Hydrosphere

As soon as the gentle opening sequences of ‘Ocean Bound’ hit their stride, you just know that this is going to be another classic offering from Divine Matrix. Few artists can conjure up atmosphere with such mood and feel as well as Steve Barnes can, and as a result, Hydrosphere is quite simply sensational! The theme of the album is, unsurprisingly, water, and even though the tracks are all terrific individual musical statements, they also move effortlessly from one to the next and present a coherent ‘whole’ concept album. The melodic themes are strong, sometimes carried along with gentle foot tapping rhythms, other times they drift along atop great sequences. Tracks like ‘Drifting on the Tide’ and ‘The Diving Bell’ are swept along amidst swirling pads and atmospherics. ‘Bermuda Triangle’ with it’s ‘mayday’ calling for help gives us a real sense of mystery and the unknown, while ‘Deep Blue’ is an awesomely beautiful, drifting piece of sequenced space music. ‘Hydrosphere’ is a superb, melodic electronic space music album with a strong contemporary feel. Oodles of different sounds and ideas permeate the mix from beginning to end and the production is first class. Steve Barnes has created yet another wonderfully evocative journey to the Stars. Destined to become a classic!