Recently I watched a TV documentary about women who had a specific role in the development of synthesizers or those who were pioneers in making synthesizer music more popular. I am talking about people such as Bebe Barron, Laurie Spiegel, Éliane Radigue, Wendy Carlos and Suzanne Ciani, who is perhaps one of the most well known synthesizer pioneers. Nowadays it is more common to have female musicians behind the keyboards. I guess one of the most well known in the progressive rock scene is Virginia Peraza, keyboard player of Anima Mundi. However those who purely make synthesizer music have become more rare these days. I honestly could not come up with a name. Until lately when Sheila Maloney contacted me. She noticed that we reviewed Storm Deva last year. She is currently working with them on keyboards for their live work. She thought we might be interested to review her solo album Beyond which she released under the moniker of Darkfish. And we are of course! The press info mentioned:"DARKFISH is an alter-ego for keyboardist/composer Sheila Maloney's instrumental synth and keyboard-based work exploring soundscapes, atmospheres and abstract musical spaces. DARKFISH takes influences from a range of music that includes Tangerine Dream, Steve Reich, Vangelis, Stockhausen, Eno, Aphex Twin, and music from both the impressionist and late romantic era." Sheila has worked with the David Cross Band and her commission for an educational video provided the basis of the first four tracks featured on Beyond. The press info mentioned moreover:"Beyond is an album inspired by the stars and our place within the universe. The music imagines a journey out beyond the solar system towards the stars. The final track is inspired by Voyager looking back from a vast distance where Earth appeared as a dot of one pixel in the original photo. The visual photos and artists representations of space provided by NASA also feed into the overall interpretation of how it might feel to be exploring and touring the universe. The tracks span a period of 30 years and started life as the soundtrack to an educational video featuring a journey through space. Further tracks were added to this over time that culminated in The Pale Blue Dot". Carl Sagan's description of the earth as seen from Voyager as it left the solar system seemed to be an inspiration for Sheila. That's why I include it in my review. "That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives... on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam." "To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. Carl Sagan The almost 55 minutes of instrumental music could easily have been the soundtrack for Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. A thirteen-part, 1980-81 television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. Because the atmospheric synthesizer music on this album perfectly gives you the feeling you are travelling through space or the cosmos. Because this kind of music is most of the time associated with the images of the universe. The album contains nine tracks which are mainly mellow. Beyond opens with Destination Forever. The music reminded me a lot of Tim Blake and his album New Jerusalem. Mainly because of the sequencers which sounds sometimes like a harp. However vocals are not included which you can hear on the mentioned compared album. Follow up Endless Space brings you for the first time in the musical world of Vangelis. Most of all the atmospheric string synthesizer parts made me think about this Greek musician. Also Spiral Nebula, which is next, made me think about Vangelis. However for the next piece, Voyager, Tim Blake comes again to my mind. Next up is Towards The Stars and goes back to Vangelis as for the musical reference. Totally different is the next track with the title Planet Earth Is Blue. Mainly because you can here for the first time the sound of a piano. It is a beautiful mellow piece of music. Piano kind of synthesizer sounds are next on Leaving The Heliosphere, another Vangelis inspired tune. Also follow up Gravity Well could have been written by Vangelis. Just as the final piece on the album. Namely The Pale Blue Dot. As you can read Beyond is a very Vangelis influenced album. Maloney must have listened a lot to this musician I guess. Of course her earlier mentioned influences such as Tangerine Dream, Steve Reich, Stockhausen, Eno and Aphex Twin are notable as well. But not as much as Vangelis. And if the earlier mentioned Tim Blake has influenced Sheila as well I can't tell. But it might have been according to the songs that sound like this English keyboard player. I guess I can only be positive about this release. All songs are very well composed and I didn't hear any weak tracks at all. So all I can do is welcome Sheila Maloney and here Darkfish musical project to the electronic world of synthesizers. And to the progressive rock scene as well. She made a strong album of which she can be very proud of. Lovers of Vangelis and related acts will enjoy Beyond without any doubt! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
