & Groove title of this Rudolf Heimann's 3rd album. I searched for the presence of Earth, Wind & Fire here ... not found it! Definitely not my type! Leaving the Logic Sector is pretty much in the same genre with lots of vocals and vocal effects of Rap style performed by Kali Orexi, BIG B., Angie and John Paul II. Smurfs in Space (VCO Edit) is a good and purely EM title. The rhythm is forged on a complicity between the sequencer and electronic percussions. It skips forming hesitant zigzags and a harmonic structure, it reminds me of Peter Baumann in Trans Harmonic Nights. The structure evolves finely with good electronic assets, including a nice melancholic synth approach. Arpeggios tinkle while embracing a structure of rhythm which accelerates a little the pace without ever overflowing towards an explosive structure. This is a good electronic rock decorated very simply. All the opposite of Acid Drive which is a good mix of electronic rock and bucolic rock molded into a very Jethro Tull vision. The flute and the guitar are very active, we even have a very wild solo from Holger Stausberg and a softer one performed by Uta Minzberg's flute. Track and Field is the bonus track of this reissue of TRANCEFUSION on MellowJet Records and it's really in the spirit of Bernd Scholl's EDM. The rhythm twirls like a stroboscopic spinning-top with a good play of stroboscopic sequences and percussions which are very much in the tone. The synth turns its solos into saxophone chants in a good electronic coating specific to the Moonbooter signature. This is one of the best titles of this album which, as described above, requires a fairly open mind for a very diverse EM and which slips quite often towards Rhythm & Groove beats. Me? I only keept a few titles that I inserted into my iPod!
Sylvain Lupari (December 9th, 2018) *****
Available at MellowJet Webshop