Cosmic Odyssey By Jim Ottaway

 

Cosmic Odyssey

By

Jim Ottaway

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Today we journey upward and beyond in a Cosmic Odyssey from one of the finest electronic music artists from down under, with Australia’s very own Jim Ottaway. It is always a pleasure when you see a new Ottaway album on offer, and it shocked me a little to think that it’s been some 19 years since my first album from this wizard of the synth, that album was Aurora back in 2006.

Here on this latest release we have a true soundscape of an album to enjoy, one that begins with a beautiful opening piece called Stardust from Infinity, a track that I personally loved and had a hard job of pulling away from it was that good, the higher elevation of chords reminded me of an old classic album by the artist Llewellyn called Journey to the Temple, and it was a composition that reminded me of the arrangement Crown Chakra from it.

As we move on through this galactic wonderland of an album we come across a piece entitled Undiscovered Worlds, here is one of the most graceful manifestations I have heard from the artist, again a lush meditative piece in a different key, and this lower range of musical fortitude allows us as listeners to survey a tonal delight, the synths here are amazingly explorative and drift on a bed of calm through a myriad of musical dimensions.

A next track is one that has a grandiose title called Citadel of the Stars, the track itself carries a true sense of mystery and imagination with it, a mood of wonderment is also conveyed, whilst the keyboards of Ottaway reveal the majesty of our view in space, this is a marvellously constructed piece, one that manifests graphic galactic images and sensations, a repeating electronic motif then takes us onward to the tracks conclusion.

Hidden Galaxies is a more traditional space themed styled opus, the classic cosmos synth sounds are here, but also is a mood of awe and awareness, one that I have not heard in such colour and tenderness since Kevin Kendle’s Stellar Nursery track from his 2005 Light From Orion album, this amazing offering has the unusual aspects of being both mournful and uplifting at the same time, and in my view one of the best compositions ever created by the musician.

The mid-section of the album has been traversed and it is here we find the electronically sculptured art called Edge of the Cosmos. A creation that carries such a wide open sense of mystery and imagination, and once again through the keyboard stylings, the sounds used, and the slow build and progression reminded me greatly of classic Vangelis from the late 70’s.

Quite naturally this next piece floats into sight and across our view screen on our musical Starship, from this tonal region of space comes the offering Endless Cosmic Horizon, without doubt one of the most ambient manifestations from the album, the gentle performance by Ottaway here allows the listener to create their own dramatic vistas, partnered by the willing resonances of an ethereal Ottaway keyboard.

Our journey into deep space has been a long one, but thankfully it’s time for a distraction, we can glance to port to watch a rare sight indeed as we take in Supernovae, this event in itself a powerful and luminous explosion of a star, here Ottaway with his vast range of synths, sounds and drifting keyboards, manifest a sonic soundtrack of great quality for this occurrence.

On Peaks of Eternal Light we have a horse of a different musical colour so to speak, there is a decided depth and texture here that is very compelling and also deeply moving, the range of presentation is complex and careful, Ottaway is mindful to allow this track to come to the boil on its own, and once it does it then becomes an electronic masterpiece of a true soulful melodic configuration.

Our space hub approaches, but before we reach the docking bay, we are gifted the penultimate piece from the release with a composition called Cosmic Odyssey, which of course is the title track from the album, this clever and artistic piece sums up the entire voyage up perfectly, and Jims pinpoint precision on keyboards and synths is a delight for us all to revel within.

So we reach our final destination and have time to reflect, time to gaze back over the vast realms and regions of space in this stunning universe of ours, so no better time for the musician to gift us with a final track that has an anthem like energy, and is entitled Celestial Voyager, for me this soothing reverie was the perfect ending arrangement, one which will leave a smile of satisfaction on the face of every humble listener.

Cosmic Odyssey by Jim Ottaway is, and I say this with my both my writers and musicians hats on, the artists Magnum Opus, as already stated I have been following Jims music for near on 20 years, and this album has lit me up, and also allowed me to state that Cosmic Odyssey by Jim Ottaway is one of the best examples of electronic space music I have ever heard, and right up there with the aforementioned Vangelis and Kendle, and as such is most deserved of not only an award, but a huge chart position too, simply put, it really doesn’t come any better than this.