a few weeks ago i clicked on a link and started reading a great article by simon reynolds, the final frontier : the analogue synth gods of the 1970s, ( article : here ) that delves into the world of electronic music with mentions of tangerine dream, jean-michel jarre and other such aural interstellar adventurers.
it was while i was reading the article that i picked up this album from the pile, dropped it into the player, and revelled in the unexpected vangelis styled instrumentals that poured out of the soundsystem.
inspired by the words of a 12 year old japanese girl, sadako sasaki, who died after suffering the efffects of the h bomb :
‘i shall write peace upon your wings, and you shall fly around the world’.
the paper crane became a symbol of peace, and it was this story that inspired the creation of the album.
all of which means that a thousand paper cranes is a old fashioned concept album as per many of those mentioned in the article.
the synchronicity was rather spooky to say the least given that, beyond the realm of new age ambient gumph that you can pick up in your local garden centre, there seems to be a definite lack of story based space age instrumentals doing the rounds in 2009.
of course, there is the nu-balearic groove by such people as lindstrom, that underlines drawn out instrumentals with a more upfront dancefloor vibe, but the music created by r simeon bowring is of a different nature altogether.
after all, according to his myspace page, the influences are described as :
talk talk, japan, david sylvian, steve reich, vangelis, mark isham, michael nyman, phillip glass, stockhausen, brian eno, ennio morriconi, ryuichi sakamoto, thomas talis, wendy carlos, wim mertens, john barry, maurice jarre, sir william walton, tangerine dream
if that doesn’t get your demand for prog styled electronic music on the up, then nothing will.
slow motion melodies soar, banks of sweeping synths and pianos are meticulously layered, treated atmospherics provide the ear candy, and acoustic beauty is never far away from the listeners ears.
epic. ambitious. widescreen. cinematic.
excellent.
more detail : here