HYPERBOREA

Sometimes an album cover is able to address the listener's mind to a better understanding of the musical environment. Newage fans may know, for example, Mark Isham's "Tibet". The photo on the album cover is able to put your mind in the right state for that music like a Mandala. Hyperborea has the same quality, ,at least for what concerns the title track. It may be not a case that the rhythm of that track is very similar to what Vangelis will do years after on "Antarctica".

The first track "No Man's Land" doesn't have the same impact. it's just a good-but-non- essential electronic song with that repetitive style that's a trademark of Edgar Froese and very 80s in the choice of sounds.

Hyperborea, instead, is more complex and darker. After the rhythmic part mentioned before it changes tempo, goes slower and melodic before the percussions come back in the last minutes but adding sounds instead of rhythm. We can call it newage, but it's quite a masterpiece.

Having mentioned Antarctica I can't not underline that "Cinnamon Red" has more or less the same tempo. Nothing more than a good pop filler.

Now the side-long track: the Tangerine Dream of Phaedra are back. A sequence of sqare- waves is the repetitive base on which the track is developed, and as in the best TD works the changes consist in little variations so that the whole thing has its continuity. Of course there's more melody respect to the old things, we are in the 80s, but this is not a bad thing. The first important change is after 9 minutes, when the square waves stop leaving the music without rhythm. Since now we are back in the icy landscape of the cover sleeve, but we may be in any other place where nature and quietness are ruling. Some string instrument add an oriental touch, like a Tibetan or Chinese valley. The only thing that I don't understand is the track title. I can't find anything in this track that can make me think to a sphinx, even not the famous Egyptian one. The last minutes are dominated by sequenced percussions with some spacey sounds on which an interesting keyboard's chord progression sounds unfortunately too 80s.

It's not Phaedra or Ricochet but it's a good album on which spend some good relaxing time.