“Sines of Life Vol. II is a must for all the fans of David Wright who shows here all of his strong versatility in England and Berlin Schools”
CD 1 (69:04)
1 Rysheara (Live) 11:38
2 First Call 5:00
3 Kaleidoscope 10:41
4 Crystal Clouds 5:42
5 Nomad (Alternate Live Mix) 9:51
6 Cosmosis 20:58
7 A Night in September 5:14
CD 2 (66:13)
8 Passing Through 12:06
9 Depth from Motion 16:37
10 China 32:55
11 Walking with Ghosts (Single Version) 4:35
(DDL/CD-R 135:17) (V.F.)
(England & Berlin Schools, Melodious, E-Rock)
Released in parallel to Sines of Life Vol.I, this second part of David Wright's unpublished titles, played in concert and forgotten in the corridors of time between 1988 and 2008, was also forgotten on the corner of my desk. And what an injustice! Because SINES OF LIVE Vol. II is not only a very beautiful gift for the fans of the English synthman, it's more than 2 hours of a magical music that live interpretations or studio mixes show a whole range of the styles that harbour the creativity of David Wright since Reflections.
Winds of arid meadows open Rysheara, a track also present on the Live at the London Planetarium album (quite like Nomad) and presented here in a new version from a 2005 concert (also quite like Nomad). The musical winds get lost in the breezes of choruses which hum an absent melody, while that keys rise up like chords of an electric guitar forgotten between two instruments. The melodious approach takes shape around keys which sparkle and run like wavelets, binding itself around a delicate rhythm which gently beats around fluttering cymbals to run away on the horizon like an electronic ride which runs on the wings of a synth to orchestral breaths. It's molded in the shamanic Hindus rhythms of Mind Over Matter that Rysheara draws its charm. Between a tribal world and a galactic western the title runs in the layers of a synth to bicephalous harmonies, floating on its orchestral strata and galloping on its unbridled sequences and wild rhythms to soften an ear which always asks for more. First Call borrows the Gregorian territories of Enigma. The rhythm is passive, to see absent. It's a title of atmosphere with very orchestral layers floating and waltzing on the fine harmonies of a piano lost in all these exciting pulsations which resound in the corridors of uncertainty. Kaleidoscope is heavy and powerful. Its thunderous sequences skip with fervor near percussions which sound anemic; so much the strength of the sequencing knocks down the order of things. The synth is not outdone. It throws slippery pads which reverberate in a strange echo while freeing harmonies in staccato which interlace in an unreal synth ballet, while that other orchestral layers are escaping to dance around a zigzagging chain of crystal clear sequences, creating a melodious cacophony which takes refuge within the hidden recesses of a somber choir and its abstruse chants. It's very good. In fact, it's as good as that can be daring. From pure and progressive rhythms to others closer to synth-pop, David Wright is also capable of beautiful melodies and Crystal Clouds is a good one with its notes of a fragile piano which tinkle in a cosmos to ethereal veils. Between its big rumblings of thunders, Nomad (Alternate Live Mix) spreads a lively rhythm where sequences and pulsations jump up and run under the layers of a synth which weaves its harmonies in rivers of prism whose silvery reflections pour on the breaths of eerie voices and the veils of violins that they imagine.
Cosmosis is the hidden treasure of this first CD. A splendid bass line introduces a hypnotic rhythmic basis that will bear this epic title throughout its 21 minutes. This hopping rhythm is besieged by muffled percussions which slam, a little as if imps to feet of clogs tried to climb a mountain with vertiginous slopes, in the warm winds of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock's attractive Memotron which shapes aromas as much psychedelic as Arabian. The rhythm is intensifying, segment by segment, with curter percussions of which each strike resounds in winds became hybrid. A Night in September reminds to us how melodious David Wright can be. It's a good electronic ballad which pours its harmonies on a slightly hopping tempo. The tune is literally kiss curl and possesses all the ingredients to create these famous ear worms that haunt quite much later after having satisfied our hunger. Passing Through is another beautiful ballad which hums its harmonies on a very melodious synth. The hiccupping rhythm espouses a soft stroboscopic structure which swirls like an enchanting waltz before sinking into an ambient passage which divides a title with a tremulous and circular rhythm. With Depth from Motion, the English synthesist shows us his ambient universe. We would imagine being in a full oceanic depth with this long title which multiplies oblong layers of a synth to iridescent colors which float and wrap us with a slow ethereal embrace. China is SINES OF LIVE Vol. II piece de resistance. The intro is casted in the tears of a violin to oriental caresses which cry under the rippling groans of a foggy synth. Riffs clings to this immense vessel of melancholy, whipping an ambience stigmatized by tenderness. As if by magic, and under tears of a more intense violin, the riffs are metamorphosing into muffled pulsations which oscillate under a dense mellotron veil while that Bongo kind of percussions harpoon the sweetness of China which contracts and falls for the charm of a nervous rhythm. A rhythm that make stamp this union of sequences and muffled pulsations into the nervous strikes of the Bongo drums without ever brushing the delicacy of violins and mists which bewitch all along this minimalist musical saga of which the strength of the rhythm and the speed of the riffs increase constantly and this even if the veils of mist and the tears of violin caress a controlled violence. It's a wonderful monument of the minimalist electronic art. Walking with Ghosts (Single Version) ends this fascinating synopsis over the forgotten titles and the diversified styles of David Wright with a rather commercial version which concentrates on the most livened part of this classic music piece from AD Music founder.
Far from being the kind of compilation which surfs on the success and recognition of a pioneer who always knew how to marry his harmonies to musical structures forged in keyboards and the abstract art from EM, SINES OF LIVE Vol. II is an indispensable work for all the fans of David Wright and those who think to become. There is of everything in this surprising compilation which shows the big versatility of an artist who feels at ease as much in the heavy and hopping rhythms of the England School as those more fluid and hypnotic of Berlin School without ever raising the nose on sentimental melodies to make pour the tears of the heart.
Sylvain Lupari (November 28th, 2012) ****½*
Available at AD Music