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CD/DVD Releases: Musea's March Releases

Posted on Sunday, April 01 @ 22:53:14 UTC by nightowl

In their March missive Musea muses on these many musical marvels:

Amarok - Gouveia 2005 - Amarok's style is quite different from the current Spanish Progressive rock movement, thanks to their tone. Led by multi-instrumentalist Robert Santamaria, this mainly acoustic band uses a variety of instruments, like the guitar, oboe, violin, piano,didgeridoo, tabla, saxophone, organ, drums and percussions. Mireia Sisquella's clear voice creates sound-scapes characterised by their simplicity and calm, and this makes her the counterpart of Portuguese singer Teresa Salgueiro (Madredeus). Some keyboards rhythm sequences are the basis for the superb melodies pictured by the vocals, in a peaceful atmosphere between Enya's acoustic new-age, L'ensemble Raye's minimalist chamber rock and In The Labyrinth's ethnic musics (apart from the Indian references).

Mujer Luna is the fifth album issued by Amarok after Els Nostres Petits Amics (1994), Canciones De Los Mundos Perdidos (1995), Gibra'ara (1998) and Tierra De Especias (2001). It has to be mentioned that the lyrics, sung in Spanish, as well as their English translation, are all printed in the booklet. The 2004 album, called Quentadharken, polishes the formula, getting even closer to perfection. What could be nicer than following the music in its travels without leaving his chair?... Retrospectiva gathers the best tracks ever recorded by Amarok on a CD, the summary of twelve years of recording career with sixteen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music. Let's also note some alternative versions, such as the live version of "Donde Estas Mi Amor - Conclusion," performed in 2005 at the Portuguese Gouveia Art Rock Festival. Recommended.

Serge Bradacs - Oscillateur - Serge Bradacs is a new keyboards virtuoso from Switzerland. Heir of the neglected F.G. Experimental Laboratory, he is one more local representative of the genre, together with Krakatau or Aeryal. He's also a great fan of the Berlin School, starring Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream. Released on the Dreaming label in 2010, his first opus Space Time features six instrumental movements between 3 and 8 minutes. There, Serge Bradacs shows his skills in using different vintage keyboards, together with the art of composing. With sounds that are always attractive, Space Time takes the listener to spellbinding and colored soundscapes. Will you follow him out there? [And then, the latest is this one, Oscillateur]

Gorgo - The Clash Of Ages - This new album of Gorgo offers a very specific and offbeat music. An uncommon combination of energy and tunefulness reveals the ultimate fertility of ethnic musical traditions of different regions. You will hear rhythms of Africa and Asia, melodies of Europe and Russia, strains of Mongolia and something else that you can hardly recognize. Something from ancient times and forgotten… But still the form and sound are quite modern. This is a Clash Of Ages indeed. Aggressive guitar riffs unexpectedly get along with curious ethnic instruments, chants and percussion. Sudden bridges and changes of rhythm build an exciting fusion which won’t leave anyone unfazed. Vigorous and moving in the same time this album will be appreciated by all progressive rock and folk metal fans.

RPWL - Beyond Man And Time - Strictly speaking, the German musicians should have had to rename their band. But RPWL, founded in 1997 as a Pink Floyd tribute band and named after the four initials of the founder members, did its best to avoid this despite changes of the line-up. After all, the musicians from a Bavarian town near Munich were able to secure themselves with this trademark and with their debut album God Has Failed, which was released in the year 2000, a position in the top league of their musical genre. Rougher and more personal, and without missing all those ingredients which make lovers of symphonic rock music freak out, the new album Trying To Kiss The Sun presents itself.

Being constantly compared with the musicians around David Gilmour, who are forming the core of Pink Floyd and who have been possibly vanished into oblivion in the mid-Nineties forever, this doesn't much affect singer J¨rgen "Yogi" Lang, guitar player KarlHeinz Wallner, drummer Phil Paul Rissettio as well as the new guys Andreas Wernthaler (keyboards) and Stephan Ebner (bass).

