Aphelion
While not without flaws, this second release from Amethystium, aka Oystein Ramfjord (a twenty-something producer from Norway), is another appealing assortment of trance/space/pop/new age textures that may not fully transport you to another dimension, but will set an interesting audio backdrop for the evening. Ramfjord creates inviting, slightly sweetened, slightly mysterious electronic atmospheres, all nudged along by polite grooves and an assortment of subtle,Enigmainspired audio totems (native flutes, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern vocals). Amethystium is not quite a peer of Enigma, acting more like a mild-mannered distant relative. Stylistic comparisons toOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark¸Mythos, and evenVangelisare also likely to come to mind. Ramfjord's higher-pitched keyboard voices occasionally break the spell his music works hard to cast (as in "Garden of Sakuntala," a pity), but it's a tolerable glitch in this largely inviting 59-minute moodsetter, one that is almost identical in flavor to his debutOdonata.--Terry Wood