The almost 55 minutes of instrumental music could easily have been the soundtrack for Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. A thirteen-part, 1980-81 television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. Because the atmospheric synthesizer music on this album perfectly gives you the feeling you are travelling through space or the cosmos. Because this kind of music is most of the time associated with the images of the universe.
The album contains nine tracks which are mainly mellow. Beyond opens with Destination Forever. The music reminded me a lot of Tim Blake and his album New Jerusalem. Mainly because of the sequencers which sounds sometimes like a harp. However vocals are not included which you can hear on the mentioned compared album. Follow up Endless Space brings you for the first time in the musical world of Vangelis. Most of all the atmospheric string synthesizer parts made me think about this Greek musician. Also Spiral Nebula, which is next, made me think about Vangelis. However for the next piece, Voyager, Tim Blake comes again to my mind. Next up is Towards The Stars and goes back to Vangelis as for the musical reference. Totally different is the next track with the title Planet Earth Is Blue. Mainly because you can here for the first time the sound of a piano. It is a beautiful mellow piece of music. Piano kind of synthesizer sounds are next on Leaving The Heliosphere, another Vangelis inspired tune. Also follow up Gravity Well could have been written by Vangelis. Just as the final piece on the album. Namely The Pale Blue Dot.
As you can read Beyond is a very Vangelis influenced album. Maloney must have listened a lot to this musician I guess. Of course her earlier mentioned influences such as Tangerine Dream, Steve Reich, Stockhausen, Eno and Aphex Twin are notable as well. But not as much as Vangelis. And if the earlier mentioned Tim Blake has influenced Sheila as well I can't tell. But it might have been according to the songs that sound like this English keyboard player.
I guess I can only be positive about this release. All songs are very well composed and I didn't hear any weak tracks at all. So all I can do is welcome Sheila Maloney and here Darkfish musical project to the electronic world of synthesizers. And to the progressive rock scene as well. She made a strong album of which she can be very proud of. Lovers of Vangelis and related acts will enjoy Beyond without any doubt!
**** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)
