EmOcean

EmOcean Artist: Hubi Meisel
Label: Lion Music Finland
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 6419922000854
ASIN: B0001I51UA


Release Date: 2004-07-13

EmOcean


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Tracks:

  1. Part L: Lost in the Waters of Sargasso
  2. Part L: Poseidon's Trident
  3. Part L: Nocturnal Breeze
  4. Part L: Dolphin's Wake
  5. Part LL: Underwater Fears
  6. Part LL: Fantasea
  7. Part LL: The Souls of Atlantis: Part L: Temple of the Kings/Part ...
  8. Part LL: Sapientia Vitae
  9. Part LL: Azure Dreams (Instrumental)
  10. Part LLL: Aqua Phoenix
  11. Part LLL: Aero Nautical
  12. Part LLL: Emocean
  13. Crystal Moon [*]
  14. Tears of an Enchanted Sea [*]

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars My favourite album: EmOcean.......2005-07-23

Ok. First, I must say that I'm not very good to review CD's. I never really did that before but well, I'll try to do my best, here, because I really think "EmOcean" deserves to be discovered and appreciated by as many people as possible. It's one of the most wonderful prog. CD's I have in my collection and I sincerely hope that my comments will be useful to you...

I heard about this CD for the first time (and bought it) about one month ago and what I can say about it is that I really got impressed by the amount of work that was invested in this album ! It's a FANTASTIC album !!!!!! My favourite one, in fact ! I would qualify it in one word: magical.
The concept idea is very deep, complex, meaningful, beautiful and interesting. It's related to "water worlds", "the above" and much more ! I let you discover it - this huge and marvellous story - by yourselves, as it really worth !!! It's like a whole big story that continues itself through the songs...This is like a dream...and you'd only wish to be there...If you close your eyes, you really can "feel", "see" even "smell" everything that happens in the album. You "fly" in that world...like in a fantastic movie...That's M-A-G-I-C !!!
This perfect piece of work is very special, original, mystical, spiritual even relaxing, in some way ! This is the kind of album that makes your skin shivers to every note, every line, every sound. Also, the lyrics are so well written, the words so well chosen, this only adds more strength to the album because you can "see" clear images of every song in your mind...Hubi Meisel has such a way to describe things ! It's very easy to picture everything here...
Of course, I like Hubi Meisel's voice very very much too !!! It sounds so sweet and he's able to make all the "changes" he wants with it. He plays with his voice very well, which I especially love. This album is musically and vocally incredible and will leave you wordless, I can promise you that ! There are a lot of interesting variations through every song, for any aspect. I like the piano and keyboards very much, as there is a lot !!! The music is just amazing anyway !!! The album is simply "Emotional", haha.
But honestly, it's very difficult to say which song is the best !!! ALL OF THEM are great equally - but for different reasons !! I tell you, EVERYTHING is great !!! Personally, if I had to tell you which are my 3 favourite songs, I'd choose:

1- "EmOcean" (so sweet, so beautiful, my favourite vocals, just made me cry...)
2- "The Souls of Atlantis" (great musical, vocal changes and much more !)
3- "Sapientia Vitae" (great music, meaning and more too !)

But REALLY, all of them are AS GOOD AS each other and deserve to be listened to !!! I recommend it to everyone !!! That's gonna make you see things in a way you never saw them before...
Basically, "EmOcean" touched my heart and soul in a way I can't describe and that's now my favourite album.

In my opinion, Hubi Meisel and his musicians have done a "meticulous" job, here !!!! I just can't wait for the next album !!! I'm really trustful that it's gonna be quite "delightful" !!! Thank you very much Hubi, Vivien, Marcel, Daniel, Bamby and Chris (the art worker) for your great work !!! I wish you good luck in everything you'll do in the future.

