THE ARTIST MANIFESTO: DOCUMENT 1

In three tracks, the artist extraordinaire ALON takes you through many worlds and atmospheres. He uses an incredible powerfully expressive voice to make his lyrics stick and music that is very much progressive in every sense of the word.

In a few seconds over 16 minutes, you will hear three tracks that will move you emotionally and sweep you away completely. "Art's End" reminded me so much of the Bowie/Eno period when Low came out, featuring a synthesized atmosphere with a catchy rhythm that does not let go. I was really getting off on the song and was hoping that it would continue, alas all good things must end.

ALON has a very hip website as well; it is a work of art in progress with a message from him about his music and the site for you to view. Everything about this artist is progressive and that is why I appreciate everything he does. So once again, I get only a taste. I have a feeling he is setting me up for an incredible full-length album that I will never forget.

Make sure you go to his site to check out some sound samples and listen to what he has to say. This artist has something to say so pay attention.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com

May 26, 2005

WOW! This is another form of prog music that is accessible to most ears, I would say. This is what I really love as a reviewer where I have to challenge and expose myself on different kinds, forms or styles of music. Is this record prog? Well, it does not seem to matter to me and probably to most of you (if you have listened to) as the experience that I have had listening to and enjoying this three-track EP is rewarding. For sure, I cannot categorize this kind of music under normal pop song as it has many musical elements that do not fit into any kind of pop song. Also, the music offered here gives us an excellent soundscapes. Listening to this record gives me a sort of enjoyment pleasure. The first spin of this CD I put it at my car stereo and I could feel different kind of ambient / atmosphere as it has wider dynamic range as compared to many other CDs that I have spun so far. When I reached home, I played it LOUD at my decent (even though mid-price) home stereo with B&W bookshelf speaker system, NAD amplification and NAD CD player. The result? Amazing!!! Yes, I reconfirm that this CD gives a much wider dynamic range with great musical ambience.

Who is the guy? It seems I'm not familiar with his name before. Well, sorry - I might not be pretty updated with prog development. For what I know from the official website and promotional material, Alon is a composer and singer from Drexel Hill in Pennsylvania. He offers three enjoyable tracks combining combine strong ambient soundscapes with psychedelic touch in a straight forward structure. He mixed the record through his own invention of "Alonomorphic Control Station". In a nutshell, his music can be categorized as art rock with heavy influence of psychedelic through the acoustic guitar style he delivers.

"Time Will Tell" is a song with solid rhythm base using acoustic guitar augmented with keyboard. With a solid bass line by Chico Huff this song provides a smooth flow of music with powerful vocal in relatively low (and a bit flat) register notes. The strings section enrich the textures of the song and it sometime provides an uplifting mood. Simply put, this is a very enjoyable track especially with the perfect mixing.

In "Going Back", Alon delivers his vocal in more aggressive way combined with the upbeat tempo of the music. This is probably what I would say like a modern rock music with groovy style - it's the kind of Cold Play music, I guess. Even though I do not really favor this song, I still consider that as a song it has been composed nicely. Through this song you may have complained about the progness of this track. I would agree with that if that is the case.

The EP concludes with "Art's End" that is basically represents Alon's manifestation of sounsdscapes exploration. So it's explorative in nature. As you might have guessed it starts off with programming effects with heavy bass and sound effects. The keyboard enters the music in long sustain notes that remind me to the work of Klaus Schulze or Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream). Throughout the span of the music there are percussive loop that form as main rhythm section. Unfortunately it has a flat, monotonous structure that makes a bit boring to my ears.

This three-track EP has a good composition and delivered well by contributing musicians involved in this record. It is hoped that this album will have a follow-up with a full-length album.

Progressively yours,GW