Labels:text | screenshot OCR: Bjorn A. Lynne's Montage CD DENS CDO02 A Review for AM/FM written by Kevan R. Craft. Montage is Bjorn A Lynne's second CD release, the first being Hobbits and Spaceships in 1992. This time the CD album Montage adopts a concept approach and according to the sleeve footnotes, Strieber's published books 'Communion' and was inspired by Whitley 'Transformation' about the authors written accounts of real-life experiences of close encounters with beings from another dimension. Montage's accompanying 8 page booklet contains a Tobias Richter cover photo produced by the prolific German computer Artist which is of refracted bright yellow light escaping from a wooden crate, situated within a rustic Autumnal forest signifying hidden mysteries attempting to break out from the confines of the box to the safety of a secret place of serenity. We are being prepared for a magical journey of wonder. Inside, the first page relays the various appropriate credits and technical information, a detailed list of Mr Lynne's Amiga computers, musical software and synthesizer hardware, followed by personal greetings and special thanks. The second page contains a beautifully drawn pencil sketch of various images together with a personal quotation by Bjorn A. Lynne himself. The centre pages contain a second beautiful pencil sketch of a distorted face with a violin on an Astral Landscape. The third page contains the spoken lyrics from the track 'THE SPIRIT OF MECHANICA'. Page four contains various contact addresses. Finally the back page contains a mysterious black and white photograph of Bjorn A. Lynne hiding behind the shadows. As a keen observer of music which includes music produced on the Amiga scene, I've followed Bjorn A. Lynne's musical career with particular interest and witnessed his talents develop from being the composer for the Amiga DEMO group the 'Crusaders', to producing music for commercial computer games, to Demo cassettes, Publishing and Editing the World's best loved Amiga music disk magazine AM/FM to composing music for CDTV and CD Rom games, to collaboration with Tobias Richter and scoring music for an Animated film, Producing a first CD Hobbits and Spaceships with fellow ex- Crusader Seppo Hurme, composing music for a live theatre production and eventually we come to the Montage CD. It is obvious that Mr Lynne's musical output is nothing short of prolific and upon listening to his recent Montage CD there is evidence of a maturity in his work, a sense of depth and thought within the compositions that speaks of experience and a sense of being in tune and an understanding with his emotional perception. There exists within Montage journies of discovery experimental composition, of juxtapositioning through both traditional and ideas, of sound and musical arrangements and a skillful montaging of enchanting in their communication of the soul. which are truly seductive and Unlike most reviews I refuse to create a spurious chart and marking system out of 10! Instead what follows is a list of all tracks featured on the Montage CD and a brief critical analysis of the musical compositions themselves. re goes :- ) 1. ENTITY (MONTAGE INTRO) 04:31 mins Being the introduction, ENTITY is the beginning of a journey where there are no rules in music, where the whole world of sound is open to experimentation. The first sounds we hear are of a collection of sampled spoken texts from individuals featured in the World's media attempting to communicate their experience of reality which contains somekind of close encounter. Indeed, this montage of spoken phrases tells of entities providing an experience which will take us on a journey to higher levels of enlightenment. The score moves into a powerful and dynamic multi-drumming structure on a tapestry of orchestral strings together with obscure sampled noises which establishes a musical journey to follow within the Montage CD repertoire. 2. COMMUNION 11:50 mins As with all voyages of discovery and wonder, so begins the music of COMMUNION. This particular peice is pure heaven and one can understand the composer's need to articulate his original source of inspiration from Whitley Strieber's books 'Communion' and 'Transformation' . For our encounter, Mr Lynne's music is a celebration of subjective emotion but it also contains the power of transcendental revelation. Like the majority of spiritual celebrations which contains notions of shared participation in a collective event, COMMUNION communicates this effectively through a gradual development of Orchestral strings and Church organs beautifully layered and textured with metalic and analogue synthesizer sounds. All this and successfully structured with dynamic drumming enables COMMUNION to evoke a religious experience and one of pure wonder and amazement. 3. CREEPING SLEEP 05:00 mins The variety and power of Bjorn Lynne's melodic ideas, coupled with an expressive harmony provide him with the means to both intensify dramatic situations and to explore the inner motivations and hidden thoughts of his subject matter. With CREEPING SLEEP the composer provides an cerie landscaped canvas in which the various synthesized polyphonic imagery culminate in various ideas and possibilities of discovery, just like sleep and dreams themselves. Above all, and to highten suspense, the power of percussion, with its driving rock beat, provide an urgency to the experience of fear of the unknown territories of sleep. It is also one hell of a rock track! 