Review: Remy - Sense

[Planet Origo]

Remy: Sense

The Netherlands has a thriving electronic music scene, it seems; Remy is one of the many Dutch artists with a growing catalogue, while also running his EM dedicated record label, AKH Records. Sense, released in 2006, is his latest album so far, with 5 other albums in his personal catalogue.

This is the first album by Remy I have heard, so I was not sure what to expect. As it turns out, the album is largely symphonic and wide, with 6 relatively long tracks and a dramatic, dark atmosphere in many of the tracks. Destination is especially sinister with some backwards string/pad sounds creating an almost gothic feeling. The addition of male singing/chanting/poetry works well, as does the weird sound effects (think VCS3 brrrps and screaming analogue synths), and in the latter half a sequencer kicks in to give the track more dynamics. This track is perhaps the highlight of the album, as it offers two halves that are different in structure and instrumentation, but still compliment eachother and having that cool horror movie feel to then. The soundtrack to a Jack the Ripper Victorian movie?

The musical darkness continues in Behaviour, which in spite of it's angelic synthesizer choirs creates a Goblin-like anticipation - where are the zombies? More of the same, but in a grander scale, can be found in Mortality, where a sequencer pattern and various electronic drumming/percussion (of which some sound almost distorted) adds an eerie, transparent feeling of running, flying or falling.

Maze is a weaker track; a male voice reads poetry backed by 1980s synth bass and string sounds, but it sounds too much like a specific 80s Software track, and that is not a good thing. As it's another long track, it develops into something completely different around the 10 minute mark, but the somewhat fake sounding strings continue and the voice is now replaced by a poppy drum pattern, which, as it breaks up the mood, is a welcome addition but does not elevate the track itself. The last 4 minutes or so is more fun; the funky drums continue (and are added to) and two synth leads are introduced, sounding like they would have worked great in a live situation. Let's say one third of the track Maze maintains high quality due to it's originality, fun sounds and lively lead playing.

The final track is mostly electronic strings and synth pads, with more male poetry chanting. By now that feature has outstayed it's welcome for me, as the effect has already been used twice in a similar manner. The track sounds powerful enough without the voice, with its wide, fat stringscapes that reminds me of Goblin and also the mighty string sounds of the Elka Synthex.

Sense is quite an original album, at least within the spacey melodic European tradition. It does not fall into a specific electronic category, but shows an artist with integrity who tries to think outside the box, while still keeping his musical concepts on familiar grounds. Making an electronic album with fresh compositions that are both classic and original seems like a lost art these days. The album's strongest side is its epic and wide songs that are somewhat traditional, but featuring some interestingly tweaked and unusual sounds. On the weak side, the album's technical sound could be slightly more dynamic and spicey and crisp engineering-wise, and sounds somewhat flat now. But for it's type of music, Sense is a successful album that balances on the fine edge between traditionalism and experiments within the given format.

Rating 7.5 of 10

Availability:
http://www.remy.akhrecords.nl/