NEURONIUM

Smooth Operator

I can perfectly understand the previous reviewer's sentiments concerning this album, and hearing another person speaking about it in sky soaring metaphors - essentially relegating it as a desert island electronic album, truly makes me feel warm inside. There's just something about this release, that even if going against everything the album conveys of cold atmospheric Icelandic tundras - still feels warm and dear to me.

I have listened to a fair deal of electronic albums in my life, and once I dive down in my 80s collection, I almost immediately know what to expect from the soundscapes. They're smooth, icy, sugary, velvety and uncommonly ethereal - like had they been spawned on a bar of soap in the Himalayas. Some hipster folks out there may call it new age, and apart from me not knowing what that means, I certainly don't feel that is the case with Neuronium. That makes no sense at all, but that's the way I roll...

Perhaps one of the only Spanish suppliers of prog electronic, this act consisting of mastermind Michael Huygen and Carlos Guirao manages to put its own spin on the Berlin School of sound. Both men wield the floating and airy synthesizer shapes, Guirao adds guitar and flute, whilst Huygen takes care of all the writing - and on occasion he pulls out some rather alluring vocoder work. The Visitor does echo a certain Tangerine Dream-like attitude, and while there are literally hundreds of TD wannabes out there - most of them sounding the same (and feeling like limp wine gums), Neuronium feels altogether more conquistadorean - more Spanish and robust - even if that completely goes against all of their floating and soothing ambiances. In short: These guys are infinitely more interesting than your average electronic act conjuring up the umptieth version of Stratosfear.

I love listening to The Visitor in the afternoon - you know that blue hour, where the lights change and everything seems wrapped in nature's own electricity. This album quite simply sounds like a soundtrack meant for this daily happening. Starting off with atmospheric synthesisers and some beautiful guitar work, the album pulls you in like an old lover of yours lighting candles around the bed - before slipping into something more comfortable. It literally lures you in with its serene and welcoming attitude.

A Strange Affair then comes on like the perfect successor - suddenly opening up the doors to the vast ice sheets of Greenland - and the mood suddenly shifts to the more glacial and spacious, and while I giggled a bit the first time I heard Huygen's vocoder voice chanting: A Strange Affair - I must admit that it has grown immensely on me over the years. So much that I actually look forward to it every time I put the album on.

Rendez-Vous puts the docile in sonic buttermilk, and with its compelling guitar it truly feels like the perfect track to fondle up a rhinoceros to without having to flee in panic with a strange piercing through your thigh.

Finishing off the album we get the smooth closer The Light Of Your Eyes, that chills your heart and tricks you out on the drifting icebergs with gentle and almost symphonic electronic surfaces. It features vocals kindly submitted by a Michel Guillamat, and though I don't quite get the sudden urge to sprinkle distinctive human touches on the album right there and then, it is actually not bad.

This album is highly recommended to fans of 1980s Tangerine Dream - folks that dig Tangram and Exit - and furthermore enjoy to be swept away to the Arctic without having to bring their own snowshoes. 3.5 stars.

Although I enjoy most of the early Neuronium albums, "The Visitor" captures the essence of that perfect combination of electronic music, and just a bit of guitar. Added with the beautiful vocoder work - ESPECIALLY! on "A Strange Affair" - this is easily a desert electronic music album for me.

Hopefully someone like Esoterica picks up on remastering more electronic music, as the CD isn't very "spacial" and looses some of the magic the vinyl has....thankful for both at this point.

This is yet another worthy example that great music, in any form it seems, comes from around the world, and this one from Spain.

'Neuronium' were clearly a copy-cat, three man band plagiarising Klaus Schulze using every cliche in the book. At time of release in '79 (unlike the headliner which says 1980). this sounds very 1977 'Klaus' which should cheer up all 'Schulze' fans wondering where on earth to turn to after 'X' . What went wrong with Schulze's recordings after after this period? Many say his use of digital technology replacing dirty old analogue.

'Digital Dream' is in no way original, but they use absolutely everything Schulze would exercise circa '75-78 making this the missing link for fans of the aforementioned keyboardist.

The front cover depicted is the old ugly one. I've got the 1990 cd version which displays a spooky painting in the style of 'Irrlicht'. Much better than looking at bearded guys!

Plagiarism abounds but Spanish band 'Neuronium' give us what Schulze should have sounded like in '79. Some nice arpeggiators and highly softened electric guitars see us out in a pleasant way. Pretty good.

A good work of this Spanish band. A spacey electronic context but with lots of other elements that make a special music conception very balanced. Some Floydian guitar, made a space music that we remember in other groups. A litle bit of Tangerine Dream in the begining of seventies, and I think that when they found some inspiration to make this album. We can listen a litle chorus in last music that made a beautiful music conection. Not boring and I don't realy apreciate electronic music specialy the comercial electronis but this is a nom comercial work and first time I listen i like. 4 stars because it's a good album

In the second half of the Seventies I discovered the fascinating world of Tangerine Dream (1974-1977 era) and early Klaus Schulze their electronic music and soon I started to dig for more. In those days you could buy tons of electronic music LP's in the legendary record store Boudisque in Amsterdam. I did and especially Neuronium turned out to be one of my favorites, from the first album Quasar 2C361 (1977) to Heritage (1984). This electronic music formation was founded by Marcel Huygen (born in Belgium, later he moved to Barcelona), fellow keyboardplayer Carlos Guirao and guitarist Albert Gimenez (who left the band after their to me disappointing second album Vuelo Quimico in 1978).

Michel had played in psychedelic rock bands, with Neuronium he started to play jazz oriented music during a string of concerts in their embryonal phase but on this first effort it's mainly Seventies Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze inspired electronic music: ambient electronic landscapes with lush synthesizer-strings and soaring string-ensemble, pulsating sequencers and slow, hypnotizing synthesizer flights. The guitarplayer adds a special flavor to the music with his howling runs and moving solos, especially in the final part of El Valle De Rimac we can enjoy a wonderful blend of synthesizer and electric guitar, Neuronium their trademark in the early years. In the long titletrack Neuronium delivers a first and final part with a beautiful strings sound, flute and twanging acoustic guitar in a dreamy atmosphere, very warm electronic music!

Although the climates sound a bit similar on Neuronium their first album, to me this sounds as warm and pleasant electronic music. And it was the start of an interesting carreer for Michel Huygen, later he would collaborate with Tangerine Dream, Steve Roach and Klaus Schulze and in 1994 he performed on the legendary Dutch electronic music festival KLEM also featuring Chris Franke in that year. Recently Michel Huygen has worked on a record with the London Symphonic Orchestra entitled Classical Neuronium that contains his most significant compositions played with classical instruments.

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