Because RPWL don't make a secret of the fact that once ground-breaking PinkFloyd works like "Run Like Hell," "Pigs," "Welcome To The Machine" or the less popular "Lucifer Sam" were the trigger for their own career as professional musicians. Moreover, the guitar player's god-given pitch level is just surprisingly similar to David Gilmour's, and also the playing styles of KarlHeinz Wallner and Andreas Wernthaler are strongly influenced by those of David Gilmour and Rick Wright, respectively. However, it should be stressed that the band found their original musical form of expression with their second long-player Trying To Kiss The Sun. With a lot of punch and self-confidence, unique and atmospheric and a dense structure throughout, the band comes to the point: for instance with the mighty title track, the hymnal songs "You" and "Tell Me Why," the slightly psychedelic sounding rocker "Sugar For The Ape," or with "Waiting For A Smile," where piercing synthesizer lines over a celestial background prick up one's ears.

Whether the constant building and phasing out of arrangements in order to cause excitement, the adding of finely arranged gems ("Side By Side", "Sunday Morning") to the mostly bombastic sound, or the symbiosis of perfect craft with extraordinary songwriting. RPWL are long since masters of their trade anyway, that is the winking play with sound fiddley jobs which are typical for art-rock: here a sampled bird's twittering, there strangely alienated voice fragments. Today almost as famous as its British alter-ego Porcupine Tree, the German group offered its much awaited new album, simply called The RPWL Experience (2008). The band's trademark is still there, even if we can notice a musical return to the source. The production is top-notch, and the compositions well written. Without any doubt RPWL's best album! The CD is available in two formats, the special edition including two bonus tracks, and the jewel box is presented in an elegant paper wrapping. RPWL did an incredible thing in reuniting ambition and "easy-listening" in its music...

[And what about the latest CD? The band say, "Our new album Beyond Man And Time will be released on 9th March, and on 13th March in the U.S. The first concept album of RPWL contains 11 tracks and will additionally be out as a limited edition with an audiobook CD and additional booklet." The band will be on tour this month. See our News Update #2 for more info...]

Steve Thorne - Crimes And Reasons - English multi-instrumentalist Steve Thorne, launched by members of IQ published his first album which is at once simple and profound. Consisting of eleven compositions (3 to 8 minutes in length), they are always very melodic arrangements well trussed, with just enough of controlled instrumental sequences. For this release, the cast is amazing again: Pete Trewavas, Gary Chandler, Tony Levin, John Jowitt, Martin Orford, Nick D'Virgilio, Gavin Harrison ... This second installment of Emotional Creatures is ultimately well greater than the first, offering moments of pure enjoyment for all fans Progressive rock symphony. What ultimately have a great time! [This is info about Part Two: Emotional Creatures... no info yet on Crimes And Reason...]

And finally in this round up, Why Note Trio - Entre Mundos - The Why Note Trio is the meeting of three musicians, the musical journey to a crossroads where jazz, contemporary music, traditional music and free improvisation meet. This is an encounter which permits, through the originality of its approach in musical and human terms, the full expression of the personalities and cultures of the three musicians, evolved through very different approaches and experience. This diversity works a subtle spell through the flute (Tania Castro-Uzé), the piano (Jean-Marc Uzé), the double bass and various instruments from around the world (Jean-Baptiste Boussougou). The Why Note Trio develops a very personal view giving birth to highly innovative forms; a musical signature which well captures the multiculturalism of the present times. Entre Mundos (Between Worlds) is the result of a collaborative effort in the arrangement of jazz standards and other compositions, given voice within a special universe of sound, rich in atmospheres. A complicit understanding based on active listening, polyrhythmic pulses, ruptures, silences and the management of volume and content in such a way that each musician can find space to express himself. Supported by the 10th "Trophées du Jazz de la C&ocaret;te d’Azur" where the Why Note Trio was awarded the prize as best group for 2009, this album sees the light of day after three years of concerts and public performances.

Posted in Album Release News