An astonishing debut from CALLISTO! Rates right alongside t
Jeffery K. Matheus | Indianapolis, IN United States | 02/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Once in a while you discover an artist or album that takes you completely by surprize. For me, this was one such album! I'm a huge fan of veteran artists like Kitaro, Tangerine Dream and Patrick O'Hearn, and over the last year or so I've been trying to discover new, exciting, younger artists in that same field of instrumental synthesizer music. Sadly, my search has mostly turned up a lot of duds! Much of the "new age music" being released today is either far too sparse and minimalistic and for my tastes (i.e. Ray, Liquid Mind), or includes operatic and/or "wordless" vocals (i.e. - Amethystium, Aria), something that sort of defeats the whole purpose of buying instrumental music - don't you think?? : ) I also found a lot of ambient "space music" (i.e Between Interval, John Serrie), but most of it lacks the very things I loved most about the early electronic pioneers - namely melody and structure!...Well, I was just about to give up on finding any great new synthesizer artists, and was even contemplating moving to desert island with my Kitaro collection, when I found an interesting-looking CD in the "used" section of a local record store. The CD was CALLISTO's "Signal to the Stars". I had never heard of the group, but after looking over the track titles, and reading through the insert booklet, I decided that for only $5.99 I should at least give this band a chance. Later I popped the CD into my player and strapped on the headphones, not knowing if I was in for a gem, or yet another dud. All I could say after the CD finished was "WOW! Now THIS is the kind of music I've been looking for!!!"...Born in 2004, Callisto is a UK-based duo comprised of keyboardists/composers David Wright and Dave Massey, both of whom maintain their own solo careers, as well as serving as members of the popular electronic group Code Indigo. According to the liner notes, their collaboration as "Callisto" began when the two Davids found themselves with some strong leftover material that just didn't fit in with another project they were working on - material that was inspired by their common love of artists like Vangelis, TD, Klaus Schulze, & Jean Michel Jarre. The music here does indeed show those influences, but it's much, MUCH more than a clone-like "tribute" to any of these artists. Rather, Callisto interprets the influneces of their musical heroes with a more updated, contemporary array of synth & percussion sounds - and there is something in their compositional style that displays a lot of creative ingeninuity all their own. The 5 featured tracks, often divided into multi-part movements, all have an "epic" scope to them, and allow plenty of room for the musicians to breathe and show their wares. One thing that stands out immediately is that these guys know how to write strong, memorable melodies, and then back those melodies with rich arrangements full of detail and nuance (something that is totally lacking in some of the more "minimalist" genre artists.) There is also a healthy amount of variation in terms of mood, tempoes, and synth sounds/styles - from plantive piano, to percussive "Berlin school"-style backdrops, to lush symphonic flourishes! I also find that there is something in Wright & Massey's keyboard playing that is very distinctive - in particular, a spontaneous, very "human" feel to the synth solos. Although sequencers are used, this does not feel like overly-"programmed" electronic music at all!...With over 69 minutes of music, this album certainly gives buyers their moneys-worth. But even better yet is that fact that it holds the listeners rapt attention for its entire duration - or at least that's what it does for me. I quite honestly like every track here, so it's hard to pick any stand-outs, but if I was hard-pressed I would say that "Setisphere", in just under 17 minutes of running time, nicely sums up everything that is great about this duo, while "Iosphere" contains a main theme/arrangemnt of such haunting beauty that, once heard, it will not be forgotten!...All in all, if you love melodic electronic music, this album is not to be missed! In fact, I would say that this album rates right alongside some of the finest artists & albums of the entire electronic genre (and certainly beats the pants off of Tangerine Dream's recent "Dante" series!) I now look forward to Callisto's upcoming 2nd album, due sometime in 2007. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful when buying "Callisto" CDs. I have found that there is another band by the same name, who play gothic death-metal of all things!!! The electronic/new age outfit Callisto only have this one title, "Signal to the Stars", released so far, with their follow-up album to be titled "NYX". Any other "Callisto" titles are that of the completely-unrelated death metal group...so buyer beware!!!)"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1