As one
who devotes so much time to delivering music to the world, it is good
to see radio show host, reviewer and concert producer Chuck van Zyl also
spending time at being an Electronic Musician. His release "Rituals"
(57'01") is one of Spacemusic's sonic miracles. An album with
incomparable penetration Rituals is so alluring and ingenious that
listeners will find its atmosphere of cosmic yearning on an equal level
with that of its ceaseless sonic invention. The mood and message of this
third volume extends the trajectory of his two previous CDs. While
"MemorySpace" (2010) and "Cenotaph" (2012) took two years each to
conceive, concertize, record and produce, "Rituals" (2014) took just two
weeks. Using modular systems, a variety of modern analog synthesizers
and sequencers and operating at an emotional and enthusiastic pitch, van
Zyl realizes music that possesses as much the buzz and crackle of
electricity as it does the frigid black of space. From his instrument's
storm force of sound comes delightful throbbing bass lines, echo-warping
chimes and a mystery machine pulse, against which van Zyl sways and
plays Rhodes piano, synth strings, Mellotron choir and full-blooded
melodies. Staccato synthesizer blips interlock and pound out mighty
sequencer patterns, yet this mechanical rigidity is somehow softened -
as lines of dancing arpeggios pump up against tuneful leads and ethereal
harmonic progressions. Disarmingly quiet passages reduce the level of
density and energy with insinuating modulations and vaporous aural
forces. "Rituals" pushes and pulls itself, expands and contracts, and
manages to establish an interesting contour through various scenarios
and scenes... to attain a rare unity. Offering vivid synthesized
sonorities the appeal lies in its minimalist values and in this
musician's ability to create an intimate and absorbing listening
experience. As with albums by Arc and Redshift "Rituals" has an
immediacy that can overwhelm, yet its cosmic beauty is easily
experienced over and over. The creative act is the one defense against
the ruin of the world. Singing the mental electric with an inventive
sonic flair Chuck van Zyl makes music that fills up the empty spaces and
places of life. Embracing the early-day attitudes of the Kosmische
Musik movement, he transcends them - elevating the most familiar themes
to another sphere. Anyone in love with Spacemusic and its very specific
poetry will want to hear this recording.
English