MERGENER, PETER
664184
CD
INSTINCTIVE TRAVELLER
RHYTHMIC/MELODIC (SYNTH)1997 solo album from one half of the old IC label duo Software. Without any doubt, Mergener was the engine in that vehicle, and when you sample albums like this, you will hear why we draw that conclusion. Most tracks are around the eight to ten minute mark, and there is accompaniment in places from a second keyboards player, drummer and electric guitarist, but mostly it’s Mergener’s show – and what a show it is! This is excellent instrumental music with almost everything you could wish for in a quality ‘Electronic Music’ album, and they are all served up here in a perfectly balanced manner – Decent length tracks, superb atmospheric settings, emotion filled and exciting melody lines with rhythms from both the synth and sequencer variety that are brought into play just at the right time and place – A good balance of all this on one album is practically unparalleled in ‘EM’ today, and it is all here on this album in abundance!
Take the opener, ‘Electronic Movements’ for instance. It starts slowly builds up a head of steam with a superb sequencer rhythm, then proceeds to play a wonderful melody line that’s right out of the classic T Dream/Schulze handbook, but the whole thing is just so CLEAR, the production and arrangements positively crystalline. Yet the magic is in the human touch – All the time during this nine-minute piece you have atmosphere, emotion and feeling well embedded in the music. It is just one incredibly enjoyable track that gets the whole nature of this music style spot on - no self-indulgences at one end or twee-ness at the other, plus there’s a perfect mix of melody, rhythm and atmosphere that is practically unparalleled in ‘EM’ today. That segues straight into ‘In Higher Places’, with gorgeous waves of string and cosmic synths. Deep bass rumbles herald the arrival of synth choirs, more string layers, rich space textures, and a huge soundscape is built that will take your breath away. Without a break, it moves straight into ‘Touch The Guitar’, an eight-minute track of sheer magic as a soaring electric guitar climbs high over solid sequencers, fantastic sounding synth layers and quality drum work. The sound is crisp and clear, with gorgeous melodies all around. It’s all a bit like the very best Tangerine Dream from the classic mid-70’s period, only better, and its one sensational track that will send shivers up the spines of most synth music fans. A brief richly textured sea of string-synths and bass undercurrents takes you into another sequencer-led track that his time slowly builds before a cymbal crash signals the start of an Eastern-sounding lead line, with galloping rhythms, and it’s another panoramic sea of string-synths, layers and textures blossom out as far as the ear can hear, - totally beautiful in every way, yet so solid too. Two minutes of sensational drums (real & sampled) that sound amazing lead into avert atmospheric piece that’s honestly like Bernard Xolotl fronting Wavestar, with sequencers, gorgeous lilting melodies, cascading ripples and sinuous strings, all creating a magical slice of music, with added synth choirs filling the already huge sound towards the end. Three more, equally incredible tracks, signal the end to what is one of the best quality, most essential synth music purchases around, and a totally timeless, thoroughly enjoyable album you’d be hard pressed to better.
Weight: 150.00 g
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