All tracks composed, played and recorded by Embrase at the iStudio, Mastered by Ron Boots.
Harold van der Heijden - drums on track 6 and 7
Embrase is a new name in electronic music. The guy behind Embrase is Dutchman Marc Bras. Already in the late seventies he made his first contact with electronic music through Jean-Michel Jarre’s "Oxygene" and Berlin School. But also less synthesizer orientated like Mike Oldfield, Alan Parsons, Andreas Vollenweider, Gandalf and Hans Zimmer. The more he listened to these fascinating sounds, the more he was convinced that this was the kind of music he would like to make himself. The influences of all these big names can be heard on his first album "Dreamworld".
"Dreamworld" is a record with warm, melodical, rhythmic and easy assessable EM that has the ability to appeal to a lot of EM-fans. The sound is full, rich and the music is played with care. Marc’s love for the names mentioned above can well be heard on fine tracks like "Soundtracking", "Underwater Secrets" (with -soundwise- some references to contemporary Klaus Schulze), "Time Is Killing" (especially for those who like the melodically side of Tangerine Dream), "Moving To The Limit", "Journey To The Unknown" (both with great basses) and "E-motional Sequencing" (a fine title, as Marc’s music if filled with emotion).
The last piece "Less Is More" brings together all the wonderful things that are present on "Dreamworld". Less is more is also a learning moment for musicians. Marc doesn’t have to learn this anymore.
Lets just hope more music will follow and embrace the music of Embrase.
Press information
"Mysterious Landscape" is a short melancholic introduction. It's classically tinged with sparse piano and various synth pads / symphonic textures. "Soundtracking" starts in a similar manner before the first tinkling sequences appear as well as a mournful lead line. I must say this is all rather melancholic sounding - very sober stuff. It's an OK number with a fair amount of changes to keep it all interesting. At the end of the track the symphonic synths return. "Come On" is straight into sequencing coupled with symphonic synth pads. I am sorry to say so, but this track turned out to be too generic and banal for my taste - there's just nothing that really stands out. Not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but I would've preferred something more daring. Also the use of digital preset sounds is somewhat unimaginative on this particular piece.
Let's hope "Underwater Secrets" does deliver the goods. Well, I must admit the water samples were something I expected, but otherwise the beginning does create a nice atmosphere with symphonic synths and some more unusual sounds. It's got a laid back rhythm that I found very relaxing. Very good, indeed and the proof that to create a nice EM track you have to spend some time searching for interesting sounds, provided you have all the other necessary skills. "Time Is Killing" is next. This track has a dramatic start with various effects and a generally dark and reflective atmosphere. A bass throbbing is heard. After a while we get a drum rhythm together with some synthesizer sounds that wouldn't sound out of place on a 1987 - 1992 Tangerine Dream album. I'd say this sounds fairly typical of late 1980's synth music, although interestingly enough it was recorded in the New Millennium. Not much to say about this track. It's sort of normal and pleasant - nothing fancy here, but also nothing that would make me reach for the skip button. If you like the said period of Tangerine Dream - you will like this one. The title track is flooding your ears with obligatory digital synth atmospheres. A lone flute is heard on top. All is fairly delicate and melancholic. However, urgent bass slabs make an appearance and destroy the idyll that preceded it. Nice lead sounds sing their song and in the end it's a nice track with enough sequencing and atmospheres / solos to please any mainstream EM fan. "First Movements" tries to convey a dramatic mood by way of special effects and rich synth timbres. It doesn't take long before we hear bass sequences and a rhythm. It's a good, dynamic track mostly based on sequences. With a track title like "Blue Ambience" I expected an ambient track; however it turned out to be another melancholic rhythmic number along the lines of the rest of the album. "Moving To the Limit" is based on a throbbing bass coupled with a piano melody and some male choir sounds. A bit different from the rest of the album I must admit but doesn't take me to any "limit" at all. The bass transforms into a steady sequence as we hurtle forward on top of waves of synths. It's an interesting upbeat track, in spite of not exactly living up to its title. "E-Motional Sequencing", quite expectedly, is based on sequences and has much more interesting sounds that most tracks on "Dreamworld". Certainly the best cut on the album - typical EM, emotional, laid-back and cosmic - music for star travels. The solo that comes after 7 minutes is too prominent, though. "Journey To the Unknown" is another rhythmic composition in the style of late 80's - early 90's Tangerine Dream, sometimes using almost identical sounds. "Less Is More" is quite cheerful compared to the rest of the album that tends to be based on minor, low-key harmonies. Overall "Dreamworld" lacks the otherworldly qualities of EM and concentrates on rhythm and melody. That said, I must add that texture-wise a lot of it sounds pretty one-dimensional. However, the best tracks on this album are actually very good. I think Marc is a talented artist and I recommend "Dreamworld" for melodic / rhythmic EM aficionados. Nice debut, if a tad too long (the CD runs at almost full 80 minutes).
