David Cross Band keyboardist voyages out to the far reaches.
Darkfish is the alter-ego for British composer Sheila Maloney, best known in prog circles as keyboardist for the David Cross Band. But don't go expecting any Crimson-esque atonal twists and turns here: Darkfish is where Maloney explores soundscapes, atmospheres and abstract musical spaces. Her debut album began life as the soundtrack to an educational video entitled A Tour Of The Universe, which in turn awoke a fascination with space within Maloney, who has fleshed out the original music with other lengthy pieces to create a dreamy, gently undulating soundtrack one can imagine listening to while watching millions of stars stretch out into the unending reaches of the cosmos.
Yes, there is a piece entitled The Pale Blue Dot, and Maloney's equally fascinated by Carl Sagan (major plus points there!), but any similarities with another recent space-inspired prog epic end there.
Beyond is a quite beautiful and richly melodic listen, and although fans of Tangerine Dream are likely to lap this up, in reality, anyone with a penchant for synthy soundscapes and epic soundtracks is going to find Darkfish a rewarding experience.
Jerry Ewing
