SATURNIA «THE GLITTER ODD»-CD Cranium Music 2001
Much happens in the space between two sounds.The vibrations of a theremin powered by dissonance of short, disperse effects can be perceived.Hints of percussion can be felt, in a reverberant ticket, congregating with the main rhythmic line while static drifts in the air.Pastoral landscapes where mythic beings give music to the surrounding nature or the course set to the unreachable hugeness of space -where the dominant black does not overshadow luminous galaxies or nebulaes of strong colors. Between two sounds, i said, dream can materialize in reality and reality can be dissolved in dream.The usually locked door that binds the two opens and, beneath, we look at the different realities as one only.
It is to this Sightseeing spot that Saturnia - project that gathers Luis Simões and Francisco rebelo (cool hipnoise`s bassist, who plays keyboards here) - yearn to take us.Without hypnoses, without H.G. Wells machines, al they have left, to make this journey sucessfull, are their instruments . As starting point, they take the legacy of "travellers" of the past - from the well known Pink Floyd, Gong, Amon DUUI or Hawkwind or «are-you-sure-that-exists?»The Aquarian Age or Ceylib People -, and in new dance floors, revealed not long ago, by the appearance of the electronic nation. Thus they arrived to "The Glitter Odd", a manual to use by contemporary or future dreamers. And thus we return to the beginning: much happens in the space between two sounds.Saturnia`s music is made of increasing involving that sucks the unatentive listener to its center, softly and inteligently. While melodies flow into new forms, while rhythms give place to new cadences, we follow the global sound mass without paying attention to the details.But they are there and, little by little, gain body and become constant discovery. This is exactly what happens in "Still Life" (...) wich, over the instrumental base, that works as a " continuous Ioop ", the apparition of a flute echoeing from an undefined origin is displayed.We watch the same landscape, but the eye moves.The drawn out feel of "Azimuth/Menadel" is a constant cinematic suggestion. At the begining, the minimal rhythm, almost tribal, to induce hypnosis; unescapable for the majesty of the organ and the whispered voice. The colors are dark and abandonment the reality, modified by the perception of the light. The world is rediscovered and its touchable beauty assumes form in the harmonious placidness that music begins to represent. Along with these two "steps", presented in "The Glitter Odd" as a way to reach "that" sightseeing spot that borders dream and reality, it could also be refered, complementarily, the space-rocker format (good "groove", of course), "Organo", or the mysterious ambiance of the title track, linked to H.P. Lovecraft, made of dissonant and sensitive gaming fed to momentous crescendos and escaping obscurities. When vinyl announces the end of "The Glitter Odd", perception changes and, in half-closed eyes, the room in suburban apartment, the cheap stereo, the cars returning from a day at work, the circumstance chats in the elevator, seem, definitively "bizarre".(7/10)
Blitz 23/10/2001Mário Lopes
