Short Reviews [4th Eden - 2020 - "Dark Skies"]

Martin Eve is back with his latest album under the name of 4th Eden, where he provides all the instrumentation apart from the title cut which includes some guitar by Graham Lavallin. Nine instrumental keyboard-based numbers, this is 78 minutes long, with Martin showing more than ever how much he is influenced by Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis in particular. “Scorpius” is a real mix of those two musicians, swirling and repetitive in the background, yet dynamic and powerful in the foreground. Other musicians he feels influenced by on this release is Moby, Mike Oldfield along with Hans Zimmer while to my ears there is also plenty of Tangerine Dream along with some elements of Kraftwerk. It is a very easy release to get inside, dramatic, and huge like the skies we get down on South Island where one feels very small indeed when confronted with the sight of the cosmos without light pollution in the way. This does not feel like a home recording or release but feels totally professional and polished. The ethereal voice one hears every so often is from the wonderful Marianne Holland, as we move through a cinematic space album which is a sheer delight from start to end. There are many keyboard players who embark on a solo release and manage to produce something which is listenable, but it is far harder to produce something which stands up against others and is something which the listener actually wants to keep playing it, and that is what Martin has achieved with this one and is something I have enjoyed immensely.