Sometimes when these releases come along it's almost like someone's listening to my occasional prayers to the Gods of Valhalla, only last week I was wishing for a little more vintage synth nonsense to rack up next to Zombi and of course Goblin - and here it is. Sinoia Caves is the solo project of Black Mountain ivory fondler Jeremy Schmidt and on 'The Enchanter Pursuaded' he shows off his knowledge of Italian horror soundtracks and synth prog legends such as Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson in the best possible way - by totally ripping them off. I'm not criticising though, this album is just what I like to hear, a keyboardist actually having fun with his subject matter, and that fun translates to the listener in the best possible way. From the Fabio Frizzi influenced percussion to the warbling symphonic pad sounds this is all reminiscent of better days, the days when tapes would warp and when synths would detune without any computer assistance. Don't be swayed into simply labelling this as comedy music mind you, 'The Enchanter Persuaded' is deep, involving stuff and although there's a tongue lodged somewhere in the cheek of an escaped maniac, it never steps over into the realms of wacky parody. By the time the album draws to its prime-period John Carpenter influenced closer, the (possibly) Phantasm referencing 'Evil Ball' you know that you've been treated to some of the most enjoyable and unpretentious synth ramblings this side of 1982, so what's left to do except press play once more. Fans of Zombi take note...
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Sometimes when these releases come along it's almost like someone's listening to my occasional prayers to the Gods of Valhalla, only last week I was wishing for a little more vintage synth nonsense to rack up next to Zombi and of course Goblin - and here it is. Sinoia Caves is the solo project of Black Mountain ivory fondler Jeremy Schmidt and on 'The Enchanter Pursuaded' he shows off his knowledge of Italian horror soundtracks and synth prog legends such as Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson in the best possible way - by totally ripping them off. I'm not criticising though, this album is just what I like to hear, a keyboardist actually having fun with his subject matter, and that fun translates to the listener in the best possible way. From the Fabio Frizzi influenced percussion to the warbling symphonic pad sounds this is all reminiscent of better days, the days when tapes would warp and when synths would detune without any computer assistance. Don't be swayed into simply labelling this as comedy music mind you, 'The Enchanter Persuaded' is deep, involving stuff and although there's a tongue lodged somewhere in the cheek of an escaped maniac, it never steps over into the realms of wacky parody. By the time the album draws to its prime-period John Carpenter influenced closer, the (possibly) Phantasm referencing 'Evil Ball' you know that you've been treated to some of the most enjoyable and unpretentious synth ramblings this side of 1982, so what's left to do except press play once more. Fans of Zombi take note...
Sometimes when these releases come along it's almost like someone's listening to my occasional prayers to the Gods of Valhalla, only last week I was wishing for a little more vintage synth nonsense to rack up next to Zombi and of course Goblin - and here it is. Sinoia Caves is the solo project of Black Mountain ivory fondler Jeremy Schmidt and on 'The Enchanter Pursuaded' he shows off his knowledge of Italian horror soundtracks and synth prog legends such as Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson in the best possible way - by totally ripping them off. I'm not criticising though, this album is just what I like to hear, a keyboardist actually having fun with his subject matter, and that fun translates to the listener in the best possible way. From the Fabio Frizzi influenced percussion to the warbling symphonic pad sounds this is all reminiscent of better days, the days when tapes would warp and when synths would detune without any computer assistance. Don't be swayed into simply labelling this as comedy music mind you, 'The Enchanter Persuaded' is deep, involving stuff and although there's a tongue lodged somewhere in the cheek of an escaped maniac, it never steps over into the realms of wacky parody. By the time the album draws to its prime-period John Carpenter influenced closer, the (possibly) Phantasm referencing 'Evil Ball' you know that you've been treated to some of the most enjoyable and unpretentious synth ramblings this side of 1982, so what's left to do except press play once more. Fans of Zombi take note...
Sometimes when these releases come along it's almost like someone's listening to my occasional prayers to the Gods of Valhalla, only last week I was wishing for a little more vintage synth nonsense to rack up next to Zombi and of course Goblin - and here it is. Sinoia Caves is the solo project of Black Mountain ivory fondler Jeremy Schmidt and on 'The Enchanter Pursuaded' he shows off his knowledge of Italian horror soundtracks and synth prog legends such as Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson in the best possible way - by totally ripping them off. I'm not criticising though, this album is just what I like to hear, a keyboardist actually having fun with his subject matter, and that fun translates to the listener in the best possible way. From the Fabio Frizzi influenced percussion to the warbling symphonic pad sounds this is all reminiscent of better days, the days when tapes would warp and when synths would detune without any computer assistance. Don't be swayed into simply labelling this as comedy music mind you, 'The Enchanter Persuaded' is deep, involving stuff and although there's a tongue lodged somewhere in the cheek of an escaped maniac, it never steps over into the realms of wacky parody. By the time the album draws to its prime-period John Carpenter influenced closer, the (possibly) Phantasm referencing 'Evil Ball' you know that you've been treated to some of the most enjoyable and unpretentious synth ramblings this side of 1982, so what's left to do except press play once more. Fans of Zombi take note...