ETHEREAL: expert's point of view 🔍

A selection of four reviews

💡My fourth album under the spotlight💡

ETHEREAL - Sequentia Legenda's fourth album.

In addition to the fact that it is pleasant to read the reviewers' papers,
it is important to know how my music is perceived, 
how it feels, what the listener feels when discovering my sound landscape. 

Some analyses are very interesting and I have sometimes even found myself rediscovering my music through reading.
On the other hand, others give me ideas, trails and sometimes also sources of inspiration and reflection.

Here are some excerpts of my choice that I wanted to comment on.

I wish you a pleasant reading,
Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)

Richard Gürtler Dec 29, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia

 Richard Gürtler: 
"Elevation, at 20:34 the third and closing opus, invites the listener into unmapped domains, where Sequentia Legenda with nebulously barren drone hums unlocks the gates to the void. Amalgamating a display of thrillingly oracular hues with lighter, artificially spellbinding pulsations and calmly ascending, but persistently magnified sequencer and drum sparkles. Ominous depths, never before reached by Sequentia Legenda are meticulously illuminated by perpetually shimmering and predictably sustained insignias. Wow, this final track was certainly beyond the ordinary Berlin-School endeavor!!!
[...]
70 minutes long "Ethereal" is another highly accomplished album by Sequentia Legenda and especially its third chapter showcases the more distinguishing approach in carving profoundly enigmatic, yet insistently sequencer-driven vintage-futuristic electronica.
[...]
Laurent, keep on excelling!!! And by the way, the next album "Renaissance" is scheduled for May 17th, 2018, so definitely stay connected!!!" 

Richard Gürtler Dec 29, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia

 Sequentia Legenda:
"Elevation, is indeed an original sound universe that I propose to my listeners, a different way of composing my music, a different use of sequencers, it's a new musical journey.

The global atmosphere of this title is oriented towards the ambient, the long evolutionary pads contribute to an opening towards to a wide sound and cosmic panorama.

From a technical point of view, I used reverberation extensively, in order to obtain a great width and depth sound, to shape a soundtrack favourable to immersion and meditation, allowing the notes to disperse in space. The Formant filter has been used to give a special touch and grain to this floating raster.

The sound texture in perpetual evolution is an invitation for the listener to discover and visualize a fragment of the cosmos, it's an immersive and astral invitation, it's a take-off to space, it's touching the stars and going very far.

📡Elevation is a title to elevate itself high." 

Sequentia Legenda on 28 January 2018

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Drew Fisher Jan 23, 2018, Avalanche, United States

 Drew Fisher: 
"Laurent Schieber has done it again! Just when you think the Berlin School sound has been played out, Laurent releases something new that just keeps upping the ante! 
The second of these three epics of progressive electronic music may be my favorite Berlin School song ever made!
[...]
"Around the Second Moon" (22:45) opens with some very interesting slowly sliding note "arpeggi" beneath which some sequential percussion/bass lines try to establish themselves. As the treble sounds thin and disappear, the "bubbling," "squirting" sequencer lines become more interesting, hypnotic, captivating, and then foundational, even melody holders. In the fourth minute, they are the only music placeholders before some synth washes sneak in from behind. The chord choices of the synths add so much to enhance the sequencing. It's not until the middle of the seventh minute that the first percussive sound arrives and begins to elbow its way into the mix. By now the bass and synth lines have wormed their way into your subconscious in a kind of Edgar Alan Poe way while syncopated, intermittent percussives make it sound like Madeline Usher trying to break out of her casket in the basement. This is SO COOOL!!!
[...]
Were I more familiar with Klaus Schulze's work of the second half of the 1970s I might find more to compare and critique, but, as is, I can only find praise. The clarity and fullness of modern sound is so pleasant and fulfilling to the ear and soul than the often thin and scratchy stuff of recordings from the 70s that, as with the Master's 2007 release, Kontinuum, I am filled with only praise and joy.

Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the 
21st Century's shining examples of stellar Berlin School revitalization." 

Drew Fisher Jan 23, 2018, Avalanche, United States

 Sequentia Legenda:
"Personally, I think the Berlin School still has a bright future ahead of it. This musical movement allows me to express myself, to release my emotions, to share a part of me with the public, to live my passion.

I have my own vision, that of an extended version of the Berlin School, a vision of sequencing. It is an honour to be able to contribute my contribution to this musical edifice and thus to contribute to its continuity.

I had the privilege of collaborating with artists specialized in this movement such as Kurtz Mindfields (Jean-Luc Briançon) and the emblematic drummer Tommy Betzler who played with Klaus Schulze in the 80s. 

Regarding the track "Around the Second Moon" it's a track where Tommy Betzler agreed to participate, he put all his experience in the profile of this composition with a lot of brilliance. Hearing that it's one of the best tracks in the Berlin School fills me with pride and happiness, which I am happy to share this with Tommy. 

Finally, if I can "revitalize" the Berlin School, as Drew Fisher so aptly put it in his article, then I will be proud and delighted. I'd like to add: "Long live to Berlin School!" 

