TALES - Interstellar Memories (1998) Interstellar Trilogy, Volume I.
From France, Tales is the work of keyboardist/percussionist Jean-Luc Berthelot. The music is an ambient electronic effort that at times reminded me of Kitaro's mid-80's albums and at others fell fully into early Tangerine Dream territory. Dreamily spacey with lots of sounds and effects, the music absorbed me into it's aural universe as Berthelot weaves his floating electronic textures. I enjoyed the music, but it falls too close to New Age fluff to stay interesting for long. One element that I do consider a strength is that Berthelot doesn't slap on layer after layer of keyboard orchestration. Much of this is quite subtle. At times there will be only percussion and synths accompanied by a flute-sounding melody line. Lightly pulsating keys provide the backdrop for soundscapes that at other times are less for melody than to create atmosphere, or even an entire environment. Listening to this in the dark conjured up images of a nighttime sky filled with millions of twinkling and shooting stars.
I was previously unfamiliar with Berthelot's work, but the liner notes indicate this is the third release from Tales. The notes also feature an unnamed "someone" telling of the spaceship Paradonka and its journey to hundreds of planets until finally settling on Ankalerye. A web page address is given at the end where I found quite a bit of fantasy poetry. Space music of this sort is a challenge as its easy to fall into the mundane. Good for a listen or two.
Listen | Review Tracklist:
1. Deep Space Traveller - 05:47
2. Surfing The Void - 04:59
3. Dust Of Light - 05:00
4. Over Proxima Centauri - 06:02
5. Path To Epsilon Eridani - 06:01
6. Curves Of Time - 04:58
7. Galactic Worlds - 05:53
8. Behind The Black Hole - 05:08
9. Flying Through Light Years - 05:39
10. Interstellar Memories - 07:55
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TALES - The Seskian Wars (2001) Interstellar Trilogy, Volume II.
With The Seskian Wars, Jean-Luc H. Berthelot, also known as Tales, continues his exploration of traditional styles of electronic music. As the name he records under implies, these are sonic stories. Berthelot uses the music to weave a soundtrack to a non-existent movie, to tell a story through sound. In this case, it's a tale of great interstellar conflict, and the music is appropriately deep and spacey, evoking the feeling of distant galaxies and outer space vistas.
When I say traditional styles of electronic music, I'm speaking of the classic 70's sound, rather than a more modern electronica style, and indeed, Berthelot's music has obvious roots in the liquid spaciness of early Jean-Michel Jarre and the hypnotic sequencing of mid-70's Tangerine Dream. Both these influences can especially be heard on the opening track, Sagitarius' Gate.
Berthelot is never quite as upbeat or dynamic as his influences. He prefers to create a more subtle sound, which perhaps lends itself better to his goal of telling a story, because it tends to let the mind fill in the spaces, creating pictures for the listener to see while listening. While listening to the haunting interlude Wreckage in Space, for example, I could just see the vast hulk of an ancient, dark, and silent starship, it's edges bristling with shadowy towers, floating against a starry backdrop. That's the kind of thing this music does for you.
This is the kind of music best listened to with the lights turned down, and minimal distractions. If you relegate it to the background, you will miss what it has to offer. Although it may first seem like it, this is not ambient music. It's music that draws you in and transports you to another place and time.
Listen | Review Tracklist:
1. The Ultimate Portal - 07:20
2. Among Cosmic Remains - 03:32
3. The Space Buccaneers - 06:41
4. Interstellar Armada - 05:16
5. The Seskian Insurgents - 12:21
6. Attacks Of The Marauders - 08:21
7. Eternity Of Death - 10:18
8. Memories Of Lysendraa - 04:20
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TALES - Deep Space Topography (2008) Interstellar Trilogy, Volume III.
We waited an epic fresco for the third album of the Interstellar Trilogy and, too, the final album of the TALES' Project,...
But, complete surprise!, JLHB offers us a return to the sources, a return to the improvised electronic music at the end of the sixties and the early seventies (q.v. the pre-sequenced era of Tangerine Dream).
This era is mainly improvised abstract music with spacious sound effects, a time where freedom in performance, inventiveness and inspiration of the moment is more important than the structural shape of the music.
This improvised album fuses without constraint today technology and vintage machines for a genuine sonic delight.
Listen Tracklist:
1. Spontaneous Generation Of Informal Causality - 19:48
2. Beyond Timeless Curvatures Of Deep Spaces - 18:18
3. Endless Chaos Of Impalpable Matter - 16:32
4. Solid Topography Of Stars - 12:00
Доступно только для пользователей P.S. Все альбомы выложены в свободном доступе в любом качестве здесь -
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