“Great EM that will appeal to Berlin School lovers and to movements of rhythms driven by sequencers”
1 Sequence 1 6:50
2 Sequence 2 7:24
3 Sequence 3 6:19
4 Sequence 4 6:30
5 Sequence 5 7:08
6 Sequence 6 5:39
7 Sequence 7 7:20
8 Sequence 8 6:02
(CD/DDL 53:14) (V.F.)
(Sequencer-based Berlin School)
The movement gambols with fluidity. A sound drop extends its reverberant core. And as soon as its radiation reaches a zone of evaporation, a line of bass sequences emerges in order to dance in the shadow of the first. The added drummings redirect the Berlin School movement of Sequence 1 into a kind of Free Jazz that does not stray too far from Berlin's roots. The synth is superb with its solos and Jazz tunes while continuing to inject ornamental elements of a more progressive music. The sequencer, because SEQUENCES PASSING BY is its anchor point, multiplies its lines of rhythms that move constantly without giving up its organic touches, while the percussions attract it in a fabulous duel of Jazz Beat. Where are we? In a daring bet formulated by Thaneco (Thanos Oikonomopoulos) and Romerium (Rene Montfoort) who met virtually for the occasion of a very good compilation, From Inner To Outer Space, a celebration of electronic music (vol.1), published on Thaneco label (Thaneco Records) in early 2019. The challenge is both simple and complex; each musician had to provide sequencer movements on which the other musician puts down his free expressions. The basics of Sequence 1, as well as 3, 4, 6 and 8, are the fruits of Romerium's creativity, while the other 3 movements are Thaneco's ideas. And the imprint of both musicians is solidly identifiable, even if an avalanche of electronic percussions and of tasty synth solos bury them with a musical delirium that only enhances the quality of SEQUENCES PASSING BY…
Thus, the steps of cosmic cha-cha-cha are those of Thaneco, and Romerium lies down there a dreamy melody which extends perfectly on the hesitant movement of its saccades of Sequence 2. The electronic percussions infuse a velocity with this rhythm which remains comfortably nested in its approach of astral reverie, while the keyboard drops keys that seem to cry in cosmos. The synth amplifies its presence by jets of lines, adding a more Dark Wave vision with reverb loops that surround a melodic approach resistant to this avalanche of sounds. Sequence 3 is a good title with a very retro approach that literally plunges me into the dark moods of Walter C Rothe and his legendary Let The Night Last Forever. A delight! And the creativity is at the rendezvous with these electronic percussions that gambol ferociously in this structure which deviates subtly under these rhythmic bites and under the chthonian caresses of the computer voices. Sequence 5, also composed by Thaneco, offers a similar pattern but with nice impulses of a bass line that forges a good languorous down-tempo. Romerium approaches are slightly more experimental. The sequencer's movement is very jerky in Sequence 4. The rhythm is always ambient, floating even adrift, with its disparate tones and the more daring touch from the synthesizer. Swaying between a frenetic ambient phase and the big electronic rock à la Torsten M. Abel, Sequence 6 elaborates its spasmodic structure put to evil by solid electronic percussions. Solid!
Sequence 7 always shows this more melodious approach of the Greek musician with a structure that jumps and gambols with a slight twisted effect in its jumps, giving this tasty impression of a lyrical levity. The synth does justice to this vision with a presence that only decorate a rhythmic vision which barely increases its pace when the keyboard scatters its chords of glass in a melodramatic turn. The chthonian choir and mist make the rest of the work. It's under an electronic language that Sequence 8 sequencer's movement pushes up its structure by giving it a good dose of nuances and colors. Its first 3 minutes requires an opening of the ears and a curiosity for the sounds, since it's not so obvious to pass it down the eardrums. Subsequently, the percussions add a more musical dose to this title which seems to me a bit unnecessary in this very solid album which proves that it's possible to make very good and well-produced music at distance. As here where from The Hague, Netherlands (Romerium) to Patras, Greece (Thaneco), the ideas and visions of two musicians converge in a very nice production available both in CD and download. Great EM that will appeal to Berlin School lovers and to movements of rhythms driven by sequencers.
Sylvain Lupari (October 3rd, 2019) ***½**
Available at Thaneco Bandcamp