VIEON

Previous releases of Vioen scored good on these pages. After having read all those positive things about the Manchester based project, I volunteered to review the latest EP Fly By Light.

After a cinematic intro with space samples, the title track follows. Despite several attempts, I never reached the end of the song. I didn’t succeed in resisting the skip button. I have never been a fan of robotic voices. I’am only exceptionally charmed by vocoder treated voices, but here they sound simply boring. Luckily some instrumentals follow. 2 nicely constructed multi-layered tracks with a retro feel. Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk come to mind.

The highlight on this album is Extant, a song of nearly 9 minutes. After a (maybe too) lengthy intro, the song builds up nicely. The middle part of the track is simply stunning: an alluring tapestry of electronics that makes me understand why those high scores were assigned in the past. Unfortunately, they try to give the song an epic finale with a guitar solo. But just as the vocal melodies, the guitar play on the album is weary. That is also demonstrated in the 2 final tracks.

I started listening to this EP with enthusiasm, but it diminished rapidly. Only four minutes (the middle part of Extant) meets my high expectations. But fans of Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk might give Vioen a chance. You better check out Vioen’s bandcamp page before you visit the local record store.

Benny CALUWE
09/12/2016