"A recommended release"
I received this CD in the mail a couple of weeks ago and have been listening to it on and off since then. I think this is the first CD from Psicodreamics aka Salva Moreno that has been reviewed here on Ambient Visions so for some readers this will be an introduction of sorts. And what makes this introduction all the better still is that this is a compilation CD that showcases Salva's efforts in the ambient-space music genres so the focus is strictly on the music that Salva has created that falls under this heading. The content on this collection shows that Salva went through his music carefully finding the music that would make this a fairly homogenzied grouping of compositions that will not disappoint the listeners who decide to pick up a copy of this CD.
There is a cinematic feel to much of Psicodreamics music that works well with what he is presenting in terms of compositions. There are some light and airy pieces that function as backgrounds allowing the listener to drift along with the music and there are some darker pieces as well that pull you out of your comfort zone and transport you into more of a dramatic world that while not keeping you on the edge of your seat will at least bring your mind back from drifting and focus it on the edgier aspects of his music.
Salva is not afraid to mix beats and rhythms into his music and yet even when he does so for example on track 4 which is called Labyrinth of Seduction he is still able to maintain the spacier aspects of the composition in the background with the synths which still manages to give the song an overall feeling of peacefulness and wide open spaces. One of my favorite ambient feeling pieces is track 2 called A Heaven in Your Eyes which throughout the song maintains a very ethereal motif with the sound of wind chimes tinkling from beginning to end while the synths ebb and flow over the listener. This one song illustrates the potential Psicodreamics has for producing some first class ambient CD's and that says to me that Salva still has a lot to say with his music via these types of creative efforts.
As you would expect from any collection made up of music from various points in an artist's overall career the road is not completely smooth but by making the choices that he did in selecting the songs on this CD Salva has done well in keeping the jarring shifts to a minimum allowing the listener to move from song to song and feel like they were meant to be together. The notes on Salva's website states that the songs were remastered during the process of creating this collection and it shows in that you don't feel like the pieces were recorded at various times using different equipment which is sometimes the case for material that was created further back in an artist's career.
Over all I would say that this CD makes a fine introduction to the work of Salva Moreno aka Psicodreamics and will encourage you to check out the CD's where these songs came from. No collection of music is perfect and this one is no exception with track 7 called On the Shores of Hell being the weak link of this collection. I don't particularly care for the vocals on this track and the music is just not my cup of tea. That being said I think that the CD has a lot to offer the listener who has just run across Psicodreamic's music and wants to see what he is all about. His music is all about storytelling and most of the CD's that the music came from had an overarching theme that tied the songs together so listening to the songs in their original context might shed more light on the song itself. Salva is a very capable composer and his enigmatic style of music deftly blends both the dramatic/cinematic styles of music with the more atmospheric elements that show up throughout this CD. A recommended release.
Ambient Visions e-zine by Michael Foster (editor of AV)
Read the original review here