Sequentia Legenda on 31 January 2018

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Thoralf Koß Oct 19, 2017, Riesa, Germany

 Thoralf Koß:
"Laurent Schieber bezeichnet seine Kompositionen als „‘ernst‘ mit einem Hauch von Nostalgie“ und bringt auf diese Weise die Stimmung hinter „Ethereal“ auf den Punkt. Elektronische Klassik der 70er-Jahre also – oder einfach nur Berliner Schule pur. Hinzu kommt die angenehm warme, sehr voluminöse Produktion des Albums, die bei einer entsprechenden Lautstärke und einer guten Anlage den ganzen Raum zu einer Art Universum werden lässt, durch das man bei „Stratums Of Seraphic Voices“ einerseits wie durch die Milchstraße schwebt, sich aber auch erste „Body Love“-Fantasien entfalten.
[...]
FAZIT: Ach ja, warum nur kommt einem immer wieder dieser KLAUS SCHULZE in den Sinn, wenn man SEQUENTIA LEGENDA hört? Die Antwort ist ganz einfach: Weil Laurent Schieber sich nicht nur Schulzes frühe Musik verinnerlicht hat, sondern auch dazu in der Lage ist, sie auf gänzlich gleichem Niveau und mit einem ähnlichen Instrumentarium, wie es auch Schulze verwendete, wiederzugeben. Das Schieber-Schulze-Gen funktioniert bestens. 
„Ethereal“ = Elektronische Musik für Berliner-Schule-Nostalgiker." 

in English:

"Laurent Schieber describes his compositions as "serious" with a touch of nostalgia"and in this way sums up the mood behind" Ethereal ". Electronic classics of the 70s - or simply pure Berlin school. Add to this the pleasantly warm, very voluminous production of the album, which, with the appropriate volume and a good system, turns the whole room into a kind of universe, which on the one hand makes you float through the Milky Way, but on the other hand allows you to unfold your first „Body Love“ fantasies with "Stratums Of Seraphic Voices".
[...]
CONCLUSION: Oh yes, why does this KLAUS SCHULZE keep coming to mind when you hear SEQUENTIA LEGENDA? The answer is quite simple: because Laurent Schieber has not only internalized Schulze's early music, but is also able to reproduce it at the same level and with a similar set of instruments as Schulze used. The Schieber-Schulze gene works perfectly. 

„Ethereal“ = Electronic music for Berlin school nostalgics." 

Thoralf Koß Oct 19, 2017, Riesa, Germany

 Sequentia Legenda:
"The German rigour is in me, it is most certainly due to my status as a cross-border man, to the fact that professionally I spent more time in Germany than in France. The adage "weniger ist mehr" which can be translated as "Less is more" reflects my personality, my musical vision. By the definition of "serious", musically speaking, 
I mean: no superfluous. 

I try to do as much as possible with the simplest possible configuration, I don't try to work with a record number of tracks, I don't try at all cost to "furnish" my compositions with solos or effects. 

My music is serious, yes, she is also nostalgic, but without falling into sadness in order to allow the listener to escape in the best possible conditions. 

Other than the fact that my music can be categorized as minimalist music, it is important for me to bring the sound elements to life, to make them grow throughout the title, to highlight harmonic subtleties in order to make musical exploration as captivating as possible. The search for symphonic balance, the balance of the sound spectrum, the coherence of spatiality are essential aspects in this vision of rigour and seriousness." 

Sequentia Legenda on 30 January 2018

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Sylvain Lupari Aug 10, 2017, Montréal, Canada

 Sylvain Lupari: 
"Véritable amoureux de la musique de Klaus Schulze, Sequentia Legenda va au-delà dans sa quête de reproduire l'essence de la rétro Berlin School avec cet exquis Ethereal. Un must!"
[...]
Près de 30 minutes sur une thématique minimaliste morphique 
qui s'épuisent sans sentiment de lassitude ! Il n'y avait que Klaus Schulze pour réussir pareil exploit. Laurent Schieber fait comme le maître et à la perfection." 

in English:

"A true lover of Klaus Schulze's music, Sequentia Legenda goes beyond his quest to reproduce the essence of Berlin School retro with this exquisite Ethereal. A must!"
[...]
Almost 30 minutes on a minimalist morphic theme 
that wears out without feeling tired! 
Only Klaus Schulze was capable of such a feat. 
Laurent Schieber makes like the master and to perfection." 

 Sequentia Legenda:
"It is a great honour to be compared in this way with the illustrious Klaus Schulze. I have a deep respect for his work. He was a forerunner. A true sound sculptor. 
Mirage was my musical trigger!

For me, the Berlin School is a real passion, I give my best.

I remain humble, I know where I come from and I will see what the future holds for me. 
I just hope to be able to continue on this path and live my dream as best I can. And who knows... maybe someday I could meet Klaus Schulze." 

Sequentia Legenda on 31 January 2018

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