This music was composed after they were asked to play Jodrell Bank. It is inspired by the place. Being amateur astronomers they know it well. It was given its first performance at the gig but it must be emphasized that this is a studio album, not a live one. It was recorded long before their JB performance. Its an album of great maturity taking fans on a journey through new realms as well as staying true to their roots. The production is first rate giving the album a smooth almost 'slick' feel.
Waves of sound emanate from the speakers followed by a contrasting delicate piano melody. The repeated melody develops a rhythmic quality of its own. Further fantastic lead lines are added as 'Jodrell Bank Mark I' turns into an awesome opener for an incredible album. Sequences, melody and above all excitement are delivered here by the lorry full. 'Long Distance Light' starts in relaxed fashion. Suitably slow drums are added and an equally appropriate lead floats over the top. This would be ideal music to laze to on a hot summers day. Just let yourself be taken along on the back of the exquisite floating pulsations, caressed by the beautiful melody. We drift straight into 'Echoes From Shooting Stars'. Warbling waves of sound shimmer from the speakers and another highly melodic lead line is created. Close your eyes and let it raise your spirit to a higher level. The pace quickens as high hat lines are added then a distinctly 90s rhythm starts up followed by others to suddenly shift us into overdrive but then just as quickly as it came it vanishes returning us to the beauty of before. We keep alternating between power and light until we travel through the highly atmospheric 'Population and.......' to '..........Evolution' on the back of a sequence that becomes increasingly dominant as 'Evolution' gets in full flow. More sequences are added and a rhythm strikes up which really starts to let rip appropriately evolving into a real body mover.
'Jodrell Bank Mark II' begins with a typical retro sequence which mutates becoming more complex but also melodic, acting as the lead line as well as the backbone of the track. A shuffling rhythm is added and a fantastic repeated melodic motif gives it that extra umph. Some appropriately spacey vocal samples are introduced then a brilliant Schulzian lead makes an already superb track perfect. What an amazing track this is- the best on the album. 'The Universe Itself' swells with vast triumphant pads. The lead line is very Vangelis sounding, euphoric with a hint of questioning innocence.
'Descent To the Black Sun' utilizes high hat percussion over an earthy beat, its very effective I just wish it could have gone on for much longer. We finish with 'The Dream of Lovell'. Again Vangelis at his most tender comes to mind. It comes over as emotional theme music to a Hollywood blockbuster. Its got everything, symphonic surges, heart rending melodies and delicate picked strings. It could be thought of as slightly 'mushy' but even though I'm a miserable old bugger I found it profoundly moving.
DAVID LAW (www.synthmusicdirect.com/voiceday.cfm)
1994 beschlossen Frank Specht und Gerd Wienekamp gemeinsam ''elektronische Space-Music'' zu machen und nannten das Projekt Rainbow Serpent. Beide sind bekennende Klaus Schulze-Fans, damit ist auch in etwa die Ausrichtung ihrer sechsten Platte ''Voices of the first day'' beschrieben. Aber auch mit oft über Rainbow Serpent schwebendem gutem Geist des großen Klaus ist die Scheibe eine meist eigenständige Angelegenheit geworden. Den ersten Track ''Jodrell Bank Mark 1'' trägt ein Mike Oldfield-ähnliches Piano-Thema, darüber werden dichte Sequenzermuster gelegt, das ganze vervollständigen Synthie-Improvisationen. Die ''Long Distance Light'' kommt ambientmäßig schwebend daher, ''Echoes From shooting Stars'' beinhaltet dagegen südamerikanisch angehauchte Techno-Rhythmen, gleichzeitig bleibt die Sound-Kulisse melodisch-unbeschwert.
Die Trennung von ''Population and... Evolution'' in zwei Stücke ist für mich musikalisch nicht ganz nachvollziehbar. Dazu kommt noch verwirrenderweise die Tatsache, dass alle Stücke des Albums fließend ineinander übergehen und der jeweilige Trackanfang vom CD-Player immer mit mehreren Sekunden Verspätung angezeigt wird. Absicht oder Zufall? Soll das etwa eine Anregung für den Hörer sein, nicht immer automatisch eine musikalische Veränderung für ein neues Stück zu halten?
Nichtesdoweniger bringt dieser Zweiteiler zuerst breite, getragene Streicherflächen, die dann im weiteren Verlauf rhythmischen Sequenzer-Motiven weichen. Durch diese erfährt das Stück gegen Ende eine gewisse Spannungssteigerung. Insbesondere ''Population...'' besticht durch seine positive Ausstrahlung und versetzt den Hörer gefährlicherweise in beste Urlaubsstimmung. Übrigens wollte ich schon immer mal eine Fortsetzung von Tangerine Dreams ''Rubycon'' hören.
''Jodrell Bank Mark 2'' ist nach fünf eigenständigen Stücken überwiegend Schulze der 70er pur, hier mit verfremdeten Stimmen und Techno-Rhythmus der 90er.
''The Universe Itself'' erinnert mich in seinen symphonischen Ausmaßen und bedächtiger Melodie stark an Vangelis.
''Descend To The Black Sun'' bringt Tabla-Klänge und einen originellen Marsch-ähnlichen Rhythmus.
