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Binkelman's Corner by Bill Binkelman |
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Bill Binkelman is a long-time icon in the industry. |
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| Nomads |
| By Frank Van Bogaert |
| Label: Groove Unlimited |
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| Nomads tracks |
1. Ouverture 
2. Crack the Blue Sky
3. Nomads
4. Furious Jam
5. Aquatopia
6. High
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7. Mont Blanc
8. Drive
9. Blue Down There
10. Ritual
11. Heat
12. Beneath the Ice
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Nomads |
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Nomads is not just Frank Van Bogaert's most consistently enjoyable CD release, it's also flat out one of the great EM releases of this decade so far. No hyperbole intended, folks. If this CD doesn’t grab your attention and make you want to hit the open road with its music blasting on the stereo, check your pulse and heart rate. As the artist writes in the liner notes, Nomads is
'about our constant urge to explore, that natural restlessness that makes us move. In one way or another, we’re all Nomads." Well said, Frank, well said indeed.
As on past releases, the artist is obviously influenced by Vangelis. However, as I wrote in my review of Van Bogaert’s 2000 release, Docking, this highly talented Belgian musician is no mere copycat. While Van Bogaert incorporates some of the Greek's motifs and instrument sounds, Vangelis often errs by injecting melodrama, pomposity and overwrought gravitas, while Frank excels at pushing the music to dramatic and powerful heights without taking it over the top or bludgeoning the listener with "too much" of anything.
I also want to make special mention of Nomad's amazing liner note photography (by Pablo Magne). The cover is starkly beautiful and evocative, while the eight photos inside are equally impressive (I especially like the men gazing up at sky at the base of the radio telescopes at dusk and the lone walker crossing a bridge in silhouette against the setting sun). These images certainly compliment the CD's music.
Much of Nomads contains powerful rhythmic melodic EM, perfectly suited as the soundtrack for a drive through the city or countryside. Crack the Blue Sky opens with pulsing retro synth tones carrying a Berlin-esque flavor before thunderous fast rhythms erupt along with a catchy melodic refrain! The title track has a slower tempo but is more dramatic with repeated crescendos set against wailing keyboards and swirling textures all of it encased by a lovely melodic strain and a dash of pan-Africa spice via subtle sampled kalimba. Furious Jam dials up the energy to 10 with blooping bleeping synths, a cool sequenced rhythm, thumping bass beats, and jazzy Fender Rhodes-ish soloing.
One aspect of Van Bogaert's music which I frequently resonate to is his obvious joy of making music. This emotion comes through easily in his more energizing compositions (but is even present on subdued ones, too). A song like High with its joyous beauty and infectious world beat touches really shines in this regard, especially as the song concludes amidst chorals set against ethnic percussion samples. Then there’s Drive which hits the ground running as the most overt EM track on the album, ablaze with myriad of synth sequenced arpeggios, midtempo drum programming, and twinkling keyboards as well as make chorals.
Van Bogaert does allow the listener to take a breath now and then, though, on softer tracks (the subdued majesty of Mount Blanc with its minimal piano over a flowing bed of synthesizer washes and textures, or the graceful slow undulations and low key rhythms of Blue Down There). The album concludes with the pinging of sonar on Beneath the Ice, a smoothly flowing quasi-ambient track that brings Nomads to a sublime end with its reverberating bell tones, keyboard washes and an almost palpable floating sensation.
Back in 2002, when Frank released Human, I reviewed it stating that "I believe Human is Frank Van Bogaert's best recording by far..." Now, I find myself having to write the same words! Nomads is a stunning achievement and surely must cement this artist’s reputation as one of the premier players in the EM genre. Okay, Frank, just don't top this CD with your next one or what the hell will I write then? In all seriousness, Nomads earns my highest recommendation with no reservations whatsoever.
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Rating: Excellent  |
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- reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 4/24/2007 |
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