Artist: Hubi Meisel
Title: EmOcean
Label: Lion Music
Date: 2004
official Hubi Meisel website
Here’s the list of the tracks – with some comments for every of them. I tried to do my best to explain what I liked the most from every song: which musical part, which line and which vocal part I liked the best and that touched me the most. Honestly, it was really difficult and I can’t promise a clear description since there exist simply no words in this world to express how it feels.
But one thing is for sure, “EmOcean” is ultra excellent and deserves to be discovered because that kind of artistic work is of such high quality, and it’s not the type of album you’ll find on every corner of the street. Hubi Meisel and his team of AWESOME AND TALENTED musicians did something that will simply leave you speechless…I promise you that !!
OH YES !!! Vivien (from now on, his new artist name will be Vivian) is definitely a “master” haha !!!!! The music he composes is simply fantastic in the whole album, but in some specific parts, you’ll be breathless !! Complex…VERY complex… ;-)
And you’ll see that I like every single second of that album, just separated in different parts. I like this one especially for the vocals, this one for the lines and this one for the music, for example – which doesn’t mean that I would not like THE SPECIFIC PART MENTIONED for the other aspects TOO. Every single song has a special meaning for me and I love ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in it. It picks you up so deep inside that tears will come to your eyes. This album is simply “Emotional ”. ;-)
What I like so much from it is that it’s very easy to put yourself in the place of the character and imagine that it’s YOU who’s doing the journey…that’s a very special feeling that not any album could succeed and I think the best way to enjoy it is to listen to it the eyes closed, while resting…oh my God…
“EmOcean” is the kind of album that you will love at first hearing, but even after having listened to it a million times, you will keep discovering things you never noticed before, especially on the musical side. “EmOcean” is filled with surprises and subtleties. ;-)
# 1- Lost in the Waters of Sargasso
COOL COOL COOL !! When I first heard the MP3s on the site, (it’s the first one among the excerpts available that I listened from the “EmOcean” album), I was immediately hooked and wanted to hear more ! I think it’s still part of my favourites, like ALL OF THEM anyway ! But it’s probably the track I listen to the most often, even after 7 months !! I love the story and the picture this song gives to my mind !!! Hubi Meisel has SUCH a way to describe things !!!! :-)) Well, I don’t know if this review will mean anything to those who never heard the album yet…you really have to know the songs already to understand what I mean here, to recognize the vocals, line, etc. But oh well, once you get “EmOcean” (hehe), maybe while hearing it, THEN you’ll know of what parts I’m talking about. Anyway.
My favourite musical part and line are the same, in this song and it’s “I’m drifting away into the endless sea of clouds”. (Almost at the end of the song). I love the way it “looks”. For the vocals, it’s the same part too but more especially when he sings “sea of clouds”. Sounds really deep. In fact, it’s from “Fades away […]” till “[…] sea of clouds”. Don’t know why, but I love it !!! The music and little solo following this line are incredible too ! Some other lines that really caught my attention are “Clear waters caught by tornadoes”, “The jaws of Sargasso” and “This watery inferno”. I TOTALLY love, once again, the vocabulary Hubi uses in all his songs !!!
# 2- Poseidon’s Trident
I like the history facts that are part of the song ! A bit of reality and fiction complete each other through the lines…really amazing.
My favourite lines are from “Hoodoo Sea […]” until “1945 Taylor disappeared – between the light”. I like the “history part” and the mystery and the picture all mixed together. I also like the parallel between “Earthquake – POSEIDON arrives” and “Earthquake – POSEIDON dives”.
My favourite musical parts are from “4:14 – 4:22” (for keys and drums together) and also from “5:00” till the end !! There are music changes and variations all the time and you never can plan how it will turn. I simply LOVE that !! Totally unpredictable !! I’ll put ALSO the musical parts that start at “1:09” = “Under the moon […]” and at “1:29”. Only good music here !!! In the whole song, haha. Great lyrics, everything !!! My favourite vocal part is from “3:25 – 3:41” = “He’s pointing at the heavens above” till “What should I do?” Great !!!
Favourite lines: “Nocturnal Breeze enlightens me”, “My lucky star – Born in the starry vault” (what a pic !!) and “A creature built of love – To ease my restless mind” (sighs – so beautiful). All this is so beautiful to imagine, don’t do you think ???
# 4- Dolphin’s Wake
The music is super good !!! I love the beginning. “0:44 – 1:00” (very sweet) and the part “2:16 – 2:40” (the music follows the lyrics and REALLY give you the feeling that the dolphin’s going faster and faster).Also nice “bubble effect” at the end, LOL.
