FREQUENCY DRIFT

Rich and minimalist.

With "Laid To rest" Frequecy Drift has succeeded in the original bet of marrying two opposing qualities, richness and minimalism. Richness of instrumentation: in addition to a traditional rock formation (guitar / bass / keyboards / drums), we have the pleasure of hearing harp, flute, violin, clarinet, medieval instruments but also - something rarer in rock - the triangle. Richness of influences with contributions of folk and ethnic music. Finally, the incredible richness of Antje Auer's stamp. What a sublime voice! Minimalism: The instruments evolve regularly in duet or solo. The compositions dilute and disintegrate regularly to the point of becoming evanescent, stretching time to the limit of rupture (70 minutes of music for 6 pieces). Minimalism also in the track "Cold", with the haunting repetition of the phrase "cold as the fingers of the day". Finally, the cover is sober: no lyrics and the song titles are reduced to a single word Dead, Cold, Wish, Ice ... short and sharp like "copper".

A centerpiece of unconventional modern prog in which we do not discover any trace of the 70s, to discover absolutely! A well deserved 5 star. Too bad Antje Auer has since left the group...

Frequency Drift appeared on my radar a few years back with 2014's "Over" and I had decided back then to get that album and even placed it in my standby cart on Amazon. But as my musical interests changed and changed again, I eventually removed the CD and decided that it would be at some future date. Then in one of the Facebook prog groups I follow appeared this album cover with a woman with long, black hair in a striking red coat. One glance at the background scene and I immediately recognized that the photo was from Japan. A closer inspection revealed a sign on the left of the photograph that read "Cleaning" in Katakana. Who was this band with this album cover? Frequency Drift!

Almost two months later, the CD was in my hands at last and the music went into my ears the next morning. After the first listen I knew that I had a lot of positive things to say about the album. The second listen confirmed that. A third complete listen to the album is partially done. There are three comments I'd like to make about the music here.

First, this is an album of slow to mid-tempo songs ranging mostly from five to six minutes but with two shorter tracks and one track running at 9:17. This is a song-oriented album with one instrumental to close it off, but the songs themselves permit stunning instrumental moments. The music is mostly peaceful and beautiful with some parts moody and atmospheric, mysterious and haunting. What I appreciate the most about the music is how many tracks will conclude the lyrical part with a gentle bed of music which will then change and begin building a new mood, and then new sounds will join - acoustic, electric, electronic - and deliver an enchanting arrangement of notes. "Neon", and "Deprivation" are both songs that had me checking the track titles because of such lovely instrumental closures to the songs. "Izanami" gets a little harsh with some heavy guitar playing near the end, while "Electricity" features a triple-part vocal harmony to conclude the song.

All this wonderful music and these delightful and appealing sounds are captured in a splendid mixing and mastering job that delivers high sound quality. I really love this clean, crisp, and yet warm recording. I want to hear each instrument distinctly, and this recording is a sheer delight!

The song lyrics often create vivid images of scenes, and Irini Alexia uses her voice at times almost theatrically to bring across the emotions. Listening to Alexia and to the band's music in general, I'm reminded of artists like Thieves Kitchen, Magenta, and White Willow. I like Alexia's enunciation and phrasing. I find there are many prog singers, male and female, who sound like they are all trying to sing in some predetermined vocal style for modern prog, so I am glad to hear someone who is putting her own personal stamp into the vocal delivery.

This is an album that I'll be playing a few more times before new acquisitions will nudge it aside; however, I am sure to be bringing this album back to my ears from time to time and I will be looking at the band's back catalogue and thinking about picking up another album. Perhaps either "Ghosts" or "Over" will be good to get next.

German band FREQUENCY DRIFT have been a steady provider of their own specific brand of progressive rock ever since 2008. dropping new albums on regular intervals - and fairly frequently switching labels as well. The band appears to have settled with current label Gentle Art of Music now though, although the band itself appears in a new guise for their latest album "Letters to Maro", which was released in the spring of 2018.

