Felix Marc - Parallel Worlds
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Artist:
CDs catalogue:
- Felix Marc - The Muse Limited MCD
- Felix Marc - Parallel Worlds CD
- Felix Marc - Clubways MCD
- Felix Marc - Pathways CD
Despite all my blind love and lack of objectivity towards the band called Diorama, I’m very sceptical if it’s going about Felix Marc’s solo project. Honestly? After the first listen to "Pathways" (first solo album) I felt nausea. It just seemed to be too sweet for me. But I didn’t gave up on it, I started to listen again and in the end "Pathways" is played through my headphones till today. This music definitely gains in value over time after each listening. After this experience I approached "Paralel Worlds" with similar patience
Knowing what I might expect of the Frozen Plasma’s vocalist and Diorama’s keyboarder, I was prepared for a big dose of musical icing sugar. But in fact this is a very personal album, calm like a sleepy kitty which from time to time shows his claws – something that constitutes its undoubted value in my opinion.
Besides the lyrics which are definitely not trivial and they don’t include strings of metaphors giving countless possibilities of interpretation, we can find truly remarkable melodies here. A few songs deserve special attention: "Parallel World" which takes us to the 80s times and the black horses of the album – catchy electropop tunes - ‘MoscowParis" and "Garden of Light". Well, sometimes it is light and danceable like in ‘Modern Talking", and there are moments of punch ("Ghost"), some other time we have a wistful pop song("Fields of Grey"). Like on the previous album, Felix perfectly connects the old-tried and true with the fresh and new. This is slowly becoming his trademark. The aforementioned "Ghost" sounds like a lighter version of some FrontLine Assmebly tune, to return again to his true vocal in the chorus. In the melancholic "Opposite Sides" on the keys there played Torben Wendt, so there’s no surprise that, apart from Felix’s style, this song also reveals features of Diorama.
Lis van der Akker in "Fields of Grey" and MyLucina in predatory ‘Collector" as guest voices sang perfectly. I think, this kind of cooperation is certainly the added value. Voices complement one another in harmony, telling concrete stories. However, in my opinion, "Collector" cleans up the clock of "Fields of Grey". "Collector" inspired by John Fowles's debut book with the same title, causes true shivers on your back!
A single promoting the new album - "The Muse" is a typical Felix’s catchy hit. There was also a music video made to this song and just like "Give Me Back The Moments" from the first album, it was directed by Boris May. The place where the shots to "The Muse" were taken – Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany, is a curiosity. It is one of the most important industrial monuments of the 20th century. Felix Marc was the first artist to have ever shoot a music video in this location.
The title of the album itself is convincing and immediately reaching the listener. With each song you can hear how the author lives suspended between the worlds, trying to find his place in each of them, seeking compromise and from time to time apologizing not sure whom and not sure for what.
The album also hides a little surprise – a cover of "Mystify" by INXS. As Felix revealed in one of the latest interviews, this is one of his favourite pieces, in which he wanted to capture the worth remembering inspiring moment from his trip to Moscow.
What irritates me? Some kind of vocal mannerism and the vulgar "Go fuck yourself" in Life is a Porn. I think that Felix can express both anger and aggression in a much more subtle way. Suffice it to return to the aforementioned "Give Me Back The Moments". The "fuck" phrases are something I would leave to bands like Combichrist.
For the second time Felix Marc served a beautiful, personal, well-considered album, whose subject-matter is close to most - if not all – of his listeners. Admit it, how many of us live and toss between the two worlds: routine and fun, obligations and desires? Stuck in front of monitors of office computers, we yearn for a parallel world full of freedom and inspiration.
There’s nothing revealing, but still appealing.
In these times of increasing numbers of publications chasing for proverbial beats, it is good to stop and listen to something with a heart and meaning without the need to abandon the good tunes.
Let’s meet in our parallel world.
Tracklist:
01. Repair
02. MoscowParis
03. Collector
04. Opposite Sides
05. Life is a Porn
06. Field sof Grey
07. The Muse
08. Modern Talking
09. The Garden of Light
10. Ghost
11. Mystify
12. Parallel Worlds
Knowing what I might expect of the Frozen Plasma’s vocalist and Diorama’s keyboarder, I was prepared for a big dose of musical icing sugar. But in fact this is a very personal album, calm like a sleepy kitty which from time to time shows his claws – something that constitutes its undoubted value in my opinion.
Besides the lyrics which are definitely not trivial and they don’t include strings of metaphors giving countless possibilities of interpretation, we can find truly remarkable melodies here. A few songs deserve special attention: "Parallel World" which takes us to the 80s times and the black horses of the album – catchy electropop tunes - ‘MoscowParis" and "Garden of Light". Well, sometimes it is light and danceable like in ‘Modern Talking", and there are moments of punch ("Ghost"), some other time we have a wistful pop song("Fields of Grey"). Like on the previous album, Felix perfectly connects the old-tried and true with the fresh and new. This is slowly becoming his trademark. The aforementioned "Ghost" sounds like a lighter version of some FrontLine Assmebly tune, to return again to his true vocal in the chorus. In the melancholic "Opposite Sides" on the keys there played Torben Wendt, so there’s no surprise that, apart from Felix’s style, this song also reveals features of Diorama.
Lis van der Akker in "Fields of Grey" and MyLucina in predatory ‘Collector" as guest voices sang perfectly. I think, this kind of cooperation is certainly the added value. Voices complement one another in harmony, telling concrete stories. However, in my opinion, "Collector" cleans up the clock of "Fields of Grey". "Collector" inspired by John Fowles's debut book with the same title, causes true shivers on your back!
A single promoting the new album - "The Muse" is a typical Felix’s catchy hit. There was also a music video made to this song and just like "Give Me Back The Moments" from the first album, it was directed by Boris May. The place where the shots to "The Muse" were taken – Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany, is a curiosity. It is one of the most important industrial monuments of the 20th century. Felix Marc was the first artist to have ever shoot a music video in this location.
The title of the album itself is convincing and immediately reaching the listener. With each song you can hear how the author lives suspended between the worlds, trying to find his place in each of them, seeking compromise and from time to time apologizing not sure whom and not sure for what.
The album also hides a little surprise – a cover of "Mystify" by INXS. As Felix revealed in one of the latest interviews, this is one of his favourite pieces, in which he wanted to capture the worth remembering inspiring moment from his trip to Moscow.
What irritates me? Some kind of vocal mannerism and the vulgar "Go fuck yourself" in Life is a Porn. I think that Felix can express both anger and aggression in a much more subtle way. Suffice it to return to the aforementioned "Give Me Back The Moments". The "fuck" phrases are something I would leave to bands like Combichrist.
For the second time Felix Marc served a beautiful, personal, well-considered album, whose subject-matter is close to most - if not all – of his listeners. Admit it, how many of us live and toss between the two worlds: routine and fun, obligations and desires? Stuck in front of monitors of office computers, we yearn for a parallel world full of freedom and inspiration.
There’s nothing revealing, but still appealing.
In these times of increasing numbers of publications chasing for proverbial beats, it is good to stop and listen to something with a heart and meaning without the need to abandon the good tunes.
Let’s meet in our parallel world.
Tracklist:
01. Repair
02. MoscowParis
03. Collector
04. Opposite Sides
05. Life is a Porn
06. Field sof Grey
07. The Muse
08. Modern Talking
09. The Garden of Light
10. Ghost
11. Mystify
12. Parallel Worlds
