Leon Bolier – Phantasma

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Two years after his debut artist album ‘Pictures‘ captured the hearts and minds of trance and electronic dance lovers (and scored one direct dance floor hit after another), Leon Bolier is ready to return with its sequel. Over 2 discs, 24 across-the-realm tracks and 150 synth-packed minutes, ‘Phantasma‘ delivers a stunning auditory proposition… A filler-free, close to compilation-like listening experience; a potential ‘Pictures-killer’ and one that effortlessly jumps the ‘difficult second album’ hurdle. ‘Phantasma‘ will again emphasize Bolier’s reputation as the go-to man for trance… with a twist.

Kicking off with a double single whammy of "That Morning" and his latest Sied van Riel collaboration "Dark Star", Leon begins to flip over the cards in ‘Phantasma’s‘ diverse pack. This is not diversity for its own sake though. This is music resolutely aimed to be played in-club across the whole duration of a night – midnight to 9am music – warm-up, peak-time and even, on occasion back room chill.

‘Phantasma‘ many degrees-of-trance leaves no genre corner unexplored. Those of a more atmospheric, ethereal persuasion are well catered for with the likes of "War Of The Worlds‘ (sampling the infamous radio dialogue), the stark, raging riffs of Marcus Schössow collaboration "2099" and trance-progressive offerings like "Creek" and "The Attic". Wherever you are in the album though, after-burning floor-threats are never far away – euphorically minded endorphin trip-switchers designed to activate peak-time dance floor citizens. "Don’t Be Afraid", "Highland Walk", "Assembly Line", "Avalanche", "The Knights Approach" all take their turn under the laser, tearing loose floor-tiles along the way. As with ‘Pictures‘ there are also plenty of hi-vis producer team-ups on offer… Dirtier, moodier numbers like the Joint Operations Centre (John O’Callaghan) co-op dovetail with melodic sun-kissed island odysseys like Leon and Roger Shah’s Ibiza-gazing "Eden".

Vocals are rare across Leon’s discography but on ‘Phantasma‘ when they do arrive they do so with substantial impact. For "By Your Side" he tracked down the talents of US singer Fisher, who subsequently delivered a heart-stoppingly, elegant vocal core to the track. Elsewhere on the discs, Leon’s new Netherlander discovery Marieke de Kruijff adds her honey-drop tones to "Irresistible" and "Substitute" and Australian singer Alana Aldea lends melancholic lament to "The Sweetest Lie".

Seasoned album buyers will be aware that around the 12 track mark your average artist long-player starts to fade out. As with ‘Pictures‘ double-disc bumper edition though, Leon’s second album could very well have been his forth. ‘Phantasma’s‘ second disc ushers in tracks like the Haruki Murakama inspired (and melodically beguiling) "Shimamoto", as well as "Saturn" his anthemic, cinematic dark trance head-to-head-with new Dutch sensation W&W. And on "Fly Back To Her" he re-teams with his "Strike One" sparring partner, Joop for a tech-fried, tightly percussive outing. Through its run-time ‘Phantasma‘ achieves the perfect balance – an album of audacious audio that is equally at home on the car stereo as it is in the clubs making the bass-bins pound and the speakers sweat. It’s out on the 31st of August.

Track list

CD-1
101 – That Morning (Album Mix)
102 – Dark Star (vs. Sied van Riel)
103 – By Your Side (I Will Be There) (feat. Fisher)
104 – Don’t Be Afraid
105 – Highland Walk
106 – War Of The Worlds
107 – 2099 (vs. Marcus Schössow)
108 – Off Road (vs. Joint Operations Centre)
109 – Substitute (feat. Marieke de Kruijff)
110 – Avalanche
111 – Eden (vs. Roger Shah)
112 – Butterfly
CD2
201 – The Attic
202 – Shimamoto
203 – Saturn (vs. W&W)
204 – Sweetest Lie (feat. Alana Aldea)
205 – I Close My Eyes
206 – Creek
207 – Assembly Line
208 – Irresistible (feat. Marieke de Kruijff)
209 – Fly Back To Her (vs. JOOP)
210 – The Knights Approach
211 – Icarus
212 – A New Dawn

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