Age – Shadows Behind Me (Album – Age)

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Age is an ‘old’ Belgian project active since the late 70s. Driven by the creative spirit of Emmanuel Dhaeyere and Guy Vachaudez this project has released an impressive list of productions in Ambient-Electro music. “Shadows Behind Me” was released in 2020 and features fourteen songs.

Content: “Shadows Behind Me” sounds like a move back into time, discovering the Belgian Tangerine Dream. This album first of all reveals diversity, switching classical Ambient-Electro compositions with a strong space-like touch on top with other ambient pieces carried by slow rhythms. Most parts are dreamy-like, but a few passages also reveal a darker sound approach.

+ + + : Age is not exactly a band I am familiar with, but I got the opportunity to discover different works (visit their Bandcamp page), which makes me say this is probably one of the best Belgian hidden secrets! The project sounds in the purest tradition of pioneers in the Ambient-Electro genre and in a way, belongs to those pioneers. The songs are elaborated and accomplished with irresistible analogue sound treatments. The slow cadence injects a dynamic element to the work, which even becomes danceable at some moments. “Endless Hope” is an absolute masterpiece, but I also have to mention “Unknown Destination Suite” mixing bombastic arrangements together with refined piano playing, “Solitude Of July”, which will appeal for Tangerine Dream fans and “Shadowed Lives”, which is a composition with a great progression and dreamy strings in the final part. Other tracks like “Broken”, “Captain Of My Soul” and “On My Way” are also accomplished and sophisticated pieces.

– – – : The artwork of the album could have been better and more professional, but in the end we first of all buy physical releases for their content.

Conclusion: If you’re into good-old Ambient-Electro and the Berliner school, you for sure are going to like Age.

Best songs: “Endless Hope”, “Solitude Of July”, “Unknown Destination Suite”, “Broken”, “On My Way”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: http://agemusicbelgium.blogspot.com / www.facebook.com/emmanuel.dhaeyere / www.facebook.com/guy.vachaudezturmes

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