This gorgeously atmospheric new offering from German synth act Schiller sees them effectively managing a ride from downtempo Ambient tracks to uptempo Trance cuts throughout the songs on their latest "Life" CD. Appropriately tagging their music as Electronic New-Age, instrumentals like "Tranquility," "Middle Earth," "Unison," and "Future" set the stage with moody compositions fusing swirling electronics with World music overtures in the style of artists such as Deep Forest or Enigma.
Revving up the bpm scale a bit, the most club friendly track is definitely "I Feel You," a pulsating 130 bpm epic featuring the deeply rich vocals of Wolfsheim lead vocalist Heppner, the same singer that fronted the magnificent "Dream Of You" single from Schiller's last album. Similar in style is Veljanov’s resonant performance on the lingering "Desire" track though this time the rumbling male vocal is highlighting a slowly pulsing rhythm. Of course the album’s big selling point will be the two stunningly dramatic tracks featuring the guest vocals of multi-platinum selling vocalist and Broadway star Sarah Brightman, one of them a mellow 100 bpm dance tune entitled "I've Seen It All" and the other a sweeping slice of balladry called "The Smile," which are sure to intrigue fans of her work but also lending her considerable vocal support is Kim Saunders (known for her work as a Culture Beat vocalist in addition to solo singles such as "Tell Me That You Want Me" and "Jealousy") though in this case while Saunders’s voice sounds as strong as ever, the fragile elegance of the almost beatless backing track of "Delicately Yours" is a bit of a departure from her Eurodance classics.
The 110 bpm "Love" with Mila Mar may also be a bit slow for many contemporary dancefloors but the gentle composition and Mar’s achingly voiced performance is still an aural pleasure. Rounding out the selection of visiting soloists is Maya Sabin who lends her innocent phrasing to the gently shuddering "I Miss You" and a second version of "I’ve Seen It All" included as a bonus track where Sabin’s comparatively subdued performance provides a pleasant companion to Brightman’s more dramatic take on the lyric. A sumptuous treat of an album, with tracks that range as appropriate selections for both the dancefloors and the chillout rooms, "Life" as a whole stands as a marvelous aural luxury that is definitely worthy of further investigation.
