UPLIFTING SOUNDS OF SUN KISSED SPLENDOR
August 2003
TOBY – JOURNEY BEYOND THE SUN
Keenly anticipated and much lauded on the premise of his earlier
releases, Toby’s debut long player is finally here. What he has often
described will be a musical journey starts with a brief intro that hints
at just a fraction of what is to come. That begins with Twist, which,
despite entrenched in familiar electronic layers, carries itself over a
laidback melodic guitar hook, which may, understandably, seem like
significantly unusual terrain to those accustomed to Toby’s dancefloor-orientated
tunes. Velvet Skies, featuring Shaun Grech of Syrup on vocals, bridges
the gap, blending sweeping keyboard chords with hints of Balearic grace.
This same Balearic feeling turns out to be a strong presence throughout
the album, boosting the more upbeat tunes and layering the chilled cuts.
Higher, for example, has been reworked to lift its fragile melody over
the mildly pulsating rhythms that drive the song. Similarly, Imagine,
takes this a step further, upping the b.p.m.’s slightly to add its
dancefloor appeal, and pushed by infectious, uplifting synth chords
along the way. New single Waves Of Emotion, retains this uplifting vibe
but infuses breakbeats into the mix, making the tune one of the standout
tracks on the album.
Next up are the familiar strains of I Don’t Want Your Love, giving way
to Coryse Borg’s vocals. Layered over Toby’s fusion of house and trance,
the catchy vocal line makes it easy to understand why this is such a
radio and club favourite. Ditching further vocal interplay, Soundproof
Spindle (great name for a tune, by the way!) opts for some 303
inflections instead, paving the way for a ultra-catchy tune, which if
translated in visual terms, would be nothing short of glorious
technicolour! Sunscape again brings in the vocal aspect, courtesy of
Jotham of Scream Daisy. The song is a potential single, nudging along a
house groove with more than a dash of revisited 80s splendour about it.
With On The Shore, one of his early productions, and like all of his
previous releases, revamped for the album, Toby retains the Chicane
references, opting instead to emphasise the soaring melody that
dominates the music. The next two tracks, Do What You Wanna Do
(featuring Sue Roseworth on vocals) and Forever, see Toby delving deeper
into his multi-layered fusion of house and trance, even slipping in
subtle funky and breakbeat undertones along the way. The official
closing track, A New Dawn, again featuring Coryse Borg on vocals comes
from the same mould – another potential single perhaps?
And before signing off, Toby gives us not one, but two bonus cuts. The
first is his remix of Scream Daisy’s Talking To Myself, which actually
presents a harder edge to the style usually associated with Toby. The
other is his own club re-edit of recent single Waves Of Emotion - a neat
touch to round off a highly uplifting collection of tunes! Journey
Beyond The Sun was recorded and mastered by Gavin Borg at Vagabond
Recordings.
Read our June 2003 feature on Toby here!
Recommended weblink: www.tobymusic.net
