THE SEVEN LETTERS FROM TIBET

While TANGERINE DREAM's previous album "Mars Polaris" was dynamic and spacey, "Seven Letters from Tibet" displays a musical landscape then new for the band. There are hardly no rythms, few melodies and no pulsating sequences. No rock, guitars or upbeats either, as opposed to what they were proposing during the past decade. Just 7 ambient, smooth songs, or "letters", as the album title suggests. However, the quality is here, the inspiration impulse of "Mars Polaris" has not fallen back.

You may have noticed the track-list represents rainbow colors. The overall is an ideal soundtrack for relaxation, as it is very slow, atmospheric and intimate. Sometimes it includes asian sonorities and themes, sometimes the atmosphere is more mystical, like in "The Indigo Clouds", which have reminiscences of POPOL VUH. Another good point, the sound is more modern.

The least interesting tune is unfortunately also the longest, "The Blue Pearl". Its final part is a reworking of a track released earlier, "Lhasa" from the "Quinoa" re-release, which was also the weakest moment of this EP.

A promising entrance in the 21th century for the duo, "Seven Letters from Tibet" is an unexpected pleasant surprise. Pretty, soft, relaxing music, in a quite different style from the other TANGERINE DREAM compositions, check it out.