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Synth lovers awaken! The extraordinary Electronic Musician Arjen Schat possesses a distinctive understanding that music should be something that fills the sphere of the temporal dimension rather than a mere succession of multi-layered sounds. The two realizations found on his thoroughly re-playable LP2 (38'40") have been founded on principals of the Berlin-School, yet renders anew the concept of timeless forward motion. These compositions draw us in along their many rhythmic strands, heard individually yet comprehended collectively - on a great journey through the mind space. Schat's apparently endless gift for design, repetition and variation are on full display - with his LP2 effortlessly creating vivid ethereal feelings and associations toward the limitless. While its performance may be completely improvised, this music is always intentional. Played to entrancing effect the crisscrossing of fractured sequencer blips expands in echoing syncopation. Captivated at the interplay and intricacies of its manifold patterns and kaleidoscopic pulse there is room to imagine anything; as in one zone the warmth of the life force may be felt, moving further out puts us in the dead regions between stars. As minor key chords sweep across the sonic tapestry the tone darkens, lightens, and then holds in a vital synthetic fidelity. Providing a sense of certainty, creamy lead lines slip along heated scales and octaves - in the specific poetry of ideas borne on electrical current. Arjen Schat is called upon by a deep-rooted spirit of innovation to do this work. With its dreamy brilliance and spacey sonic logic LP2 is a sincere exploration into the mood and mystery of the Spacemusic genre. With strong core ideas and skilled execution, in this album listeners will find vast aural riches.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 2 April 2020 |
