Omni by Can Atilla

Turkish synthesizer artist Can Atilla sure can sound different from album to album. He did classic Tangerine Dream circa 1980 to a tee on his Ave disc; he did similar treatment to their 90s sound in Waves Of Wheels; now, with Omni, he sounds like energetic Jean-Michel Jarre with a splash of disco and techno.
My 8 year-old daughter is dancing around and grinning while I’m listening. It would be difficult to feel down while playing Omni; upbeat numbers like "Café de la Defense" are too much fun. This one has a cool beat and groove, laid back despite the tempo, where Jarre meets Yello meets Fanger & Kersten. The whole thing plays like one giant dance mega mix, with occasional pauses to come up for air.
Brief bridging pieces like "Visions" and "Inside" are full of imagery, with sounds of camera film advancing, railway cars whizzing by, and more.
"Madeleine Hotel" gives a brief respite from the pace, again very Jarre-like but this time in reflective romantic mode, including saxophone.
"E = mc2 (Einstainiana)" bears an uncanny resemblance to Alan Parsons at his peak, both in terms of beats and the synths used.
The dance tracks get awfully cute and bouncy at times ("Avalon") but they are fine – although the last four pieces are heavy beat-laden "bonus remix tracks" that I could do without.
I enjoy the many laid-back numbers like "Chronos", with its infectious light beat and bright piano melody.

Lots to like here.