Short Reviews [Ton Scherpenzeel - 2023 - "Virgin Grounds"]

What we have here is an enhanced re-issue of an instrumental album originally composed for television series, ‘Conquer The Arctic’ (1991). These pieces were then released under the pseudonym Orion, with the album being called ‘Orion’. Now, some 30 years later Ton has revisited this, has rearranged several tracks, added two new ones, and has now reissued it under his own name with new artwork. At the time of the original recording Ton had been a member of Camel for some eight years, following the breakup of his own band Kayak (which of course would later reform), and there is no doubt being involved with them had an impact on this release. In terms of comparisons with other keyboard players, two in particular come to mind as while Rick Wakeman is the most obvious there is no doubt that Jean Michel Jarre has also had an impact, but there is also definitely a Camel feel to much of this, even though this is layers of synthesisers. I have not previously come across the original album and given the singular lack of reviews or rating neither have many others, so I am glad that OOB Records and Ton have decided to revisit this as it really is a very enjoyable album indeed. Ton says, ““As I dove into this project, I felt the old synthesizer flame more and more rekindled. I was inspired by images of the vast silver white landscapes and their overwhelming voids; reinforcing the feeling of human triviality when compared to nature’s sheer awesomeness.” It is an album to be played late at night, sat on the deck in the dark, just letting the synths wash over and allowing them to mix with the ambient night sounds. This is a very enjoyable album as the layers of arrangements take us on a journey of discovery.