4. FANTASTIC VOYAGE 06:11 mins For most composers, the possibilities of expr interpretation of an experience is fundamental sion in conveying a musical particularly so of the ' journey' motif where his pallet. Indeed, this is t composer paints an imaginary landscape upon which we undertake a voyage discovery. And this is the effect successfully communicated by FANTASTIC builds from a simple yet effective exposition of AGE where the peice gradually percussion and drumming which bring dynamic f mthesis, to a development of ce, framework emphatic attacks and the means to create a rhythmic be ath This the bolder sounds of synthesized strings, woodwinds and brass . instrumentation is characteristic of thematic scores where the develops into an urgent penetration of synthesized sounds convey gradual during this voyage, but Bjorn Lynne brings a bre g a splendour and wonder Equally characteristic is the slimline of fresh air to this genre. references to travelling somewhere in musical quali of the piece with its he and space, reflected by representations of gradual momentum and the progressive movement in a forward direction, pausing momentarily to gathe are meticulously planned and shaped with gre speed. The startling sounds finesse and declaration that a new age of music is dawning a is a poetic an imaginative musical journey of possibilities FANTASTIC VOYAGE is simply 5. HYPERRIDE 05:14 mins Jith regard to form, HYPERRIDE again sows the se a distinctive theme and developing it in consecu an idea which feels free flowing turning away f wider synthesized space and time with a logic manner. This theme is the subject almost thro be expanded by embellishments or split into ind excursion from the theme and a return to it. not simply a matter of harmonic and formal st regular driving drumming rhythms and on the subt peice. A traditional thematic working has provi certain regularity and homegenuity of rhythm driving roc focused on harmony and melodic shape, the char ensure the goal-directed force of the music a which I may add, works wonderfully. 6. PLUGGED 04:19 mins Most 'Rock music', when emulated by computers and synthesizers tends to pale in comparison to the original human form. This is not the case with 'PLUGGED' as Bjorn Lynne has produced a classic here. Of course, subtle homages are paid to the traditional compositional structure and instrumentation, but in the hands of Dr Awesome we are presented with a reworking of a style which seeks to establish new ground. the distorted electric guitar, with its power chords and the driving rhythm of the rock drumming are endlessly Even seductive. Its not so much the inclusion of conventional structural landmarks as an aid to the composition that matters here, but the precise calculated changes provided to give the impression of sound travelling in space between two speakers which captivates and moves you. Indeed, Mr Lynne grabs this opportunity, with 'PLUGGED', to present his work as a celebration of a variation on a marvellous rock theme. 7. THE SPIRIT OF MECHANICA 04:54 mins At the other extreme stands 'SPIRIT OF MECHANICA' with its zeal for the establishment of a new musical 'language' taking advantage of the latest technology and digital sample instrumentation to create a stunning catchy number. Here, Techno Dance drum rhythms are successfully interwoven with sampled speech from the Amiga's Paula Chip and digital synthesis to propel a Steven Hawkins like prophecy of the future. Sometimes it takes a composer with insight to capture an MECHANICA it could be argued audiences imagination, with SPIRIT OF has produced a track which will undoubtedly encourage his listeners to take to the dance floor with that Bjorn Lynne this one? ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH FEAR 05:40 Mins As with all musical themes, the provision of an imaginary landscape is essential in order that the listener may venture on a journey into sound. With ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH FEAR Mr Lynne again successfully integrates a recognisable musical theme like that much practised by Vangelis in his film scores. Indeed, the rich and varied timbres and orchestrated synthesis communicate a sense of realisation that knowledge may be gained from the experience of fear itself. For most people they tend to avoid the concept of fear at all costs, but for Bjorn Lynne, his venture into this territory effectively signifies a coming to terms, an understanding with this knowledge of the darker side of our psyche and a revelation of the inner most surfaces of our imagination. It may be argued that rhythmic structuring is a carefully textured method since duration is the most fundamental musical characteristic, shared by both sound and silence. With ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH FEAR we are presented with a musical truth and of the significant endless possibilities of silence integrated with fully developed musical traditions of rhythmic patterns and synthesized orchestral musical exploration. 