To my mind, Frequency Drift is a venture that have found, explored and settled in a musical landscape very much their own. With strong ties to futuristic landscapes as well as more ancient music traditions, this is a meeting of different times and different eras, kind of a musical equivalent of Tolkien and Asimov joining ranks. If this is a description that comes across as tantalizing, then I suspect you will find this album to be rather enjoyable.

Only two years since their album, and there have yet again been some fairly significant changes in the Frequency Drift line-up. Lead singer Melanie Mau and guitarist Martin Schnella have both departed (they can be found in Gray Matters together, as well as other projects individually), as has bassist Rainer Wolf. But Andreas Hack (keyboards, guitar, bass, and mandolin) has been there since the beginning, as has drummer Wolfgang Osterman while long-time member and songwriter Nerissa Schwartz (quick aside, if you haven't heard her solo album you owe it to yourself to do so) on harp and Mellotron is still there. The line-up is completed by new singer Irinia Alexia, and let's hope that she lasts longer than just the odd album as she has a presence, range and clear singing voice which totally fits the music.

Musically the band are quite different to many, due in no small part to both Andreas and Nerissa having such a strong song-writing relationship and they are both keyboard players while the use of the harp is also quite different. They layer the music so that the arrangements are complex and quite dense in some ways, but then produce it so that the vocals are always first and foremost, rising clearly above everything else. There is a professionalism and restraint within the music, each note clearly having an important part to play in the whole proceedings. They may not all be playing at the same time, and the use of space is also important in everything they do, with bass pedals and keyboards often taking the part of the real instrument, which also has an impact on the overall sound. The warmth and "heaviness" of certain parts of the arrangements are in direct contrast to the clarity and "lightness' of the harp and vocals, which provides a neat counterpoint. Let's hope we get another album out of them before they change the singer again.

While latest lead vocalist MELANIE MAU has the most ANNIE HASLAM-lilke voice yet used in a Frequency Drift album, Andreas HACK's project continues to flourish with whomever he decides to put in the role of vocalist. For my own personal preferences, this is my favorite FD album since 2011's Ghosts.... The prominence of harpist NERISSA SCHWARTZ's electric harp is one big plus for this album--especially for those songs that I like the best. I'm still not contented with the drum sounds--they sound too electronic or programmed for my ears.

Unfortunately, every time I've listened to this album (over a dozen times) I've found the first two songs ["Traces" (7:08) (7/10) and "Diary" (5:31) (7/10)] driving me away. (I have run away several times, saying that I'll come back to it later.) They jsut sound old and tired--like I've heard them before and they offer nothing new, only old Frequency Drift sounds and dynamics. With 3. "Merry" (5:08), however, the Andreas-Melanie collaboration shows off a strong kinship to Annie HASLAM-led RENAISSANCE (9/10)

4. "Shade" (5:52)opens as an angelic voice-and-harp folk duet in the verses but becomes eerie, almost discordant, with bowed double bass and, after the two minute mark, with modulating synth notes. In the fourth minute things amp up with tuned percussion and electric bass, but then just as suddenly settle back into the gentle harp and piano music that started us off. The final 90 seconds start off slowly before finally getting into an engaging groove (based upon the beautiful melody lines of the opening two minutes.) I can't help but wish that Melanie's voice were present in the finale instead of flute. (9/10)

5. "Treasured" (8:25) is better than the first two songs. The electric guitar work in the second half is awesome. (8/10)

6. "Last Photo" (7:59) Melanie's vocal lines feel like they're struggling to find a melody line that she likes. The instrumental parts are good, though. (8/10)

