Treasures of Light By Jim Ottaway

 

Treasures of Light

By

Jim Ottaway

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I have had the pleasure of being a fan of Jim Ottaway and his electronic music for some 20 years now, my first release gained was the album Aurora back in 2006, and over the years he has released one quality album after another, and today he is back again with another brand new offering called Treasures of Light, which emphatically illustrates his prowess as an electronic musican of great quality.

The opening offering from this 12 track album is called Tomorrow Never Comes, the speed that it offers is incredibly exciting and with ease a great choice to open the album, and indeed it reminds me in style very much of early Vangelis from ‘77, and an the album Spiral. That is followed by the fluency of this proud offering called Fragments of Fate (2026 Mix). Almost regal in stature, hovering keyboards offer a processional approach, with subtle electronic wizardry mixed in the weave of the composition to add extra flavour, in perhaps a David Wright styled opus of pomp and circumstance.

There is a sea change on the next offering though that is equally as interesting on the track called That Lonely Place. A steady key press can be found and around it a flourishing keyboard pattern, along with some deft percussion, the overall narrative reminds me greatly of the iconic, Carpenters, Assault on Precinct 13 theme music.

The album is a fine example of Ottaway’s electronic prowess, revolving from cinematic theme towards a more niche style of Berlin School, and then a plethora of tracks in the middle of both of those. The vibrant tapestry of A Promised Reality with its ‘80’s feel being one of them, and onto beautiful textures of a more spacious musical environment on pieces like Climbing Rainbows, one of my personal favourites from the album, the softness of sound and soothing nature of the melody of this track is utterly breath taking. We then have another mix changed at the mid-way marker with the offering Exponential Progression (2026 Mix). Jim has done a very good job of cleaning the entire piece up to crystal clarity on this one.

Dreams and Visions, contains a beautifully layered consistency, pertinent percussion and a steady onward progression that is very appealing. It creates a vast open landscape of sound with no immediate rhythm or beat and slowly transposing to soft, organic-sounding electronic melodies which gently rise over the background noise of the track, a very inventive offering indeed.

The more keyboard led nuance of the following narrative is even more interesting and called Dreaming of Infinity. Sparkling, high-register synth frequencies drift over the top of the mix, whilst a rhythmic pastiche of a modern percussive beat underpins the entire composition brilliantly, perhaps Ottaway is shifting the sonic perspective to the vast, cold, and beautiful scale of the outer universe, regardless this is a fine and fluent composition.

Our next offering is entitled Strange Paradox, a piece that holds a deeper texture and a natural electronic vibe to enjoy, another Carpenter styled opus that reminded me of the Escape From New York theme, but at an increased tempo and with relevant percussion. The song layers mysterious, shifting melodic notes over warm analogue synthesizer pads to evoke a curious and questioning mood.

The musical narrative that is upon us next is the evocative title track itself Treasures of Light, I hear elements of Glenn Main in the weave of this arrangement, and in doing so Ottaway builds a grand, orchestral electronic wall of sound, one that has one of the best melodic structures of the entire album, he then delivers a bright, uplifting, and symphonic electronic experience of great quality and timbre.

The penultimate offering takes us back to Vangelis, one of my favourite albums of his was China, and the opening of this piece reminded me of that album. The main body picks an ever onward tonal narrative that almost reminds me in part of UK EM artist Geigertek, and in fact is the real concluding musical tale of the album and a smart one that is fresh and incredibly exciting and called Radiance of Truth.

We have a bonus track that actually ends the album it is Ancient Rainforest (Radio Edit) [Bonus Track]. The track opens with rich, organic synthesizers and the more orchestrated sound of Ottaway can be found on this last official track off the release.

Treasures of Light by Jim Ottaway is another in the long line of high end quality instrumental electronic music albums from the artist. The album's overarching concept captures the beauty of light breaking through darkness, moving from cosmic universal scales down to the organic textures of the Earth. I have always been a lover of the quality of light, and this album serves as a reminder that beauty can be found everywhere, and fans of electronic instrumental music should find a safe haven within the musical walls of Treasures of Light by Jim Ottaway.