ALCYONE

Laurent Schieber just keeps going, here releasing his 14th album since he burst onto the Progressive Electronic/Berlin School scene in 2014.

Line-up / Musicians: - Laurent Schieber / Arturia Moog Modular, Arturia Minimoog, Arturia Jupiter-8, Arturia Solina, ARP Odyssey by ElektroStudio, Steinberg Hypersonic, M-Tron Mellotron, Gravity-Vocalise by Heavyocity, Atomic Sequencing tool, KORG PS-3300 Emulation from Full Bucket Music

1. "Around the Great Central Sun" (19:56) opening with a slightly more-modern glockenspiel sound in the simple starter sequencer weave, this object is driving forward with a purpose, showing no hint of stoppage must less slowing, and yet, as it travels mercilessly onward, the vehicle is somehow able to pick up reinforcements--passengers, if you will--adding to the weave, thickening the strength and resolve of the sentient being. But then, at the 10-minute mark, without warning or cause, there is a sudden weakening and hault to the inner core drive mechanism as the object seems to stop, as if to observe and assess, still giving off radiant energy as it waits, as it basks. Whether or not there is an exchange, or a recharge going on during this static pause is a quandary as one can no longer determine if the flow of energy has been one of expenditure or magnetic attraction: perhaps the Great Central Sun--the destination of the Object In Motion--has been attracting, magnetizing, even commanding the arrival (and audience or worship) of the OIM all along! As the eons of attendance turn into minutes, there seems to be a dwindling of lines of communication between the GCS and the OIM--perhaps one is dissipating, evaporating into the emptiness of space, or perhaps the consciousness of the OIM is fading, slowly switching off, to slip into an eternal state of dreamless sleep. Cool journey! I love the imagery it allowed me to delve into. (35.75/40)

2. "The Ring of Golden Light" (27:40) opening with layers of slightly-unsettling spacey synth notes woven together--and no sequencer--the song slowly develops as a "distant" tapestry of sequenced lines very slowly begins to emerge from beneath the ethereal space weave, taking about two minutes to finally achieve full integration and then dominance. The new dominant weave is flush with moving parts, all of them morphing subtly despite sounding and feeling as if they are remaining constant. This is brilliant! I love how subtle the changes are: it keeps one fully engaged within the effort of trying to catch each and every ray, glimmer, and flare. At 9:14 there is a major key change--a single point at which time everything in this perspective made a uniform shift in direction (and speed?). The course has been changed! But why? What has happened Then, at 11:15, there is another sudden shift: this time back to the exact course (and speed) we were on from 3:00 to 9:13. And then the background space-synth weave seems to make a play for leadership position--and forces the beam to make another shift to the faster course. The synth-weave backs down briefly but then, in the 14th minute, can be heard making another play for dominant, forcing yet another, completely new and different directional (and speed) change in the 15th minute. It's almost like this energy field has politics: as if it has a two-party factional drive (or driver). At 18:15 there is yet another directional shift, this one feeling a bit more destabilizing--even chaotic, as the energy beam falters for a few moments while it tries to regather its strength and momentum--to no avail as the entire operation is forced to shut down at the 20:12 mark, leaving an unsettling and seemingly directionless field of chaotic independent and disorganized synth waves to fill the void. Cosmic Voices and other forces of Discord and support begin to rush in as if to bolster up and help reform the spent entity. It seems, however, that the forces of Entropy and Chaos might prevail until the chorus of Cosmic Organizers regroup and rejoin the struggle for recovery (or, perhaps, rebirth). In the end, it feels as if all is lost, let go of, as the forces of Creation seem to fade into the background and disappear, the leftover molecules of energy allowed to scatter freely as they give in to Kali's forces of entropy. Perhaps this piece can be viewed as a metaphor for the contentious state our current version of humankind finds itself in?--or for the decay and fall of any empire (such as the US)? Thank you, Laurent, once again, for the gift of yet another piece of time-and-space-removing music that has allowed me such a wonderful journey within my very real imagination. (49.5/55)

3. "Bon Voyage" (20:45) seems like an homage to our late, great Berlin School artists as everything here, from the very opening, sounds like it's old, expressing the insidious urgency that those old TD and KS sequenced songs used to. I like the way Laurent has learned to hide secondary melodies and other nuanced sounds/elements within the music--its as if the screamed salutations of passersby can be heard as the bullet train/speed-of-light space craft slashes by without the listener on board the craft being able to make out any words or meanings, just shadow-like Edvard Munch "Scream" sounds. The final quarter of the piece projects a heightened urgency--as if tensions rise due to the unexpected findings at the end of the journey (or else due to fuel consumption worries). (35.5/40)

4. "Love Feeds Love" (3:34) a perfect little PE ditty that, for me, captures the spiritual essence of all that the subgenre tries to express in an amazingly compact three and a half minutes. Absolutely brilliant! Laurent, you are The Master! (10/10)

Total Time 71:55

A-/five stars; another minor masterpiece of Berlin School electronic music from this very faithful student (and now Master) of the style. If you're a dreamer who loves to let music take you on extraterrestrial adventures, you will love this music!