{"id":9200,"date":"2023-09-16T19:11:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T17:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=9200"},"modified":"2025-11-30T11:49:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T10:49:30","slug":"nick-fletcher-quadrivium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/nick-fletcher-quadrivium\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Fletcher \u2013 Quadrivium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A highly versatile guitarist and composer, Nick Fletcher has collaborated with many musicians. For his solo album’ Quadrivium’, he asked drummer Anika Nilles (Jeff Beck). ‘Quadrivium’ is the Latin word for four-cross. Plato gave this name to the four noble arts: mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘A wave On the Ocean of Eternity (Prelude)’ has a very gentle, mysterious start. The first notes of Nick’s compelling guitar playing give me goosebumps. The sound is nicely spread over the headphones. The balance between guitar and atmospheric music is good. This opening track ends with the sound of waves. ‘Overture to the Cosmos (Overture)’ has more pace and volume, and is nicely proggy. The drumming is dynamic, though the sound of probably the snare drum is slightly chilly. Otherwise, the tones of percussion are pleasantly warm. The fast guitar playing is enjoyably rocking. Just before the end, there is a nice transition to a quieter part. In the beginning of ‘Riding the Event Horizon (Scene 1)’, the keys have an important part in it. The melody has a light atmosphere, the piano sounds swirl through it. The complex music contains quite a lot of layers, in which the rhythm section can also be heard well. Sometimes the guitar playing comes to the fore a bit more. At other times, the keyboards are also clearly present. ‘Ziggurat of Dreams (Part 1) (Interlude)’ has a very calm intro. Again, Nick manages to touch me with his guitar playing. The sound is very good, which also brings out the details nicely. The ending is somewhat unexpected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accessible format of ‘Aphelion (Scene 3)’ makes this seem like a fairly uncomplicated track, but it is not. Again, the sparkling piano sounds positively stand out. The rocking guitar playing that follows this is actually too soft compared to the whole thing. The rest of the song unfortunately comes across as a bit duller because of this. The other twists and turns also come off a bit less well. In the short ‘Ziggurat of Dreams (Part 2) (Interlude)’ you can dream away on the quiet music. The sound of the cymbals was good, but in ‘The Helix (Scene 4)’ they sound a bit tinny. Certain parts of the melody return. This song ends nicely subdued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very first notes, ‘To the Stars we shall Return (Interlude)’ is captivating. The atmosphere is Eastern, this is partly due to the percussion. ‘The Journey to Varanasi (Scene 5)’ complements this beautifully. The tempo is faster here, the balance between melody and rhythm is good.
This track is quite different from the previous one. The difference in volume is a bit less than you might expect. The advantage is that if you listen with headphones, you don’t have to adjust the volume anywhere. The fast guitar playing is and remains magnificentl, the bass grooves are wonderful and cool. Eastern atmospheres are also woven into this track. ‘Standing on the Edge of Time (Denouement)’ has a beautiful, compelling start. The guitar playing is in the foreground. The lingering atmospheric sounds are in the background. The build-up to the end of the album is pleasantly long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasionally there are some returning elements, so it doesn’t feel too complex. The alternation or interplay between, say, keyboards and guitar is fine. Although it wouldn’t be an issue if the guitar playing came to the fore a bit more often. Within the songs, the contrasts in volume are not very big. I couldn’t discuss all these 11 songs, but the songs fit together nicely. Even if you know nothing about Plato and his quotes\/theories, even then you can definitely enjoy these instrumental songs. Once you’re listening, you don’t want to be disturbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(84\/100)(Rough Draft Audio)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Social media<\/strong>:
Website: Nick Fletcher<\/a>
Facebook: Nick Fletcher<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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