For those who don't know, FSP is our very own Marcel Engels. He burns
his own CD-R's at home and distributes them himself. 'Substance' is
an E.P. featuring a track which is destined to appear on the next
album.
It starts with clouds of abstract white noise, atonal sweeps and
clustered notes. Analogue monosynth bass fades in and out. The
intro isn't a million miles away from 'Movements of a Visionary' on
Phaedra. At about 1:40, a sequencer / drum pattern kicks in which
instantly brings to mind Schmoelling-era TD, maybe circa Hyperborea
or Poland.
Mellotronic choirs and strings provide the chord sequence, while a
lovely analogue Moogish lead line plays a solo which I can only
describe as soaring (cliched phrase that it is). Herr Schmoelling is
alive and living in The Netherlands !
Oops. All to quickly we're back into dark abstract land. Creepy
strings and heavily vibratoed bass synth create an unsettling mood.
Scooby Doo, where aaaaaaaare you ?
Stereo sequencers in the upper registers introduce the next segment
of the track. Symphonic mellotron strings over a very digital bass
sound. Interesting chord sequences and surprising melodies show off
Marcel's compositional abilities nicely.
Now the sequencers which had been content to float about in the air
demand their say. A question and answer between manic sequencers,
sampled vocals and orchestral strings give way to more mellow, gentle
waves of strings while the bass synth plays more unsettling
fragments over the top.
The drum machine kicks in again and the sparse sequencer notes seem
to /imply/ the key rather than filling up every second available.
Then things slow down and fall back towards abstract darkness.
Choirs and strings recall the more gothic side of classic TD, and
is soon overtaken by pure '80s TD. Frankean sequencers and Scmoelling
solo work which should appeal to fans of White Eagle, Hyperborea,
Poland. The ending seems a little 'unfinished' though. Perhaps
it will be extended for the new album.
I find that this disc has grown on me quite a bit since I first got
it - always a good sign. I have only two negative comments to make :-
1. Instead of recording directly from the mixer, I would record to
multitrack first. I think the overall sound would benefit from being
in the same 'sonic environment' and you would also be able to go
to town with your effects, recording crazy new sounds on each track.
2. I would stay longer on each musical idea. The first solo could
easily have been stretched to 4 minutes, with maybe a slight change
in chord sequence or something. But hey, it's better to have too
many ideas than too few ! :-)
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