Alex Storer contacted me a little while back and generously gave me music to hear. I have no way to find the music on iTunes, so no link available, but I'm always willing to take a chance on more music.
You can find more info on this artist on his site, www.thelightdream.net, because that's where I'm about to get lost in research. "Alex Storer is a digital artist, illustrator and electronic musician" is what we're welcomed with there, along with notes on his digital and science-fiction art. The music side has been happening since 2006, ever-growing in confidence and apparently giving us something to really think about here.
This particular album is described as "a journey through alien worlds, alternate worlds and future worlds." Who's ready to take this trip with me?
So now we're out there. "To The Stars" brings in a tribal beat, with these little flickers of light throughout (eh, eh, get it?). The general musical theme that we heard in the first number continues on with a bit more intensity and speed is being picked up just slightly. It's kind of awesome to hear, as well as feel, this whole thing shape together.
"Utopia" is the first thing to creep me out a little. You almost expected it coming into this whole thing, but those ominous gongs at the start are what solidifies the moment. The music takes a turn from there, adding in some rhythms and sweet little melody, but everything is kind of wary. We're looking around, getting used to this feeling and this place, without knowing what might be around the next corner. There is discovery though, and it's beautiful in some way.
And now we're building things and making the world more complicated. "Colony" is the first track that I can say, right away, I can tell is an electronic track. Everything out of this is form a machine. It's also interesting to me that it's all just a little blurry, which takes the edge off of the electronic feel a bit. This is also the first track I've felt the desire to move around to. I have no idea if any sort of dance feel was being aimed for, but this has just enough to make you get into the groove.
"The World Outside" is just that to me. It's so outside of what I was finally getting used to. It's a night sitting in the grass and looking at the stars and realizing how tiny we are and how much is out there. Talk about good movie soundtrack music.
I almost missed "Second Sun" because it just fade in so nicely. We're still not getting anything that particular sticks out, because this is where we notice something else in the sky. It's a little daunting and scary, hence those lower notes that hit, but if you get the realization that it's okay and beautiful (as, what I can only describe as the chorus, portrays) then you can breathe easy.
"Icefall" literally starts out with a cold wind sound. Thank go my windows aren't open, because I'd bet I'd get an automatic chill. Again, that theme is back again, which I admire in tying the entire album together. But if you've ever been on a snowfield, you can imagine what this sounds like musically. It's absolutely everything I would have expected from such a track, and hauntingly beautiful to get lost within.
So picking things up a bit, it seems like we get a taste of everything in "Beneath the Surface." It's dark and ominous, but there's a melody about all else that's carrying us through. It's a special track, in my view, that no one can totally put their finger on the brilliance of, but you just know there's something supremely special going on in the inner workings. This is also about the moment when I start to wonder if I'm making sense to absolutely anyone else out there other than myself.
"Cities in the Sky" is out of "Tron." Come on, it's got to be. Listen to that theme - something obviously bigger than ourselves is looming over in magnificence. God, please tell me someone else out there is hearing this. Wait, okay, at the three minute mark, you get a change completely. The heavier-hitting drums beat and knock any sense of normalcy I had out the window. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
And now we're flying. Quite possibly on a light path. Okay, okay, I'll knock off the "Tron" references. But for real, the beat here has go to have you up in the air, moving on a wing along the wind. "Flightpath" takes on this gentle but methodical breeze right up until the end where we seem to encounter something either horrible or awesome, or maybe both.
"Earthlight" is some kind of return, maybe? There's that ominous deep tone again, but I guess you could say it's been brought up a little bit, maybe revealing some kind of learning experience that's been had. I know this is an original movie soundtrack, made for an old movie much later than its time. That explains a lot, but I still think the beauty in a piece of work like this lies in the ability to think and create what you want out of it.
As if we're not going to be scared enough to plummet back down to Earth, we're greeted with a track labeled "Sea of Flames." Good to know it's so much better out there. This sound much the same as the rest of the album, so I won't bore you with details, except to say that I wish we were back amongst the stars.
"First Steps [Bonus Track]" is an interesting piece, and I wonder if it's meant to be a completely separate track, or if it is meant to fit in with our storyline at all. It seems like a prequel piece, if anything, and one just a little different from the themes and sounds we've been hearing throughout. This comes across as a bit more organic in nature and composition, and definitely has a tone of discovery to it. The melody plays simply up and down and becomes quickly familiar in repetition. There's a bigger sound in the backing, and it's really got this overwhelming sense of importance to the upper register of melody we're hearing.
The final track is "Origins [Bonus Track]." Go ahead and assume everything I just said about the last one holds for this, at least in the realm of how it fits in the story of the album. It may even comes before "First Steps." It has a highly similar sound though, leaving me wanting for just something a smidge different to end this one with. Oh, wait, there we go - there are quiet choral vocals and a louder muffled organ coming into play. That was unexpected power, and quite welcome.
Added To My Playlist:
- "Colony"
- "Flightpath"
Wow, what a journey. I'm impressed. I mean, the themes are constant, and the sound is seamless (minus the blank space between tracks, which I can absolutely forgive). The album is good, and the art is there for sure.