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Bernard Xolotl with Daniel Kobialka — Procession
(Erdenklang 30652, 1982/1993, CD)

by Mike McLatchey, Published 1994-08-01

Procession Cover art

Bernard Xolotl is a French synthesist who has worked with Clearlight's Cyrille Verdeaux, which could give some indication of his stylistic direction. Daniel Kobialka is a well known violinist from the Bay Area, and the author of music that you see in New Age bookstores — fluffy meditation music stuff. For cosmic electronic music, Kobialka's violin should drag this into his arena, and his romantic / melodic style occasionally flirts with that sappy sickly sweet new age area (like Kitaro or Yanni). Somehow these two pull this one off. While I could do without the silly spiritual conceptual guff, the music is quite excellent, in a style obviously influenced by Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra (mid period) etc., yet more spacier and much more melodic. There's really an awful lot going on here. I have to admit, even though Kobialka does an admirable job here, it’s the tracks without him that I like best. With a really long bonus track "Saturn" for an addition, this Erdenklang reissue comes highly recommended for those not totally turned off to New Age-isms.

Filed under: Reissues, Issue 4, 1993 releases, 1982 recordings

Related artist(s): Bernard Xolotl, Daniel Kobialka

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