Various Artists Syntonic Waves Vol 9 Play:   56K Dialup   Broadband   Download:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track 'Joh & Marvin / Bedrock')

" Life's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna' get……". A profound statement indeed from one Forest Gump, proving once more that he really was an imbecile!! Chocolates are easy Gump you moron!! They even give you pictures and descriptions on the box, learn to read you hillbilly!!

No, in fact if you never "really" know what you're gonna' get out of life, then you're probably one of those people who are perpetually on the lookout for something new and different to spice up your everyday existence. Apply that analogy to your average SMDer and here it is thrill seekers, a collection from Spheric Music that's a real mixed bag of goodies – prepare to be amazed. And of course, as you're all aware – with compilations, you never really know what you're gonna' get with these things. Lets give it a spin and see what hidden gems lie within.

14 tracks by artists new and old. Some you'll know, many you won't. Tracks averaging approximately 4 to 6 minutes each leaves me a lot of ground to cover with this one, so l'll crack straight on with it:-

Skylanders 'Strange Heart'(4.36) is first up sounding suspiciously like Ian Boddy in upbeat mode around the time he recorded 'Drive'. 'Hold Your Head High'(3.55) by startle b, has a wonderful sounding electric piano throughout with a great laid back groove comprising some nice dry acoustic drums and a wickedly funky rhythm guitar.

'Nachdenken' by Miroslaw Mirocha(3.25) sounds like it came straight off one of Mark Shreeve's Bruton library CD's. Very pop, very melodic. 'Bedrock' by Joh & Marvin(4.48) hit a chord with me straight away. Think Froeses 'Pinnacles' album meets the TD 'Flashpoint' soundtrack. The clay drums used in the piece have a real energy/ ambience about them.

'Sinusrhythmus v1.0' by Christian Zander(3.50) walks an uneasy tightrope between symphonic synth greatness and contemporary urban drum loops. Descon-Mission's 'Memories'(5.58) instantly reminded me of work by Tranzit, you'll love the finale of the piece with it's massively phased vox/choirs.

'Watching TV' by Alien VS(5.27) break all the rules here opening up with a sample of George W Bushes current media rhetoric,( very naughty – music and politics!!!) before lunging into some Kraftwerkesque soloing over a light sequence before returning an anti-war message of their own, only this time kept at a more sublime level.

'Follow Me' by Reuter/Nies(4.50) is a bouncy little sequence which bubbles its way through this studio live piece whilst the sound of a fat analogue synth screams a solo over the top with varying degrees of added filter. All very retro!!

'Le Reve Numerique 22' by Liese & Kopper(6.15). Rather weird is this one. We get seventies TD sequencing with somebody about to start playing the 'Sorcerer' theme, only on a synth that sounds like it should be doing the strings on Kraftwerks 'Trans-Europe Express' just before we get a hint of a Jarre 'Equinox' melody all in the space of one solo,( can't say these guys don't give value for money!!).

'Trance Move' by Lambert Ringlage(4.00) Straight in with a ballsy rhythm, percussion etc. Very euro-pop, but kinda looses its way at the halfway mark relying alittle too much on arpeggiators. 'Desert' by Bay(8.52) is as long as tracks get on this CD. An early sequence giving way to a melancholy cello sound and atmospheric's. Synthetic percussion adds weight to the serenity before a sudden change of key and all manner of strangeness ensues . All very cinematic.

Dayflight's 'City Night'(6.51) returns us to a very contemporary feel of beats and light synth, but seems to lack any real depth. 'Kleiner Tiergarten' by Traumklang(6.50) Its white noise swooshes and very obvious Frank Klare sequencing leads us into a piece that seems to have the two musicians involved fighting to take the honours on this one as the improvisations take shape. 'Die Plage' by Ralf Weiden(3.24) rounds things off with abit of symphonic synth. All very bombastic, but well orchestrated.

And there you have it. All things considered – a pretty fine CD. Certainly one with many highs and hardly any lows. To paraphrase Mr Gump once more, "You never know what you're gonna' get", which in this case is half the reward when you do turn up some corking little tracks,( as you will here).