Initially released in 1993, Newtime2 is the reflection of EM rebirth . Digitally remastered by Bernd Scholl, the man behind Moonbooter, this first album of Metropolis (Matthias Beine) had been accommodated favourably by criticism and due. Newtime2 is a superb collection of synth pop EM which inspired bands like Sneaker Pimps and Portishead with a dark, but poetic, approach while taking as a starting point the more contemporary works of Tangerine Dream and Johannes Schmoelling. Two opposite which cohabits surprisingly well.
Crystal World begins this dark incursion towards an underground world with weakened exhalations. The intro bathes of an orchestral hesitation, on felted echotic percussions and a bass with nervous undulations, to open on a synth pop with dark oscillations and sinuous orchestrations. A title of a stirring slowness, with a Russian voice that throws a sensual intrigue, on a rhythmic sequence which progresses on a solitary synth. People Begin to Fly, World in Chains, Crystal World (Reprise) and the astonishing Dream Passage are other striking titles of the same type.
Salamanca is a neurotic title with keyboards play and orchestrations that recall Yanni on the excellent Keys to Imagination. People Begin to Fly opens a heavier dimension with good percussions on heavy sequence with shade reverberations. A good track which combines heaviness and melody on superb sequences percussions. Mother of Pearl, Secret, Animal Pyramid and the orchestrally hot Monochromic Blue are melodious pieces of music on light rhythms which point out the soft rhythmic and melancholic structures of Tangerine Dream, in the 90’s. Apollo is marking down by it soft arpeggios which scintillate in introduction. A static movement, with stroboscopic sonorities, which explodes on a dance floor beat while sticking in its psychedelic fizz.
Metropolis’s Newtime2 is a good surprise. An opus which deserves to be remastered which soaks in an orchestral melancholy and provides excellent passages which fans of Tangerine Dream (Melrose Years) will appreciate. - Sylvain Lupari Guts Of Darkness www.gutsofdarkness.com