
Sky Cafė
From striking uplifting and melodic electronica chill-out synth pads and spacey, hypnotic beats with amazing central piano section ("Sunglasses off") the mix of the first three laid-back electronica tracks to dreamy easy listening synth/piano/orchestral pieces brings together two distinct styles on one album, perhaps and uneasy mix for some listeners. Yet these compositions does not really push any musical boundaries; gently pulsating bass, beats and ambient pads on the orchestral and piano pieces, and the melodic, mellow lo-fi of the electronica tracks helps to bridge the apparent genre differences.
Composer Johann Kotze felt the urge to do an album "less therapy, more accessible" after producing a number of ambient/meditative albums over the past year and a half. Like many music lovers he feels far too little quality background music is heard in public spaces, from waiting rooms to malls, despite the efforts of labels like Windham Hill and artists like David Arkenstone who produces many wonderful albums