Gert Emmens - Elektra

"Elektra" opens with a cheesy vocoder voice, sounding like those evil robots from the eighties American sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica. However, it doesn't take long at all for the excellent music that follows to make you forget all about that. Gert Emmens provides exceptionally strong compositions with crisp melodies and pace. Though there is a heavy dose of cool retro analog sounds, they are used much differently than most recent electronic music. No long sequencer passages, no layers of hypnotic effects, even though the cover art showing rows of analog knobs and switches imply it. Though technically a three-part, 54-minute track, "Elektra" is really made up of several smaller themes and ideas, seamlessly blended into a unified musical work. There are readily identifiable passages, some of them quite brief, others lasting a few minutes. Male vocal chants, reminiscent of Enigma, at the beginning of "Elektra part 2" quickly give way to light, bouncy synthesizers, which after a few minutes surrender to floating space music, with stabs of cheese saw waves popping in and out. At times, Emmens reminds me of Venja, who also blends eighties synthesizer melodic sensibilities into its music. The music is generally bright and upbeat, the kind to give you an emotional lift for the day, or to enjoy while driving in the country or along the coastline. Emmens somehow manages to achieve this without too much kitsch. If you like how Tangerine Dream blended melody and themes into its music of the early eighties, then you really owe it to yourself to check out this release.

This is a legendary work, where the composer proved his great imagination. He developed fresh, imaginative ideas, preferably aimed at Space Music. From the precise instant of the beginning of the album, we witness a display of creative, sonic energy of a high degree. Ethereal sounds, dramatic melodies and gliding sequences, envelop one by one all the themes of the album. The music flows in a stream of unearthly soundscapes, communicating a wide range of feelings and emotions. In a few words, this is one of the recordings that takes Space Music to its highest reaches.