Rene van der Wouden – Alchemia

5 reviews for Rene van der Wouden – Alchemia

1. 

   Leon Krajenbrink / The Netherlands – 2022-11-22

   The best retro album i have heard recently. Not original in any way, but well-crafted and powerful electronic music from this Dutch synthesist.

   Part 1: The True Glass of Alchemia has a great and gripping intro and when the sequencers finally come in you are simply blown to retro haven.
   Part 2 en 3 are not bad either but part 4: The Alchemists simply is astonishing. And after the brilliant last little masterpiece part 5: Gone to Earth thru the Book of Minerals you are left behind quite impressed.

   This is electronic music!

   2010. Leon Krajenbrink / The Netherlands“

2. 

   Sylvain Lupari / Canada – 2022-11-22

   After the superbly melodious Pro Sequentia, Ren Van Der Wouden offers an opus a little more different. Definitely more complex, with its very heteroclite intros, Alchemia is an album with slow movements, charming which we listen the body and the spirit down to 0. Not cause it is deeply relieving! No. Because it is well done.

   It is delicate, full of subtleties and we have to hear these movements impressed of tenderness and nostalgia, as on The True Glass of Alchemia, an ambient title of an astonishing attraction. Divided into 2 parts, the intro is a slow synthetic movement which develops with subtle modulations. Synth floats in harmonious nothingness. In this space where silence is lulled by fluctuating layers, hide short melodies which come and go, leaving melancholic traces with each celestial lament. A superb movement, full of an incredible sensitivity. In half-time, the rhythm wakes up gently with a series of limpid notes which draws a hypnotic sound arc. A new series of notes is indexed with those in place, stimulating a more complex sequence, which curves with insistence in a rotary minimalism sphere. This sublime sequence modulates its intonations, among sound effects and explosions, before the sequence takes a spring, where the chords pile up and create a harmonious confusion. A bewitching title that draws the depth of his beauty in the shade of his creamy and melodious layers.
   Far Across the Heavens has a intro strongly variegated with its vaporous jets, surrounded of tuneful segments, of scattered tablas percussions. Space waves which flood a static universe, where is formed a loopy sequence which undulates among a dark choral and one spectral synth, with acute laments. Ideal as a soundtrack for an intense horror movie. Like an insane goblin, the sequence rolls with frenzy accentuating the minimalism impulsion which splits up on a harmonious synth, to invading layers.
   Notes circle, a little like a xylophone, to form a serpentine sequential movement which will scheme in harmony throughout Golden Dreams of Silver Elements. Synthetic pads float and stretch their breaths on other notes which fly around fine pulsations. Floating, the tempo is in rollercoaster on a heavy sequencer which bores in a flooded atmosphere of melodious segments which curve a disconcerting fixity.
   After a short atmospheric intro, The Alchemists extends its melody with a superb harmonious sequence. Nimble and limpid notes wind with grace an impulsion to multiple loops, with good slamming percussions and beautiful synth with solos that draw dreams. The Alchemists is certainly one of the beautiful tracks in 2006.
   A long atmospheric breath, to which are grafted discrete choirs, prepare the rhythmic intro on clapping percussions of Gone to Earth thru the Book of Minerals. A very electronic title with the spirit of the beautiful rhythmic analog incursions of the 70s, on a moulding synth with superb melodious lines.

   As we can hear Alchemia is a bit different from Pro Sequentia. It is a more progressive opus which requires an attentive listening, to be certain to catch all of its nuances. And, as all the great works, there is always a new click to each listening, capturing our hearing for another listening session. Undeniable sign of a work of great vintage.

   2006. Sylvain Lupari / Canada

3. 

   Archie / USA – 2022-11-22

   Ren van der Wouden follows up his sequencer drenched first album with another effort full of rhythmic/ melodic energy. This time the music and arrangements contain more sophistication and layers of synthetic enhancements. The overall sound is fuller, more powerful, and filled with layers of spatial textures and rippling/ pulsing sequences that make this one of the best recent Euro indie EM releases of late 2006.

   2007. Archie / USA

4. 

   Scott Raymond / NY/USA – 2022-11-22

   Alchemia is Ren Van Der Wouden‘s second album, and though different from Pro Sequentia, it’s every bit as good. This time, Ren takes a more thoughtful approach to the melody. There’s still sequencers here, just a bit more subdued. The music is every bit as complex as Pro Sequentia, just a bit more spacey, more atmospheric. Again, there are five long pieces, with lots of room for Ren’s wonderful melodies.
   A nice addition to anyone’s collection, particularly for those who like Jean Michel Jarre or Vangelis.

   2007. Scott Raymond / NY/USA

5. 

   Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity – 2022-11-22

   Delicate tapestries of feathery electronic textures unfurl, spreading to fill the sky overhead with regal splendor. The tonalities waft with fragile vigor, trembling with ambient restraint as they soothe the ears of all within reach. After an extended intro of nebulous calm, notes sweep into the mix, coloring the heavens with stately cycles that generate the genesis of greater things to come. These tentative chords usher the listen along into a corridor of celestial proportion, one rich with astral pulsations and mounting energy. The pace accelerates as notes cavort with auspicious jubilation.
   As the music progresses, its promise takes root with an accretion of stamina oozing from the embrace of the heavenly airs. Power surges and the melody becomes swept up in a cascade of nimble-fingered keys creating a regal disposition of infectious quality.
   Deeper notes enter the flow, seasoning the high altitude harmonics with an earthy foundation. The audience finds themselves stretched between land and sky, and fanciful chords tickle the torso as they scamper into existence, coalescing into riffs of congenial demeanor. Gradually, these midrange melodies conquer the environment, transforming the soundscape into a terrain of dynamic pulsations peppered with twinkling embellishments. The currents of sound thicken into luscious layers that stream with vibrant animation.
   Sparkling chords rise through a region of sparse sedation, preparing the listener for a deluge of glistening fashion. The notes vibrate with sincerity, generating a soft buzzing undercurrent that lifts the melody to stratospheric majesty. Only during the cd’s finale does percussion enter the mix, providing a lasting propulsion that will imbue the audience with a velocity that outlives the music’s last endearing chord.

   Van der Wouden‘s music is steeped in grandeur, the type that strives to open intangible doors inside the audience’s heads and grant consciousness access to the incredible imaginative resources contained within.

   2006. Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity