Detailed Reviews [Cedric Leroy - 2010 - "Eologie"]

Prolusion. Composer and keyboardist Cedric LEROY originally hails from Dakar, Senegal, and other than that I don't really know anything about this person. From what I understand, "Eologie" is his first full-length production; it was issued by Musea Records on their Dreaming imprint towards the tail end of 2009.

Analysis. There are quite a few artists around who have drawn their inspiration from French composer and entertainer Jean-Michel Jarre, and according to Musea Records' press kit concerning this release this is the case for our friend Cedric. My own impressions match those pretty well, and I'd add Tangerine Dream as a probable indirect influence to boot. And then emphasize that we're talking about the most accessible parts of these artists respective discographies, and that I'd be very much surprised if I found out that this artist in fact isn't familiar with a mainstream pop genre known as trance. The compositions, or rather the individual parts of the compositional whole in this case, are made following a rather minimalistic ideology. A steady synthy-bass forms the foundation for these efforts, at times with drums adding a tighter rhythmical backbone, with one or at most two synth textures placed on top, for the former with a fluctuating motif, while the latter is augmented by a floating electronic backdrop with some symphonic qualities to it. Digital backing voices are added in on occasion, and brief fragmented trance rhythms make the odd appearance throughput. In the most sophisticated efforts, fragile electronic sound effects lace the proceedings. One additional dimension to these ventures is the utilization of sampled nature sounds, with everything from the noise of the sea washing against the shore to the braying of a donkey featured. At the most intense we're dealing with energetic rhythms and hammering staccato synths assembled in a manner that makes me expect that a voice shouting Scooter will have to make an appearance, while at its most tranquil this music reminds me of good old new age wizard Gandalf. The differences in expression are mainly due to the rhythmical elements though, and what all of these tracks share is a high degree of repetition in structure, form and manner, and those keen on sophisticated music with an advanced take on the electronic progressive genre will most likely find this CD to be extremely lacking in any such features. In addition, mix and production tend to be somewhat unbalanced, so that the technical aspects of this creation don't manage to outweigh the lack of finesse that is so much a defining aspect of it.

Conclusion. If you have a soft spot for Jean-Michel Jarre's least advanced exploits, are easily enthralled by the hypnotic qualities of repetitive compositional and instrumental features and you don't mind material with a few obvious nods towards trance in expression, "Eologie" might be an item you'd find desirable to explore. Those with a greater interest in the sophisticated parts of the progressive electronic universe will presumably find this CD to be way too lightweight for their tastes though, and should approach this effort with a great deal of caution.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: May 10, 2011
The Rating Room