Customer Reviews

Conjure One

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Have you ever found a cd that entralled and ensnared you instantly? Like you had been asleep for days, weeks or years even but the Music woke you from your slumber? You felt AWAKE and ALIVE as never before and were FIXATED and became ONE with the Music? And you experienced such profound deja vu, that you shivered and you KNEW the SECOND the music began THIS ONE would root itself into your heart afixing itself permanently because it was a PART OF YOUR HEART that you didn't know was missing?

CONJURE ONE is ONE of a limited few that has succeeded in doing this to me personally and EVEN MORE! The dramatic, dreamy, haunting, passionate, emotional, gripping, intense fusion of pop & world Music, Vocals AND Lyrics all FIT, COMPLEMENT and BELONG together perfectly and MAKE SENSE.

If someone asked, "What one cd is most representative of you?" At this time in my life, I would have to pick this one. Each song is a part of me! It's difficult to admit something so personal. Yet I feel like sharing this because it completely baffles me that this can be true!
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Here are some lyric excerpts and/or notes I love and I believe won't give too much away but give you a taste of the bittersweet mystery:

1 *Damascus*--a brief, opening instrumental with, in my opinion, a religious connotation from Acts 9:1-9. Take it any way you want it.

2 *Center of the Sun*--with Poe. This song, for me, is the Heart of the cd, definitely my favorite track. "When I close my eyes, I am at the center of the sun. And I can not be hurt by anything this wicked world has done...You say the most beautiful things, just like my violins..."

3 *Tears from the Moon*--I didn't like it at first coming after the soaring to the sun atmosphere created by Center of the Sun; however, NOW it makes perfect sense to me why it is after it. Tears can be tears of joy, even though they hurt, yes? They are TRUTH and in being so, they are BEAUTY. Plus they make me think of a very special friend of mine..."Couldn't sleep so I went out walking, thinking about you and hearing us talking...Baby, I adore you..."

4 *Tidal Pool*--oh yeah! So relaxing. Lush vocals blow in like the ocean surf and you can even hear ocean and seagulls at times! Ah, but think about a tidal pool. What does it do? Well it does it here too! Wow, this is more intense than I remember! All instrumental except for this beautiful feminine voice crying out to you in the wind like a ghost...

5 *Manic Star*--with the gorgeous voice of Claire D'Ubaldo. Oh yeah, here's another favorite!"...Grains of sand is all we are, crawling on our manic star, one tiny person and one shiny car, swimming on our manic star...Let's love like there is no tomorrow, shelter each other from the pain and sorrow." Nothing short of brilliant perfection.

6 *Redemption*--with Chemba. This one has a power over me, I am telling you--EVERYTIME I HEAR IT, MY SOUL LIFTS MY BODY UP INTO A SYLVAN DANCE UNDER A MIDNIGHT MOON! Fifty-four seconds from the start, the drums and bass crush the sultry chants
transforming them into moans and cries purifying the spirit. This one is very, very special to me.

7 *Years*--oh my. Where are the words? Not gonna touch this one. Shouldn't have touched Manic Star! But I had to, heh. Will say it is trancey, dancey, dreamy, delicious, trickling, tickling instrumentation of a Higher Power.

8 *Make a Wish*--with Poe again. Oh God! Yet another personal favorite song! "Make a wish, you can close your eyes it's alright...Tomorrow I will have no shame and I will start again..."

9 *Pandora*--perhaps like opening Pandora's Box? But there is no evil here...magical, wonderous, soul-slamming drama to lift you up to the heavens!

10 *Sleep*--with Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo...oh, I must try sleeping to this cd! Wow, what a lovely voice! "Without sleep there are no dreams, without dreams we'd fall apart at the seams..." And a voice whispers at the end...

11 *Premonition" reprise--exquisite ending to a intoxicating cd. The violins come in and out throughout the entire cd but oh do I feel them here crying and not wanting to leave! They want to be heard, remembered and cherished...And they will by ME!
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BOTTOM LINE: MUSIC IS A GIFT. Without a doubt, I was meant to have CONJURE ONE. A whole-hearted thank you to Rhys Fulber and everyone that had anything whatsoever to do with CONJURE ONE. You should be proud! Awesome music, ALL of it. A haunting, echoing blend of emotions straight from the Heart and Soul of Music to us. Truly Music of the FULL SPECTRUM variety to aid our hearts to sprout mighty, expansive wings and...

SOAR!

