Harald Nies "Planet of three Suns"
www.rockatspace.de
Once again Harald Nies turns in a wonderful album of cosmic/space
rock guitar,spacey synths, and a melodic feel that is quite similar to
the best of Ashra and Mind over Matter.The overall feeling of the
album is quite melodic and relaxed,though the first track is a driving
slice of spacy synthrock,similar to some of Ashra's music,but with
the drums and percussion quite far in the background,the foreground
dominated by ostinato guitar figures and synth leads.Track three,
Nightszene,showcases the album's dominant feel with its mellow synth
background and layers of melodic spacy guitar,that have all the
melodicism and feel of the best of Ashra and Mind over matter in their
more reflective moments.Track Four, Arthors Dance,is a faster
sequencer based piece,which has some elements of the "Berlin"
style,but is more structured and contains yet more superb guitar
playing, with soaring leads flying over the backing of sequences
and synths.Track Five Moog is Rise Again is another sequencer
based track,but with no guitars.Lead synth lines grace rippling
arpeggios and a solid rythmic synth backing,evolving into
majestic mid-eighties TD like chords and rippling synths.Track six
features guitar again,and starts with ostinato guitar lines that
gradually give way to layers of cosmic synths, the guitar
surfacing from time to time to provide the rhythmic backbone of
the music.Track eight,another highlight,takes us into symphonic
synth territory,with majestic synyhs and plaintive electric guitar
evolving halfway through into a "Vangelis"-like progression
complete with a guitar melody and synth leads.This is the most
melodic track on the album.Track nine is similar,though without
guitar.The final track,Lydian Sun,is another laid-back,melodic
musical excursion,with some very evocative synth leads,deep bass
backing,minimal percussion,guitar leads,synth arpeggios,and an
overall feel that brings to mind the melodicism of Vangelis and later
Tangerine Dream without the saccharine(or saxaphone)excess
that they were prone to during the late eighties.This is a great album
which is as different again from Restart from Sedna(Krautrock) as that
was from Planet and Gongs(space/cosmic),and sees Harald Nies
exploring more melodic ground.
Dave Dilliway
All the best
Harald Nies Restart from Sedna
CDR
"Restart from Sedna" is the second album from Harald Niles that I
have reviewed and is somewhat different from "Planet and Gongs", the
first album. Whereas the former was a great space/ambient album with only
minimal amounts of his guitar playing, "Restart from Sedna" is a classic
guitar, keyboards, synth and percussion Kraut Rock soundfest. With six
tracks varying in length from six to over twenty-one minutes in length, this
album should satisfy all those listeners with a hankering for the classic sounds
of the 70's, whilst adding a few more up-to-date elements. Track one,
the longest track, combines sequencers with heady rock guitar playing, symphonic
keyboard sections reminiscent of Edgar Froese's late-seventies, early-eighties
solo work, with space synth and languid Krautrock passages that remind the listener
of bands like Agitation Free and Amon Duul. At 21 minutes long, the opening
track is the longest, and has plenty of moods to keep the listener engaged.
Track two is a more sedate affair, with shades of the "Dream" - symphonic
synths backed with sequencers, and a "Froese"-like solo for good measure.
A great melodic piece. Track three, Surf The Rings, is another highly
melodic all-synth track, with strong melodies that will remain in the
listener’s mind long after the piece has finished, particularly the excellent
bass synth riff that opens and closes the music. Track four is a more
relaxed affair, complete with melodic guitar figures, making for a more dreamy
effect than the previous piece. Space Jam, Track five, is a full on guitar-led
piece, that opens in a Hillage-esque fashion and builds to a crescendo of melodic
lead guitar over synth and drum backdrops. This is the most overtly "rock"
track and is twelve minutes of excellent Kraut/Prog music. The final track
combines bass synths, drums, sequencers, lead guitar and spacey backdrops into
another slice of melodic Krautrock/synth crossover music. To sum up: If
you like Ashra, Klaus Hoffman-Hock, TD, Steve Hillage and similar then you will
like this. A great album - and someone should sign him immediately.
Harald Nies: Planet and Gongs
Here is another album like a Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock album that I recently reviewed
where I feel that the title could be misleading. Whilst the cover suggests
that the
music is for meditation and relaxation, for which it is perfectly suitable,this
should
in no way put off any synth music fans who feel that it may be too syruppy or
lightweight,as some "relaxation" music tends to be. This is
in fact a very enjoyable
"space music" album with miles of synth layers that flow and evolve
into one
another. Although a press release I received states that Harald is a guitar
player,
there is only a small amount of guitar on this release, which is used more in
a
textural role than as a foreground lead instrument. For me the major points
of
reference in the music were Vangelis and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. Harald
like
these other musicians balances melody and atmosphere very well, though as
with all good space music the melodies are nebulous and ethereal, rather than
being strict tunes, and this increases the feeling that you are drifting through
the reaches of space or are experiencing vast landscapes. ndeed some of
the
music was quite reminiscant of Tangerine Dream's "Canyon Dreams" and
"Oasis"
albums.
I would definately recommend this album to fans of space music, Vangelis, Klaus
Hoffmann-Hoock, and fans of Tangerine Dream's more symphonic and ambient
output. This is perfect for relaxing to but with more than enough substance
for
active listening.
CDR:Sahure Music
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