Over the years we’ve seen music slowly erode into over-commercialized, corporate puppet shows providing music that is extremely sing songy, predictable, popish & highly corporate. I hereby call this new breed of music “Poser Rock” and I want to personally thank all the corporate giants for successfully transforming “Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll” into “Yoga, Vitamins and Nikelback” Of course millions of musical lemmings don’t know the difference anyway, but not everyone is entertained. Talking to many music fans out there the response is overwhelming. Give me something new, something raw, something that’s pushes the envelope with a fresh sound that doesn’t leave it soul at the door. Something that doesn’t sound like Nikelback, Daughtry or Lifehouse.
So across my desk slides the new CD by German ambient composer Burkhard Mahler entitled “Chaos and Harmony” and what I heard put a smile on my face. It’s a nice easy flowing record that delivers solid songwriting with a nice ambient ambience that just flows across your ears. The music will remind you of the usual suspects — Moby, Enigma, Crystal Method with maybe a hint of Prodigy. You will also hear a side of Electonica, Chill, and even Ambient Jazz. If you like the above bands and musical styles you should definitely check out this CD. My favorite track is probably a toss up between “Ferrari” and “Going On”. I would recommend to BM perhaps shorten the catalogue a bit and minimize some of the musical meandering. Many amazing ambient composers know how to integrate the best of both worlds — using traditional touches but also adding some pieces that are catchy yet short and sweet. CD available on CD BABY and can be downloaded on I — Tunes.
“Chaos and Harmony” Burkhard Mahler is clearly a solid release with many feel grooves with a pleasant atmospheric quality to it. It’s a record that gives us a fresh glimpse at an amazing artist and takes us back a few years — before everything started sounding like — well Nikelback.
Michael Morrison
[Rating: 3.5/5]