7. "Hidden" (5:34) has a nice, fresh sound to its opening--the instrumental sounds. Melanie's vocal sounds a bit too folk-classical for this song; there is a strong disconnect between the mood and feel that the instrumental music is presenting with that of the vocal. Still, it's a decent song--different enough for Andreas' history to make it interesting. (Perhaps it's the CURE-like bass synth chords.) The acoustic accompaniment to Melanie's voice that is used in the final 90 seconds is the way this song would have worked best. (8/10) 8. "Asleep" (8:31) is another odd song that forces Melanie's vocal talent to struggle to stay in a key, in an established melody. The stops and starts make it feel as if this song keeps stopping and starting over! Odd and unsettling. In the fifth minute--after the third or fourth re-start--Melanie finally hits her sweet zone and pulls of an amazing vocal--but then, at 5:15, you power up and make her drop down-way down. Oddly enough, it works. This time. And the metal instrumental section that follows is pretty good, too. (9/10)

Andreas, in my opinion, it is when your music is the most simplified, in its most acoustic "folk" or "classical" orientation, that it works best--for me as a listener and for your extremely talented vocalists. The wide and dramatic dynamic shifts are, I think, too much.

Still, a solid four star album; a great addition to any prog lover's album collection.

German band FREQUENCY DRIFT has been around in one form or another ever since 2006, and launched their career as recording artists with the CD "Personal Effects I" in 2008. Since then the band has been releasing new material on a regular basis, with seven studio albums to their name at the time of writing. "Last" is the most recent of those, and was issued by the German label Gentle Art of Music in 2016.

The rich, atmospheric music of Frequency Drift is one that remains as compelling as I've always found it. On this occasion perhaps a bit more uniform in sound and style than on at least some of the previous excursions by the band, but still undeniably made in a manner rather particular to this band. If cinematic progressive rock verging on metal on a few occasions sounds like music you might enjoy, and you find the moods conjured by '70s Pink Floyd to be generally appealing, I suspect this is a CD you might find appealing as well.

For Frequency Drift's main composer Andreas Hack things were clear already from the start.His sci-fi concept, started with ''Personal effects'', would be too long to be condensed in a single CD.So a second release would be sooner or later in the workings.It would be sooner as proven by the fact that ''Personal effects (part two)'' was launched less than two years after the release of Frequency Drift's debut, this time on Cyclops.Hack had invited three new singers to perform on the concept's storyline, Nicole Scharnagl, Christine Mettner and Kerstin Leidner, he added Christian Hack as a second guitarist plus he invited a few guests to help out during the sessions, most notably White Willow's leader Jacob Holm-Lupo.

Modern Progressive Rock with occasional heavy bursts and blinks to the principles of Neo Prog would be the best elements for the musical exhibition of such a concept according to the tastes of Andreas Hack and the band draws parallel lines with other contemporary bands such as IOEARTH or DELUSION SQUARED.The music is based on the typical formation of drums/keys/bass/guitar, but the instrumental and stylistical diversity in here are things to be admired by any prog fan.''Personal effects (part two)'' has a genuine approach on atmospheric soundscapes and beautiful melodies, retaining a rich and energetic profile throughout, propably the combination of soaring keyboards, dark piano lines and heavy guitars with the angelic female vocals and the notable string sections is the reason for such a well-crafted, detailed and impressive sound, offering quite a few grandiose moments with orchestral backgrounds, Floyd-ian textures, but also links to Heavy/Neo Prog acts.There are certain references to a less retro-styled and more atmospheric version of MAGENTA with all these nice effects, guitar distortions and spacious themes applied.And there are still a couple of instant, monster pieces, which show an even greater potential, like the 9-min. ''8.33 a.m. Inside'', sounding like a heavier version of PINK FLOYD, or the powerful ''2.33 p.m. Essence'' with its majestic guitar leads over the cinematic keyboards.

This band was maturing really fast.From a nice, little debut to what sounds like a pretty great definition of modern atmospheric Prog Rock.Highly recommended, solid, cinematic and bombastic music with excellent female vocals.

