“This very good compilation aimed at fans of an EM closer to the EDM than the Berlin School model, although its structures and moods remain its ramparts”
1 This is Syndae (Chris Gate) 2 Syndae's Theme (Moonbooter - Boot from Moon Mix) 3 Mystery Without Clues (Jim Ottaway) 4 Of things Impossible? (could Sleep do more?)
(That Horologe Machinery Divine) 5 Syndae's Nightmare (Stan Dart) 6 Analogue Delight (Rudolf Heimann) 7 The Voice of Syndae (Sonic Chain) 8 Sunshade (y space) 9 Near Manchester (Reskimus) 10 Flight over Chryse Planitia (Dream
Within) 11 Golden Mars (In Vitro) 12 GP (Stefan Erbe) 13 Golden Plain the Sound of Syndae (Stefan Schulz)
(CD 78:13) (V.F) (Electronic Dance Music)
A little secret? I didn't know Syndae at all! It's a completely independent website and radio podcast that has been promoting EM since that Stefan Schulz met another pioneer in the promotion of EM, Stefan Erbe. Syndae first appeared on the Web in 2008. Ten years later and nearly 450 podcasts farther, its creator has launched the idea of making of it a major event by inviting artists to submit a composition that revolves around the musical theme of the show. The idea was already attempted when Jim Kerr invited artists to compose music that revolved around the same theme in 1992 with the album The Seed. Stefan Schulz then selected a jury composed of various chroniclers on the planet, including your humble servant. I had to choose 8 titles over almost 20 ones. Without knowing anything about the Syndae universe and its musical theme, I was immersed in the adventure THE SOUND OF SYNDAE.
Misty voice effects in an approach of nebulous ambiances, with a slight hint of psybient, the opening of This is Syndae extends its moods over a 2-minute journey. Chords and pulsations seek a harmonic and rhythmic direction which unblocks in an approach of EDM always stuck in layers of astral cloud. Violins wings caress this Techno still not sure of its orientation, guiding This is Syndae to a passage of ambient elements before the title reveals its rhythmic melody in an approach of Dance Music still not sure of its orientation. This title of Chris Gate is probably the closest to Golden Plain's, the musical theme of Podcast Syndae. It also describes this evolution of the 12 other titles that respect the rules of introduction and final of a music inspired by the old model of the Berlin School. With its more animated phases, Reskimus' Near Manchester builds on Chris Gate's model. Moonbooter follows with a good stroboscopic version nicely supported by great percussive effects. We are in the field of IDM here, just like with Stan Dart's Syndae's Nightmare, which is more like Trance, and the more Dance version of Stefan Erbe, GP. I have just discovered the world of Jim Ottaway that I find his participation in the project with Mystery Without Clues. The music breathes the meaning of its title with a very extraterrestrial atmosphere. The ambient rhythm is set on a mesh of percussions sequenced in mode electronic tom-tom and where the stars whisper the melody of Golden Plain. It's a nice title which refines its approach in a beautiful tonal decoration with a more animated vision, but which is nevertheless stifled in a web of cosmic ambiances.
The selection of the jury ensures that all areas of modern electronic music are very well represented on this compilation. Of things Impossible? (could Sleep do more?) by That Horologe Machinery Divine, offers the most ambiospherical view of THE SOUND OF SYNDAE. Analogue Delight flies between New Berlin School a la Robert Schroeder and the usual electronic rock of Rudolf Heimann. The music is densely loaded with a variety of effects from various instruments, including slamming percussions and six-string riffs, in a fluid structure that escalates the imaginary Berliner-style mountains. The synth and the guitar throw some very harmonious solos. After its introduction filled with voice effects, The Voice of Syndae offers a first phase of rhythm contained in its stationary momentum by sequences that try to sound the rhythmic charge. Once again cut off from its tail, this rhythmic phase falls into a phase of atmospheres fed with solos and effects of worn out voices. Subsequently, the rhythm becomes more aggressive with a line of rhythmic sequences and another of rhythmic harmonies as well as percussions. The synth tosses some very good solos on this title from Sonic Chain. (y space) brings us into a world of Lounge Music with an approach that flirts with the known elements of Psybient. Flight over Chryse Planitia from Dream Within offers a completely crazy version. Sometimes ambient, like a boa digesting its prey, and sometimes alive, like a flock of disorganized rabbits, the rhythm bears its whims and the melody that swirls like a ritornello in a washing machine. Glitch, Hip-Hop and cosmic voice effects adorn a decor that also flirts with the Psybient side of new electronic music. The more it goes, the more the feet burn the ground. In Vitro relaxes the mood with Golden Mars which brings us into the spheres of House Ambient.
Here's the topo! There is all the information about the artists, the jurors and the approach that led to THE SOUND OF SYNDAE on this link; The Sound of Syndae. A very good compilation that is mainly aimed at fans of an EM closer to the EDM than the Berlin School model, although its structures and moods remain the ramparts of the 78 minutes of an album that hovers honestly all genres that Berlin School engendered.
Sylvain Lupari (September 14th, 2018) ***¾**
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