Astral Dance - "Beyond" (1988)

Today's theme: A synth-based ambient / new age record, an album with individual tracks but where the music also creates a whole.

The Swedish band Astral Dance was founded in 1986 and was / is a band where Pelle Händén was the driving force. From what I know three albums were released and Beyond was the second of these. Pelle would collaborate with different people and on Beyond you also hear Johan Belin. In addition we hear Björn J:son Lindh playing the flute on two tracks. Björn J:son Lindh is a musician who shows up in the most unexpected and expected places, as soon a Swedish artist wants flute in a song you know Björn will be there. He must hold the Swedish record for guest appearances.

Pelle (born -62) learned to play the piano as a child, his father was a music teacher, but when he was eight years old he heard Jimi Hendrix play, which blew his mind. He therefore quickly changed instrument to guitar and formed his first rockn'roll band at age 12. When he was 15 he moved to Stockholm and started playing bass in various bands. 1981 to 1983 he was a member in the band Livkraft (Life force) which at the time apparently was a popular band, although I personally have never heard of it. And in 1984 he formed the progressive band Finnegan's Wake, which I have heard of. While playing in Finnegan's Wake, he started playing around with syntheseizers and realized the potential of this instrument, which then became his main instrument.
It can be added that the first concert he visited was Sweet at Scandinavium in Gothenburg (Sweden) 1974.

I probably bought this album the year of its release, or the year after. What attracted me was of course the mysterious cover, the mysterious band name and the mysterious album title. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was at this time in life attracted by mysterious and "deep" music, expectations the cover of Beyond promised to fulfill. I had never heard of Astral Dance when I bought the record.

The young Markus' hopes were fulfilled. It is half mystic, deep music which can be likened to a long journey of 40 minutes rather than a series of short 5-minute leaps. It's synth-based instrumental music almost all the way through, as mentioned, you'll also hear the flute in a couple of songs. Towards the end of the album appears mysterious, male choirs to mystify the creation even more. I liked this album as a teenager and played it quite often, especially at night when it was time to sleep. It was an album I liked to listen to in the darkness, music that spoke to the inside of me. Quite far from Sweet in Scandinavium. Beyond was an album no one else I knew owned, therefor it gave me a feeling of being somewhat special, to know music a little bit better than everyone else, to have discovered something no one else had seen. Yes, I was unique in a way.

The older Markus is not as fond of Beyond, although to my surprise, I  appreciated it more than I thought I would when I listened to it for the first time in perhaps 20 years. It's a little bit too much New Age for me to fully enjoy, while at the same time many parts of the album actually are really nice. Syntheseizers and the 80's is a dangerous combination, and of course you hear that the technology was different then. Bands like Tangerine Dream and Krafwerk managed to create synth-based music in the 70s with a sound which still feels OK today, but something happened with the syntheseizers in the 80s. However, on Beyond Pelle and Johan barely stay on the right side of the knife sharp edge regarding acceptable or not acceptable 80s synth sound. There is a melancholy touch on some of the songs which speak to the sentimental part of me. Would the music paint a picture, I think this picture would be relatively dark, with a few splashes of color here and there. Like the album cover.

It's a relatively diverse record, given that it is instrumental music, where almost only syntheseizers are heard. Some parts are a little more energetic while others are more quiet, delicate and quite beautiful. Björn J:son Lindh's contributions are nice and can be enjoyed by themselves. Pelle and Johan manage to create a good wholeness over two sides. As always in these kinds of albums you've got some transportation parts but interesting parts turn up often enough to keep it interesting. As a whole, Beyond is a peaceful and relaxing experience, and probably not something a football hooligan would listen to before a clash with the enemy.

Possibly, this album will spin a few times on the turntable in the year to come, but as I said, it's a little bit too much New Age for me and the sound feels outdated. Music that I in my younger years thought was "deep" and mysterious, I today often think is boring, quasi deep and pretentious. But Beyond still gets an "OK"-stamp from me as it contains some pretty good parts, even though the sound needs an update. I'm glad this album is in my collection. And a man (Pelle) who chooses Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here as the album he would take to a deserted island, you have to respect.

The one who wants to hear what Astral Dance sounds like today can visit http://soundcloud.com/astral-dance/sets/astral-dance-today/


Tracklist

Side A
1. Beyond
2. Shai
3. Move On
4. Yamuna Nights
Total tid: 19:20

Side B
1. Fantasia
2. Dreamwind
3. St. Vitus Dance
4. Exit
Total tid: 18:25

No, no videos on Youtube from this album.