I'm willing to bet that you've not heard anything quite like this. It's a cool disc that lands generally in the realm of progressive rock. That said, there is so much world music here. The majority of the vocals are not in English or delivered in a Western style. The mix of sound runs the gamut from electronic to jazz and much more. All in all, this is quite a ride that really does feel exotic and perhaps even alien.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
La Grande Illusion - Ad Astra
Classical sounds bring this in, feeling a bit ominous. It grows out from there with a sense of wonder and world music textures built into it. This is an intriguing introductory piece.
Par Avion In a lot of ways this is more rock music oriented. That said, it leans toward the electronic end of the spectrum. There is a drop back to a mellow world music section, too. The whole thing has a lot of world music in place. There is a really jazzy excursion later, as well.
Stigmata Here we get a rather trippy cut that seems to combine mellow prog, world music and jazz. It's another classy number on a disc full of classy music.
December 23 More energized and rocking, this one is the most straightforward tune wew've heard to this point. It's a classy prog rocker that still contains world music and more.
La Porte De L'Enfer Piano and keyboards are the main driving factors on this beautiful piece of music. There is a spoken vocal movement later in the piece and the cut really reaches a crescendo.
5:15 AM This is a soaring number with a lot of jazz and almost folk prog sound in the mix. It's definitely classy and one of the most accessible pieces here.
Meiko Another of the more mainstream cuts, this rocks out quite a bit. It's one of that most standard prog like tunes, too. The horn soloing is particularly tasty.
Requiem This is just a bit over a minute and a half in length. It's rather atmospheric and trippy.
The First Snowfall Jazz stylings drive the music while the vocals lend some world texture here. The mellower interludes also have some of that world sound.
Unexpected This makes me think of Synergy and Tangerine Dream quite a bit. It's a classy instrumental that works really well. The more rocking movement later is one of the most accessible. The vocals in English help with that for me.
La Grande Illusion - Endos Textural music opens this. There are soundbites that come over the top as the tune gradually builds. This is a classy closer to a classy album.
