Tangerine Dream: Springtime In Nagasaki

2007 marked the release of ‘Springtime In Nagasaki,’ the first in a series of five releases later named The Five Atomic Seasons which were commissioned by a Japanese survivor of the 1945 dropping of the first atomic bomb. This, the first in the series, describes musically the Spring of 1945 when the commissioner, in his youth, was living in Nagasaki.

Tangerine Dream: Springtime In Nagasaki

Interestingly, when one compares this the first release of the series with ‘The Endless Season,’ reviewed here, the final release in the series, a large difference in styles is seen. While ‘The Endless Season’ is typical of the group’s contemporary writing from their independent years, several of the tracks on this release are more akin to ambient writing. In particular, the second track, ‘Navel Of Light Part Two’ follows several of the aesthetic constructs from the Ambient music tradition, creating a soundscape of pseudo-water droplets with brief interjections of classical musical references.

The six tracks which feature on this release emerge from two larger works - ‘Navel Of Light’ and ‘Persistence Of Memory,’ which are both divided into separate parts. Regarding ‘Persistence Of Memory,’ the atmosphere of the music takes on an altogether darker oeuvre, with ‘Persistence of Memory Part Four’ revisiting the idea of the suggested aquatic landscape of ‘Navel Of Light Part Two’ incorporating a revised sound-world which uses more distorted timbres. The writing at this point further develops the music’s connotations, introducing an element of urgency. As an interesting side-note, this is not only due to the writing, but the production also , given the prominence of the brooding bass frequencies within this track.

As ‘Persistence Of Memory’ continues, the listener hears a juxtaposition in character between parts four and five, with the latter reconciling the brooding and dysphoric musical notions of the former with notably easier listening. This continues into the concluding part, which begins in an upbeat style which verges on sounding ‘merry,’ although the music later does suggest a state of blissful naivety, a forerunner to the following releases in the series which suggest the presence of danger and later trauma.

View Tracklisting

1. Navel Of Light Part One
2. Navel Of Light Part Two
3. Navel Of Light Part Three
4. Persistence Of Memory Part Four
5. Persistence Of Memory Part Five
6. Persistence Of Memory Part Six

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Tiesto: Elements Of Life

The dutch trance producer Tiesto became active in 1997 as the producer of several series of compilation albums. Following several remixes, he released his first solo album in 2001 and continues to do so today. The album here reviewed, 'Elements Of Life' is the producer's third studio album, released in 2007, reportedly selling an impressive 73,000 units in the first month of release.

Tiesto: Elements Of Life

The album begins with the largely instrumental trance 'Ten Seconds Before Sunrise' track, which throughout its 7 minute runtime evolves through typical trance writing to extended sustained chords which would also serve in an ambient music context. This is followed by 'Everything' featuring Jes which, after an extended drum oriented introduction exhibits a more uptempo trance style which would be welcomed on the dancefloor.

While this album is by no means short of commendable material, the highlights certainly appear in the second half of the album, including all five of the singles released from the album. Tracks such as 'Dance4Life,' which is the most overtly commercial with a note worthy hook and 'Sweet Things' are among some of the finest trance tracks contained within this reviewer's library. 

The album closes with a remix of 'He's A Pirate' from the Disney Film 'Pirates Of The Caribbean,' also released as the first single from the album. This particular track is interesting given its roots in orchestral film music, and very popular film music at that. The track combines elements of Tiesto's signature trance aesthetic with an extended section of orchestral music, creating a very interesting take on the music origionally written by Klaus Badelt. This album comes highly recommended for readers of The Sonic Music Review who are partial to trance music.

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Soulwax: Most Of The Remixes...

Throughout their career, Soulwax have remixed a number of tracks from big name artists such as Kylie and Daft Punk. This release, the title in full being 'Most of the remixes we've made for other people over the years except for the one for Einstürzende Neubauten because we lost it and a few we didn't think sounded good enough or just didn't fit in length-wise, but including some that are hard to find because either people forgot about them or simply because they haven't been released yet, a few we really love, one we think is just ok, some we did for free, some we did for money, some for ourselves without permission and some for friends as swaps but never on time and always at our studio in Ghent,' celebrates 14 of their biggest remixes up to 2007, with a second CD mixed by their 2 Many DJs counterpart.

Soulwax: Most Of The Remixes...

The compilation begins with Soulwax's remix of 'Robot Rock' by the French duo Daft Punk, consisting of an incessant electronic chord which constitutes largely the only material in the first minute, while a talk box-ed "robot rock" is modulated in various ways. In typical form, this degenerates into synthetic bleeps reminiscent of the video games of yesteryear. Fans of Daft Punk may also be pleased that 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' by LCD Soundsystem is also remixed and appears as track 3.

Among the later tracks come several other big names, including a syncopated low-fi remix of 'Dare' by Gorillaz and a particularly grunge influenced remix of Kylie's 'Cant Get You Out Of My Head.' One of the highlights is certainly the remix of 'Phantom Part 2' by Justice, which epitomises the upbeat distorted style of Soulwax.

Looking at the second disk, which features a different tracklisting to include additional tracks such as the Sugarbabes' 'Round Round,' the combination of Soulwax remixing and 2 Many DJs mixing of that material leads to an accomplished collection of material, which illustrates great skill. For those who are unacquainted with the stylings of Soulwax, the remixes contained within this release present a very unusual interpretation of pop music.

