MAJEURE

Majeure is one half of American progressive electronic duo Zombi, who in recent years has been successful in updating the sounds of the Berlin School with intricate drumming patterns and a modern touch to the music that gives to it that little bit of 'je ne sais quoi'. While the most prominent synth guru in Zombi is one Steve Moore who at the moment is stretching the confines of the aforementioned Germanic schule, here we're treated to drummer Anthony Paterra's take on a modern electronic music. A melodic one at that no less.

Funny how some of my most beloved electronic artists stem from behind the drumming kit. Folks like Klaus Schulze and Harald Grosskopf instantly spring to mind, but there's also a man like Stomu Yamashta who approached this bip bip world from the far eastern back door. Speaking of drummers gone electronic and Harald Grosskopf - you'd be hard pressed not to hear distinct similarities between this album and Harald's debut 'Synthesist' - the original soundtrack to the beach. "Sun is shining and the weather is sweet". The mellow and friendly nature of it is mirrored in a highly original manner on 'Solar Maximum'. The swaying rhythmic sequencers, the sparse usage of melody lines that work oh so effectively that you're always whistling small fragmented synth hooks whenever you're leaving the room from where this music just resonated in. It's uncanny really. I had a friend over, who isn't into all this electronic business, yet 20 minutes after stepping out the door - lying on a lawn conversing over a beer and some reefer, he suddenly breaks into a cute little whistle, and his face goes red while looking at me with an expression that could only mean: "Damn you Gulle for proving me wrong!!! It was actually memorable! And now I have to go out and buy this thing and you know I only purchase music with guitars in it!#!#*!*!!!!!". -And so it inevitably goes when people listen to this album. My guitar infatuated friend was not the first to come around.......it is actually that good....and that memorable.

I was actually very surprised when I first heard 'Solar Maximum', Paterra's second outing. There's almost no drumming at all, and when they finally do sneak into the picture, it's to relegate a sluggish mummy-like presence that only serves to complement the oscillating synthesisers and their quest for hypnosis. -And while you certainly hear traces of Zombi band member Moore's sound and his affection for old school pioneers like Tangerine Dream, Cluster and of course Harald as I mentioned earlier, you get a feeling that there's much more to this man's abilities than merely copycatting his mentor and mixing things up with a bit of what went before.

I hear John Carpenter's eerie soundscapes - images of Escape From New York stream through my head whenever I put this baby on my stereo. I swoop directly through green laser grids and Snake Plissken's detached icy outlook on a dystopian future and still manage to land somewhere warm and breezy. 'Solar Maximum' both feels infinitely modern and futuristic in scope, while at the same time transporting the listener back to a time where music fans went berserk for neon lights and white stroboscopic flashes.

Sure you're treated to an avalanche of analogue gear, but that only adds to the mystery as to why this sounds so fresh and vibrant. What the hell, check out this man's package and tell me it doesn't feel like a quick time travel back into the arms of Jean-Michel Jarre anno 1985: Moog Source, Moog Voyager OS, Kawai SX-240, Korg Lambda, Korg Polysix, Roland Alpha Juno 2 + Roland PG-300, Arp Omni II, Ursa Major Space Station, Mu-Tron Bi Phase and an old German plate reverb.............yet what comes out of your speakers will quickly put those thoughts to shame.

This is old and new meeting up in a breathtaking sci fi thriller with neon babies, turquoise lanterns and laser beam qualities that'll cling to your cerebral cortex loooong after the album has run it's course. If you're new to all this musical riff raff and are searching for a proper starting point, then you could do a lot worse than this brilliant effort by Majeure. It is also, for some inexplicable reason, highly recommended to people who love bears.