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Hans van Kroonenburg approaches many things from the standpoint of an engineer, but in his work as the Electronic Musician Skoulaman he proceeds mostly as a poet. A mastery of synthesizer technology is balanced throughout Waves of Water (72:24) against a release of creativity from the imagination. Fascinating, tender and smart this production of five tracks was designed to divert and delight the audience. As we listen, and our minds begin to move to the music, our body and breathing follow in ascent. With so many tones in motion Waves of Water warps vibrantly in its own striking assertion of life. Amid the superb swirl of sequencer notes the murmuring of some softer synths send forth their sublime sounds and pleasing airs. Each echoing circuit, in synergy with its synchronized counterpart, rises, rushes, then recedes in regular pattern pulsations. The string chords, silvery and bright, sweep in on concordant waves of harmony. The lead lines, lyrical and lifelike, feel as though we are getting a glimpse of the everlasting Skoulaman spark that glows beneath his smiling surface. Traversing deep distances this album drifts along constant cosmic currents, while still sending signals homeward, eventually to emerge from the ocean of space on some far off, celestial shore. But before heading fully to the dreamland promise of our voyage, dare to open yourself to the artful mysteries of this experiment in energy and electricity - to feel that faint, ethereal tide pulling us steadily toward whatever lies ahead for us in the future.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 26 December 2024 |
