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BLAKE'S NEW JERUSALEM
Tim Blake is one of the, often overlooked, early masters of New Age Synthesiser music.
His early accomplishments mark him out as a great innovator in his field and puts him up with the likes of Jean Michelle Jarre. In his career he has worked with bands such as Gong, Hawkwind and Steve Hillage and there are aspects of all of these in his solo work.
I first heard 'New Jerusalem' way back, in 1978/9, when it was first released on vinyl, and I was delighted to find that a re-release on CD, in 1992, was still available.
Although short by modern standards, with five tracks playing for just under 40 minutes, this is a very atmospheric piece that is worthy of closer attention.
The first track, 'Song for a New Age', opens with acoustic guitar work which continues throughout, playing to a backdrop of moog sounds with vocals provided by Tim Blake.
This is followed by an excellent rendition of 'Lighthouse', written by Blake but known to many as a Hawkwind song - I have heard many versions of this particular track, but this has got to be my all time favourite. The use of synthesisers and vocal effects at the beginning of the track really places it in the outer space setting.
Next comes 'Generator (Laserbeam)' which is a much weaker track, the vocals have a very nasal quality which detract from its appeal when compared to the rest of the album, however at 3:34 (the shortest track on the
album) it's livable with! 'Passage Sur La Cite De La Revelation' is the fourth track, this is a purely instrumental piece and is superbly effective.
Finally, we come to the title track of the album 'Blake's New Jerusalem', based on (and in fact using lines from) the poem 'Jerusalem' by William Blake!
The introduction to this track is beautifully evocative, starting quietly with a repeating pattern than just builds up and up - it's very hypnotic, seeming to flow over you and carry you along like a river; sometimes fast, sometimes swirling slowly around, but always with an insistent driving energy pushing it forwards and keeping it moving. The vocal content is kept to a minimum, thus enhancing the overall mood rather than intruding upon it. This is a real masterpiece and turned out to be every bit as good as I remembered it from all that time ago!
Over twenty years on, from its original conception, this album is, perhaps, something of a cliché.
Certainly, it could be tagged 'hippy' music by those who don't trouble to take the work in context. However, the fact remains that if you like this kind of music, or if you don't, it paved the way for much that came later in the rock and progressive world and, as such, I can recommend it as an addition to the collection of any serious keyboard lovers.
Simon 06/07/1999
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CRYSTAL MACHINE
Tim Blake first met Patrice Werrener, the French light show artist back in 1971 and, after Tim departed company with Gong in 1975, the two of them got together to form 'Crystal Machine' - pioneers in the field of
performing electronic music to stunning light shows which included the first ever use of lasers.
The 'Crystal Machine' was originally released back in 1977, which explains the run time of just under 40 minutes,
while the first CD version become available on the Mantra label in 1992. The five tracks featured were recorded live; some from the Seasalter Free Festival held in England in 1976 which, incidentally, was the first show Crystal Machine put on outside France, and other tracks from a performance at Le Palace Theatre in Paris in 1977.
Musically this album is nowhere near as complex as Tim's subsequent release, 'New Jerusalem', but it does set the scene for what was to follow by laying down some strong foundations. The dominating feature of
the music comes from the use of various synthesizers, with slowly developing soundscapes created by solid supporting backdrops against which different themes are allowed to grow, blossom and fade away. The
resulting sound is both hypnotic and relaxing as the music exudes a sense of gradual yet continual change and evolution.
The nature of the music on this CD means that while there is a degree of similarity between the various pieces, there is also sufficient diversity to hold the interest of the listener. The album begins well
with 'Midnight', which is a strong opener with its persistent themes and a good underlying bass rhythms.
In contrast I found 'Metro/Logic' to be a slightly more quirky number which seems to have a less coherent structure. During this track there are a number of percussive elements that are very much in evidence, and after a while I actually found this track to be mildly irritating.
Next up comes the oddly titled 'Last Ride of the Boogie Child', which is the only track to feature any vocal content, although sadly this is very limited and is slightly drowned by the synth work in places.
Musically this is much stronger than what has gone before, and the development of the piece as it progresses is more in evidence. The track fades out at the end rather than working towards a more powerful finish and, although my initial reaction was that this should not have been the case, I have found over time that I like this track as it is!
The major work on the album is without a doubt 'Synthese Intemporel' and not simply because of its run time at just over fifteen minutes.
The track has a slightly more uptempo feel and there is an urgency about the music it that is curiously offset by the pulsating repeating rhythms that form the background. Change is all around from beginning to end and there is continual movement in the force of the shifting foreground themes. This is a definite favourite of mine and certainly ranks as one of Blake's finest pieces.
Finally we come to the closing track 'Crystal Presence' which is the shortest at just over two minutes.
The track does not really offer much here in the way of a tune, consisting more of a series of oscillating synth sweeps, but nonetheless it offers quite an effective close to the album.
