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The Electronic Majesty of Berlin Heritage

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BERLIN HERITAGE: Phoenix (DDL on Berlin Heritage Music)

This release from 2014 features 64 minutes of inspired electronic music.

Berlin Heritage is Robert Sigmuntowski.

Superb examples of modern electronic music are presented in three tracks...

The first song begins with whispery texturals wafting through an atmospheric fog of shimmering tones. Spry keyboards slide into play, offering a sequence of melodic gentility backed by rising celestial choral. Percussion enters the mix, delivering soft rhythms that boost but do not overwhelm things. The shimmer is transferred to the keys as they swell into dominant prominence to fill the flow with their sparkling chords. Additional threads embellish the keyboard presence, elevating their twinkle to a level of regal grandeur. As things progress, all of the threads mutate in conjunction with each other, meshing to form fresh expressions that perpetuate the central theme while reaching for a nearby pinnacle. By the time the song draws to a close, the aspects have reached a shrill state, achieving an infectious degree of euphoria.

Heavenly tones usher in the next piece, preparing for the entry of more dreamy tones, from which emerge delicate keyboards pursuing a pacific riff tempered by slushy undertones that ebb and flow throughout the tune. Additional keyboard threads enter the mix, complimenting and expanding upon the fundamental riff, guiding things in new directions while maintaining the overall soothing calm. Yet that "calm" is tinged with the promise of exuberance bubbling just around the sonic corner...a corner that never arrives, leaving the listener immersed in a state of mesmerized relaxation.

The final track also uses some chorales as an opening, but here the disposition is masculine, earthier. A series of keyboard tonals creep into prominence, defining sweeps of mounting luminescence. These keyboard riffs muster strength and volume, establishing a puissant presence that is given a demonstrative authority by the continuing male choral backdrop. This continues, the threads looping but subtly changing each time, eventually progressing to express entirely new melodies in the ever-generating flow. Here's the pay-off from that earlier calm, as the music swells with intensity, spreading a sensation of personal accomplishment. The listener is left breathless, but better off for the experience.

With extended durations, each of these songs are afforded ample opportunity to establish themselves and evolve into compositions of delightful complexity. If you like early Klaus Schulze, you'll love Berlin Heritage.

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