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| Conjure One |
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"With
Conjure One--his solo debut--Fulber expands upon the promise of Karma with a
rapturous blend of lush textures, hauntingly beautiful melodies and softly
curved electrobeats. Like a filmmaker using varying shades of light and dark,
the studio wunderkind manipulates sound to create mood music rich with images.
'It's ambient, epic music with a pop structure,' says Fulber. (...) As
Fulber tells it, the making of Conjure One was truly an international affair:
it written and recorded in Amsterdam, Vancouver, London and Los Angeles, and
draws its principal inspiration from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music. It
took Fulber three solid years to make the record, and the resulting
music--bracingly resonant and evocative--reflects his reputation as a
meticulous artist. (...) Critically acclaimed Atlantic recording artist Poe,
Israeli vocalist Chemda, Argentinean singer Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, and Melanie
Garside take turns breathing emotional life into Fulber's exquisitely crafted
compositions; their vocal performances are warm, seductive and absolutely
mesmerizing. 'I handed the songs over to the singers and let them do
whatever they wanted,' says Fulber. 'Most of the final versions are
their original visions.' "
nettwerk.com
 ½ 2002:
Conjure One
 TrackListing: 1. Damascus (vocals by Chemda) 2. Center Of The Sun (vocals by Poe) 3. Tears From The Moon (vocals by Sinhead O'Connor) 4. Tidal Pool (vocals by Chemda) 5. Manic Star (vocals by Marie Claire D'Ubaldo) 6. Redemption (vocals by Chemda) 7. Years (vocals sampled from Chemda) 8. Make A Wish (vocals by Poe) 9. Pandora (instrumental) 10. Sleep (vocals by Marie Claire D'Ubaldo) 11. Premonition Reprise (instrumental) Limited Edition Bonus Disc tracklisting: 1. Tears From the Moon (Hybrid's Twisted On The Terrace) 2. Redemption (Max Graham's Dead Sea Mix) 3. Sleep (Ian Van Dahl Mix) 4. Tears From The Moon (Robbie Rivera Mix) "With the worldwide success of Silence, both former Front Line Assembly men Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb made the leap from angst-ridden industrial dance ranters to Triple-A pop composers and template makers for a thousand progressive trance twelve-inches. And even though Leeb kept the name for the initiating project Delerium, Fulber has claimed his part of the formula for his new solo project, Conjure One. Like Leeb, Fulber balances white-girl diva vocals with polite, Enigma-styled Gothic hip-hop. There are also a few Eastern-styled instrumentals like Damascus and Redemption for the DJs as well. After a few years of working with artists ranging from Sarah Brightman to Fear Factory, Fulber definitely knows how to create dynamics that are almost Cinescopic in their scope and sound. And guest stars like Poe (Make a Wish) and Sinéad O’Connor (Tears From the Moon) give Fulber the appropriate finishing touches to the easily digested pop product he wanted with this project."
-- Justin Hampton, galleryofsound.com
½ 2005:
Extraordinary Ways TrackListing: 01 Endless Dream (feat. Poe) 02 Face the Music (feat. Tiff Lacey) 03 Pilgrimage 04 One Word (feat. Poe) 05 I Believe (vocals Rhys Fulber) 06 Beyond Being 07 Extraordinary Way (feat. Poe) 08 Dying Light (feat. Joanna Stevens) 09 Forever Lost (feat. Chemda) 10 Into the Escape "When Rhys Fulber is not working with Bill Leeb on one of their numerous electronic music projects (Front Line Assembly, Delerium, Noise Unit, Synaesthesia, Intermix,...), he is devoting his time to his brainchild project Conjure One, which follows the same formula as Delerium, i.e. ambient ethereal electronic music fronted by established female vocalists. While Delerium has been delving into pop territory ever since their unexpected breakthrough into the mainstream with Sarah McLachlan's smash hit Silence, Conjure One has managed, so far, to maintain its sophisticated blend of haunting melodies and lush textures. 'Extraordinary Ways', C1's second album, sees the return of singers Poe and Chemda Kalili who both appeared on the debut, as well as new vocalists Tiff Lacey and Joanna Stevens. Singer/songwriter Poe lends her seductive voice to three songs (Endless Dreams, One Word, and Extraordinary Ways) marking some of the highlights of this sophomore album. Pilgrimage is a testament to Rhys Fulber's genius at layering suave melodies and sampled female chants reminescent of tracks like Twilight and Forgotten Worlds from Delerium's brilliant Karma. Another track worthy of mention here is I Believe which sees Fulber taking on vocal duties, for the first time in his career, to deliver his take on the Buzzcocks classic song, and he sure succeeds at making it his own. 'Extraordinary Ways' is not limited to pure electronic music though, subtle guitar additions are quite present on tracks like Beyond Being, Forever Lost, and Into The Escape giving the tunes a welcome progressive Pink Floyd-ian feel."
-- DJ Avalanche, musicfolio.com, 7/05
¾ 2010:
Exilarch TrackListing: 1. Like Ice (Feat. Jaren Cerf) 2. Places That Don’t Exist 3. Zephyr (Feat. Jaren Cerf) 4. Nargis (Feat. Azam Ali) 5. Nomadic Code 6. The Distance (Feat. Jaren Cerf) 7. I Dream In Colour (Feat. Leah Randi) 8. Existential Exile (Feat. Leah Randi) 9. Run For Cover (Feat. Free Dominguez) 10. Ogilarch "... Exilarch drops the overt pop references, the extended world music plod, and the blatant Delerium aping in favor of a sound that skirts the limits between darkness and beauty, and does so in a very direct and concise way. For long-time Delerium fans, it would be easy to describe this album as a blend of Semantic Spaces and the Spheres albums, but that is just an easy reference point. The layers of dark, flowing synth and deep bass that make up the foundation of each track is just the beginning of what Exilarch offers. Those electronic elements share time with chill, sensual trip-hop grooves, Middle Eastern influences, enchanting female vocals, and even the occasional bit of electro-rock. Lead single, Like Ice, offers all of those elements and displays just how seamlessly they work together. Like Ice features the vocals of Jaren Cerf (CMJ) and spends the first few moments of its duration building an exotic and alien soundscape before moving directly into a smooth electro-pop beat with layered synths and gorgeous vocals. (...) Songs such as Places that Don’t Exist display another side of Conjure One’s identity – a side that focuses on creating slow, trance-like grooves over which a variety of Middle Eastern and Turkish influences are allowed to shine. These types of songs still contain female vocals, but the voices are generally more abstract and used the same as any other sample or synth loop. (...) The songs are direct without a lot of needless build-up, they’re catchy without succumbing to blatant pop references, and the music is finally totally fleshed out thanks to a return to the electro roots of Rhys’ past.
-- Trey Spencer , sputnikmusic.com, 11/10
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