German band FREQUENCY DRIFT was formed back in 2006, and released their debut album two years later. Since then four more studio albums have been released by the band, all of them through different labels for some reason or other. "Over" is the most recent of these, and was made available through the German label Gentle Art of Music at the start of 2014.

It's kind of weird to describe a long album that uses and visits as many different styles of music as this one as fairly uniform in sound and style, but that is still the case. From almost pop music at times to classical chamber music, a touch of jazz on one occasion, pastoral intermissions, post rock oriented escapades, some riff-driven instances closer to hard rock and even metal can be found. Electronic passages closer to Tangerine Dream have their place, and even a run through a more or less vintage sounding symphonic progressive rock is present. Still, the end result is an album's worth of atmosphere rich, fairly similar music. Dream-laden, melancholic, occasionally dark, beautiful, compelling and strangely enough with a strong impression of a uniform sound throughout. An album that merits a check by those who enjoy subtly exotic, compelling music that strays outside of the common and expected boundaries of progressive rock.

The female fronted Frequency Drift offer mostly gloomy, introspective rock based around mood, drama and emotion, in some ways along the lines of bands like White Willow (though not as folk driven), Paatos and Kurki. Little traces of indie rock, Post Rock, electronica and symphonic gestures frequently show up on `Over', their fifth album, with ethereal female vocals supplied by new leading lady Isa Fallenbacher, and also supported by Agathe Labus. With frequent blasts of brooding heaviness and moments of hair-tearing intensity, the focus is always on accessible arrangements, with a rich variety of instrumental stretches always carefully executed to achieve maximum emotion instead of show-boating for the sake of prog rock clichés. Crossover-styled prog has rarely sounded so vital and full of potential as it does here, and the band have delivered a highlight of 2014!

`Them' is the first real standout piece. A Massive Attack `Teardrop'-like quality ticks throughout before a memorable pleading chorus from Isa lodges itself firmly in your brain. Despite a chiming musical-box like pretty opening, `Adrift' soon twists to a snarling vocal from Agathe, bringing all sorts of sinister sounds. Electric harp and cello weave together with Isa's dreamy multi-layered harmonies on `Wave', marimba glistens and bass murmurs throughout the restrained `Wander', `Release' is a creeping middle-eastern flavoured gothic ballad, and album closer `Disappeared' a delicate and wistful piano reflection.

Special mention must go to the sixth track `Suspended'. Despite a fairly conventional mid- tempo rock structure for the verses, dangerous slinking electronics and darting flute over heavy Porcupine Tree guitar posturing (think the way that metal middle in `Arriving Somewhere But Not Here' first snuck up on you!) quickly crashes through, but it's really all about the insanely catchy stadium-sized chorus! A bit of a modern classic! Also impressive is the way that band effortlessly glides through the ten minute `Memory'. Gentle synth passages, weeping cello and violin, heavy guitar riffling and darting RIP-styled flute huffing and an exquisite vocal from Isa all blend perfectly together. Listen for the way her voice drifts away in the second half that leads to a grandly symphonic, overly retro-prog/vintage Genesis flavoured Minimoog and Mellotron outro that strangely sounds like nothing else on the rest of the disc!

There's only very slight missteps along the way. Sadly, after a promising ambient electronic opening and piano tip-toes in the middle, `Sagittarius A' instead settles on a forced indie-rock tune with a repetitive and tedious chorus. `Driven' is a catchy pop/rocker with a lead vocal that's just a bit too pretty, but thankfully a cool instrumental break in the middle around electric harp and programmed electronic loops gets it through.

Although perhaps overlong, this is melodic, song-structured modern progressive rock at its best. There may be numerous female fronted progressive related bands operating these days, but Frequency Drift are without question the most subtle, elegant and intelligent. The band are also one of the few that stands a chance making a sort of commercial crossover that the likes of Porcupine Tree and Anathema have done, perhaps even with more of a female audience, so let's see what the future holds for this talented band!

