'STRUCTURES' is the follow-up of the brilliant album 'SPECIES' and
contains - as the title suggests - more structured music. The Dutch duo
Harry Kessels and Gert van Santen possess the class to create exceptionally
intense electronic music that sounds very cinematic and at times even
bombastic. A part of this album (and of 'SPECIES') was performed live at the
Groove/Quantum Festival on October 30 and the Alpha Centauri Festival on
March 25. A track like 'The Mountain', with van Santen playing an electronic
flute, is characterized by magnificent passages with beautiful sounds and
effects. The same is true for 'Structures I' (both tracks were recorded live
on October 30), where Kessels plays the Theremin. But it's not all ambient;
this time there's more rhythm. Because of the sequences, and the guitar solo
in 'Structures II', the album also breathes the atmosphere of the
traditional electronic music of Tangerine Dream. 'Dimensions' also features
Steve Roach-like rhythm patterns. Nevertheless, Wave World has a very
individual sound that is also fantastic without the images. This cries for
more!
Paul Rijkens for IO Pages
Wave World - Structures - review
"A mesmerizing deep trance electronic filmscore from the Netherlands,
but without the film. Or at least, the film isn't out yet. Structures
and its companion CD, Species, are part of the soundtrack of the
Wave World multimedia show, which also includes computer-generated
graphics of alien landscapes and exotic creatures. Three of the long,
free-flowing tracks on Structures are in fact live synth/sampler improvisations
from the show. The spectacular graphics (a few examples are included in the CD booklet)
owe more than a little to Tobyn and Rand Miller's Myst and Riven CD-ROM
games, and the music evokes the same sense of timeless spaciousness and mystery.
Shimmering effects and wind noises cascade around plucky synth
riffs, gorgeous metallophones, and sinuous pseudo-Oriental melodies.
A Klaus Schulze influence is detectable too, but Wave World uses a little less
rock energy than Schulze. Sometimes they get going pretty hot, but then they bring
it back down. Kudos to Harry Kessels, Gert van Santen, and Rolf
van Slooten, for following though on their vision, and for finding some fresh ways
to use technology in the service of art. I'll be checking the Wave
World website (www.waveworld.tv) to find out when their
show makes it out to my part of the globe."
Jim Aikin in 'Keyboard', U.S.A., March 2001
