The journey starts as an electronic excursion across unknown lands. Nomads, the seventh CD by Belgian composer and synthesist Frank Van Bogaert is a nomadic journey through textures of sound and ambience.
Bogaert’s music has heavy influence from the electronic symphonic tradition of artists like Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream. Bogaert uses synthesizers, augmented with samples and arpeggiated loops along with traditional instruments such as European, African and Asian string instruments and drums to give his music that international symphonic world sound. His use of the CS-80 synthesizer, played in a musical style similar to Vangelis, gives his music texture and orchestral grandeur.
Highlights of Nomads include “Crack the Blue Sky” and “Nomads”, both symphonic masterpiece reminiscent of Vangelis’ Mythodea. Both tracks start with quiet melodies and world sounds and crescendo into orchestral marvels. The latter tracks on the CD move away from the grandiose orchestral sound at the beginning of the CD and mellows out with softer world sounds mixed with light melodic electronica.
Nomads playing time is just under one hour, but it manages to transport the listener to a musical dreamland with its variety and inspiration. In addition to the music, the CD includes a twelve-page booklet full of colorful pictures.
If you have never heard of Frank Van Bogaert, but love the music of Vangelis, you will really enjoy this CD. And you will probably want to hear more music by this talented artist.
Frank Van Bogaert’s previous CD One Out of Five, is a greatest hits collection that brings together tracks from his five previous CDs, Colours (1998), Geographic (1999), Docking (2000), Human (2002) and Closer (2004). Nomads, his seventh CD brings his electronic and world sound mixture a step further in melodic complexity.
Take the nomadic music journey. Listen to Frank Van Bogaert’s Nomads.
You can hear some soundtracks from Nomads at Bogaert’s
myspace webpage
Andy Douglas
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