A Memorable Prophesy

Sons of Faust

Sons of Faust was formed during the 2020 lockdown as a partnership between composer-producer George Miadis (Fort Worth, Texas) and Psychonaut Elite Records creative director Panagiotis Chatzisefanou (Berlin, Germany). After an initial ambient/electronic EP, their new full length LP is titled A Memorable Prophecy, which they describe as “a suite of chamber music compositions inspired by Orpheus, who consciously made the choice of a poet instead of a lover, preferring memory over presence.”

I’m unsure whether their group name is a tribute to the ’70s German experimental band Faust, but it wouldn’t be much of a stretch! I’d also point in the musical direction of genre classicists like Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream. These tracks have an orchestral sweep that’s hard to describe but I’ll do my best.

“Miracles by Appointment” (great title, by the way) opens the album tentatively with an almost tinker-toy synth sequence slowly giving way to deep, dark symphonic keys. The Moody Blues and Procol Harum are touchstones going WAY back, but those are the sense memories this music stirred within me. The melodies start simple but gain power through repetition, like the best minimalist music. The composition slowly crescendoes over eight minutes with the final third suggesting the majesty of a movie epic (or at least a really good trailer!).

“Retroactive Continuity Pt. 1” is a shorter and more simple track with a Beatles-like descending melody. The synth strings are especially nice here. Jumping ahead, there are two more “parts” to this track, though they don’t really sound much like each other. Pt. II is centered on a harp sample and feels very bright and optimistic, until the Indian-sounding conclusion where the organs strongly recall George Harrison’s “Blue Jay Way.” Pt. III changes yet again with chiming acoustic patterns, strong drums and an expansive woodwind melody, again suggesting movie soundtrack music.

“The Golden Age of Inevitability” has a similar descending structure to “Retroactive Continuity” but takes a bit more time to ornament the melody with creative variations and counterpoint. “Distance in Proximity” feels almost like a backwards mirror-image of the other tracks at first, until a vaguely honky-tonk piano riff changes things up, catching me quite off guard. The synth variations recall early Genesis and other classic prog groups. There’s even subliminal human chorus vocals. Lots going on within this track, and one of my favorites! 

Concluding the set is “The Frailty Of Things Revealed at Last” which is not THAT frail at almost nine minutes long. Ethereal Tony Banks-like patterns hang in the air like a haunted mist, then are joined by deep bass notes and more human vocals.  You could probably pick out the basic pattern on your piano rather quickly, but it’s the various ornamentations that make this track work. As the music progresses, it feels like a curtain call for all the elements used within the album thus far.

Fans of synth-laden prog will find much to enjoy here, and I hope this collaboration continues well into the future.

Collections: VINYL


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