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Palancar - Union |
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Darrell
Burgan, who uses the name Palancar,
released Union, his fourth solo CD in 2001 on the innovative
Ampcast.com label. He took classical piano lessons as a child, and certainly
that influence is heavily felt on this CD.
Also, much in evidence is his impressive array of synthesizers
and effects. As a teenager, he developed an interest in drums and
although there are no live drums on the CD, there are some interesting
rhythm textures. The
album has a spiritual direction and this reflects his active
participation in church and school choirs through his high school years. So, to
the music… The
track titles – Natural, Rejoicing, Eternal and so on to the
last track, the spooky Enigmatic - are classic new age tags and I
guess they are meant to put you in a particular frame of mind even
before the disc is out of its case. The
moods vary from the slightly sinister electronic rhythm of the opener Natural
(which really is anything but natural) to the quite unbelievably corny
piano of Playful. Rejoicing
is written in waltz time and has some nice chimes and piano which does
more justice to Palancar’s classical training than some music on this
CD. When
I first heard Offbeat, I wrote “funky church”.
The track kind of makes me smile, but it doesn’t go anywhere. There
were two tracks that did make me sit up though… Sensual
starts with a wash of synths and a breathy (sensual?) spoken vocal.
As the rhythm hardens, the track almost begins to sound Herbie
Hancock-like. Almost. Enigmatic
closes off the album on a classy note.
It’s quite dramatic and the piano is the principal voice.
Again, I go back to my notes from the first listen – I wrote
“underwater”. It would make a superb accompaniment to a film of marine life
because the strings are a little chilling whereas the repeating keyboard
figure evokes the swell of the ocean. See
what happens when you listen to too much new age?
You go all poetic. For
me this is background music. Still,
at a time when there is so much music and media that jangles your
nerves, anything that helps you unwind can’t be all bad. Ampcast/Palancar
Music AMP C8014 – Produced by Palancar Reviewed by Chris Mann
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Every
so often, smooth jazz fans will give in to their gentle side completely
and experiment with new age music.