For the vocal part, my favourite ones are “I start to sing a song – With all the love I can” and a bit farther “Like Arion – He turns to me – and dashes off – Faster…and faster”. The voice just sounds perfect ! Clear ! High the way I like it ! Very nice ! :-)) I love it because he can do all kind of sounds: as much “high” sounds as “low” ones and all he sings sounds good anyway! Regarding the lines, I especially like “A shooting star calms my despair tonight” and “He’s my cosmic saviour” !!! WOW !!!!!! Nice ones !!
# 5- Underwater Fears
Favorite musical part: Almost the third of the whole song. It’s between “2:05 – 3:00” = “STILL ALIVE […]” – “[…] A pristine web of life” (because I like the changes/variations). And I like the “bubble” sound at the beginning too !!! :-))
Favorite vocals: I like the way “A jungle made of green” is echoing. With the voice going “over” the first one, which is still singing…don’t know if you understand what I mean…It’s at “0:21 – 0:22”…I like that effect !!! And I especially LOVE the part where Hubi says “I can breathe? – I CAN BREATHE” !!!!! (with the breath and the little laugh) Well, it’s VERY cool !!!! We really feel like the character would.
Favorite line: The most beautiful passage for me is “Staring at glaciers – kingdom of red reefs” till “We’re passing mountains of limestone” and also “A jungle made of green”. (All these for the pics, again !!!) Very nice !!!! :-) The whole lyrics are excellent anyway and it’s a hell to try to give the ones I like the most – to choose ONLY ONE !! ;-) Sorry, but it’s just IMPOSSIBLE.
# 6- FantaSea
Still, the lyrics are probably what I like the most, here !!! The feeling that it gives me ! “Now I’m reaching a town – pure like a mirror”, “Crystal rays like Cayce described”. I also love the lines “Monumental ancient signs – Telling tales of forgotten days”, “So EmOceanal” !!!! This is SOOO beautiful !!!! I can see it perfectly in my mind…
For the music, I like of course the keyboards again and when the bass starts, at the beginning. I like that parts “1:13 – 1:32” and “1:58 – 2:26” and two specific parts for the vocals. The whole “It feels like home […]” until “ […] being here” and from “3:33 till the end” = “Blue OdysSea […]” till “Atlantis calls my FantaSea”. This song is VERY VERY NICE !! And I like to hear the horse neigh, haha !
# 7- The Souls of Atlantis
PART I:
Here, my favourite line is probably “In a shimmering haze of unseen sumptuousness” !! WOW !!! I LOVE the image it gives to me !!! Very good description with all the context around !
PART II:
“They’ll heal the wounds inside my soul” and “I feel the heart within my heart” are so meaningful !! Plus, the music when these lines are pronounced. It adds a lot of force and feeling to it. Come on ! I WANT to be the one of the story !!!! (Yes, it’s possible…I just have to close my eyes !) I just LOVE this musical part “6:44 – 7:25” !!! The beat is SOOO great !!!
PART III:
PART IV:
Basically, for me, the two first parts are “picturing” wonderfully while the two last parts give a good explanation and meaning of WHAT is happening. A kind of “outcome” to how the song started and evolved (the story/the spirit) till the end. It explains very well the spiritual progression of the character. Anyway. I don’t know how to explain this. But basically, this WHOLE song is great for EVERYTHING !! :-)) Happy ?? I can hear it many times in a row and NEVER GET TIRED OF IT !!! :-)) Besides, every time I hear this album, I find new sounds and new noises that I didn’t perceived before…
# 8- Sapientia Vitae
Above all, (including the lyrics) I LOOOOVE the musical and vocals changes all along the song. I love the part that says “Fortune of nature ?”. But between “3:14 – 3:37” = “I roamed the seven Seas […]” until “[…] Struggle for life” and “4:16 – 4:36“ = “They wanna protect you […]” until “[…] paranoia” are REALLY my WHOLE favourite parts, for the lines, vocals AND music !!!
You never know HOW the music will turn or change and you never know what to expect. It’s simply fantastic !! In this song, I especially like the way Hubi sings “They wanna protect YOU outside – From endless paranoia”. The vocals are quite grave, changing and I like the echo too.
While my favourite line is probably “Endless lust of gold and war – ZEUS damned the lost continent”. For the meaning.
Musically, I love the keyboards and bass VERY MUCH all along the song !! Of course, ALL instruments are very important…just felt like telling which ones impressed me the most. The keyboards especially made my jaw fall on the floor, loll.
# 9- Azure Dreams
# 10- Aqua Phoenix
Musically, the beat is quite fast again and I like the changes all along the song…from fast at the beginning to slow and relaxing later…Nice cut ! When it starts slowly with “Beautiful sunrise […]” and then, changes again to something different with “I’ve learned the answers […]” That’s GREAT !! I also like the solo very much !!
