Can

Turkish synthesizer artist Can Atilla sure can sound different from album to album. He did classic Tangerine Dream circa 1980 to a tee on his Ave disc; he did similar treatment to their 90s sound in Waves Of Wheels; now, with Omni, he sounds like energetic Jean-Michel Jarre with a splash of disco and techno.
Uptempo keyboards are flavored by bubbling electronics and peppy rhythms, resulting in alluring tuneage that is resolutely enthralling and engaging. Atillas style fuses contemporary electronics with a rollicking jubilation that is refreshing in a genre of over-serious approaches. The tempos captivate more than the audiences tapping feet, while his nimble-fingered riffs dazzle more than just the appreciative mind. Surging aspects cascade with calculated intent, conspiring to generate tunes that entice as they mesmerize…

With this amazing album, Dead Can Dance fully took the plunge into the heady mix of musical traditions that would come to define its sound and style for the remainder of its career. The straightforward goth affectations are exchanged for a sonic palette and range of imagination. Calling it "haunting" and "atmospheric" barely scratches even the initial surface of the album's power. The common identification of the duo with a consciously medieval European sound starts here – quite understandable, when one considers the mystic titles of songs, references to Latin, choirs, and other touches that make the album sound like it was recorded in an immense cathedral.

Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent's Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent's Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films some years later was no surprise in the slightest – one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up – but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship – her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed. Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities.