ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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David Wright
SINES OF LIFE AD MUSIC 2010 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
A sequenced album of electronic music, collecting stuff that had been gathering dust because it didn’t fit into a release at the time of recording, this, nevertheless, avoids the discomforting effect similar releases have of changing mood and sound every three minutes. That’s at least partly because only one track is that short and partly because discomfort is not what this sort of electronic music aims at. Moods are set out and slowly shift, floating along on the back of chugging sequencer patterns. Vox celeste, synthesised string and woodwind tones sit alongside purely electronic sounds. Created so as to flow one into another, only careful attention will pick up personnel changes. David Wright works with a lot of different people and this draws from all sorts of projects, some solo, some studio, some with different bands, some with guitar. The album opens with a mini-suite – a studio opener, flowing into its companion piece, a live version of an album track – Cassani. The sound is very Tangerine Dream and if you like it, you’ll like the album, if not, this is your warning. Unfortunately it uses some Gregorian chant samples and that’s a shame, since it hits the stereotype of New-Agey music too clearly. The pairing is twenty minutes long – so you can see we’re not in the land of three chords and two minutes. The third piece, Walking With Ghosts, is hot off the presses – recorded live in September 2009 at Derby’s electronic music festival. Adding piano sounds gives a nice organic feel and the improvisation is inspired, with three people playing off each other. Guitar features here but the star is mini-moog and a digital copy of a Mellotron, giving an old-school feel to the piece. The next piece opens on nicely wavering tones before electric sitar (yup!) takes us to mystic hippy heaven. Just An Illusion is the second one to feature the marvellously named Klaus ‘Cosmic’ Hoffman on guitar. It becomes a stretched and electronic instrument in his hands, adding a colour and texture that ups the temperature considerably. The title track (and what a corny title it is….) is based on crystalline piano and I’m enjoying the variety in this collection. To prove a point, State Of Bliss is almost immobile at first, hanging in space on the glissando guitar effects of Mr Cosmic and Floyd-ey keys from David. A short bridging piece follows, a Code Indigo track that has the atmosphere of a film soundtrack, full of mystery & suspense, before All Good Things ends the set with a filmic, ‘end-credits’ piece – sort of sad and triumphant at the same time. It’s a long journey (eighty minutes) but time passes quickly and what appeared to be a ‘hits’ album turns out to be a re-working of tracks, often live (my favourite for freashness) and with different musicians. It works fine as a taster and also as David’s next album. That’s his TWENTIETH! His twentieth solo album in twenty years, alongside a clutch of band albums. David Wright – as prolific as Mark E Smith…… www.davidwrightmusic.com |