Vocals: My favourite one is surely when Hubi says “back to Sargasso Sea” (the second and third time echoing). Because the voice is very deep and even sexy in some way. (Am I the only one who think that ??) Don’t know why…I especially like the short silence between “Sargasso” and “Sea” (1:26 – 1:28) and the “back” repeating itself “over” the “other voice”. The words echoing, repeating lower or higher than the other one…even though it’s the same voice. I love that effect. This is a very good mixing, I think !! Hubi got “taste” ! But it’s difficult to explain. Anyway.
I have LOTS of favourite lines, in this song: “Holy swan of RA” (so poetic !!), “I must spread the news around the world”, “For our evolution and more humanity”, “My confidence is burning like the sun”, “Transcendence”…WOOOOW !!
Great words and ABOVE ALL meaningful too, obviously !! This song is simply FANTASTIC !!!! BEAUTIFUL beautiful beautiful…:-)) It makes a lot of sense to me.
# 11- Aero Nautical Favorite vocal part: Between “Around my lotus leaf […]” and “Navigators in a Sea of flowers” for the tone and the music at the same time. Favorite. line: “Spreading the message to the world – revealed by angels”. Mmmmm, nice !!! :-))
# 12- EmOcean !!
I find it incredibly sweet, touching and everything fits perfectly together !! The waves on the shore, the birds, the dolphins (big sighs) WOW !! This makes dream a lot !!
It’s a very good song to close an album: this is the end of a long and wonderful story !! A song filled with hope and positivity. Ohhhhh I really can’t find words to say how much I love it. How much it means to me.
Maybe you won’t believe me but the first time I heard this song, it filled my eyes with tears from the first note till the last one !!! It was actually too much “emotional”. So beautiful…you know, that sort of lump in your throat when a feeling is too strong.
It really comes to “pick you up” inside !! When I hear this song, I really can “see” and “feel” everything. The picture is very clear and neat, in my mind. Very detailed. I imagine it at night (or dawn), the waves touching my feet, with the moon over and everything. It’s QUITE hard to describe only with words. You only can listen to it to understand what it means. I LOOOOVE the keys too !!!! This song has a lot and I really love it !!!! :-)))
I don’t know why, but this song just makes me wish I could fly…it makes the spirit feel free and relieved, in some way. It’s like if suddenly, everything became more clear and…well, the message of this album really succeeded its goal, I think. It passed perfectly well.
Here, I really CAN’T choose a specific musical/vocal part or line…TOO HARD !!!!! Well, let’s say that the line “No solitary soul will be left alone” (as the music and intonation when he sings that) touched my heart very much…gives me “shivers”.
Also “Every day our spirit can progress”…“I’m so free”…VEEERY BEAUTIFUL !! :-))
But ALL the lyrics in this song touched me. Especially because it’s the end of one of the most beautiful story I have heard !!! :-)))
I also forgot to talk about this part “3:33 –3:35”…where the sound effect reminds me of a “rain of stars” (which we can also hear in some other tracks)
I always loved this sound in songs !!!! Besides, it’s very well placed.
# 13- Crystal Moon
I like it all !!!! Nevertheless, I liked “0:31 – 0:49” a lot but I’m not able to explain you the little “faster musical and vocal moment at “0:45 – 0:48” !!!
# 14- Tears of an Enchanted Sea
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I tried so many times to decide what song I liked the most, and played numerous times to give them a specific order, my favourite order, but it’s definitely too difficult to do as these are not independent songs. This “whole story” through the 14 songs is just a wonderful piece of art and every single track is worth a 10/10. Serious !
Well. As a general comment: I’D CHANGE NOTHING OF THIS ALBUM, it’s just
P-E-R-F-E-C-T the way it is !!!!!! It’s the BEST album I have in my collection – all categories included - and it’s also very positive music !!! I feel happy every time I listen to it !! :-))))
As I can’t give “EmOcean” a 15/10, I’ll simply give it the perfect grade: 10/10. ;-) Hubi his simply an amazing artist and his team too !!! All they touch becomes gold…Go and see by yourselves if you don’t believe me…haha. ;-) YOU can be the only judge…
Reviewed by Vikie Martel on March 18th, 2006
I like this one especially for the music ! I find it very relaxing ! The musical part at the beginning (till “1:08”) is very nice !!! The vocals are also very deep (well, sounds deep to me) in the first lines and I like it. The keys at the end are very beautiful, again !!! The way Hubi sings “Can anyone feel what I see – I’m stargazing like a child” as the sweet music is so cool !!! I like it as much for the musical part as for the vocals, the lyrics and the meaning. It’s magic to me ! It makes you feel something W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L !! :-))
I love the story of this album. It’s so wonderful and magical ! A WONDERFUL JOURNEY ! I just LOVE the lyrics, here again…it’s thanks to them if I can have such a good idea of HOW looks the “scenes” !!! :-))
This one is a bit stronger and faster and I like it too !!! :-)) It’s one of my favourite for the LYRICS and the picture ! It seems to be wonderful down there, in the song – at least the way I see it, it is ! – And I listen to “Underwater Fears” VERY OFTEN ! I really have LOTS of FAVOURITE PARTS, HERE !!
