Corciolli - Ilusia - 2017
“... lovely melodies and amazing programming...”
intro
What a wonderful surprise from Brazil. It is still possible to discover music that is new to you, but is in fact music by a renowned musician, composer, keyboardist and producer with a 25 year career and who has sold around 2 million albums! I am talking about Corciolli, a musician who not only brings influences of classical music, jazz and rock to his work, but also broadens the range of sound possibilities by incorporating elements from various cultures, from Tibetan to Celtic music, through Flamenco, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern sounds as well. On his new album “Ilusia” he rediscovers his rocker origins. His influences came from progressive rock bands and artists such as Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre and the late Isao Tomita.
line-up
Composed, arranged, produced and performed by Corciolli.
With Ramon Montagner on drums and Mauricio Oliveira on bass (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
review
You can find 8 wonderful instrumental themes on “Ilusia”. To the real drums (Ramon Montagner) he added more weight, by means of timbres, programming and layers of orchestral percussion. The electric and acoustic guitar samplers demonstrates the keyboardist's fluency in the arrangements. Following Corciolli; “it is necessary to think like a guitarist”. Following the information sheet; The songs, with suggestive titles such as “The man who disappeared in the painting” or “Light spheres in a Stephen King mist”, evoke imaginary stories and scenes.
The album opens with the track “The Man Who Disappeared in the Painting”. The first thing I notice is the wonderful and relaxed atmosphere of the music. It reminds me of the New Age releases of the wonderful Narada label. This has also to do with the high quality of the sound and production. The second thing are the beautiful guitar parts, which in fact are samples played on a keyboard. If you didn't know, you would think that there is a guitarist playing on this album, well done. A nice melodic opener.
The second track “Secrets of the Invisible” includes analog keyboard sounds that will bring the name of Jean Michel Jarre to your mind. I also had to think of the Greek keyboardist Yanni. This later has to do with the rhythms of the composition. You can find great bass and drum programming on this track. In “Distant Living Memories”, a track with wonderful melodies you can find again those amazing guitar samples. The next track “Ghosts of the Perpetual Mansion” is a happy and diverse piece of music with up-tempo parts and delicious melodic part with great keyboard orchestrations. You can also find some nice synth solo's and organ parts in this great track. One of my favorites of this remarkable album.
“The Imaginary Principle” is one of the tracks with those lovely guitar (samples) parts. You can find lovely melodies on this track, but this counts for the whole album. I also like the little intimate piano parts in this song. Then it is time for another favorite of mine. “The Misery of Fear and the Battle Against the Immortal Dream” is a beautiful ballad with some lovely guitar melodies. Just another highlight of this fine record. And then we have the song with the intriguing title “Light Spheres in a Stephen King Mist”. It has a beautiful and mysterious opening with a delicate piano and synth sounds from space. Corciolli uses a more spacey and electronic sounding palette in this song. The album closes with the song “Midnight of the World at the End of Time”. A song with some jazz influences but it also sounds to me like a Yanni meets Vangelis song. A worthy ending of a remarkable album.
conclusion
Ilusia from the Brazilian Corciolli is an album full of lovely melodies and amazing programming and arrangements. The album sounds fantastic and the overall atmosphere reminds me of some of the releases on the Narada label. It is an album for the lovers of keyboard oriented music. I don't recognize the progressive rock influences of Corciolli as a teenager but you can definitely find references to artist like Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis. Some parts also reminds me of the Greek composer and keyboardist Yanni. The programming and especially the electric and acoustic guitar parts are just amazing. I loved listening and reviewing this album very much and I will delve into the earlier works of this great composer, keyboardist and producer.