''The Dream of Lovell'' bildet den harmonisch-orchestralen Abschluß dieser interessanten Platte. Dabei kommen Cello-, Harfen- und Sopransax-Klänge zum Einsatz.
Die Musik des Duos Rainbow Serpent wird meines Erachtens am zutreffendsten mit Prädikaten wie federleicht, hell und voller Wärme beschrieben.
Siggy Zielinski
This 63 minute CD from 2001 is the latest release by Rainbow Serpent (aka Frank Specht and Gerd Wienekamp) featuring a tasty dose of liquidly dynamic electronic music.
From its initial piano strains awash with digital riffs, this music immediately captures the attention--not with any overt brashness, but with urgently styled melodics that sweep the listener far into the ancient past to sonically witness the birth of the cosmos. Alternate keyboard riffs cascade into the mix, creating density and power with each subsequent cycle. Soft E-perc adds the appropriate propulsion, infusing the quantum harmonies with rugged power and smooth rhythms. Passages of interstellar ambience are agitated into pleasing tuneage that exudes majesty and stately tempo. Although the music rarely strays into monumental territory, there is a grandness that is impossible to ignore: engaging and inspiring.
Rainbow Serpent's compositional talent is a major attraction. This music moves beyond Berlin School roots, evolving a distinctly unique take on contemporary electronics with swift breaks and thrilling melodies.
Song titles such as "Long Distance Light", "Echoes from Shooting Stars", and "Descent to the Black Sun" are almost unnecessary, as the spaciness of the music conveys itself with super clarity. Rainbow Serpent even utilize radio noise on one track, sourced from recordings made by the Cassini spacecraft of the planet Jupiter. Curiously, this interplanetary sampling is buried amid a horde of hyper electronic percussions that vibrate the listener from any sedate lethargy generated by the dreaminess of the music.
www.empire-of-the-claw.com/soniccuriosity/sc050.htm
Rainbow Serpent has really caught on among Teutonic enthusiasts, and it's easy to see why on their latest release, a great blend of pinpoint sequencing and strong melodies. Bright piano is featured on the opening track, along with classic Moog-like leads. A rapid, bubbling undercurrent keeps it all moving at a rapid pace. Highs and lows are well-placed, as "Long Distance Light" demonstrates, a light, airy, formless piece devoid of traditional beats or melody, at least at first. Eventually a beat emerges, but mostly it is about sonic textures and warmth.
"Echoes From Shooting Stars" has silky smooth electric piano, lending an almost jazzy feel, except that it is also loaded with dance-techno beats.
"Population and..." shifts into pure drift mode, the stuff of dreams. It transitions seamlessly into "...Evolution" , another great example of melding the 1970s with the 2000s. This sounds a lot like another German synthesist, Spyra. As much as they draw on other influences, Rainbow Serpent is developing their own sound, as "Jodrell Bank Mark II" doesn't quite sound like anyone else but, well, Rainbow Serpent. Very rapid sequencing and light quick beats blend with synth strings and interesting electronically augmented vocals by Frank Specht. My favorite track might be "Descent To The Black Sun" , a great mix of electronics and pseudo-tribal rhythms. The disc closes with a majestic Jarre-like piece, a fitting finale.
Phil Derby
Rainbow Serpent show in this album a great sensitivity when it comes to creating passages dominated by warm, emotional melodies, together with others where the strong sequencer rhythms dominate. With a clear inspiration in the search by means of radio telescopes of intelligent life signs coming from space, the music is perfectly adequate to the transcendency of this activity, and turns out to be mysterious, powerful and intense.
EDGAR KOGLER (http://www.amazings.com/reviews/review0876.html)
Ist ein Genre erst mal erfunden, bleibt es in der Welt, unkaputtbar von Trends und Moden. Nur der Fankreis schmilzt bisweilen auf Nischengröße. So ist es mit der Sequenzer-Elektronik, die in den 70ern ihre große Zeit hatte, doch nach Erfindung des digitalen Synthesizers ins Abseits geriet. Sie lebt weiter in Projekten wie diesem. Ganz im Sinn der Schulze-Schule baut man an weitgeschwungenen E-Epen, deren analoge Flächen von unagressiven Beats mit sanfter Gewalt durch eine kühle menschenleere Klangwelt geschoben werden. Einige Stücke dieses Albums vermögen gar den hypnotischen Zauber von einst herauf zu beschwören - "... Evolution" etwa. Das hat kaum Kontakt zu moderner Elektronik, aber einen hohen Gehalt an heimeliger Nostalgie. Und genau wie einst Schulze oder Tangerine Dream schaut man gerne hoch ins All - und baut auch schon mal Radiorauschen vom Jupiter ein.
mw (Kulturnews)
Tubular Bells von Mike Oldfield grüßen aus längst vergangenen Tagen. Rainbow Serpent zitieren ihn aber in ihrer neuen Scheibe sehr gekonnt! Dann legen sie in ihrem perfekt warmen und flüssigen Synthiesound wieder Eigenes an den Tag. Was soll man dazu noch schreiben? Jede ihrer Scheiben kann man bedenkenlos kaufen. Sie bleiben ihrem Stil treu und geben dem Hörer einfach schöne entspannende Musik. Fazit: Elektronische Highlights!
[Kurt Mitzkatis]
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