Frank Van Bogaert – Nomads

9 reviews for Frank Van Bogaert – Nomads

1. 

   Stephan Schelle – 2022-11-22

   Das neue Jahr steht vor der Tr und ich bekomme schon die neue CD vom belgischen Elektroniker Frank van Bogaert mit dem Titel Nomads in die Hand. Das erste

2. 

   Bill Binkelman / New Age Reporter – 2022-11-22

   Nomads is not just Frank Van Bogaerts most consistently enjoyable cd release, its also flat out one of the great EM releases of this decade so far. No hyperbole intended, folks. If this cd doesnt grab your attention and make you want to hit the open road with its music blasting on the stereo, check your pulse and heart rate. As the artist writes in the liner notes, Nomads is about our constant urge to explore

3. 

   Synthtopia – 2022-11-22

   Nomads is the latest release from Belgian composer and synthesist Frank Van Bogaert.
   Van Bogaert is one of the leading artists working in the symphonic electronica style pioneered by the likes of Vangelis and Jean-Michelle Jarre. Van Bogaert is carving out his own territory, though, using his own unique palette of synth orchestral sounds and effects. Previously, weve reviewed Van Bogaerts One out of Five, a compilation that is a great introduction to his style.
   Nomads is themed around the idea that we are travellers, not just from one place to another, but from one world to another. The music is often expansive and grand, but also features sections of real subtlety, suggesting that Van Bogaert could easily make the move to soundtracks.
   The CD makes clear that Van Bogaert is a skillful orchestrator of electronic sounds; he creates powerful symphonic textures with an electronic palette that ranges from imitative samples to classic synth sounds to creative sound synthesis. He also carries over instrumentation from one track to another, giving the music the feel that it is performed by a virtual orchestra.

   Nomads starts off with a great track, Overture, a symphonic electronica anthem, combining a variety of orchestral percussion, synth strings and synth horns.
   One of the highlights of the CD is Furious Jam, a sequencer-driven synthfest. The track combines the improvisation of prog with the huge electronic soundscapes of classic synth music. Van Bogaert layers sequences with huge acoustic percussion effects & live drums. The track is full of tasty keyboard work, jumping rapidly from one lead voice to another.
   Aquatopia seems to take its inspiration from Vangelis Oceanic, combining surf sounds, sequenced orchestral instruments and a wordless chorus. The track starts very quietly and builds to a rousing choral climax.
   Another nice track is Mont Blanc. It starts with ambient drone effects, and then builds slowly, introducing a melody on piano. Bogaert takes his time developing this, adding synth strings, wordless vocals and other effects to bring the piece to a peak before returning to the ambient effects at the end.
   A truly gorgeous track is Blue Down There. On this track, Van Bogaert cuts loose his synth chops and creates a soundscape that evokes the weightlessness and strange beauty of space. He weaves samples of astronauts being interviewed in space by earth-bound children, to beautiful and moving effect. Subtlety reigns on the track, from the wonderful selection of spoken word texts to the slowly evolving synth orchestration. Its a great track on its own, but it also brings to mind classic 70s space music.
   The last track, Beneath The Ice, is another really evocative track. Its essentially a drone-based piece, with deep bass sounds, washes of synth strings, bell-like keyboards and drifting noise effects. It establishes a lovely, haunting mood that leaves you wanting more.

   Frank Van Bogaerts Nomads is a great collection of symphonic electronica. It explores a wide range of moods and textures, ranging from the grand and bombastic to subtle, reflective soundscapes. Weve only heard two of Bogaerts releases – Nomads & his greatest hits collection – but based on these, its clear that Van Bogaert is not just standing on the shoulders of the first generation of synth music giants, but hes becoming one of the current leading artists in the genre.

   2007. Synthtopia

4. 

   Artemi Pugachov / Russia – 2022-11-22

   Here we have the latest album of Frank Van Bogaert, a concept work of sorts, dedicated to all types of exploring new ground.

   Ouverture” starts with deep sounds until dramatic symphonic passages come from the ether and a relaxed

5. 

   Shri Durga / USA – 2022-11-22

   Nomads is Belgian sound designer Frank Van Bogaert‘s sixth solo release, perhaps his best and certainly the one he worked on longest. Featuring twelve original compositions performed entirely by himself in his studio just outside Antwerp, Belgium, it took Bogaert nearly two years to finish these recordings. The careful attention to detail shows, as you might expect from a professional engineer.
   While Bogaert started out in the 1980’s as a keyboard player for a Belgian synthesizer band, most of his professional life has been spent behind the boards, recording, mixing, and mastering primarily for theater and television. After 10 years of recording for others, though, Bogaert decided to start recording for himself, resulting in his 1998 debut, Colors, a world beat album similar in style to Deep Forest and Enigma, a style that was most completely developed one year later with the release of Geographic.
   That 1999 album won three German Schwingungen awards for best album, best song and best artist in 2000.
   Since then Bogaert has released four additional albums, though none sounding quite like those first two. Still focusing on the melodic, Bogaert dropped many of the ethnic influences and began recording more open, spacious music built around the synthesizer, music that has led some to compare him to a 21st century Vangelis or Jean Michel Jarre.
   His latest release, Nomads, bears out such comparisons. Many of the compositions are built around melodies played on the keyboard, backed with synthetic orchestras and often spiced with sound effects, like the rolling waves in Aquatopia, or the synthetic chorus in Mont Blanc. At times Bogaert might also remind you of Pink Floyd or the Alan Parsons Project. One song in particular, Drive, borrows and blends from these two icons of 70’s synthesizer pop-rock.
   60 minutes of inspired music from one of Europe’s major contemporary electronic composers, Nomads is a collection of recordings worth a dedicated listen.

