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UK-project Under the Dome is the brainchild of synthesist Grant Middleton, assisted by Colin Anderson on guitar and effects. The four tracks on their debut “The Demon Haunted World” (a title taken from a Carl Sagan book about debunking the paranormal world) is influenced by vintage e-music from the ‘70’s. Especially the classic works from TD, Ashra and Jarre come to mind, as it merges piano and acoustic sound sources in a most keen manner with attractive, spiced sequencer patterns and different atmospherics. After the already tasty intro “Flüssiger Vier-Takter” putting things on the tracks, all these evocative elements get company of soft soaring solo voices and spacy effects on the beautiful “The Aeon’s Day”. Especially the minimal/spatial sequencing from the Sequential Circuits Pro-One, the overtly relaxed sphere and spacious sound design makes one remember Ashra’s glowing album “New Age of Earth”. Things shift to a fascinating blend of textural spaces on the first few minutes of the 13-minute “The Bridge”, followed by tantalizing, fast-paced retro sequencers and expressive solos. It makes a cosmic outing in classic TD-fashion with a pleasant psychedelic edge. The intro of the 24-minute “Hell” doesn’t stray far from the atmospheres on TD’s “Stratosphere”, although it takes on a much more emotive form as it further unfolds. Delightful sequencers surface at the 7-minute mark as the music gains body and a soft soaring solo takes off. Further on, the solo becomes meaner and more rock & roll as it interacts with distorted sounds, after which flying pads take over and the whole dissolves in a quiet sense for a while. Then, slight Jarre and Vangelis flavors are noticeable as the spatial sequencers and screamy solo voices show up once more before the tracks starts winding down. All in all, “The Demon Haunted World” is a well done and highly recommended piece of work which any vintage music fan shouldn’t miss out on. The factory-pressed cd is long out of print but the music is still available as digital download. |
| You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Under the Dome artist page
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