OOooooooooooooo…WHAT A WONDERFUL SONG !!!!!!!!!! I would say it’s in my Top 4 favourite songs and one of those I listen to the most often. I love absolutely ALL the lyrics and the “movie” that pass in my mind while I hear it !!!!!! WOW…This is a perfect dream and I’d like to be there for real !!!! But I really can’t choose which is my favourite line, it’s too difficult !!!!
OUF !!!!!!! Very long, deep, complex, meaningful and wonderful song on every single aspect !!!!!! Every single second of it is worth. :-)) This one really gives a wonderful PICTURE because the choice of words and vocabulary is simply AMAZING !!!!! Really poetic and beautiful I think !! We can feel like if we were THERE !! (sighs) This is the most special song of the album, for me.
Now, let me describe the “parts” of the song. I’ll take each one individually and try to tell you what I like from them and which one I like the most – cry with despair…which one will I choose if I like ALL of them ?!?!?! Loll
But let’s put the things clear right now: musically, everything is PERFECT !! All of them are great: all the solos, all the instruments, every single sound so I just CAN’T choose.
Between “0:47 – 0:53”, I really like the “back voices, echoing” in a temple… This is so great and fits perfect with the “set” of the song ! This may sound simple to you, but I love it very much ! I also like the way the line “I don’t cry but then I start to pray” is sung.
The image is quite nice here too !!!! “On the bronze column”, “In robes of royal blue”, “A constant flow of ecstasy”. I really don’t know what to say…I feel like I repeat myself a lot. I love about everything !
The way he sings “Of childlike innocence” and “Of cosmic consciousness” is wonderful !!!! I like the musical part “8:14 – 8:41”…and the way “DOWN” is said (the second time). The same for “PEACE”, a bit farther…My favourite line is maybe “I’ve found my mental peace”. (sighs) There would be much more to mention, but I simply can’t write every single lyric, sorry.
The beginning of this part is amazing regarding the voice and music (sweet and lovely – they also sounds very different), etc. and it’s also probably my favourite part (part IV), for the meaning. I love how the music goes, from “10:30 - 11:21”. Very special ! Nice solo close to the end, too !!!!
“My mind has lost its thorns” !!! WOW !!!! What could I say more about that line ????? THAT’S MY FAVOURITE ONE !!! And that’s a very great “closure” !!!!!!!! :-))
OH MY GOD !!!! I REALLY LOVE THIS SONG ! :-O It’s in my Top 4 too. I especially love the lyrics and the music, in “Sapientia Vitae” ! The topic ! This song mixes very well mythologies with the quest the character must achieve. It directs us slowly towards the ending…
This is such an amazing instrumental piece !!! :-) I usually like instrumental very much. Here, I find it very cool and relaxing, even though it’s quite short. I don’t say that it’s “short” in a negative way, of course…I think it’s perfect the way it is. It’s a beautiful one and the title and music fit perfect with the context and the watery universe. The keyboards do the whole job and it’s simply stunning ! ;-) I especially love from 1:11 till the end.
Ok ok ok…The beat is REALLY cool and special !! I LOVE EVERYTHING FROM THIS SONG TOO !! :-)) The lyrics are…wordless !! All of them really succeeded to touch me in a way I just CAN’T describe !! The meaning is incredible !! The character really knows, now, what he has to do.
I love the way the song starts and the beat, at the beginning (with the drums) !!!! Really “powerful” !! Well, that’s my opinion. I love it. Half fast/strong for the music, half sweet for the vocals. I like the mix of both. Also, the musical part “2:50 – 3:00” sounds great…kind of “electronic” ??? Or almost “techno” ??? Don’t know how to say that, I don’t find the “appropriate” word, but it’s quite special !!! Very unique in this album.
My favourite one since the first moment I heard the album. The one that touched my heart in the deepest way. No other song ever made feel that way before. I love it for ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING: the music, the lyrics and the vocals !!
Very sweet and relaxing song, too !! I really like the lyrics and they ALSO give me a wonderful picture !! “Enchanted sky…” This song is just magic !!
Makes me wish I could fly too !! :-))) As beautiful as the other songs !!! I like the solo and the music part of the beginning and the end…I have no favourite vocal part, here…
I like the keys a lot, as usual. And I especially like this one for the music: really quiet, calm, perfect to dream. :-) My favourite part is more that instrumental, around the end. From “5:21” till the end. But I also LOVE from “2:56 – 3:38” and “4:56”, the part following “Tragedy”.
My favorite. vocals are from “1:16 – 1:49” and every time Hubi says “Mystery”, “Tragedy”, “Fantasy”. That’s a very great one !
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