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The fans of vintage electronic music may be in for a surprise to find out legendary French synthesist Zanov, aka Pierre Salkazanov, has resurfaced recently after “disappearing” 30 years ago. Much has change since, but the pioneering/progressive electronic composer of the old days once made a promise to himself to finalise work on an album he’d been working on back then: “Nous Reprenons Notre Avenir”. By applying digital technology (Pro Tools and the Arturia Origin synth), the original music on analogue tapes were digitized, followed by some extensive reworking and remixing of the compositions besides the removal of spoken word. The outcome is featured on the adventurous “Virtual Future”, an intense yet psychedelic listening trip beaming the listener back into the end of the ’70’s. Zanov’s more consistent-melodic style is already encountered on the first two tracks “Very Far” and “Neuronal Storm”, although I think it could do with some more air and transparency. “World Adrift” takes off very experimental with a strange imbalance in the sound design, with blasting/hold-back sounds and effects passing by. This also applies to the quite weirdish “Conscience in Danger”, although I like the way the sequence is modulated here. Despite being more mellow, “Alone again” evolves in a sober, a bit depressing fashion. Fortunately, “The Final Cut” spreads different rays of light but harmony still takes a bit of a backseat as both vintage pads and sequences are modulated constantly during the tracks length. I listened to the album multiple times, but found it quite hard to get into and feel comfortable with every spin. This leads me to the conclusion the sonic mind-trip (and at times rather abstract-oriented music) making up “Virtual Future” is not that easy to digest, demanding the right mood and setting to be appreciated. |
| Website: www.zanov.net
You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Zanov artist page
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