I hear a lot of this as film music, in fact chances are it may be. It has that filmic quality about it. Some of the tracks are real gems, primarily those with the vocalists ie To Wish Impossible Things. Simple piano motifs reminiscent of the works of Chris Abrahams (The Necks), fluid bass lines and engaging vocals by Alison Taylor and Llara Loveday. He should explore more of this. I am reminded of the works from Tom Kazaz when I hear this, another talented composer / keyboardist who seems to these days prefer working in the studios producing other people's work.

The recording works best when the pieces are unidentifiable, when it's more about textures and shades, rather than any attempt at recognisable melodies eg the opening track 'before now.' One or two tracks I can do without.

To Wish (big al mix) seems to be something remixed for the dance floor, fat electronic bass lines bouncing all over the place. Sun In The Bottle is predominantly a computer based setup with studio added vocals, guitars and percussion. Early influences from what I can gather seem to be early electronic pioneers like Kraftwerk or Tomita though with what you get on this cd you would be hard pressed to pinpoint any of these influences. Mind you Vangelis' influence is pretty strong at times, with just a hint at new age overtones and dramatics, so if this is your schtick, maybe check it out.

As this was a copy made by Amongst Myselves, at time of writing I'm not sure if this is locally available but if you like interesting music, check out the web site. For local talent, this is pretty far removed from pub cultured rock and blues cover band stuff. Sensitive and at times fragile, this should generate interest if enough people get to hear it. It will be interesting to hear how he develops his style with time, but judging from this, there are possibilities worth exploring further.

Hans Stoeve - nadabrahma@powerspot.net - www.powerspot.com
c/o Power Spot 89.7FM,Sydney, Australia