INCANTATIONS

Mike Oldfield's fourth studio album takes tribal myth and imagery as its inspiration, and over four extended, mainly instrumental, pieces - double the playing time of his previous works - presents some breathtaking themes of nature, wonder, celebration, and storytelling. This time around, Oldfield's skill in weaving intricate, rapturous melodies is rivalled by the strong emphasis on rhythm, which when given the long brewing times of each segment makes 'Incantations' his most kinetic music to date. The trademark sounds here are repeating melodies in complex time signatures (driven by synth pipes, flutes and tuned percussion) and the African-style drumming that was used so effectively in 'Ommadawn', so Mike's distinctive guitar playing features only occasionally (with the exception of Part Three, where lead guitar very much dominates). Through the strident, dramatic string synth patterns of Part One to the hypnotic, raining vibraphone exchanges of Part Four, the spectrum of clear colours in 'Incantations' together form an epic and unique whole from this master instrumentalist.