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TechnoTV - Isabliss
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $12.84
Your Save: $ 6.14 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Neurodisc
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0754863208829
Label: Neurodisc
Manufacturer: Neurodisc
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Neurodisc
Release Date: 2008-06-17
Studio: Neurodisc
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Amethystium - Isabliss
Comment: STYLE
Dreamy fairy tale soundscapes delivered with lush melodic electronica and ethereal female vocals. Amethystium has deepened and developed his sound with this latest offering - the arrangements are confident and sweeping, the instrumental work lucid and bright, the vision clearer than ever. Now the vocals are mostly specially recorded performances from such singers as Lee Nisbet, Stine Mari Langstrand and Irina Mikhailova. The gorgeous downtempo beats are still multifaceted and evolving - those low key muted interlude grooves punctuating the shadows. The synth work is multi-layered; repeating phrases and arpeggios rolling over expansive pads and strings, chimes and little metalic notes twinkling in the background - warm melodies and strong themes demanding the attention, then dropping away into gentleness and quiet corners. On Isabliss the synthetics are accompanied by some deftly interwoven electric guitars and keening violins.
ARTWORK
This is a fantastic piece of packaging, capturing excellently what Amethystium is all about. A three-panel digipack almost monochrome, full of delightful imagery courtesy of Grey Decay and Brian Son. The front cover features a striking twisted tree with dense clouds for foliage, wheeling birds circling the branches. On the reverse is a close-up of the gnarled trunk, track titles alongside. Within two stark black birds adorn a knotted bough that has a bright lantern hanging at its tip. Another panel opens out to reveal the second half of the rear cover tree trunk - here too are credits and some thanks. A final turn of the page reveals the rest of the inner picture - a flying bird trails dark leaves apparently fluttering out from a shuttered window. There is a delightful air of mystery and appealing shade about the whole package - very tasteful and stirring to the imagination - you'll want to hold it as you listen.
OVERALL
This is the fourth album in the unfolding Amethystium story - the fifth if you count the compilation Emblem. Once more Neurodisc are the chosen label for the Norwegian bedroom artist turned producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist. If you have heard Øystein Ramfjord's previous albums you'll know what to expect - although the dragonfly trilogy, as it came to be known, was concluded with Evermind, the trademark sound is still all here, just better. I think this is a stronger collection that Evermind, more purposeful and more clearly standing on the shoulders of earlier material. There are some beautiful moments - I didn't think Øystein could manage to become any more blissful and dreamy than the Aphelion CD, but the track Frosty Morning Bliss manages it. Lilting piano phrases and Stine Mari Langstand's heavenly vocalisations work with some lovely understated electronics to create one of the most chilled-out pieces of musical mystique I've come across.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PARADISE!!!
Comment: He does it again! I've been listening to Oystein Ramfjord's music for 4 years now. If I could sum it up in one word it would be "paradise". If you are new to this style of ambient, new age, electronic music I recommend "Isabliss" first. It doesn't have any chanting monks or foreign vocals which took awhile to grow on me with my first Amethystium cd "Aphelion". His music has to be the most beautiful in the universe. Oystein deserves the Nobel Peace Prize! My favorite tracks are A small Adventure, Treasure, Anthemoessa, Strangely Beautiful, Frosty Morning Bliss, and Silken Twine. This review is coming from somone who wants to start a progressive, neoclassical, melodic deathcore, jazz fusion, electronica band! Buy "Isabliss" today along with "Odonata", "Aphelion", and "Evermind", you will not regret it!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the previous releases
Comment: The music is soft to the ear, but I think does not overpass the themes on the prior three albums Aphelion, Odonata and Evermind still my favorites.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Give it time...
Comment: As an Amethystium fan from the beginning, I was feverishly awaiting this latest offering. Right out of the blocks, I was blown away by the curious, yet achingly beautiful "A Small Adventure." Living up to its name, this track clocked in under 3 minutes in length. Sadly, it went down from there. I was, at first, disappointed with the rest of the album, as none of the other tracks offered the interesting and new sound of the first track.
However, after playing the disc in the background at work, the rest of the album has grown on me and I have come to love listening to each track. I love the major/minor shifts and would appreciate more major, but, as stated in previous reviews, this album does have a grey, wintry feel.
If you love Amethystium, this is worth the $$, so pick it up.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Still the best "New Age" out there--a little brighter this time around
Comment: Amethystium has been very high on my list of favorites since the first album, and this one is no disappointment! For the fourth time now, Øystein Ramfjord somehow pulls out of the trite "New Age" genre with something new and truly inspiring. As new age-flavored electronica, his compositions are richly textured with synths, percussion, flutes, strings, guitars, and female vocalise.
The last album from Amethystium was a retrospective of the so-called "Dragonfly Trilogy." Now with
Isabliss, Øystein sought to paint some different realms for us. The over-all tone of the album sounds brighter, following a trend within the trilogy as well. Specifically, the "eastern" vocal techniques and instruments have been exchanged for brighter, more western-sounding vocals and numerous violin passages. Both sound fantastic, and I tend to prefer this brighter vibe. However, compared to the eastern elements, their performance could stand some more emotion. Another shift is the percussion. There is both more acoustic drumming and more glitchy-ness in the electronic percussion. Isabliss contains one track that was initially released on the retrospective "Emblem." Happily, it is not the best track on Isabliss, so the thrill isn't spoiled. It is a fair representation of the new sound, but the tracks "Treasure" (which has full english lyric) and "Frosty Morning Bliss" really showcase it the best.
I must say that the last three tracks were a let down compared to the excellent first eight. `Silken Twine" starts out pretty cool, with perhaps the most compelling vocal on the disc, but it goes nowhere and has some weird whisper chanting at the end. "Dreamlike Insomnia" has all the classic Amethystium leads, but they all sound like a cheap imitation, playing over some monster-in-the-closet sounding of percussion. I guess the name is accurate anyhow! The last track is a typical Amethystium closer. It starts sort of dark and off-kilter, but kicks in after two minutes. But,
With killer tracks like "La Pluie" (containing the most crushing variation to date of his signature synth!), "Treasure" (english lyric, yet classic Amethystium), "Anthemoessa" (great acoustic Drumming), and "Strangely Beautiful" (soaring vocals and violin)--this album has been in my player a lot!
(Just one note for the folks who say it sounds 80s... You're likely not listening on a Marantz receiver and a Boston A100 loudspeakers ; )
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Editorial Reviews:
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Amethystium is a music project aiming to create and explore emotive imaginary worlds in sound. Primarily electronic-based, the compositions traverse a span of moods that includes both light and darkness, bliss and melancholy. They range from the purely relaxing to the subtly intense, creating dreamlike and evocative musical journeys. Formed by Norwegian composer/producer Oystein Ramfjord, Amethystium started out independently with a demo release in late 1999. After quickly becoming something of an underground phenomenon through word of mouth, the project was signed to then EMI/Capitol subsidiary Neurodisc Records and released a string of three Top 10 Billboard charting albums in the US.
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