A New World, A True Classic: C-Jeff’s Preschtale (Review)

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With the release of Around Past in 2010, C-jeff ^[2] along with Megus illustrated a fully realized vision of his blend using chiptune music combined with live instruments, a combination that has been done before, but not with the rather unique way in order to seemlessly craft a very expressive and organic soundscape that stands out among the many great releases of Ubiktune. Around Past was something of a defining moment in terms of C-jeff’s stylistic approach to the chiptune genre, and with the promise of a solo album using many of the same elements as found in the Around Past album, excitement couldn’t have been higher for the young Russian’s brave new album.

Finally, in January 2012, the album saw light, and Prechstale set out to truly define C-jeff’s sound and style. With suprise guest performers and a story to tell, Prechstale hopes to be one of the true musical experiences you have in 2012.

Click the jump to enter the world of Preschtale!

The structure of the album is set up in parts of 7, each with their very specific tone and pace. As a concept album, it tells the story of a new discovered territory, in both mind and physical terms. The artwork, done by Swedish cake expert and pixel artist junkboy shows a tinted unknown landscape, perfectly providing the only illustration of the world about to be traveled.

The liner notes provides the outline for Preschtale’s narrative:

I found my true north in the land of shining stars,
I’m moving on my way from morning Earth to evening Mars.
I’m rising through the silence of Mother Universe,
And faith in God that helps me keep my inner force.

Truly, discovery is a big part of what makes Preschtale unique, as each part will lead to moments of emotional hightlights not often found in chiptune music, and with the help of live instrument and excellent progressive progression has an unmatched and exhilerating sound. From start to finish, the album becomes a true inner journey that makes use of all the senses, painting the imagination with the most vivid of pictures with melody as the only brush used to realize the colorful and encompassing world it takes place within. The first part, a faint introduction of noise and gradual melody, invokes the perfect amount of mystery and atmosphere to welcome the listener to the very vibrant musical trip ahead. The second part becomes the adventurous grand tour of Prechstale, a 10 minute sound novel which displays complete mastery of compositional story telling, and with the help of chiptune extraordinaire and Metroid Metal/ARMCANNON guitarist Dan Behrens, becomes an achivement in the genre itself by how the pace, the structuring and the execution is flawlessly built together, combining elements of an electronic soundscape combined with the cutting live guitar to fully craft not just a musical piece, but a world in which you travel, in which you fully feel. For 7 parts, Preschtale never stops its journey, and the discoveries never fall short, it is the most exciting of adventures one can imagine from music.

Similar to Equilibrium ^[3], one of the best albums to be released in 2011, the album strings itself together to tell a story without a spoken message, but yet the melodic voice is so strong and the message so clear. The complexities of each song are incredible to the ear, yet inviting and inspiring at the same time, able to be embraced by listeners of any kind. The fusion of jazz, progressive rock and atmospheric electronic music is mixed to precision, no sound overlooked, no instrument made to waste. It is a near flawless production top to bottom, and the result is stunning, and at times an absolutely amazing synergy of musical styles and talents.

The brilliance of Preschtale is not to be underestimated, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the absolute finest releases ever put on the Ubiktune label, a label which has seen one of the most impressive rises displayed by a netlabel, with each release pushing forward to present new true musical experiences, and no experience is as exciting as Preschtale. With this, C-jeff has not only outdone himself as a musician, but near outdone the entire backlibrary by showcasing such incredible mastery of his craft, being able to tell the most diverse and vibrant stories with not a single word, guiding you immersfully with only his melody.

Preschtale is the very first album released by Ubiktune in 2012, but already a certain contender for the best album released this year, and one of the strongest musical experiences I have had, a pure adventure with a clear vision, and unrivaled execution.

The album is available at Bandcamp ^[4] on a “pay-what-you-want” basis, and Ubiktune can be followed on their website ^[5].