Coral Cave Blue Sunlight

The third Coral Cave CD. This band has become popular because of their very accessible style of EM, which has invited comparisons to late 80's Tangerine Dream. 'Blue Sunlight' consists of the 10 part 'The Last Dolphin', which takes up over 40 minutes of the album, penned by Tilo Voigthaus. A trio of pieces written by Erik Matheison close the album. Christian Seebach's poem called 'The Last Dolphin' is included in the sleevenotes, though I'm unsure whether the music inspired the poem or vica versa. Either way there is no doubt about the merits of this 10 part work. Opening with luscious chords and aqueous effects, the track gathers pace into part 2. The melody is stylish and the bass lines are particularly impressive, though the sampled voice (Christian Seebach himself I believe) is a bit lack-lustre and used too often. He delivers the poem well enough in part 3 however, backed by more watery effects (I keep expecting the aquaphibian from Stingray to make an appearance). Part 5 is an confident piece which again airs a strong bass line and simple but effective melodics, all bound together by some great synth pads which really are a feature of this album. By part 7 you realise that the whole track is based on similar themes and sequences approached from different angles, but it's testament to the expertise with which its been tackled that it never becomes tiresome. Part 8 especially reminds me of Waveform's laid back style of EM, and parts 9 and 10 really round the piece off in fine form with some pleasing synthesised voicings. 'Hunting Sharks' has a tough act to follow, but builds well utilising orchestral touches to accompany a contemporary rhythm. 'Diving Deeper' continues and if anything improves on the standard already set. Beautiful synth washes, driving sequences and a decent lead melody. 'Glowing Corals (The Emotion Rhapsody Part II)' ends with poignant piano and synth strings backed by sea spray and gulls. Coral Cave have come up with a pleasing album here. People looking for esoteric and challenging sounds may be disappointed, but anyone seeking accessible and melodic EM in the same vein as Brainwork, Waveform and (at times) Glynn Lloyd Jones should give this a try. (GG)

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