DANIEL & BOOTH: Inverse (2020)
“Old Berlin School always seems to be the savor of the days, masterpiece after masterpiece there's always room for something like this album”
1 Incident at Serenity 17:59
2 Open Channel 17:24
3 Inverse 17:53
4 Neuropa 17:50
(CD/DDL 71:05) (V.F.)
Our ears locate us in a huge aviary when they hear harmonious chirps. A synth line is born here to transform into a beautiful paradisiac song. The mutation is very good with this celestial song to which is added the discreet waddling of a line of the sequencer. EM takes over the charms of artificial birdwatching with this hypnotic alternation which increases its rhythmic value with more jumping keys and an emphasized velocity which is heard by the more jerky movement of the rhythm line. The first half of Incident at Serenity breathes this peace of mind with this swaying in the sequencer's rhythm which increases its linear course in these musical mists which serve as a mystery canvas between rhythm and its ambient soundscapes. A series of explosions shakes our listening around 7:30 am, restructuring the rhythm for a more lively approach. There is a slight cut in this electronic rock, creating an imperfect circle in a vision of pony swarms where the heavy mellotron sails and its mysterious chants cling, as well as synth solos espousing the shape of flying shadows and twirling with acrobatics as effective as the airs of these night ghosts. INVERSE is the second album of the duo Daniel & Booth, the other being Mutiny which I still haven't heard to date. Visibly inspired by Tangerine Dream from the Ricochet to Encore years, the English duo dazzles us with a sublime Berlin School album scented by those vintage years. Whether in duet or with their long-time friend Brendan Pollard, Michael Daniel and Phil Booth remain proud ambassadors of vintage EM. These years where the imagination behind the mellotron injected dark veils on rhythms invented from scratch by masters with fairy fingers on sequencer. Inject a few contemporary tones and you have 70 minutes and EM of yesteryear where the past is dependent on its future.
Open Channel begins with guitar chords that wander with their echoes before Michael Daniel forges nice ethereal solos. The synth injects layers which become breezes rolling like waves, escaping fine fluty lines. The sequencer gets activate behind this psychedelic canvas with guitar effects, to sculpt another pattern of agitated rhythm which makes its keys hopping sharply in a layer of mist and its undulating effects. A choir of extinct voices rises in this setting which is supported by the palpitations of a bass in order to solidify its rhythmic base. Percussive effects sculpted in wooden spoons dance the tap as the bass line slyly increases the velocity of this stationary rhythm with an ascending vision specific to Berlin School's floating structures. Raging guitar solos, mellotron's harmonies and synth solos complete the heavy structure of Open Channel, reminding us that Manuel Göttsching was never far from Peter Baumann, Chris Franke and Edgar Froese in this beautiful mid-70's. Inverse is a title of heavy ambiences which advances by the weight of the implosions' resonance. The strength of the winds sculpts whistling breezes while the cosmic vision of the synthesizer injects astral airs and sound effects which are created by these winds pushing cosmic particles to whistle near our ears. We who floated right next to the space shuttles, still have these scars which authenticate these unregistered flights made in our rooms 😊… where it was still possible to hear the soothing and ambient harmonies of the mellotron and these chirps of cybernetic birds. After a 6 minutes of vintage atmospheres, I hear Neuronium here, Neuropa flies away on flights of the sequencer unique to Chris Franke's electronic rhythm during Tangerine Dream's era of 76-78. A very big title with two lines of rhythms, and even 3 at times, with opposite visions in a sea of atmospheres conducive to the many solos with Arab airs before Neuropa comes back to die in those atmospheres that brought it to our ears.
It seems that we can still do something new out of old in the evolution of EM. INVERSE by Daniel & Booth is proof! This great album is not out yet. It has been postponed several times up until now and it's due soon, I heard something around the end of May. You can hear a great snippet on the Bandcamp page of the duo. It's great music with a good use of the mellotron on rhythms and ambiences which are always good to make us hear when they are in good creative and nostalgic hands.
Sylvain Lupari (April 28th, 2020) ****¼*
Available at Daniel & Booth Bandcamp