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December 19th 2005, by 
I’m pretty sure this album does not want to prove anything. In a time, when every little broken fragment of art seems to be a comment on something and when music appears to live only by its reference to another bit of sound, “Ornamental Journey” comes as close to being its own micro-cosm as could possibly be expected. Still, wanted or unwanted, it does make a few powerful statements.
It all begins with the pure and minimal nature of the album. For all those, who still can’t let go of the notion that only complexity can lead to salvation, these pieces must come as a shock: Slowly unfolding, hypnotic guitar motives are layered against deep, resounding bass-movements and seductive, yet unobtrusive synthesizer-pads, leading the listener into a warm and wonderous musical womb. Even though you have never been here, everything feels like home – the minimalistic grooves lock into each other, melodic emphases seemlessly shift, you wander without moving. And to all those, who thought a techno DJ like Andreas Leifeld (the man behind this project) could only serve up cold, monotonous stadium anthems, the intimate and organic feel of “Ornamental Journey” should come as a revelation. Tracks can last up to nine minutes, yet never loose their focus, their pulse, their soul. Repetition and symmetry, we learn, are not an industrial byproducts of a lazy artistic attitude and of techno-culture, but a natural phenomenon, inherent to everything around us.
Insight is a wonderful thing and “Ornamental Journey” offers quite a bit of it. The only thing it doesn’t do is rub it straight into your face. If there is a message this album wants to offer, it would have as simple as this: Happiness can be this easy.
Homepage: Ozella Music
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