SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VISION ETERNEL – ECHOES FROM FORGOTTEN HEARTS (DELUXE EDITION)

VISION ETERNEL
ECHOES FROM FORGOTTEN HEARTS (DELUXE EDITION)
GEERTRUIDA

Vision Eternel is the brainchild of a very talented artist, Alexander Julien. This new release of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts is a reworking and expansion of the original version first released in 2014. This album/package has had a long journey, but the end result is well worth the effort and time put into it. This Deluxe edition of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts is quite brilliant. Everything, from the music to the packaging, has been created with a great deal of care and passion. It is an excellent example of how deluxe versions should look and sound.

The music recorded for Echoes From Forgotten Hearts was originally written and recorded by Julien as the soundtrack for a short film. The film didn’t get made, and not wanting to let this music go unreleased and unheard, Julien made the wise decision to remix and add to the original songs and create an EP or mini album. Now, ten years later, Julien, under the Vision Eternel banner has put together the definitive version of the music and has included it all in one beautiful release.

The album opens with “Pièce № Un (Extended Play Version)”. The ambient, moody song is the perfect introduction to the EP and the music. The album is instrumental, but it is not all ambient, Julien has written many different melodies, some more guitar based, and some more layered. Each song builds on itself and the end result is a very dramatic sound. Listen to “Pièce № Sept (Extended Play Version)” and enjoy the use of guitar and how it forms a beautiful drone-like base. It is beautiful.

Julien adds a lot of bonus material to the album, including the original soundtrack versions, demo versions and a couple of remixes. Hearing the original soundtrack and demos allows the listener into a small piece of Julien’s creative process. It is interesting to listen to the demo, the soundtrack version to the extended version. “Pièce № Six” is a great example. One hears the sparseness of the demo, to the layered soundtrack version to the fully arranged extended version. An Unused Version is also included. But it does demonstrate how the music developed. The Adam Kennedy ‘remixes’ are also a welcome addition and add a different dimension to the music.

And the only way to describe this release is beautiful. An 80-page novella about the long journey of the release, and although it is very honest, it is also a story of perseverance and a belief in one’s self and art.  The photos, and overall presentation are outstanding. The music is spread over two cassettes, and the sound is wonderful. Having the music on cassette gives it a wonderful warmth and adds to the feeling. It is extremely well recorded and well produced on tape.

Echoes From Forgotten Hearts (Deluxe Edition) is a very visual album, even though it is instrumental. From beginning to end, the music transports the listener to a different time and place. It is not retro, quite the opposite, but it does take one out of their current realm into a different time and place. It is an emotional and very deep release. There is a lot going on in the music, which is best enjoyed in one listening.

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