Four stars.

We, the followers of this style of music use the word 'progressive' in automatic obviousness throughout our discourse and no finer example can be found as with German band Frequency Drift. Not only have they 'progressed' in general terms, blending folk, classical and rock music but they have constantly honed their own style , evolving from the first two 'Personal effects' releases and culminating in a series of upwardly spiraling masterpieces , "Ghosts", "Laid to Rest" and "Over".

Finally, a page is turned with the download-only release of "Summer", a final coup de grace before embarking on a stylistic change that will take them into new musical realms. As expressed by my PA colleague, this is a band that has achieved glorious heights and is utterly deserving of intensified attention. Their style was so powerfully constant and solid that the band had involved three female vocalists, without the slightest cringe or regret. Brothers Christian and Andreas Hack have now left behind a colossal legacy of brilliant sounds and amazing albums, allied with delicate infusions of cello, flute, violin, viola and harp.

The classic title track encompasses all one needs to admire about FD, a shimmering and glimmering piece that scours the entire musical horizon, enriching melodies, towering vocal work and illuminating instrumental playing. This soaring 12 minute testimonial is without a doubt the quintessence of their career, a finely chiseled guitar rampage that has all the Hackett-isms in place, whilst Isa Fallenbacher can sing like the wind rustling through the forested woods, the tight band provides a stellar disposition to creating various surprises. Wolfgang Riess unleashes a simply truculent bass solo that left me spent, piano in tow, synth bubbling in the background and the drums keeping the beat. Stunning stuff! Christian Hack's powerfully melodic guitar line has all the sizzle of an Andy Latimer or Odyssice's Bastiaan Peeters. A prog masterpiece of the finest pedigree!

"Distant" is a reworked piece from the very early days, a folkier feel enhanced by Isa's pastoral vocal, a fairly straightforward delivery until Andreas fills in a forever expanding synthesizer lead that guides the other players to some musical promised land, as Christian shows off some wonderful restraint on his axe. Very distant, indeed!

"Siren" started out as a solo platform for the brothers to fiddle around on (originally on the Laid to Rest album) and was reworked specifically for this release. Shimmering synths, glorious piano and a stimulating guitar solo that is loaded with finesse and tender picking. Christian really shows off some tremendous jazzy licks, sounding at times as if Al DiMeola was in the studio for a visit.

"Midnight" is quite a different song, a pre-FD track that never got the right amount of love, retooled here with Isa really taking over, the music tight, slightly dissonant and echoing with spirit and shade. Crystalline piano, violin silverware and exquisite bass/drum linen adorn the table, a moody piece that eschews any kind of expectancy. Once again the synths and the electric guitar carve away at the priceless roast, a delicacy of sounds and tones.

As per the liner notes "The original version appeared as "Ringshine" on our album "Ghosts". Originally an electric harp solo piece, it was newly arranged by Nerissa and Sibylle to feature two instruments that have shaped the particular sound of Frequency Drift: The cello and the harp". This quality classicism is what makes FD such a masterful listen, a band that has squarely infused all its inherent tendencies, a perfect amalgam of styles that fit wonderfully together. Gentle and ultra-romantic diversion from the daily routine. Yummy!

"Summer's End" fittingly finalizes this brief masterpiece, another jewel in the FD crown. A somber cello perpetuates its sorrowful lament, Isa providing the angst 'upon her head' as the band adds the appropriate amount of colored doom. A more than fitting finale, though this piece was written exclusively for this release, it provides an unquestionable sense of irrevocability.

FD is going in another direction, I just hope their new vision is as focused as their previous endeavors, I for one intend to follow, my curiosity being challenged.

I hate downloads, being a traditionalist for artwork and credits, so I will negotiate some kind of CD from the band but Summer is a fitting finale of the very highest order, proving that even their left-over numbers from the past have enough merit to fit among their best. This album was mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo of White Willow fame.

5 seasonal suns