Deep Imagination: My Silent Celebration

German atmospheric, progressive, synth exponents Deep Imagination are one of those band-projects who seem to be creeping up onto the scene as they build their reputation and expand their appeal through a wholly sincere approach to their craft. Moody and… well… deep, are key words to describe what this act create, mainman Torsten Sudler-Mainz always offering up sounds that feel considered and thoughtful and this fifth album from his ever growing collective is no different. With nods to the synth masters of old, the approach here is much more intentionally laboured and arguably more interested in being progressive than the likes of Schulze, Jarre et al. However, for My Silent Celebration, Deep Imagination have possibly offered up their most song orientated beast to date.

Cuts such as “Stopping To Run� are prime examples of what MSC has up its sleeve, booming, sparse beats tolling out a base from which elastically sprawling soundscapes build fully formed worlds of melancholy. Here, occasional pings of guitar hint at Gilmour without ever having a momentary lapse of reason, and all the while being shaped by the space left between the sounds just as much as those sounds themselves. Notes are left to ring off into the distance - the feel that this music was created in dark surrounds of mystery hard to shake off.

Surprisingly though, vocals do play a strong part both here and elsewhere, but often as spoken scene setting automatons or layered textures that somehow disorientate as they calm the senses. It’s almost Spanish classical guitar that patters down like rain on the “Burning Sun�, a thirteen minute-plus excursion that climbs this album’s ever growing summit as it looks to traverse the tough terrain laid out. For no matter how smooth the sounds of this album can be - and at times they truly are - never once is there a moment where you can let slip your attention for fear of finding yourself lost in a different story from that you entered. It’s a theme on an ever evolving set that still adheres like glue and reveals a fully formed whole across the Jarre sparring with Vangelis as they meet Enya of “Entering The Temple� and altogether more jagged “In My Memory� (extended version) which surprises through its chanted voices.

I always class albums such as this as ‘mood music’ and yet, having followed Deep Imagination for many a year, it’s undoubtedly always a pleasant surprise that they always appear able to change my mood to their needs. That’s a rare ability to possess and a testament to the skill on show. So much so that there’s no doubt it has to be worthy of a silent celebration…

Track Listing
1. In My Memory
2. Longing For Peace
3. Coming From The Cold
4. Burning Sun
5. Stopping To Run
6. After The Glow
7. Entering The Temple
8. In My Memory

Added: November 28th 2020
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Deep Imagination online
Hits: 805
Language: english

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