2022 saw this website review the atmospheric album Signature released on Oskar Records by Eddie Mulder of the perpetually classy Dutch progressive rock outfit, Flamborough Head. The back end of 2023 sees a further release from this prolific artist, To the Centre, produced by Mulder & Henk Stel in Eindhoven, with Stel responsible for the mixing & mastering duties, and it does sound wonderful.
It is a pleasure to listen to, one of those albums which lifts the spirits. Mulder has surrounded himself with a host of guest musicians, who you can see on the Bandcamp page at https://oskarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/to-the-centre-cd Let’s discuss and listen.
We start off with the title track which has a wonderful pastoral feel from the off. Mulder is such a classy guitar player, and the warmth of his playing washes over you from the outset. This exemplifies perfectly the overarching theme of the journey to the centre of one’s inner being, the music describing those different life experiences, from the relaxed to the more urgent chords, which are never less than uplifting in a jazz rooted delight. The synth notes of Gert van Engelenburg add to the playful roots of this introduction to the story. The closing sequence with its gentle riffs and pulsing bass combined with these keys are a joy before a very brief noodling denouement.
Lullaby follows, a gorgeous pastoral guitar themed piece designed to take you to a peaceful place and rest. It is embedded below. It is quite beautiful, with Stel providing for some particularly lovely soundscapes.
Unexpected Journey features some nice drum work by Albert Schoonbeek and Harry Scholing is the perfect partner in the rhythm section. Mulder provides for some lovely gentle riffs in which I imagine the protagonist walking at a new place, maybe lakeside, and seeing within such a journey new things, but always pleasant, nothing fatal or nasty, a pastoral journey, amplified by a very nice synth overlay by Ton Scherpenzeel.
Beltane follows, and this refers to the Gaelic May Day festival. I think in the overall context of this album’s theme of a personal journey, this is important, because of the overwhelming difference between such festivals, which emphasised the personal journey in life and death, to the rather discredited organised religion emphasis on personal belief translated into a set of rules and dire consequences for disobedience. Mulder provides us here with a gorgeous acoustic guitar, and you close your eyes to witness in your mind the renewal of the earth and life itself in the springtime.
Not So Easy is very eclectic, with an opening classic prog feel to it, but interspersed in parts with some Americana, pastoral interludes, and spacey psych, with swirling keyboards at the start before a clear guitar riff takes precedence. There is some resounding drum and percussion work on this, and the overlay of the synths is rather gorgeous, and Terje Craig produces a deep bass groove. It is embedded below. High class rock music.
Panta Rhei translates as “everything flows”, and is a quote from philosopher Heraclitus, with fire the fuel which nourishes life and creation until life gives way to death in a never ending circle (this is a somewhat simplistic explanation, given that a detailed one would run to more pages than I would have available on the web hosting service I use). The guitar riff Mulder opens with, combined with some interesting keys, provide for a mystical sense, and Albert Schoonbeek provides a masterclass in drumming. This is one of those tracks which has something different with each listen, but certainly provides for that “flow of life” in the title, with suitably dramatic moments as we always experience. The closing guitar solo drips with feeling.
Work in Progress follows and is a short acoustic guitar piece, as good as anything you will hear, and bears suitable comparison to solo works by Steve Howe. Take a listen to this delightful piece embedded below.
Fairytale is a track with lyrics written by Terje Craig which pertain to a love poem as opposed to Grimm tales. It is a gorgeous ballad with a very catchy chorus, Craig providing a lovely bassline, Mulder an emotional extended guitar solo, and some interesting effects provided as well which remind one of hearing whalesong. Warm and inviting.
Muse is a suitably absorbing piece of music, very intense in its acoustic guitar lead, piano, with light synths in the background. It delicately and cleverly provides for the definition of muses aiding understanding of knowledge, and the short electric guitar burst in the middle is very good. A piece to close your eyes to and reflect upon and understand what has happened in the day before listening.
Concentration should be regarded, I think, as a sister piece to Muse. The guitar work is intricate here with the mix important in the layering of differing effects and, indeed, concentration is required in order to appreciate its complexities. There is a wonderful little jingle which provides for a break before the main theme reasserts itself, this time with more prominent keys.
Nostalgia is a track with distinctive sections. The opening is at its heart an achingly beautiful reflective guitar piece, with a pastoral acoustic underscoring it. It is embedded below. It is quite lovely. The second segment hardens proceedings up, and this then segues into the acoustic guitar taking the lead with mournful strings taking us to a place not necessarily better, but certainly full of memories before the closing segment marks the return of the electric guitar, ghostly in its impact.
Mark the Place is the penultimate track, and is a very short guitar and piano duet, van Engelenburg providing the latter.
We close with Summerbreeze, a three minute piece which moves one to a pastoral landscape, perhaps lying in a field in high summer with the love of your life, and certainly this is a song which fills you with a joy of life, especially when the guitar washes all over you from halfway through. Embedded below, listen to the sound of a master musician at a creative peak.
Eddie Mulder has released another very satisfying album, full of adventure, questing, and intelligent, a joy to listen to. Highly recommended.