2005. Artemi Pugachov / Encyclopedia of Electronic Music / Russia
Embrase is een nieuw Nederlands EM-talent wat ik noem ‘soundscape sequencer synthesizermuziek’ maakt. Wat ik bedoel daarmee is dat Marc Bras, de man achter Embrase, veel nadruk legt op mooie volle klanktapijten, die net iets te stimulerend zijn om ambient genoemd te kunnen worden, en die vervolgens ondersteunt met beschaafde sequencerlijnen. Denk hierbij aan de puike CD’s van Gert Emmens, dan weet je wat ik bedoel.
Deze combinatie pakt vaak goed uit, zoals in het nummer Soundtracking en het titelstuk, maar soms zijn de melodieën een beetje te simpel en te liftachting (zoals in Come On en Time is Killing). Het zou allemaal best wat heftiger mogen. Over het algemeen legt Embrase echter genoeg emoties in zijn spel, zoals goed geïllustreerd wordt in het fraaie E-motional Sequencing. Ik ben benieuwd naar de opvolger.
André de Waal / iO Pages
The CD of Embrase called Dreamworld is a good album in my ears. Also a bit different from the 'normal' EM albums that are coming out. I would't call the music 'Berlin School', but it definately has elements of it sometimes. It's very hard to describe how it sounds, cause to me Embrase has found his own sound, sometimes calm and sometimes energetic.
The album consists of nearly 80 minutes of music and that's the little minus, this is an individual thing of course. I am just not too fond of albums lasting for more than an hour so I get a bit tired after listening for 60 mins, but overall I think it's a brilliant debut. Then let's see what the next release will bring!
Bjorn Jeppesen / Roskilde Dampradio - Elektroland (Danmark)
Aus Holland … Kommt der Musiker Marc Bras und firmiert unter Embrase. Er legt seine Debüt CD Dreamworld vor. Harold van der Heijden hat auf einigen Tracks das Schlagzeug gespielt und Ron Boots hat dem ganzen zum Schluss beim Mastern den richtigen Schliff gegeben. Wenn ich die CD so höre kommen mir folgende Vorbilder oder Ähnlichkeiten in den Kopf: Bombastisch wie Ron Boots, Sounds und Sequenzen wie Klaus Schulze. Rhythmen von Peru. Also eine durch und durch Holländische Produktion.
Ein Newcomer mit Zukunftsaussichten.
Joerg Strawe
Some tracks are reminiscent of early Peru and Nova but slower; others are similar to Tangerine Dream’s newer material from the 1990s.
The overall feeling is light with more commercial or “accessible” sounding rhythms. Features help from Harold van der Heijden, whose influence is felt in the beats.
Pat Murphy / USA
Got it in the mail yesterday. Haven't stopped listening to it. Its brilliant. Haven't listened enough to form opinions on all tracks. Track three blows me away, reminds me of the best of Emerald Web. I'll have more thoughts as time moves on.
Steve Farley / Wisconsin Public Radio - Sonic Vibrations (USA)
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