Derby

In the many years Dutchman Ron Boots is active in the world of electronic music, he has given numerous concerts. As always, he is accompanied by great musicians who bring something extra and special to his music. 'Derby!' is recorded live at the Derby Guildhall in the United Kingdom on the afternoon of September 5th 2009. The album came out at E-Live 2009 which was held at October 17th, so that was quick work! At this performance, Ron plays together with two excellent musicians: Harold van der Heijden on drums and Frank Dorittke (FD Project) on electric guitar. The nine tracks on 'Derby!' are not new compositions but most of them are known pieces with new arrangements. It opens with 'A Half Hour Of The Wolf' which is based on 'Hour Of The Wolf' from the 'See Beyond Times Look Beyond Words' album. Starting with a wonderful ambient moment, the music goes into a big sounding sequencertrack that almost remind of the 'rock' period of Tangerine Dream ('Cyclone', 'Force Majeure'). With 'Howling Whispers' Ron and his friends visit 'Screaming Whispers', one of his best albums. This piece is built up excellently, from slow until very fast, and shows Frank on guitar. He can be heard again -and very clearly- on 'Giants In The Derby Sky' ('Giants In The Skies' from 'Beyond The Boundaries Of Twilight') which is almost progressive rock. On of Ron's most magical moments, 'Detachment Of Worldly Affairs', return at the concert in 'Reattachment Of Worldly Affairs'. It brings back happy moments. 'Acoustic Shadows' was a very inspired album and shows some of Ron's greatest moments. From this album the menacing symphonic titletrack and 'Battle Of The Somme', with lovely sequences, are played. Frank shines again on 'Canyon' (with a thrusting sequence) and 'A Storm In The Guildhall', bringing it almost into a Mike Oldfield-atmosphere. 'Tainted Bare Skin' is still one of Ron's most favourite albums along his fans. Happily, the trio play a piece from that CD. Frank's guitar brings 'Tainted Bare Skin At The International' to a whole new level. The sequences, rhythms and sounds are still impressive. It was a while ago since Ron's last live album came out. 'Derby!' is a welcome addition to his impressive amount of live recordings. Electronic music should not be kept 'hidden' at some attic but should be shared with the fans. On 'Derby' Ron does that in an great way. The booklet show a nice 'on the road' story because playing live is not only about the performance but also about the travelling.