Thanks for reading me ! :-)

4 out of 5 stars We'll definitely be hearing more from Hubi Meisel.......2005-04-08

Hubi Meisel is mostly known for his stint with German prog metal band Dreamscape. He sang on their second album Very in 1999. He also appeared in Italian symphonic prog band Maeve of Connacht in their 2001 album which I haven't heard yet. Afterwards he decided to go solo and released his debut album CUT where he paid tribute to the 80's covering classics. Finally he returned to his prog roots and released his first concept album EmOcean with amazing guest musicians helping him out. The subject themes vary from Atlantis to the Bermuda Triangle as well Greek Mythology and the whole album has a very complete feel to it. It's like one huge track divided into 12 songs plus the bonus material.

This is a great prog metal album inspired by nothing but Hubi Meisel's dreams. I haven't deciphered the plot yet because I really dig the music so much that I haven't been able to get to the concept yet. Being primarily a solo album, Meisel's vocals are understandably the centrepiece of most of the songs, yet the songwriting leaves a lot of room for other instruments to make themselves felt. Hubi Meisel wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies only on EmOcean, the music itself was composed by French keyboardist Vivien Lalu of the band Shadrane. Therefore the general flow of the music is mainly keyboard and piano driven but that doesn't mean there's no room for guitars and bass. With former Lemur Voice and current Sun Caged guitarist Marcel Coenen playing, it is quite hard to imagine a prog album where his distinctive rhythm work and tasteful solos do not stand out. On drums is Mind's Eye drummer Daniel Flores and the bass player is another French guy I'm unfamiliar with, Jean B. Affonco.

I really like Lalu's approach writing-wise. Meisel and he met on the internet and realised they both shared the same musical vision and it came to the point that Hubi placed his entire trust on him to compose the music for his solo album. Lalu's keyboard and piano work avoids being too flashy or dominating, on the contrary it serves its purpose by rounding out the compositions and giving them their final touch. Marcel Coenen lays down intricate rhythms and occasional guitar solos completely different than his work with his former bands or solo material. I have always been fond of Marcel's playing and this disc is no exception. I think it's great that Hubi and he are labelmates now.

Hubi Meisel has a very smooth and tender voice but he can also shift to a more aggressive vocal delivery if necessary. The general vibe of this disc doesn't call for it, however. Because the songwriting is so powerful and the artistic messages are conveyed so perfectly. I must praise Hubi's production work as well. The awesome wall of sound, the detailed and crisp mix, the fresh approach to the production value... it's really fascinating. Most bands reach their peak in production after a couple of albums, while Hubi has done a killer job so early in his career.

The vocals remind me a bit of Andy Kuntz circa The God Thing-era or the song "Healing Tree" of Beyond Daylight. James Labrie and Geddy Lee also spring to mind but not to the effect where you can actually place it. Maybe it's a combination of them all with Hubi's own personality added in the mold. Needless to say his voice has a style all his own and I can't think of a more fitting vocalist for this kind of music. The subtle bass lines with Coenen's fierce playing simply provide a fascinating dichotomy with Meisel's laid-back but very powerful vocal delivery.

Music Album:

  1. Defiance ~ Project Steiger
  2. One Soul Now ~ Cowboy Junkies
  3. Somebody Told Me ~ The Killers
  4. Uncivilized Love ~ Gus Black
  5. Derby
  6. The Snags ~ The Snags
  7. Here Come the Brides ~ Brides of Destruction
  8. My Darkness ~ Before the Dawn
  9. Headroom of Conscience ~ Coma Star
  10. The Cribs ~ The Cribs

Music Album

Music Album

Music

B.G. in Hi-Fi ~ Benny Goodman

Complete Recordings With Lionel Hampton ~ Wes Montgomery, Lionel Hampton

Kicked & Klawed ~ Cats in Boots

Lords of Eternity ~ Hellspawn

Buckwheat's Zydeco Party ~ Buckwheat Zydeco

Homenaje a los Cuartetos & Septetos ~ Los Hijos de los Celebres

Manpii No G Spot ~ Southern All Stars

Praieiro ao Vivo ~ Jammil E uma Noites

Red Sun Dance ~ Machine

Piano Songs: September Angel ~ Haruo Togashi