“Maroc confines Thomas Meier in his lands of hypnotic and enchanting New Berlin School...his comfort zone”
1 Part I 4:35 2 Part II 24:38 3 Part III 6:46 4 Part IV 11:40 5 Grand Taxi 10:56 6 Café de Paris 13:39 SynGate | CD-r TM09
(DDL 72:14) (V.F.) (New Berlin School, Tribal ambient)
Chants from sands and nomadic breezes, the very lyrical approach of Part I doesn't show no doubt regarding the influences of this last album of TM Solver. From north to south of Morocco, and by following the landscapes sculptured in the azure of the tops of the Atlas mountains, MAROC is a series of sound clichés which are linked one to another in a long mosaic of sounds and tones of 72 minutes and which are inspired by the most beautiful moments of a journey of Thomas Meier in the country of Casablanca. Offered in a download format, the album comes with a nice artwork which is very representative of the panoramic atmospheres of this album which respects in every point those finely jerky minimalist rhythms, like ambient stroboscopic strands, of the TM Solver universe.
If Part I is weaved in an oneiric ambient vision, Part II brings us towards a level of rhythm just as much poetic with a series of sequenced keys of which the chains of jumps weave a circular structure which is nuanced by an upward approach. We are in the lands of New Berlin School! The tone is set for a long minimalist structure to which will be added a lot of elements, as rhythmic as harmonic, and especially where Thomas Meier excels at the art of deepening his textures with tonal decorations which are as well charming as unexpected. Strata of melancholic violins, clouds of ethereal voices, sound graffiti as cosmic as ambiospheric, jingles of percussions and strands of sequences which fall to pieces in a long gyrating parade, Part II takes its heaviness, and a little more vigor, in a gradually evolutionary structure which flows between our ears as this old sound friend who knew so well how to magnetize our senses in those beautiful golden years of New Berlin School. This is a very good track with a very hypnotic minimalist rhythm whereas that Part III offers a rather vaporous structure with rotating ambiospherical loops which float in breezes of synth, some are nuanced by celestial voices, with evasive forms and harmonies. These moods float up to the doors of Part IV which does very Broekhuis, Keller and Schönwälder, and sometimes a very contemporary Klaus Schulze with a delicately tribal rhythm which welcomes a thick cloud of breezes and synth waves filled with solos, as dreamy than melodious. Grand Taxi distances itself straight out with a livelier and a catchier rhythm. The bass pulsations, as well as the subtle tssitt-tssitt, release an ambience of morphic dance music, kind of cosmic Groove, where our head and our fingers move more than our legs and hips with good electronic effects, one would say these futuristic cackles from the Robert Schroeder universe, and with some fragile glass arpeggios which sparkle in the shadows of long twisted solos. Café de Paris takes a little bit the same structure as in Part IV but with a slightly more bouncing rhythm. The sequences skip and bury the tribal beatings in their dark curves, while that glass tones chords are clinking in a clearly more loaded atmosphere where the synth lines and twisted solos abound in contrasting colors; amber and azure.
Once again, TM Solver seduces. Even with a charmingly tribal approach which reminds me enormously the Repelen series from Broekhuis, Keller and Schönwälder, MAROC confines Thomas Meier in his comfort zone. There where he is so difficult to drive him out and where he always offers this music which accompanies us as the hand of a friend while we walk the spirit wandering.
Sylvain Lupari (December 26th, 2015) ***½**
Available at SynGate Bandcamp