   2007. Shri Durga / USA

6. 

   Sylvain Lupari / Canada – 2022-11-22

   Travel without moving. Being nomad by the thought, the illusion. This is what Frank Van Bogeart offers to us with its 7th opus, Nomads. From January 2005 to October 2006, the Belgian musician worked an album with sublimes arrangements. Twelve blazing titles, where the rhythms are moulded harmoniously with delicate symphonies and beautiful orchestral melodies that Frank Van Bogaert knew how to develop and structure over the years. A great album with a nice inner booklet, where 12 photographs accompanies us in this virtual migration, where the maestro reserves us some small musical jewels.

   A small drone is made hear from far, like a long threatening call. This intro is metamorphosing in a wonderful melody blow by an oboe. A fine line, doubled of a gracious movement of bass, transforms into waltzing synthetic layer, which is subdivided in miles harmonies. A pompous Opening, on good rolling percussions and a symphonic synth which tears off some nostalgic sighs. This introduction to Nomads is completely in conformity with the style of Frank Van Bogaert. Throughout this new opus, he transports us from a continent to the other, one time with another, on superb arrangements, discrete, but very effective, samplings. If the intro brings me to the Romaines arenas, Crack the Blue Sky transfers me onto the quays of ancient Greece with a synthetic wave that crescendo to open out on a hesitant and syncopated line. Choirs and refrains are imprisoned in a sequential circle with the resounding notes where Crack the Blue Sky explodes on a line with the rousing synthetic pulsations. A static and aggressive swirl which gimlets on big percussions, good wrapping and waltzing layers. Intense with poignant orchestral arrangements as Ritual, which will shake our feelings towards the end of the opus.
   Nomads is another very orchestral track with its sumptuous synthetic fly away, dense and harmonious, which releases its Greco Romans chorus la Vangelis.
   Furious Jam is a title with a flowing sequence which undulates on a raucous tonality. Modern environment, even jazzy, it is overhung synths threatening, whereas the sequencer becomes more bubbling, bringing a jerked tempo, which breathes on a powerful battery. A slicing title in this symphonic atmosphere.
   Aquatopia is a beautiful melody which touches us deeply. A soft keyboard winds its chords on piano harmonies. A small clock percussion sculpts a romantic tempo which fits along extremely well with the piano. A small female choral enchants our ears beyond the sprays of water which surrounds this beautiful melody which is transformed into a rhythmic ballade with big orchestral percussions and great orchestration to illuminate our ears for the last turn.
   Other beautiful titles, as we hear a lot on Nomads, soft and silky, like the symphonic Mount Blanc, Blue Down There and Heat.
   High which is a kind of Aquatopia, but in more accelerated, as Drive where the intro points out to me Arpgiateur from Jean Michel Jarre. There the comparison stops, because Drive becomes a very cheerful title. More rhythmic, with a jerky line on spiral percussions. It is with a more ambient touch, but as much harmonious too that Nomads finishes.
   Beneath the Ice is a romance, a melody with the space blown and the beautiful piano which floats, history to make us dream. History to recall us that one day we will be perhaps nomads in the search of a new ground.

   Frank Van Bogeart has an incredible talent to write short tracks which have lot to say. Harmonious, melodious and with an innate direction of the orchestral arrangements, Nomads is a beautiful musical voyage which is formed with the likings of our visions. For this purpose there, you will find a beautiful small booklet assembling 12 photographs. Photographs which inspired the photographer Pablo Magne and which represent the joint visions of the photographer and the compositor. Although some approach, my imaginary further goes, like nearer.
   Like no matter what the music of Frank Van Bogaert, with Nomads at the head, is a music with the miles aimed, starting from the same emotion.

   2007. Sylvain Lupari / Canada

7. 

   Ren van der Wouden / NL – 2022-11-22

   A CD of pure class from this Belgian EM-collegue, Frank van Bogaert. Very nice and inspiring. I like it a lot.

   2007. Ren van der Wouden / NL

8. 

   Mark Jenkins – 2022-11-22

   Van Bogaert is the shining star in the Groove firmament, a producer and keyboard artist whose music and production quality really is in a par with that of Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis or any of the major label keyboard artists.

   Nomads” features twelve tracks (and some superb round-the-world sleeve photography and digital manipulation by Pablo Magne) mixing piano

9. 

   Phil Derby / Electroambient Space – 2022-11-22

   Fresh on the heels of his greatest hits collection is a CD of all-new material by Frank Van Bogaert fresh from his studio in Belgium.

   Majestic melodies are again on full display in tracks like Crack The Blue Sky” already seemingly destined for a position on the next retrospective CD. A haunting wind begins the title track before dramatic symphonic sounds take over. Once again Van Bogaert shows he is unparalleled in building intricate pieces that weave symphony and synthesizer into one. His musicianship particularly shines on “Aquatopia”