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Calvin Harris: I Created Disco

While the chart performance of the 2007 debut album by Scottish artist Calvin Harris was comparably modest when compared to other recent debut albums, 'I Created Disco' is uncommon in its composition and even its production, having been created entirely on an Amiga system.

Calvin Harris: I Created Disco

The album begins with 'Merrymaking At My Place,' overt in its intentional disco references. Throughout, Harris uses a clear electric bass line with typical disco drum patterns underpinning the repeated vocal phrases. The following track, 'Colours' continues with the heavily synth led nature of the album. According to a recent interview, the lyrical content of this track refers to a man dissatisfied with women who wear no colour.

The tracks 'Acceptable In The 80's' and 'The Girls,' both released as singles from the album, received widespread airplay as well as use on the small screen. Underpinning both tracks is the album's origins in 80's synthpop with clear influences from acts such as Visage and The Human League. In general, the album would benefit from greater variety rather than a succession of homogenous material. This is seen briefly in the penultimate track, 'Loves Souvenir,' which is reminiscent of synth-based funk music. Sadly however, even this relief from the monotonous style of the rest of the album is highly repetitive and the effect of variety is lost.

Overall, for a 00's debut album, Harris' writing is highly unusual, with several tracks worth a listen.

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Justice: Cross

The French duo Justice have spent several years establishing themselves as one of the biggest names in the electro house circuit, known for their heavy indie/rock influence. The 2007 release 'Cross' interestingly is the duo's first album release, however in spite of limited material, they are one of the most commercially successful bands on their label.

Justice: Cross

The album begins with 'Genesis,' which, from the very start, clearly establishes the grimey style which the duo is known for. One of the duo's greatest commercial successes, 'D.A.N.C.E,' for which they received a number of award nominations comes early in the album, leading in to the alternative electro house 'Newjack' track.  This track combines pastiched vocals with harsh electronic overtones in a similar manner to their 'Phantom' single.

'Phantom' and 'Phantom Part II' thankfully make a notable appearance in the middle of the album. This two part work employs a cunning change of style comparable to Pendulum's 'The Island'/'The Island Part II.' Sadly however, the second part appears quite tame in comparison to some of the duo's other efforts. One of the album's strengths, however, is the manner in which the pace and excitement raises and falls by design rather than coincidence.

'DVNO' revisits the duo's more commercial stylings and builds to the albums finale, 'One Minute To Midnight,' which ends the album on a high. Any fans of Electro House should certainly give this album a listen.

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James Yuill: Turning Down Water For Air

'Turning Down Water For Air' is James Yuill's second album but first major release, initially released under his own label, the album was rereleased in 2009 following the composer's signing to the Moshi Moshi label. Consisting primarily of laptop-based sonic processing alongside guitar, cello and soft vocals, the album contains 12 tracks totalling 41 minutes.

The album sees a clear influence from New Order and similar synth pop groups, but Yuill's stylistic development to include more contemporary dance beats alongside influences from folk and electronica musics give this album a personality of its own. Among the albums highlights are 'No Pins Allowed' and 'No Surprise,' which were the first two singles to be released from the album.

With many of the tracks seemingly relating to Yuill's own personal experiences, much of the album is autobiographical with a continuous theme of longing and loss. This is seen in particular in the track 'Over The Hills,' the album's third single release.

This album comes fairly early on in the composer's career but shows James Yuill to be a particularly versatile and interesting artist with an inimitable style and great musical charisma.

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John Murphy and Underworld: Sunshine (soundtrack)

Having previously reviewed the Daft Punk soundtrack to 'Tron: Legacy' here, it seems pertinent to review this heavily contrasting work, the soundtrack to the 2007 Danny Boyle film 'Sunshine.'

The soundtrack is a collaboration between film composer John Murphy and Underworld, the british electronic music duo. Throughout, the collaborators fuse a traditional film music style written predominantly for strings, with electronic effects and processing more congruent to laptop based electronic music production. This marriage is echoed in the film's style, the score shines at moments of tranquility and of terror and excels at both.

'Capa's Last Transmission Home' uses material also seen in a later track, 'To Heal.' This track, which is actually adapted from a previous Underworld release is one of the rare moments of tranquility if the film and the lush synthetic sound world is well suited alongside the various other musical elements. The following track, which is taken from a scene in which the captain of the vessel dies, is an equally effective piece primarily for strings which shows Murphey's talent as an orchestral composer. It is later in the album however, where the score makes it's climax.

The composers' use of disjointed and highly dysphoric writing are highly effective in portraying the fear and terror felt on screen to the audience. 'Kanada's Death Pt. 1' for instance is one of the most effective examples of music in the film through the suggestion of impending angony, the greatest strength is that it leaves the listener to fill in the emotional subtext rather than making an overt statement of terror. With that said, the furious string playing in 'Pinbacker Slashes Capa' could not be a clearer commentary to the on screen terror, and yet it functions so highly effectively as it both contrasts and builds upon the previous writing which suggested an unseen terror.

Later, as the protagonist prepares for the seeming impossible task of escaping from a sealed airlock in 'Capa Suits Up,' we see more typical Underworld writing which actually ends with the furious string playing seen previous. This leads in to 'Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor),' possibly Murphey's best writing as it captures so clearly the myriad of emotions from the movie in preparation for the film's finale.

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