3.5

Release data:

Chronos – When Mars Meets Venus
CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altar Records, 2012

Chronos is a project by Moscow-based musician Nick Klimenko who used analog gear and hardware synthesizers exclusively for this recording. Nick’s fifth album “When Mars Meets Venus” is split in two parts: the first is the factory-pressed cd “Mars” featuring nicely crafted down-tempo electronics, while the second chapter is the cosmic endeavour “Venus”.

“Venus” takes off with “Leaving Gaia”, where Mr Klimenko presents a contemporary orchestral/classical work with powerful rhythms and dynamic string arrangements along non-vocal/choir pads. After that, the music makes a profound shift toward majestic, drifting, chill-out outerspace realms: non-rhythmic passages and cinematic soundscapes evolve gradually and to full extend.

Personal favourites here are the immersive “Star Swimmer” and “Red Planet” beside the slightly groovy and more melodic-oriented “Dark Flame Landing”,“Soaring in Abyss”, “Venus Eyes” and “Galactic Winter”. Although the latter tracks reveal a certain sense of movement, they retain a relaxed, otherworldly mood.
One minor flaw is the added experimental-oriented bonus-piece “Gagarin”, as this deranges the carefully created atmosphere of the previous nine tracks.

Released by the small but state-of-the-art Canadian Altar Record label, “When Mars Meets Venus” comes as a beautifully designed eco-digipack, limited to 300 copies.
The download-only version of the “Venus” album will be added for free when one purchases the factory-pressed cd “Mars” or the download-only version of it.

Website: www.altar-records.com