In many ways this is a hard album to sum up.
These tracks were meant to be played against a full light show, and therefore this CD only constitutes part of the intended sound/light experience. However, what remains on offer is still bound to please fans of synthesizer music and, as such, the offering is a worthwhile one. If you are already familiar with Blake's work this is certainly a CD you will want to have in your collection, for the uninitiated however I would suggest starting out with 'New Jerusalem' and then come back for this one.
Simon 24th November 2000
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THE TIDE OF THE CENTURY
Following the release of 'New Jerusalem' in 1978, Tim Blake spent a short while working with Hawkwind before entering a long period of silence which remained virtually unbroken until the release of his 'Magick' album
in 1991 - an album with which Tim himself was not entirely happy. Since then he has made a number of live appearances, several of them with Gong, with whom he first played back in the early seventies.
Perhaps more notably Tim Blake headlined the Alpha Centari Festival in Holland last year where he played some of the material from 'Tide of the Century', which was very well received.
Now with the release of this, his fourth studio album, the master is well and truly back. Tim has said of 'Tide of the Century' that he feels he has finally acheieved "..the logical follow on to 'Blake's
New Jerusalem'", and this certainly seems to be the case. Here we have a suite of songs that seem to pick up effortlessly from his second album, showing much of his old style while at the same time
displaying a new found sense of maturity.
The opening track 'Nature L' starts with a strong bass rhythm which really sets the tone and forms a solid backdrop against which the synth part is set. There is a trance like mood to the track and it is only
when you start to listen beyond the obvious bass foreground that you notice the tremendous amount of variance in the keyboard passages. The inclusion of synthesised almost robotic voices adds to the atmosphere
of the track.
The following two tracks, 'The Tide of the Century' and 'St. Dolay', are, for me, the truly outstanding pieces on the album.
Both are stunningly beautiful pieces which, while uplifting, are at the same time imbued with an air of sadness. The music is full of feeling and comes across with a burning intensity.
'Tide of the Century' opens with a quiet piano passage which slowly builds as the percussion starts to come in, then descending synth patterns are dropped in just ahead of the onset of the vocal section.
In fact, the vocal timbre of entire song is truly uplifting, never more so than in the chorus's where one can sense that this is indeed a worthy successor to 'New Jerusalem'. Between the vocal sections the instrumentation expands, constantly exploring new avenues and, as in the first track, one has to listen beyond the foreground sound to realise just how many layers are at work.
'St. Dolay' is to my mind equally edifying, but the approach here is very very different.
The song is based primarily around piano and Blake's vocals. There is a stark honesty about the track that really seems to hit home, the vocals being sung with a passion that seems to draw the listener in. There is a brief synthesiser passage in the mid section which, although short, is well developed and it contrasts well with the passages on either side.
After the fervour of the preceeding tracks the mood lightens a little with 'Crystal Island' which is altogether more easy going. The tempo is more upbeat, and the keyboard activity is somewhat more
lively, while Blake's vocals also take on a different feel. Delivered in a strange half-spoken, half-sung manner, that track is given a slightly dreamy quality (which I guess is in keeping with the lyrics).
Additional vocals from Christine and Marie-Annie Vitard during the chorus are also worthy of mention.
Next up we have a purely instrumental track called 'Byzantium Dancing', which at just over nine minutes is the longest track on the album, and is another of Blake's masterstrokes. Tim is joined on this piece by
'Stof' Kovacs on analog synths and Min Tse Chou who plays guitars as well as providing additional programming, and together they put on a strong performance.
The track is one that evolves as it progresses, and although at times the change may seem slow, it is continual and unrelenting. Again there is a hypnotic quality to the track, produced by the powerful pulsing rhythms that the music generates. By the latter part of the song the music flows quite freely and has a quite european quality to it that is very enjoyable.
'Sarajevo (Remember)' is not only very much an anti-war song, but also a song very much of hope for the future.
The tone of the piece has a very miltary feel to it, with its solid percussive beat. There is not much in the way of real variation through the track, but both the opening and the run up to the ending with the sounds of bagpipes singing out is a nice touch ... a well delivered song with a powerful message.
The final track on the album is 'Tribulations', which is firmly entrenched in the reggae style. Despite feeling it was somewhat out of place on first hearing, with subsequent hearings I found that the track is
not actually as alien as I first thought.
In fact the fusion of reggae with ambient music works exceptionally well and the inclusion of spoken vocals from Loys Kerhoas gives an added warmth and sense of vibrancy to the track.
Having been one of the true pioneers of early synthesiser music, Tim Blake has at last bounced back with a great album.
If you have enjoyed any of Blake's earlier works then be aware that this one has to be his crowning achievement to date. For any readers who are not already in the know, but who enjoy synth based or New Age Progressive music, then this one is an absolute must - highly recommended.
Simon 22nd October 2000
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