CALDEA MUSIC II

Having captivated us with his album for a new millennium, "The tide of the century", Tim Blake wasted little time in recording his fifth solo album, "Caldea music 2". This time though, we have a commissioned work, the music being written for the Caldea Thermo-Ludique Center in Andorra. This was the second set of music commissioned by the centre, hence the "2" in the album title (so don't look in Blake's discography for "Caldea music 1"!) Caldea means "hot water", the location in Andorra being a source of natural hot water which is used for " thermal bathing, relaxation, and steaming". The building housing the Caldea was designed like a "Crystal city" in the centre of Andorra's capital, Valdez. While bathing, guests are soothed by piped new age music, hence the commissioning of this work.

With that background in mind, it is important that fans of Blake do not approach this album expecting something similar to his previous solo efforts. That said, while this is Blake's first totally instrumental album in many years, it would be wrong to simply assign it to a new age classification. Admittedly, there is a relaxed quality to the music, but the blending of Celtic influences and strong electronic rhythms on some tracks results in a diversity which new age music does not usually boast.

On the second track, "Floating", Blake's Tangerine Dream like synth passages are complemented by some glissando guitar played by Christian Boule. The blending of the two forms a highly effective wash of floating sounds and melodies.

The feature track of the album is "The Great Pool" which runs to a shade under 20 minutes. The track sounds like it may have been lifted form one of Tangerine Dream's later albums, when the early solo synth performances had been replaced by smoother waves of polyphonic sounds. While the track has definite new age leanings, it is altogether too rock orientated to be dismissed as such.

On the final track, which is called "Caldea II" (the opening track is titled "Caldea"), Blake is joined by Konan Mevel playing Catalan bagpipes and Celtic flute. The piece is a powerful, anthemic number, the kaleidoscope of sounds coming together delightfully in a Celtic cacophony.

In all, an album which, while largely devoid of rock influences which are a usual feature of Blake's work, is much more than simply an hour of new age noodling. The music here certainly has ambient, relaxing qualities, but it also stands up to closer scrutiny than many of its peers of a similar type.