Desert Voices By David De Michele

 

Desert Voices

By

David De Michele

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The multi verse we call the realm of electronic synth music is vast and has been on an upward growth for decades now, and I can see no reason for it stopping, the latest patches, the latest software and keyboards, give us aspiring musicians constant food to feed our artistic souls, one such luminary is David De Michele, his style and compositional structures are becoming very well-known, and I am honoured today to be able to review another masterful creation of his just released album called Desert Voices.

So my readers, friends and fellow electronic music travellers, it’s time to go on another universal journey with the artist, and we start with the opening gambit of Emergence, one that reminded me so much of the artist Kevin Kendle back in the days of his Aerial Vistas album. The opening part of this track eases us in, and the soft caress of each note from his keyboards manifests a far wide open panorama of intent and tranquillity, and thus the voyage has begun.

Above the Horizon is artistically brilliant, from the very first few seconds we are drawn a wonderful view of a wide open expanse, one to be amazed at, one to be explored, the slow and deep musical narrative here is truly sublime. Here is a track that really moved me, the mixture of those minor chords really resonated with the wanderer in me, and then at just over two minutes in we have the pleasure of a plunge into the dimension of Vangelis, a realm where genius lies.

As we move onwards across the desert, avoiding the noon day sun and sticking with what shadow we can find, we come across an oasis of mastery known as Transcendence. The repeating motif, the powerful insightful build are all part of a track that is without doubt one of the best that the artist has ever composed, the deep rumbling of the synths, and the glory bound, uplifting tones created for me a piece that I would have to call anthem like.

The warm wind drifts across our weary brows, but we can find solace in this next composition called Resurgence. Again the repeating motif on keyboards gives us that grounding before the piece builds to an almost Berlin styled tempo and structure, whilst the magical synths seem to manifest ethereal voices across the plains of tomorrow and beyond.

The half way marker has been reached, so let’s sit for a while in the shade and enjoy the reverie of Cosmic Immersion. This is one of the most beautiful tracks ever; there is a very slow but determined progression here that is simply undeniable, but one that also adds that progression to a vast outer worldly pastiche of sound brought into being by David’s synths, which in turn births a whole new existence of musical mastery, as layer upon layer upon layer is gifted to its ever eager listeners.

Time now for a little Regeneration and the artist has this one perfectly composed, each piece has the scene within its mind’s eye, at no time have you drifted off to another reality, you are still within the vast desert landscapes and this track is one that has a different energy within it, its opening gifts us a mood that a change is about to occur, and half way through, that change emerges and builds, the mixed pattern of soft synths and repetitive keyboards here is craft-fully arranged by the artist.

The second half of this album has certainly changed in its energetic output; it is as if we can see the end of the desert far away on the hazy horizon, offerings like the windblown Reunion emphasise that beautifully, and with an almost classical music styled grandeur that the aforementioned Vangelis always used to give us back in the day.

The deeper sands of this album have now been reached and there is a wonderfully indigenous vocalisation to this piece that is so outstanding, and called Beyond the Mist, a piece with an almost spiritual feel to its compositional structure, the slow and sensitive keyboard work here has to be admired, as this is simply one of the best offerings off the album to illustrate our journey and the overall concept of the album in my view.

Desert Voices builds on that aforementioned spiritual indigenous feel, with vocalisations that could come from Osiris or Hathor themselves, and then De Michele builds upon his title track and manifests it into a piece worthy of a film score, the changing of minor chords within the middle of this wonderful track totally moved me, and its mixture with a more electronic vibe was stunning too, once more the artist at the half way juncture of the track elevates the composition again to sparkling new heights of utter brilliance, so much so, that it was like listening to John Carpenter meets Jonn Serrie.

Amazingly we have found our way across this vast desert, and at the oasis of respite we listen to our last arrangement from the artist entitled Breaking Free, which is quiet apt, as we have broken away from the enormous and harsh landscape. The towering synths within this piece were like a celebration of that fact, and as usual De Michele ends with a total flourish, in only the way a grandmaster of synth realm can do.

Desert Voices by David De Michele is an album of exploratory nature for the artist, instead of a space based voyage, we have reconnoitred the barren world of desert life, and found the voices within are old and wise, and have been waiting for us.  Here is an album that the artist should be proud of, he manifests wonderfully tranquil vibes, adds moments of uncertainty, builds upon layers of mystical and ethereal vocalisations, and raises the power and the glory of the journey with such confidence and style, I can safely say Desert Voices by David De Michele should be a huge hit for the musician.