Javi Canovas – Light echoes

4 reviews for Javi Canovas – Light echoes

1. 

   Geoffrey Mason / United Kingdom – 2022-11-22

   Javi Canovas – Light Echoes. The title track starts the album with futuristic sci-fi effects, and lots of new sounds not found on the first album, Impasse, which I also highly recommend. A rapid sequence comes forth with a head nodding foot tapping rhythm and lots of effects that make you imagine that you are on an epic journey on a spaceship travelling through an alien landscape, lead lines come and go. It all eventually breaks down briefly into a lovely atmospheric section, but all too soon there is a huge rumbling and it all builds back up with more layers of sequencing and we are hurtling along , fantastic stuff! There is some nice flute playing along which takes me back to TD and the layers of sounds and effects disappear then reappear and the whole thing seems to reach new heights. With just 5 minutes to go it all melts down into calm atmosphere with some lovely flute, and atmospheric ending. Wonderful first track!

   Two Toned Rock On Mars starts with ambient atmospheric intro then a rapid sequencing comes forward along with a much deeper one which underpins with added power, and notes bouncing over the top of it all, a flute is even added. Then sound effects all make the musical brew sound like you are whizzing along on a martian roller coaster through caverns, desert and mountainous landscapes, very mesmerising indeed! It’s never too cluttered and you can hear every little sound with great clarity, and it seems to heighten further. Amazing track! With 8 minutes to go it dissolves into atmosphere, and the welcome introduction of some beautiful piano works nicely and we end with calm and tranquility.

   All 3 tracks stand at over 20 minutes long so we have berlin school at its’ best here, and the final track, Interpherometry does not disappoint. It starts with heavy atmospherics, dark and brooding but you also get some pretty bits that made me imagine butterflies flickering by, as if flying towards a positive and brig h ter future place. Then the menacing sequences surge forward as if some evil is being unleashed! It makes me feel like I am flying in a spaceship at incredible speed, all manner of sounds and effects coming and going, this is absolutely fantastic stuff! Wow! My whole body is moving to the rhythm and lead lines soaring over the top one after another, this is great playing by anyone’s standard. Surely it can’t get any better than this! At some points I could have sworn Edgar Froese was in there, at least in spirit for sure. There was something reminded me of ‘Pinnacles’. 15 minutes in and I am somehow disappointed that it disappears into atmosphere, it could have gone on and I would be grinning all night, but my disappointment was short lived as I was treated to choral/choir sounds like at a monastery, your soul is caressed with relaxing ambience, and the choirs sublime. So this final track started with antisipation, then gave you hypnotic adventure and finally gave spiritual fulfillment.

   Well done Javi for giving us this wonderful album. Now to press replay!

   2018. Geoffrey Mason / United Kingdom

2. 

   Phil Derby / Electroambient Space – 2022-11-22

   Structured nearly identically to his debut release Impasse, Javi Cnovas Light Echoes again features three lengthy excursions into all things Teutonic.

   The title track wastes little time getting up to speed, and sounds much like AirSculpture, with a synth lead that mimics an electric guitar solo. Though Impasse was good, this sounds better, more polished. The effective layering of sequences is hypnotic as they dance about each other. Very upbeat, it would be hard to be down while listening to this. The last five minutes are given room to breathe as mellotron flutes and ethereal synths play brightly.
   Two Toned Rock on Mars” is up next

3. 

   Artemi Pugachov / Encyclopedia of Electronic Music – 2022-11-22

   This album by Spanish synthesist Javi Canovas consists of three long tracks, just like its predecessor Impasse“.

   The title track gets things going with strange echoing sounds and harsh effects. After a while the soundscape gets more beautiful and gentle. The music’s got a Sci-Fi atmosphere to it – just the way EM should be. A bass sequence fades in and takes center stage

4. 

   DL – 2022-11-22

   Javi will be a new name to many but he has, over the last few years, been perfecting his art. In 2005 he put his ‘toe in the water’ with a self-produced album ‘Impasse’. It was well received amongst sequencer nuts. This early promise was not a ‘flash in the pan’ as ‘Light Echoes’ is a real cracker. The title makes it sound as if the album might be rather mellow but nothing could be further from the truth as it is a hard-core sequencer belting epic where his complex sequences are allowed to let rip almost throughout.

   Swirling sounds bring up images of some strange alien power plant. A rapid sequence spews forth. Almost instantly another joins it. It is as if they are chasing each other at warp speed, mutating this way and that, one sequence ducking and diving whilst the other anticipates its every move. It is all so exciting. A lead motif adds that bit of mystery like a God looking down at a battle raging beneath. Power chords are layered over the top as if the divine being is participating in the action itself. Calmness then descends a little as some lovely flutey synth is deployed. The sequences never depart however, instead they retreat to the background, regrouping. They rise through the mix again, manically surging this way and that in a very complex series of twists and turns. It is if they are swelling like hurricane force gusts of wind to then subside from time to time to let more delicate melodies appear.
   We move on from the opening title track to ‘Two Toned Rock on Mars’. It starts rather moodily before another lightning fast swirling sequence takes us into hyperdrive. A more melodic and slightly slower one adds extra interest whilst in complete contrast a rather wistful lead line imparts a little softness. As with the first track extra pulsating flourishes augment the main sequences in an ever changing maelstrom of notes. You can just let yourself be taken along with it or concentrate, analysing all that is going on. I have used both approaches and found the deeper I became involved with the music the more I got out of it. Unlike on the opener the sequences are actually allowed to depart altogether with about ten minutes to go but even during this atmospheric interlude I was drawn deeply in.
   Javi’s complex but highly exciting sequencing style can be heard again on ‘Interpherometry’. At first the sequence just raises its head above a sea of drones but quickly subsides.Shimmering lead lines take over for a minute before being banished as the sequence returns once more, crashing forth in the most wonderful bass laden way. Massed mellotron sounds add to the feeling of unstoppable power. Fresh laser sharp leads fly over the top becoming more manic as we progress. More sequences are deployed. The way all the lines of pulsations meld together is masterly. The mellotron returns and yet more syncopation increases the excitement still further. Gradually things wind down for an atmospheric finish allowing us to recover our composure in time to press the play button once again.

   I loved this album.

   2006. DL