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Alvarado, Leon: Charging the Electric Dream
 While the work of Texas-based multi-instrumentalist Leon Alvarado delves into a variety of progressive-rock sounds -- he’s recorded with the likes of Rick Wakeman, Bill Bruford, Billy Sherwood, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin and Ty Tabor -- he wanted to make an electronic music album that honored the artists who influenced him. The result? Charging the Electric Dream, a collection of seven songs that gives musical nods to Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Wendy Carlos, Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre.
“Throughout the years, experimenting with styles, some of my pieces have wandered (while others have blatantly crossed over) into the realm of electronic music,” Alvarado writes in the liner notes. “Charging the Electric Dream is an album constructed from those ‘orphaned’ pieces, written and recorded sporadically over more than two decades. Created outside the schism of any planned album, they each had something a little special that made them worth saving.”
And, he could have added, worth hearing. From the simple yet uplifting opener “Alternate Frequencies” to the aptly titled “Space Glitter” and the downright danceable "Orion," Charging the Electric Dream manages to be more than background music. Active sequences keep listeners’ ears perked, and many of the arrangements feel more like actual songs than experiments. The oldest piece here was recorded in the late 1990s, with the most recent one completed in 2022.
The cover also reflects the diversity and long gestation period of this project, with a collage of Alvarado’s passport photos taken over the years. While the image looks piecemeal, Charging the Electric Dream certainly does not sound that way. Hearing this album is a seamless and gratifying listening experience -- almost as if Alvarado had intended it be that way all along.
Track Listing:
1. Alternate Frequencies
2. Megapolis
3. Space Glitter
4. Orion
5. The Rising Sun
6. The Electric Dream
7. Outside the Dream
Added: December 16th 2023
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score: 
Related Link: Leon Alvarado on Bandcamp
Hits: 1289
Language: english
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Alvarado, Leon: Charging the Electric Dream
Posted by Jon Neudorf, SoT Staff Writer on 2023-12-17 02:17:29
My Score:
Leon Alvarado is a Venezuela born musician who has called Texas his home for many years. I first became familiar with Alvarado upon reviewing his 2014 release Music From An Expanded Universe and subsequently his 2016 instrumental album The Future Left Behind.
A man of many talents, including a visual artist, Alvarado has embraced the digital age, working with fellow musicians over the internet, which makes perfect sense in this day and age, especially when one considers the expense of travel and all that entails. So, now we come to his latest album, released in December 2022, titled Charging The Electric Dream.
On his latest, Alvarado has taken his love of electronic music and influences like Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and, well you get the picture, and has produced an album of exceptional quality. A kind of homage to the artists he considers having shaped the genre. These tunes were written over the past two decades, but just didn’t fit on his other releases, that is until now. One of the tunes, not sure which, was written in 2022, and the rest of the album was built around that particular piece. The cover art reflects the time span these songs took to finally be released.
“Alternate Frequencies” begins the disc with a slightly distorted synth line and as different elements are added, the complexity of the piece is revealed. The melody will sink its teeth into your brain, at least it did for me, making for a highly compelling slice of electronic music. “Megapolis” begins with a percolating synth amidst a nightmarish backdrop of sounds. Throughout the piece, orchestral moments are developed, before a gentler cascade of synths take over the soundscape, and once again the main pulsating groove returns, almost having an Alan Parson’s feel. “Space Glitter” is a highly listenable electronic space tune, while “Orion” conveys all the mysteriousness and mood one would expect given the song’s title. I really dig the song’s heavier groove.
Charging The Electric Dream is an excellent electronic work, and I cannot see anyone with just an inkling towards the genre not enjoying this immensely. Alvarado suggests fans listen to the album on headphones and I couldn’t agree more. Highly recommended.
A Melodic Revolution Records release.
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