Helium Vola’s second album “Liod” was followed by this single, which you can better call a mini album, because it has six songs and over 30 minutes of playing time. Helium Vola is the neo-medieval project of Ernst Horn, who takes care of all the electronics. He is a busy character, because he is also active in the popular darkwave formation Deine Lakaien and he also recorded some solo albums. In the past he was also involved in the more traditional medieval act Qntal. Experienced classical singer Sabine Lutzenberger is the main vocalist of Helium Vola. She is supported by various additional singers. Furthermore there are guest musicians on harp, hurdy-gurdy and guitar.
The music of Helium Vola is not so easy to describe. It is situated somewhere between medieval, classical and modern electronic music. Soft classical ballads are alternated with uptempo electronic tracks with a danceable beat. The project uses both medieval lyrics (in old-German or Latin) but also more modern texts (like work from Michel Houllebecq. Helium Vola’s debut album was a big succes, especially because it contains two dancefloor hits in the darkwave scene which are still popular: the beat-driven ‘Omnis Munda Creatura’ and the more elegant and romantic ‘Selig’. A further hit was ‘Veni veni’, to be found on the second album “Liod”.
The title song of this mini cd, ‘In lichter Farbe steht der Wald’, is also taken from “Liod”. It is present in two versions: an uptempo ‘club mix’ and a slow, almost sacral ‘lied version’. Furthermore this mcd contains no less than four new tracks, which demonstrate again that Helium Vola are highly skilled in combining old musical traditionals with contemporary electronic sounds. Ernst Horn is never afraid to surprise, and this time he has chosen to include a cover of a 60’s psychedelic song: ‘Hold on’ by Sharon Tandy, which I find not completely succeeded, it sounds like a bit forced crossover track.
Apart from the remix of ‘In lichter Farbe steht der Wald’ the cd contains another ‘hit’: the powerful and rather hectic ‘Dies ire’, a typical Helium Vola dancefloor anthem. ‘Omnia sol temperat’ is then again much more tranquil, a minimal classical piece with a central role for Sabine’s lovely voice and a text taken from the Carmina Burana, just like the title track. Furthermore there is the experimental ‘Carmen ad deum’, a strange sound collage by Ernst Horn, which is a little tiring. All in all a varied mini cd, which is value for money, because it contains 3 or 4 nice tracks.
