Dear all my friends,

As you knew, Bright, Quietmelodies' founder, is extremely busy now so that he can't spend more time posting new music. I think that's the reason why this place can't attract visitors any longer. Gambetis is still doing his job really well, but it's not enough without your help. Please share what you have here instead of just downloading and leaving.

Honestly, there is a problem about kinds of music that are allowed to be published here and it's totally my fault to approve them. I've just removed all such kinds of music and I hope that you don't mind it anymore. All posts now will be checked carefully and approved as soon as possible. Gambetis said: "We all have to be involved in keeping the quality of our place". So please stay with us as friends!


Best Regards,
Mr.Neveralone.

Hi there!  Thank you very much for finding your way here!  As many of you already know, this site is really a continuation of a blog that was originally hosted on Wordpress.  The blog grew to a point where there really needed to be some additional capabilities that Wordpress just couldn't provide.  This started the search for a better overall solution.  This site is the result of that search.  I really do hope that all of you come to think of this site as your home for good music, good company and a good environment. 

One of the neat things about this site is that each of you has the ability to post your own music here.  All that is necessary is for you to become a member.  Of course, membership is free and offers some of those capabilities that were mentioned earlier.  If we start to get more posters, not only will the site grow, but it will also become much more than just a site.  My ultimate goal for it is to become an active community where people with similar tastes in music can share their opinions, views & feelings about our kind of music.

In the coming weeks and months, additional capabilities will be added to help increase your experience here at QuietMelodies.  A couple to look forward to will be the new forum & a request page that can be edited and added to by the members.  Right now, the updates will be happening as fast as I possibly can.  This process can be sped up by everyone helping out in terms of making their own posts with music that was available on http://quietmusic.wordpress.com.  Of course, not only the music found there, but anything that can be considered New Age or it's subsidiaries will be most welcome here!

All in all, I've got a very good feeling about this site and the community that we will become.  Each of you have abilities and talents that make you unique, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the chance and sharing yourself with us.

Best,
Bright

Christopher Franke was, early in his career, right on the cutting edge of the freshness of electronic music. Indeed, as a member of Tangerine Dream, he helped to pioneer the genre and achieved much acclaim as a founder of the Berlin School of e-music. Unfortunately, after he left TD, he became more interested in the mass production of music. The quality of his albums has suffered as a result. He has, however, released four CDs that rate as good to excellent. "Klemania" is one of the good ones. (KLEM is an organization dedicated to the advancement and promotion of electronic music.)

"Klemania" has two long-form (over 21 minutes) pieces and one short (4 minute) piece. Within his soundscapes, Franke visits the Berlin School and other domains. There are deep atmospheres, heavy experiments and dynamic rhythms. Gentle melodies weave around and through those elements to complete the soundscapes.

This is a good CD. In relation to Franke's entire career, it is a disappointment. In relation to his solo career, it is a fine disc. It will appeal to fans of Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese, Paul Haslinger and Johannes Schmoelling.

Christopher Franke is an amazing artist and has composed excellent music for the Babylon 5 series along with many movies over the years. Following his departure from his band of 18 years Tangerine Dream, his solo output has been stunningly beautiful and his 1994 album "Enchanting Nature" is the pinnacle of his solo output barring movie related compositions.

"Enchanting Nature" is not a completely new entry in the Christopher Franke's discography. Instead, it's mostly a targeted compilation of altered & remixed material, with four completely new tracks (out of 14 total) added. As honestly indicated on the cover, this release is targeted at a new audience, rather than at collectors, but I am sure that the latter will want to have this beautiful CD in their collection as well. In my opinion, as hard as it is to image, "Enchanting Nature" improves upon the original release, "Pacific Coast Highway".

"Enchanting Nature"'s contents are mostly taken from Franke's first solo studio album, "Pacific Coast Highway". The new tracks (first and last two) are composed in a similar vein - light piano melodies with a misty air of soft synthesizer passages. Nevertheless, this is not average easy listening music - laws, no. It's classical in composition structure, perfectly executed, bearing the stigma of enormous compositional experience Franke had within Tangerine Dream.

This is a wonderful album that you should not pass up, even if you're not a major New Age zealot. The title may be a bit cheesy but believe me, this album is beyond enchanting!

Christopher Franke's first solo record upon leaving Tangerine Dream is a travelogue saluting the rugged, and often majestic, California coastline environs. Franke here has largely jettisoned his trademark sequencer labyrinths of yesteryear and instead substituted grand pianos, austere digital synths and subtle percussive shadings. The music is surprisingly melodic, highly accessible, and immaculately produced.

"Driving Into Blue" uses digitized pianos to convey a sense of speed while commuting along white sandy shorelines. "Purple Waves" is an intimate work for synthetic voice choirs, wind-chime electronics and piano that suggests fluorescent sunsets and afternoon silences, with sounds that caress and balm the spirit.

"Pacific Coast Highway" is Franke's most personal statement to date, far from the experimental tropes of Tangerine Dream, but quite charming in its simplicity.

Recommended.

SoMa
Steve Roach,
Robert Rich
Original Release Date: 1992
Label: Hearts of Space

On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/SoMa-Steve-Roach/dp/B000000X65

Thank you so much to anyone who will share this and any other HoS release! :-)