“Within the Whirl is worth listening. Especially if you are a fan of the Phaedra era and also of those Jarre's cosmic moods”
1 Isolation Process 19:37
2 Sleepwalk 10:10
3 Hypnotic Fields 15:51
4 Anguish 14:41
5 Trancelunar Drive 12:30
Spheric Music | SMCD 4003
(CD 72:59) (V.F.)
(Berlin School)
From the first listen of WITHIN THE WHIRL, you can hardly believe that this opus is the fruit of individual improvisation sessions. The German duo shows an extraordinary cohesion for an album displaying such a level of creativity. In fact, it looks like two musicians that have never talk to each other but who connect, whatever the situation is. In doing so, we have a highly contagious album where the disorder and the tumult of Alien Nature meet the pragmatism of Lambert Ringlage and its structures closer to the realism of good Berlin School which remains however always exploratory. The result is fascinating, even astounding, because the album offers 5 titles with strange dimensions which end up in structures however very coherent.
Isolation Process begins this album with one of these openings of nebulous atmospheres where it's only in this art that the hollow breezes filled with wooshh become murmurs from Cosmos. It takes patience, since the metamorphosis of the atmospheres goes through an uneasy breeze of Klaus Schulze organ before the rumbles of a turbine are dancing with a melody not yet formed from a puny flute. Not completely floating, this long movement is bathed in a deadly atmosphere that a light sequence awakens mid-course. The rhythm barely murmurs. Oscillating like a rabid wisp in a too narrow tube, it receives the help of a keyboard with fluid notes. The atmospheres reach a level of richness as the rhythm becomes heavier and enormous riffs monopolize this cascading sequence which twists on disparate sound effects. A very good opening where the tribal aromas flirt with a kind of anarchy and which depicts the strange universe which reigns all around WITHIN THE WHIRL. After 90 seconds of atmospheres typical to the Berlin School, Sleepwalk takes us into a morphic sweetness with a beautiful movement where the dream is forged on a tender sequenced carousel. You know what I mean? It's like interpreting the sublime Crystal Lake with a little more heaviness, like in a very beautiful lunar slow, with good percussions which respect its softness. The two musicians ignore distances by weaving some really good synth and guitar solos, as well as almost seraphic arrangements including the celestial chant of a nice and invasive astral choir. It's incredibly beautiful!
According to the introductory structure of each of the titles of this album, Hypnotic Fields progresses in a dense cosmic mist. The atmosphere is heavy and full of muffled clamor and even suspicious airs which spread their reverberations on opaque and dark layers. We are in a zone of organic elements which are gradually shaken by percussive effects and finally by percussions whose slow flow structures an astonishing down-tempo whose echo effect extends a sustained rhythmic form. Hypnosphere traps us in a highly psychedelic soundscape with individual hysteria ululations which are lost among many synthesized effects. A superbly fascinating moment that was well worth the wait of some 7 minutes and dust. And 5 minutes later, we plunge back into the cosmic mysteries of its opening. A giant vacuum cleaner takes us out of this final to bring us into the moods of Anguish. Crackles and heel noises on a cold pavement, these atmospheres are within the reach of our imagination which turns them as it perceives them. Cosmic elements are added to this strange panorama which comes alive on a movement of cosmic rhythm which undulates in a tonal storm where the delirium of sounds can be right of the most tenacious. The rhythm of Trancelunar Drive comes out of another introductory broth to reign in a good 8 minutes of electronic fury with these keys which come and go, go up and down in a Berlin School made daring by the content of the synth solos.
Not really for everyone, WITHIN THE WHIRL is a sound experience, and sometimes a musical one, which is aimed at those who are always looking for a little more daring while staying close to the borders of accessibility. Although here, nothing is really guaranteed. It's very cosmic with phases of extremely rich atmospheres and sometimes even near delirium which I undoubtedly attribute to the excessiveness of Wolfgang Barkowski. Maybe not for everyone, but there are some incredibly powerful moments in this album.
Sylvain Lupari (November 15th, 2007) *****
Available at Spheric Music
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