9. TRUTH OR SANITY, PART 1 02:02 mins Amother peice of work of allusive richness is of the old Faustian urge to use the past but TRUTH OR SANITY, PART 1, not out ut of the desire and the need to deal with realities whatever they may be. possibilities of liberation musically. There a Here we are presented with re unexpected ranges in the high and low registers, new harmonic splendours obta ined from the use of low octave percussion, the endless possibility of obt timbre, of sound combinations, new dynamics taining any differentiation of the present human power-orchestra, a sense of sound projected far beyond in space by means of sound samples emitted within the score, cross rhyth to each other, treated simultaneously, all of ims unrelated but yet related these are given a unit of measure in time and signify a versatile musical ambienc 10. A SECRET PLACE 04:34 mins The sound of running water, the curve of the h of a bird leave lasting impressions upon us. An it at all, one of these memories spills from us language. ression in This is particularly evident in 'A SE musica beautiful madrigal ballad containing emotional which speaks like a s and lyrical like musical poetry, opening as the peice does, with plucked nylon guitar and a haunting flute. jed piano, a gently In its exaltation, this peice speaks of retreats uaries, it contains a real passion which is contagious in revealing PLACE we all share in our imagination, what Carl Jung calls our SECRET PLACE will protect us from the violen unconsciousness". A postmodernist societies. Listening to this peice ent within our Western c is like becoming an absolute part of the present without forsaking a to forge a perception without precedent and without renouncing our leg he past; it reveals a soul in human nature, a SECRET PLACE where we over yet undreamed of wonders . 11. TRUTH OR SANITY, PART 2 02:36 mins Returning to the ambient environment expressed i PART 2 reaches further into the t 1, here TRUTH OR SANITY the expl accompanied by layered polyphonic synth instru n of realities. Again ion, but coupled with a deeper examination where particular emphasis is of the various low octave percussion signifying the darker tormented parts MONTAGE 08:02 ditional Folk themes and i As a composer, Bjorn Lynne appears interested in traditional Folk themes and in als in his work a profound penetrating the roots of this genre of music reveals in his work a profound celebration of the hegemony of cultural expression. on. For the largest and, indeed, the most valuable melodies lies in his use of the old Church modes, e of the old Church nodes which also shows the most varied and free rhythms and time changes. This hs and time changes. This montaging of Folk, Church, Orchestral and Rock together with tapestries of digital synthesis is nothing short of remarkable. Upon listening to MONTAGE one is presented with an introductory ballad theme which then merges with strings and oboe to produce a magical Folk tune. It doesn't stop there, as a bass guitar heralds a gradual build up to an amazing tight rhythmic section where all instruments play in ultimate unison. Montage then develops into a full-blown Orchestrated Rock score which communicates a characteristic effect of fusion between opposites but with the composition emerging also as a work of potent sound with coloured imagery juxtapositioned with regular drum pulses of sound and majestic polyphonic tones. These various themes inherent within MONTAGE are explored further when each section is returned to and welcomed like a true friend. MONTAGE , HEAD HELD HIGH (MONTAGE FINALE) 04:40 mins Beginning with a piano and orchestrated theme give orientation, a perspective to the aural experience, these function as signifiers in the unbounded space of this wonderful electronic universe of sound. Indeed, the emergence of the simple but effective rock drumming places the score upon a plateau for the fine control of rhythm made feasible here. Bjorn chooses his timbres with exquisite care, including the strange and grand, and complimenting digital polyphony so that this peice sounds rather like an exceptional versatile human orchestra conducted by a genius. Montage the CD is an attempt to synthesize or at least a bringing together of the most diverse styles with a single work which employs musical quotations from the past and present to bring a new age of synthesis and accentuation to the postmodernist condition of abundance and variety. With MONTAGE, Bjorn A. Lyne has presented us with a need for integration of styles from the past and present as a means of coming to terms with assimilation which can be the only route to a future utopia, social and aesthetic. As a demonstration of a new way for music to regain its communicative and spiritual powers, Bjorn Lynne has given us hope for the future and a means to escape musical mediocrity. As for colour, Bjorn Lynne is master of delicate orchestral shadings, and a pioneer in consistently making fresh sounding instrumentation an essential feature of his composition. Indeed, his music follows the path of a symphonic hanner in the 'Romantic' tradition, the logical development of ideas which gives the effect of a narrative. For Bjorn Lynne is a relayer of stories of personal emotion and with it the coherent linkage projected by both the conscious and the unconscious mind, its evocative images and elliptical moments a sphere of free imagination, of dream. Bjorn Lynne's music has the power to evoke as it will the improbable places, the unquestionable and chimerical world which works secretly on the mysterious poetry of the night, on those thousand anonymous sounds made when leaves are caressed by rays of the moon. In my opinion Bjorn A. Lynne's MONTAGE CD is a true revelation, an enigmatic source of inspiration and a wonder to us all. Written by Kevan R.Craft 12 Mount Road Halton Runcorn Cheshire. WA7 2BH. England. U.K. : +44 0928 563762
(.png)