Just like Balligomingo, Conjure One has been a long time in the makings. But now that it's available to the public I couldn't be more happy for its stunning outcome and for the certainty of Rhys Fulber's breakthrough success. I miss his contributions to Front Line Assembly and especially to Delerium but, because of creative differences, Rhys Fulber decided to depart his works with Bill Leeb after the release of Karma as to further pursue his first solo project, Conjure One, which turned out just as good as any Delerium album. I'm sure that he's gotta hate all these comparisons to his former group though, so let me state that there are some major differences which evidently separate the two, such as his favor for orchestrated strings as opposed to Gregorian-type chantings. There's also a more definite world sound here, mainly due to the maginificent vocals of Chemba (whom sings with sweeping intensity on "Redemption") and Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, whom sings on one of my favorite tracks, "Manic Star", which deals with the suffocating acknowledgment of how death will someday append on us all and how (to one extent or another) we're all afraid of it. She also sings on a seductive tune called "Sleep", which also happens to be one of my personal favorites. The most well-known artist, however, would have to be the phenomenal Poe, which gives Conjure One its attitude, I think, on songs like "Make A Wish" and "Center Of The Sun". Sinead O'Connor also guest sings on "Tears From The Moon", which is probably the most radio-friendly. And though I didn't really care for any of the instrumentals upon first listening, I now find "Years" and "Pandora" to be two of the most stunning tracks on here. The only song I still can't seem to take a liking to is "Premonition (Reprise)". It starts out good, sounding as if it's leading up to something grand when in fact it goes nowhere. Other than that though, I find this album to be a wonderful debut by the ever-talented Rhys Fulber and am eagerly looking forward to all future releases. I just hope that his sophmore release doesn't take as long to be made as this did!

Conjure One's debut release is on my list of best CDs released this year. A musical CD can get into this category by being listenable and enjoyable the first time through. Conjure One is the new project from Rhys Fulber, also known for his work in Delerium and Front Line Assembly.

The introductory piece - Damascus - has the feel of an ancient world, and is a slow vocal piece. It reminds me of Dead Can Dance in the vocal stylings.

The second piece, Center of the Sun, has haunting vocals sung by Poe. I love the lyrics - it evokes a medieval atmosphere on top of the trip-hop musical background. Poe's heavenly voice is featured again on Make a Wish. Tears from the Moon features Sinead O'Connor and has a catchy beat for a song about love lost. Tidal Pool and Manic Star are classic Delerium-style tracks. Manic Star has a message too! Redemption has a middle-eastern feel, which Years continues before breaking into pure synthpop-influenced joy.

Recommended to fans of Poe, Portishead, or Delerium. The whole CD is graceful music with an excellent beat, which could be a companion to the dance floor, a long drive, or a romantic evening.

Being a big fan of Front Line Assembly and Delerium, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of ex-FLA/Delerium member Rhys Fulber's new project Conjure One's self-titled album. Over the weekend, while scanning the used cd bins at my favorite record store I stumbled upon a promo copy of the new Conjure One cd. I automatically snatched it up. I couldn't wait another minute for the album's official release. I haven't stopped listening to "Conjure One" since Saturday. It has surpassed all my expectations I have ever had. It was definitely well worth the long wait. Thank heavens that Rhys was able to get the samples cleared for use on the album. "Conjure One" is nothing short of a masterpiece. Delerium fans (post-"Semantic Spaces" era) would love this I think. Rhys uses some of the most stunning vocals around in pop music. Poe and Sinead O'Connor are the two most well-known singers he uses, the other artist I forgot her name at the moment but I believe she is an artist from the Middle Easat. If there were one track on this album that really stands out for me it would have to be "Tears From the Moon". Sinead O'Connor sings on this track and it is absolutely breathtaking. I find myself listening to this particular song over and over. All thet songs on the album are similiar to Rhys' previous work with Delerium but with a tinge of world influences in the music. If I was to compare Conjure One's debut album to a Delerium album, I would say that "Poem" would be in the same vein as "Conjure One". I definitely recommend this cd for fans of Delerium.

The CD starts with an evocative piece called Damascus that has a strong middle eastern flavor, a mood captured in the photos on the dust jacket, full of mystery and adventure. While listening to the beautiful voice of Chemda, you can almost smell the desert wind and fragrant spices. (This song evokes memories of Sting's Desert Rose.)

The second song is co-written by Poe and is great! Again, flavorful and exotic; it is perhaps my favorite song on the album. Poe adds her talents to the song Make a Wish as well. Any fan of her album 'Haunted' will love these songs and will consider them "must have."

Next comes the obligatory pop hit single, Tears From The Moon, fronted by Sinead O'Connor. This one is upbeat, fun and designed to appeal to the masses. Of all the songs on the album, it is perhaps the most out of character, but pleasing nonetheless.

I could do a blow by blow of the other songs, but suffice it to say that each song is full of infectious rhythms and melodies that are haunting and memorable.

