Colours by Frank Van Bogaert. Catalogue# - Ace Studio 98.001
Frank is a Belgian composer who is influenced very much by the world-music
style of Enigma, Deep Forest, et al. This album is aimed very firmly at
that market and is easily of the same quality of production and depth of
composition of these more famous acts. If he gets the right exposure and
promotion, he's got a huge hit on his hands.
From a musical point of view, this is one of the most positive albums
I've heard in a long time. Frank intended each piece to be "no more
than musical paintings", capturing the colours of the titles. Listening
to this makes me feel good, and what more could anyone ask ?
1. Amber
Uptempo like Keller & Schoenwaelder 'beats' tracks. It's techno, but with
that incessant 'bouncy' quality of K&S, and there are real melodies !
2. Green
Brings to mind chanting world-music tracks. Overlays a little child's voice
which is endearing rather than irritating.
3. Blue
My fave cut on the album. Amazingly simple, almost minimistic, sequences
over a straightforward 4/4 drum pattern. Just keeps building and subtley
changing over the course of the track. Beautiful. Music to accompany
film of a glider soaring on thermals.
4. Indigo
Tribal sounding, with some really good melodies played on expressive
wind instrument patch. Interesting manipulations of vocal samples.
5. Red
Starts with a drum beat almost like an electronic version of Iggy Pop's
'Lust For Life' ! 'Trainspotting' has a lot to answer for. Quickly
gets into its stride as another fine example of the tribal genre.
6. Grey
Infectious beat brings Native American images to mind. A little darker
than the preceeding tracks, this makes a nice contrast. Some interesting
dubby echo effects fly around the stereo field in a subtle fashion.
7. White
My third fave track. Reminds me in some ways of 'Melt' by Leftfield.
Some expert piano work shows off Frank's technical abilities. Enveloping
waves of strings make this very relaxing.
8. Orange
A tropical desert island. No steel drums, though (thank goodness !).
9. Magenta
Positive and reminiscent of Songs of Distant Earth (probably because
of the vocal samples used). Also brings to mind Vangelis' Oceanic.
10. Brown
A darker track. Slow and ambient. An autumn morning, walking past fields
getting ready for winter. Lonely but quite beautiful, too.
11. Violet
Gentle arpeggios overlay velvety strings and deep bass synths, weaving
a stereo tapestry not dissimilar to 'Burning of the Midnight Lamp' by
Jimi Hendrix. Builds and builds into a wall of beauty. Puts me in mind
of Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb', too. My second favourite cut.
12. Black
Unsurprisingly, this starts off in an ominous fashion in a minor key.
Quite a bit more hard-core than the previous tracks, this features
heavy kick drums, acidic sequencers and an almost militaristic feel,
enhanced by the addition of communications samples (NASA I imagine,
but they tend to stay undecipherable in the background).
My favourite tracks tend to be the more ambient ones, which move away
from the 'Deep Forest' genre. I hope Frank develops this side of his
music more, but overall this is one amazing album from a very talented
guy.
Check out his homepage at...
http://www.groove.nl/bogaert.html
--
Grant Middleton, Senior Software Engineer, Marconi Simulation, UK
E-Mail: grant.middleton@gecm.com
Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/9240/
(
geocities.com/sunsetstrip/lounge) (
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