Falling You – Touch

John Michael Zorko is either lazy or a perfectionist (or both), since the previous Falling You cd appeared in 1998. I go for the second option, since “Touch” sounds very refined and detailed. All songs on this album, which comes in a striking digipack, where composed by Zorko, who used both electronic and acoustic (piano, guitars) electronic elements to weave the most subtle ambient sound you can imagine, with a few more poppy excursions.

But don’t assume now that this is an instrumental album, since I haven’t told everything yet. “Touch” will be welcomed by all people who love to listen to heavenly female voices. No less than six female vocalists were employed to give their input (both vocals and lyrics) to the album. And not the least ones: think of Dru Allen (This Ascension), Aimee Page or Victoria Lloyd (Claire Voyant) for instance.

My favourite moments are the subtle ambient soundscapes like ‘Something about eve…’, on which Dru Allen uses her voice as an instrument, with lovely wordless chanting. The more melodic, poppy songs, like the triphoppy ‘The art of possession’, are less to my liking. The rather abstract atmospheric soundscapes appear to be alternated by the more song-based compositions. Some highlights are the melancholic ‘Moth and flame’, the mysterious ‘…a cry for the broken-hearted’ and the delicate ethereal ‘The canoe and the waterfall’.

The sound of this album is crystal clear, perhaps partly due to the mastering of ambient veteran Robert Rich. “Touch”, which is dedicated to Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and everyone “who has ever touched another in a healing or comforting manner”, is a very fine release for The Fossil Dungeon. It would have also fitted the Projekt catalogue very well. A moving release by Falling You.

artist: Falling You
label: Fossil Dungeon, The
details: 10 tracks, 67 min, 2005 [FD026]