Somnesia - Celestial Horizons

[Manuser]

Timewarp records

1. Somnesia - Elysian Vibe  02:20
2. Somnesia - Alien Substance  08:32
3. KhetzaL - Aramean Dreams (Somnesia Remix)  09:00
4. Somnesia - Lucid Dream  08:41
5. Maiia303 - Sleepless Nights In Anjuna (Somnesia Remix)  07:16
6. Somnesia & GoaTree - Oblivion Planet (Somnesia Remix)  09:29
7. Somnesia - Organic Cloud  09:20
8. Somnesia - Sherazade's Nights (Escape The Night Mix)  07:48
9. Somnesia - Perpetual Illusion  08:04
10. Somnesia - Somewhere On The Gange (Lotus Mix)  09:42

Melodies, melodies, melodies, as usual This was my comment about the latest album (review) I would describe most of the album as cosmic and morning at the same time, melodies are all over the place, flying around like there is no tomorrow, sometimes with an oriental approach. The album contains several solid sunrise tracks with beautiful arpeggios, and the lower tempo tracks got my attention the most (especially #4 and #5). The music is storytelling, the ominous pads and running synths had me interested. 
Low frequencies are quite missing though, the tracks are not bassy enough and it was my main complain about the last album, however I felt the kick was a bit stronger this time but there is still the bass issue IMO. Some energy is missing because of that, and I noticed several listeners on this forum had the same feelings. I came to the conclusion that it was a deliberate choice of the artist. Christophe likes to focus on harmonic and dynamic melodies living in a sweet, light atmosphere. I must say I am a bit surprised that after 7 albums now, the artist doesn't try something different, doesn't explore other sides of the genre.   
The more I grow older, the more picky I become about my music so not loving everything is normal, yet this release predictably has many worthy moments and the fans of the melodic goa trance genre should be pleased.

Favorite tracks: #3, #4, #5, #9. 
Rating: 6.5/10. 

To listen / buy: https://timewarprecords.bandcamp.com/album/somnesia-celestial-horizons-timewarp125-timewarp

[Trance2MoveU]

 

The above reviewer pretty much nailed it and IMO was actually generous. The artist at this point is seven (now 8!) albums in and I'm not hearing a lot of growth.  Don't get me wrong it's decent with plenty of melodies, but after 7 albums shouldn't the bar be a little higher than that?  Where's the power?  Where's the depth and dynamics?  None of the tracks were memorable and it sounds rather generic.  Instead of producing the same album almost yearly, take some chances and start experimenting because this music doesn't sound fresh at all.

I'm sorry if this critique sounds harsh (and know that I have purchased all of Somnesia's albums), but the talent of this artist is evident and I'm waiting for him to put it all together.  Right now it's a bunch of unfulfilled potential.

[Manuser]

On 6/13/2020 at 4:09 PM, Trance2MoveU said:

 

The above reviewer pretty much nailed it and IMO was actually generous. The artist at this point is seven (now 8!) albums in and I'm not hearing a lot of growth.  Don't get me wrong it's decent with plenty of melodies, but after 7 albums shouldn't the bar be a little higher than that?  Where's the power?  Where's the depth and dynamics?  None of the tracks were memorable and it sounds rather generic.  Instead of producing the same album almost yearly, take some chances and start experimenting because this music doesn't sound fresh at all.

I'm sorry if this critique sounds harsh (and know that I have purchased all of Somnesia's albums), but the talent of this artist is evident and I'm waiting for him to put it all together.  Right now it's a bunch of unfulfilled potential.

If I listen to the album today again, I'll probably also think my review was generous. My ratings can depend on my mood of the moment, it's still a 6/10, decent to good music but IMO Somnesia never had a real breakthrough, if I can use this term. He has a style that would work very well in collaborations with other artists who generate a more powerful goa-trance (I know he had a collaboration with Imba before).