AMETHYSTIUM

Odonata

Neurodisc Records (2001)

review by Bill Binkelman

The word "lush" can be defined with a single word: Odonata. That's the title of the debut CD from Oystein Ramfjord, who records as Amethystium. Moving from mp3.com to the urban/dance-based label Neurodisc, this album is sure to find a new audience eager for its seamless blend of sensuous beats (a la Enigma and Delerium), sampled vocals, wooden flutes/pan pipes, and ultra-smooth synths. This is one highly polished effort. But, it's not soulless - god no! This is not "churned-out for the sake of sales" music. It's infectious yet humanistic musical heaven. Less than one minute into the opening track, "Opaque," should convince anyone that what the artist has created is not some shallow attempt at band-wagon jumping. Simply put, you can't create something this good by just connecting the dots. And be assured, Odonata is that good - oh yeah!

There are fourteen cuts on Odonata and there's not a weak one among them. The well-engineered layers of keyboards, samples, rhythms and vocals are so smoothly integrated cut-to-cut that it's difficult to imagine they weren't recorded all at the same time. Let me be honest - this album positively shreds the best stuff Enigma has ever cranked out. It's no contest. But, what really cleans my clock is that this is not just "get down and dirty" Enigma-esque tunes. It's also an example of sterling production, inspired music, and, believe it or not, humanity. I never once thought this album was anything but the work of an artist who had a lot invested in the music. I held this belief back before Odonata was ever snatched up (smartly, I might add) by Neurodisc and was only an mp3.com release. However, there was a reason that this album merited a shit load of downloads and was optioned by a smart label like Neurodisc - the album flat out rocks!

From the exotic sexiness of "Enchantment" with it's third-world percussion elements and snaky flute work to the more overt new age music stylings of "Tinuviel" with twinkling bell-like synths to the mournful pan pipes of "Fairyland" to the funky uptempo water drum beats of "Paean" to the uptempo Enigma-esque "Ascension," Odonata holds many delights for the ear that is attuned for sensual rhythms, smooth flute samples, and lush layers of synthesizers and keyboards.

The fact is, this review almost writes itself. I loved this album from the first listen. Sure, it's not "ambient" per se and it shares some similarities with commercially successful recordings from the aforementioned "stars" (Enigma and Delerium) but so what? This album is 100% ear candy. I never tired of the smooth beats, swaying washes of sound, keyboards, vocals, and flutes. Whether you think music like this is too commercial or too shallow says more about you than the music. I, for one, have too much fun listening to albums like this that are all about well-crafted music - hey, maybe it's not "deep," but the world needs solid entertainment, too. And besides, maybe music like this is the key. Yeah, I know, we should be so lucky! As for Odonata - highly recommended!