FUTURE MEMORIES I & II

A Review by Rizal B. Prasetijo:

Patrick Moraz's Future Memories, consisting of two parts, was first released on Dec 29, 1979, and was based on the principle of spontaneous musical interpretation filmed by several video cameras as the performance was taking palce. Given the concept, I think you'll only be able to fully obtain the essence of the album, if you listen to it in the AV mode. Hence, since I only buy the CD version (and listen to it in my hotel room's Bose two dimensional crapy sound system), there is considerable risk that my comment will only partially portray the album's full picture.

My first impression on the album is Mr. Moraz attempted to create futuristic sound generated by his dozen different types of powerful keyboards. Listener should note that the album was recorded in late 1979 when the first prototype of Yamaha DX7 (the world's most successful polyphonic digital synthesizer) has just been completed. There was no equipments listing mentioned in the album sleeve. But looking at some available photos, I guess that Mr. Moraz used Yamaha CP70 electric piano, Mellotron M400, ARP Pro Soloist (monophonic preset synthesizer, first used by Genesis' Tony Banks in Selling England by the Pound), ARP Sequencer, Moog Polymoog (polyphonic analogue synthesizer), Roland RE 201 (for creating various echo sound), Hammond organ, and some bass pedals. While these keyboard rigs were very powerful (in the late 70s context), rather than seriously creating well balance cohesive composition, I sense that Mr. Moraz opted to explore the technology limit of his gears. In the nutshell, this is an experimental album, but lack of clear line of thinking. While you could hear Mr. Moraz's strong classical and jazz approach (He was indeed classically trained at the Conservatory of Lausanne and played jazz before entering the prog rock space) in Here Comes Christmas Again (track #1) as well as in Eastern Sunday (track #2), the remaining tracks are mainly his efforts to find technical boundaries on what his keyboards could achieve in his musical ability coridor. If you ask me what is the best track of this album, I won't be hesitant to say that it is the latest track (#11), titled "Chess". Mr. Moraz opened the composition by borrowing JS Bach's signature stacato played in violin mode, beautifully describing the opening move of a chess player. Then, if my ears hear properly, he jumped into his Hammond (T102 tonewheel?) organ at 2:05" and played a sort of fast traditional Spanish composition, painting a picture of a chess player attacks his opponent. At 3:03", the composition is abruptly switched into a drumming synthesizer session, reflecting an increasing heart beat of the chess player, knowing that his opponent launches a counter attack. The drumming session is then gradually toned down by his synthesizers played in the classical mode (similar with what he did in the beginning), symbolizing the ability of the chess player in regaining back his confidence and in reading his opponent's strategy.

Overall, I am not musically stimulated by the album or perhaps I don't get the full picture as I hear it in the CD mode. But I do appreciate Mr. Moraz's efforts to explore the technology boundary of his keyboards.