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British synthesist Xan Alexander may be known to some as a member of The Omega Syndicate. He was also part of Magnetron (next to Stephen Humphries) and The Grey Encounter (with Phil Booth). Aside from that he also released a range of solo albums along the way. This recording is inspired by time, space, and the life cycle. Moreover, the Ouroboros which depicts the snake eating its own tale symbolizes the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Upon request, Mr. Alexander revealed a bit more about the background of the pieces: the tracks “Horn of Monoceros”, “Architekts of Aquila” and “Wings of Ark” are inspired by the Celestial Globe (showing the apparent positions of the stars in our solar system) which lives in the composers’ studio, while “The Changing Man” is Xan’s personal vision of a more spiritual of the human race where pain, war, and suffering is a thing of the past. “Meglos” is about a strange world in time that doesn’t exist which is inspired by an episode of the popular British sci-fi series Dr Who. The album’s final track “Chronogenesis”, which sees a shift to a tad darker but still appealing sound design, is about the creation of time and space. It’s the first part of a three-track piece the other two sections appeared on Xan’s previous album “Illusion of Time”. Overall, moody, warm, and subdued electronic sounds along attentively sequenced parts clearly inspired by the Berlin School -especially TD- take the stage generously on “Ouroboros II”. The catchy opener “Horn of Monoceros” is already impressive while the infectious sounding “Architekts of Aquila” -revealing fine references to Schmoelling’s fine work and old school Jarre- holds a special place for me as well as the solid 15-minute “Chronogenesis”. Rest me to say the excellently mastered and produced “Ouroboros II” -which was released simultaneously with Craig Padilla’s “The Pulse of Life”- is a recording not to be missed. Same as Mr Padilla’s album, the physical edition is hand-numbered on the back and comes in a beautifully designed larger-sized collectible case. |
| Website: othersideaudio.bandcamp.com
Website: xanalexander.bandcamp.com
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