Published on Feb 17, 2003
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, as far as I was concerned. An
album of electronica about a book I’ve never heard of is not
exactly the sort of thing that fills me with great optimism for its
excellence. Good thing I was wrong, huh? Aurah’s
Songs Of The Alchemist is a brilliant, beautiful voyage
through music, spirituality and literature, and definitely worth
checking out.
Aurah is essentially a duet between Judith Martin and Marc Dold,
who may not be household names, but you’ve probably heard their
work. Dold is a record producer whose credits include Enya’s “Only
Time.” Martin is a studio vocalist who has CDs to her own credit as
well as having done vocal work on TV shows like “Sex In The City.”
Together, their alchemy produces Aurah, whose melodic work is head
and shoulders above the morass of boring, repetitious
electronica.
Aurah took their inspiration from the best-selling work by
Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo,
The Alchemist. I admit I’ve never read this book; I also
admit, cheerily, that Aurah’s musical tribute to it makes me want
to, very much. The CD captures the exploratory, spiritual, and
brave themes that seem to weave their way through Coehlo’s
work.
The production and engineering on the CD is exquisite. Unlike
many electronica works, there are acoustic instruments used; and
instead of being buried in the mix, they’re given prominence, so
that you can hear the vibrating strings of the acoustic guitar
clearly. Vocals are at a perfect level to be heard without being
either lost or overemphasized. Dold’s production is clear, simple
and crystalline, letting the music speak for itself. The
musicianship is competent to excellent; nothing disrupts you from
the total experience of the music.
Tracks worth noting include the serene “One Night,” the CD’s
opener; the haunting “Crazy”; and the triumphantly joyous “Dreams
Come True.”
Aurah’s
Songs Of The Alchemist is a definite must-have for fans of
the electronica genre.