BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW

Secret Handshake

Last year saw a surprisingly big wave of new progressive electronic fans, and this album is undoubtedly the reason why. I've read dozens of rather confused reviews over the net describing this album as VHS music with nods to Goblin and Giorgio Moroder. The people responsible for making such parallels have obviously never acquainted themselves with the electronic musings of 1970s Germany. This happens a lot though - all over the musical map. There are so many new music "fans" out there who know nothing of what went down just 15 years earlier.

Sinoia Caves is the solo project of Black Mountain's Jeremy Schmidt and his vast array of organs and synthesisers. The music he conceives is deeply rooted in the sounds of the mid 70s and all the way up to John Carpenter's early 80s laserbeam qualities , yet what he overtly displays in his influences he makes up for a hundred times with sheer gusto. This man truly immerses himself into the music. Something I find essential to any music making, yet when it's for a movie soundtrack - the parameters change a little.

Beyond The Black Rainbow is indeed a soundtrack to last year's horror sci fi flick by the same name, and it very aptly conveys the secret and all important handshake between music and images. The pulsating electronic music with these colourful and melodic flairs of sound adorning it mixes oh so well with the clean, dystopian and futuristic ambiances of the movie. Listened to on it's own the album still packs a punch. From the motorik drumming groove of the first cut 'Forever Dilating Eye' to the beautiful almost Klaus Schulzian space ambient pools that start forming during '1966 - Let The New Age Of Enlightenment Begin', the music flows freely like some imaginary space sled going through black holes and immense diamond encrusted canyons.

What monsieur Schmidt has achieved with this release is something very rare inside the world of movie soundtracks. He's created music that stands proudly on it's own two feet.......................but who, in their wildest dreams, would've thought that an album chuck full of the old school sequencer 'chug chugs', carefully placed organ washes and stroboscopic lightsaber synth galore would ever resonate with the youngins of this day and age?

Personally, I find Beyond The Black Rainbow to be a breath of fresh air in today's retro electronic scene (oxymoron intended). I hear a musician who isn't afraid of the past yet ultimately manages to interject something wholly original into the proceedings. I hear and feel the cold embrace of space whenever I put this on.......delivered in looooong almost breathing synthesiser drones..........or through those ceremonial sounding organ riffs that pop up like mountainous totem poles during the track 'Run Program: Sentionauts'. I picture sudden solar flares shooting out of the sun while listening to some of the shorter and sweeter tunes, which, contrary to common belief, take this anodyne electronic mumbo jumbo and transform it into something with melody and warmth. PIIUUUOOWW WUOU UOOU the solar flare says on it's way away from it's orangy home, and I quite like it.

If you're one of those who dream in colour, then this one is for you. I had the vivid experience of travelling in slow motion through an all encompassing hug from a cluster of newly born stars just now while lying on the green golf carpet that covers (most of) my living-room.

I have been familiar with Jeremy Schmidt's Sinoia Caves for some time now, although I am not familiar with Black Mountain, even though I am aware of them. In 2002 The Enchanter Persuaded was originally released, privately, then in 2006, thanks to Black Mountain, was re-released on JaJaguwar (the label Black Mountain recorded for), with an additional track. I bought that CD, the 2006 reissue, that is, and that it had great material, although room for improvement. I was most fond of "Sundown in the New Arcades" with that rather sinister vibe. After that I pretty much gave up on the idea of another SInoia Caves release, probably due to Black Mountain taking up Jeremy Schmidt's time.

I am so glad to see a second release, this time a film soundtrack, to the 2010 Canadian sci-fi/horror film Beyond the Black Rainbow, but for some reason or another the soundtrack album never saw the light of day until 2014. I have never seen the film in question (update: I have now seen the film thanks to renting the DVD), it appears to be a film about some telepathic teenage girl being held captive who attempts to escape the facility. The movie never goes much past a 2001: A Space Odyssey pace, so high action flick this is not. I have to say the movie is just as disturbing as the music contained within. In my opinion this album is an improvement over the Enchanted Persuaded. A truly amazing album. Once again, Schmidt uses nothing but old analog gear, including even the Hammond organ and Mellotron, as well as various synths, to give it that '70s/early '80s vibe that brings to mind the likes of John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, etc. What's up with the lengthiest song on both SInoia Caves albums being the most sinister? "Sundown in the New Arcades" off The Enchanter Persuaded was the lengthiest, and also very sinister sounding, even if it seemed to be just looped phased string synths, ping sound, and strange yelling voice). Here it's "1966: Let the New Age of Enlightenment Begin", at over 16 minutes, a really ironic title if there ever was one, nothing close to flower power sounding music or sunshine pop (like The Association). Very disturbing vibe throughout, sinister sounding synth drones, and, as much as I enjoyed "Sundown in the New Arcades", this one is definitely superior in every way. There's much more going on, plus there's a sinister sounding vocoder passages. Then there's some drones that reminded me of something I've heard off Cluster's Cluster 2 album. The rest of the album is much shorter, and unsurprisingly has a rather soundtracky feel to it.

This album has been getting lots of praise, even from Pitchfork Media, an outlet I take with a grain of sait, and in this case for very good reason. This is probably some of the finest electronic music in recent years I've heard, and it comes highly recommended!