The bonus disc of dance mixes is somewhat tedius and mostly forgettable. The exotic atmosphere of the first disc that makes it such an appealing work is largely lost and supplanted with ubiquitous dance beats that get annoying long before the track is done playing. I wouldn't pay extra money for the expanded version unless it's the dance mixes in which you are interested.

This CD picks up where Delerium left off with their later releases. Rhy Fulber has collected a group of artists who perfectly capture the desired mood and ambience, and is consistent with albums like Karma and Poem. All in all, a very good album.

A friend gave me a remixed version of 'Tears from the Moon' last year, it is / was so fantastic I still play it at least once a day. On the strength of that track I read the online reviews for this album and immediately bought it.
Everyone that has given this CD 4 or 5 stars is SO right. If you love Delerium at their very very best then this is the album for you. There is no point in describing each track just believe what you read and go out and buy it and give your ears a awesome aural treat. The only downside is the remix of 'Tears from the Moon' isn't on the CD, get it if you can.

This is definitely one of my favorite CDs. There's not a single song on this CD that I don't like, and that is EXTREMELY rare for me. Everything on here is very well produced, very atmospheric, and very catchy. This is absolutely awesome for a good stereo. (The apartment neighbors love me.)

My favorite songs:

Track 1 Damascus: Heavy Middle Eastern flavor (many songs on here have a touch of middle eastern). This song is pretty much all vocals. Very passionate... almost in a sexy way. It always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Track 2 Center of the Sun: Here we get some vocals by Poe. Very good stuff. This is actually why I bought the CD and the reason my father liked it so much as well. Very catchy. Good lyrics.

But the rest are all very good as well. I'm to the point now where I don't keep songs that I don't consider to be at least 8's on a 10 scale simply because I have more music than the average person could listen to in a life time and I've kept all the songs on this CD. Great stuff.

This CD is very much what you would expect from basically half of Delerium.... The style is much the same, which is a good thing! Originally, I obtained the album because of the fact that "Center Of The Sun," "Sleep" and "Tears From The Moon" were all remixed by talented trance producers to create awesome club tunes. This made me interested in the original.. and I have not been dissapointed! The highlight tracks are Center of the Sun, Tears From The Moon, Manic Star, Sleep, Make A Wish... I could list all the tracks, but then it wouldn't be as focused on the best ones. A VERY good CD :) I'd definitely recommend it!

Let me start by saying, I don't often give albums 5 stars in reviews, in fact I think this is my first. So as you can imagine, I love this album!
Right from the off it grips you and keeps you so, through the entire album. There is a fine mix of ambient pop, world music and electronic music on offer here. One of the finest tracks here is 'Redemption', a track that may not instantly appeal, but after a few listens at high volume......my god....just amazing!!An awesome track! Other highlights include 'Center of the Sun', 'Tidal Pool', 'Manic Star' and it goes without saying the fanastic 'Tears from the Moon'.

This is a must buy CD for anyone that's into Delerium's work. Even if you're not, buy it now, you won't be dissapointed.....pure genius!!

Oh one last thing...I read a review on here slating the album then saying buy Enigma's brilliant Voyageur album instead.....that's gotta be a joke! Right??

Conjure One the solo project by Rhys Fulber (Delerium) is pure magic...and maybe one of the most underrated albums of the year 2003. Fulber travled around the world and sampled music from different cultured. because of his commitment to Delirium and remixes he did for other artits, this album has taken ages until it was finally ready to be released. The music as I said before is magic pure. It weaves trance-like structures and pop conventionalities with more than simply the melodies and instruments of other cultures. The music is pure dark, seductive and sinister in its imagery of forbidden love. The lyrics are haunting and tentalizing.

It is hard to single out any song as special because they are all excellent. My favourite track though must be the wonderful "Center of the Sun" featuring Poe. The track is inspiring and touching and the slightly arabic influence of the melody works well with Poe's voice.

"Tears of the Moon" is the last song recorded by Sinaed O'Connor who announced last year her complete withdrawal from the music business. She infuses melancholy, sadness and anger in her usual beautiful way.

"Manic Star" is another huge highlight of this great album, while "Redemption" seems to have sprung out of the dream of a Persian mystic. The voacals of Israeli singer Chemda are irresistable.

"Years" is a track very much influenced by "Dead Can Dance" and would fit nicely on any Café Del Mar compilation.

The most sensual track of the whole album, which has also been the one I have first come in contact with, is "Sleep". "....Without sleep there are no dreams Without dreams we fall apart at the seams.....". It is the most trance like song of the whole album.

This album hasn't really left my player for almost a month. I have seldom heard such beautiful addictive music.