FEATURED ARTIST: CONSTANCE DEMBY
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Spirit Trance CD
New studio album made up of previously unreleased tracks from two films plus new mixes of two early tracks - and it's just wonderful!!! Full of sweeping strings, rippling piano chords, endless miles of deep, rich, soaring, resonant synth textures and layers, this is music to melt the iciest of hearts. With tracks between six and nearly ten minutes in length, you'll delight to hear a set of the most gorgeous sounds, that are essentially music for space rather than space music, as angelic chords, high-flying backdrops and positively galaxian electronic horizons, cruise into view on a trip that takes you to the stars and beyond. Warm, deep, comfortable, yet solid and strong, produced to perfection, and surrounding you in a cocoon of synth music splendour, as synths, keys, occasional choral voices and deep bass textures all provide the soundtrack to the ultimate space movie in your mind. This is quite stunning and one that can't fail to move you every time you play it, so full of atmosphere, so lovingly composed and played and a joy from tart to finish.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Sanctum Sanctorum CD
What's the phrase - 'you know quality when you hear it' - well, if that's true then the opening minute of this album herald a quality the likes of which you will rarely hear on a synth music album. One immensely pleasurable, glorious sounding string/bass synth soundscape begins while over the top is added a gorgeous lead synth line and the most joyous choral refrain as the piece stops you in your tracks with its sheer, almost overwhelming beauty. But if that didn't get you, the next one is so spiritual that, if tears don't begin to well up in your eyes, you have no feelings at all, for this is the sound of heaven - church music like never before. A galaxian string synth lead of gorgeous, emotive yet delicate qualities, rises up to fill the space inside and outside your head, while the male-female Gregorian choir-like refrains on top just add to the amazing strength and serenity of it all, putting you both at ease and utterly in awe of the music that you are hearing. It really is almost overwhelming, but one of the most beautiful musical experiences I think I've ever heard in this genre, thirteen minutes of absolute inner bliss. I wish I had the space here to go into more detail about he following four tracks, but believe me when I say that they follow a similar path to the first two, both spiritually, sonically and emotionally, with some of the most glorious heavenly celestial synth music and the kind of choral layers that sound like nothing else in creation. All I can say is that, when I die, if this isn't played at the funeral, then questions will be asked. For now, let me bask in its glories, for there is a lot of music out there to be lived, but few that truly touch the soul - this is one of the few.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Attunement CD
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Faces Of The Christ CD
It's been a long while since we heard from one of the leading female synth musicians (actually so much more than just a synth musician) of the eighties and early nineties, whose album "Novus Magnificat" can lay claim to be one of the finest USA synth music albums of the eighties, and yet whose repertoire of music could also encompass more ethnic or acoustic meditative/rhythmic scenarios. Now, for 2001, she's come up with not one, but two brand new albums and they are both equally worthy of the description 'classic'.
On the surface, "Faces" is the more immediate album, being one near hour-long track of cosmic/space music distilled to its purest essence, but with so much more in its layered splendours than the musician's description of being 'good for meditation or background atmosphere' would have you believe. It's the sort of music that crosses all the boundaries between dark and light without losing any listeners at either extreme end of the space music spectrum. Realized purely on synths and electronics, this is the sound of the universe calling as you are transfixed by something you don't understand and yet are in absolute awe of hearing. It needs no more than for you to buy it, play it and be spellbound, for that is surely what will happen.
"Attunement" is more varied, in the sense that there are more textures and layers to the music and the fact that there are tracks ranging from three to nearly fifteen minutes in length, will testify to this. However, if you take time to listen to it as a whole piece, in one sitting, you will realise the majesty and grandeur, the feel and atmosphere, the playing and composing talent - in fact the very heart and soul - of a master musician at work. The opening fourteen minute track is one of the finest of her career to date, as the scene is set with glorious synths and textures flying all around, making you believe that there's a real group at work and not just one person, the clarity of sound and production, as on the other album, being second to none. Track eight, with its lead organ sound, is one of the most gorgeous such compositions you'll hear, and for those of a religious bent, I can but liken it to that feel you had as a child when, at the end of a service, you would file out of the building to the strains of, not a tune, but just some blissful music that would somehow strike a chord in your heart, something that stays with you and is re-awakened here. The rest of the album is both multi-layered, cohesive and consistent, and really you end up warming as much to the delights of this as the previous one, and I get the feeling that this will be the one that will see the more activity on my player in the long-term as a sit-down, serious-listening affair, a voyage through space and time that's as good as it gets.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Light Of This World - The Best Of Constance Demby CD
As the sleeve indicates, 'a compilation showcasing thirteen pieces from albums recorded since 1978', and in it you will find the entire universe of this musician with space music, ethnic touches, heavenly vocals, orchestral synths, cosmic synths, harps and zithers, percussion and electronics all illustrating the breadth and depth of this musician's talents, and as fine a place as any to start to get into the wide range of music she is capable of producing.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Set Free - Definitive Edition CD
Originally, from '89, this is a 32 bit remastered reissue, complete with one bonus track, of her instrumental album that showcases a variety of styles within the synth space music genre, opening with a pastoral symphonic track that could almost have been a cross between Synergy & Synchestra, while track two is altogether more ethno-ambient in many ways, with sprightly melodies from percussion and wordless heavenly vocals overhead in the distance. Track three is different yet again, with more of an anthemic feel as orchestral sounding synths create melodies and tunes, again almost classical in feel, but surprisingly uplifting for that. The story of the album overall is one of deep, rich, warm and symphonic melodic space music that possesses a textural quality of quite celestial proportions, and a highly recommended release for those that like their space music on the lighter, more melodic side.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Skies Above Skies CD
An album of 'devotional songs' which has more instrumental space than you might think from such a title, with a more electronic feel than yuo might think, but overall it's pretty much a mix of melodic, meditative and shimmering as acoustic and electronic instruments back her, admittedly quite beautiful, voice, all very well if you're in the right frame of mind for this sort of thing, but not as much for your everyday listening as the others reviewed here.
CONSTANCE DEMBY: Sunborne CD
When she gets into cosmic mode, there's few finer when it comes to the more celestial and sparkling end of the space music spectrum. With more fire down below than most who inhabit this area of music, she creates, develops expands some of the most gorgeous layers of electronic music, with a feel that illustrates her '80's beginnings in the American space synth fraternity to stunning effect. This album, one of her most underrated works, features five tracks over 47 minutes, the first two of which consist entirely of flowing cosmic synth textures and melodic cascades, while for track three, she adds acoustic percussion, harp-like sounds and rippling strings, as her beautiful voice soars overhead in spectacular fashion, creating a sort of eastern-tinged ambience that was actually ahead of its time when it first came out. The 14 minute fourth track takes the previous as a spacey template, adds more synth, takes away the acoustic touches in the main, but around the ten minute point, the spell is broken as the drums and a light sequencer rhythm kick in, lead synths swirl around the mix and, around the eleven minute point the final touch is added as her light and airy vocal flies on top of the rising layers of electronics, piano, drums and synths, all highly emotive and quite delicious.
