Gareth Emery – Northern Lights

Sunday, October 17, 2010 Pin It

So here we are, after years of waiting, we finally get to hear Gareth Emery’s debut album ‘Northern Lights‘!

So I lay in bed and put the Disc on with much anticipation and as "Stars (feat. Jerome Isma-Ae)" plays, I lay here and bob my head to a slow, kind of spacey but all in all quite pleasant track, that fits in well as an intro.

"El Segundo" the second track on the album having much the same feel, although this could fit in well as a live intro.

"Too Dark Tonight (feat. Roxanne Emery)" is track number 3 on the album and a very pleasant track indeed. It starts with some quite beautiful piano which continues into the introduction of Roxanne’s soft, beautiful vocals. The beats speed up for the majority of the track, before it cuts out and more piano finishes off the track. A very nice track to listen to at home if you’re in a mellow mood.

Now we’re getting into the good stuff as we arrive at "Arrival (feat. Brute Force)". This track has an almost tribal sounding intro. Then the beats kick in, much faster than anything else on the album so far with a much more trance like riff playing now. This is the kind of track that would make a room bounce!

Track 5 "Into The Light (feat. Mark Frisch)" is much the same as track 4. In the sense that I love it! It has a spacey sounding start, with Mark Frisch’s vocal coming in almost straight away. His voice fits perfectly for this track, thus making it very easy to listen to. Around two thirds of the way into the track we get treated with the most amazing sound, a very euphoric sounding riff. One of those where you could close your eyes and lose yourself.

"Full Tilt" is track 6 on the album. A very dreamy track; the pace has slowed again. It feels like an interlude to me, to perhaps give your ears a break for the goodness that is to follow.

"Sanctuary (feat. Lucy Saunders)": If you haven’t heard this track, then where have you been? The build up is full of anticipation, you can feel something great coming. Lucy’s voice almost makes this track what it is, a perfect choice Gareth! You get a distant glimpse of the break down through out which fits in just perfectly. Half way through there’s the most gorgeous sound, I can’t put into words how nice it is! Then we get the main riff… WOW! This track is a must for anyone who remotely likes trance!

When I first heard "Citadel" I thought I’d put and old Western film on for a moment, the start is very strange indeed, then out of nowhere that stops and the old hand clap starts along with another fantastic sound which gives you an idea of what the track’s going to give and you won’t be disappointed. Ever heard the phrase "music to your ears"? Listen to this track and you’ll know where that phrase came from!

"Fight The Sunrise (feat. Lucy Saunders)" is fast paced, with more beautiful vocals on top. This is the sort of track that you just lose yourself to. I’d go as far as saying this track is perfect, I honestly cannot speak highly enough of it!

The album ends with "All Is Now (feat. Activa)". Now I’ve always liked Activa, so I expected a lot… They delivered! This is a very repetitive track yet somehow it doesn’t get annoying. It’s fast and fades out beautifully, a perfect end to a wonderful album.

For more info related to Gareth Emery check out the following links:
www.garethemery.com
www.twitter.com/garethemery
www.facebook.com/garethemery
www.myspace.com/garethemery

Reviewed by: Matt Lees

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