Can Atilla’s Omni is a pure adrenaline rush - a fusion of slick powerful instrumental synth-pop, blistering EM, pumping house/Techno, and dramatic cinematic soundscapes. It would not be a stretch to call this the highest voltage and "most fun to groove to" recording of 2004 (although Peter Mergener’s Lounge Control is running neck to neck with it right now). If you have a fondness for music awash with layer upon layer of melodic synths, now and then integrated with other instruments (electric violin, sax, guitar) and a solid variety of EM beats (all of them snappy, catchy and infectious to the max), here’s your ticket to paradise. Those of you who love to turn your music’s volume WAY up (because you’re going to want to do that with this CD), will be snared by Omni from the opening "Sputnik 1" (which begins slowly amidst swirling synths and echoed piano, but adds pumping Techno beats, lush strings and ‘80s synth pop textures as it dials up the intensity) to the closing (fifteenth) track, a remix of "Café De La Defense" that boils over with break beats married to super deep bass techno beats and high-hats while twinkling bell tones dance above them both, cushioned by lush washes underneath it all. There are some unexpected twists here and there, such as the smattering of world fusion elements in "Leb-I-Derya", comprised of sampled ethnic chanting vocals (by Nurettin Okumus) run through a vocoder and exotic electric violin that sways and soars (performed by Turay Dinleyen) that hints of Atilla’s native Turkey, both of which sit side by side with pulsing sequenced beats and great keyboard work by Atilla himself. Then there is the sultry "Madeleine Hotel" featuring smoky sax by Metín Paksoy (recalling Tristan Feldbauer’s sexy chill-out album, city), all awash in layers of lush synthesizers and slow tempo beats. Another wrinkle is provided by "E=MC2 (Einstainiana)" which sounds a LOT like early Alan Parsons project, especially when guitars from Selcuk Sami Cingi and Murat Yucel are blended to Atilla’s piano, keyboards, and trap-kit drum beats. But what Omni is really all about is pedal-to-the-metal hyper-speed cruising. "Café de La Defense" positively hums, as if one were racing down the autobahn at 250 kph, mixing more propulsive rhythm-dominated moments with stretches when the bass beats are counter-balanced by delicate vibe tones that are nicely reverbed. My favorite track has to be "Sputnik 2" which would be ideal end credits music for a spy thriller or action movie extravaganza. Thundering tom-toms, ultra-dramatic strings, sequenced beats galore, great synth horn sections, and a gradual sense of building tension that is then released through a series of crescendos that literally lifted me out of my seat more than once. Closing out the album are three remixed tracks (in addition to the previously mentioned "Café De La Defense (Ludwig Van Remix)" all of them excellent examples of house/trance/Techno revisions to the previous versions of the songs. Omni is a helluva lot of fun. This is grin-inducing, feet-tapping, blood-pumping music of the highest degree. If you can stay in a bad mood after getting through the first three or four tracks on this CD, you’re too glum! Caveat: If you own a fast car with a CD player and you put this puppy in while the highway beckons, you better be prepared to pay some speeding tickets. Trust me, you’re gonna get ‘em, ‘cause when these songs hit your speakers, your right foot is gonna plant itself down – hard! Need you ask? My highest recommendation! Bill Binkelman I bought Can's latest album 'Omni' immediately after its release. The album successfully contains musical pieces for different tastes. You can listen to it from the beginning to the end many many times without pressing the stop button, it's that good and expressive. I strongly recommend this album to anyone looking for serious electronic music. Keep up the good work Can!. We hope to hear your future works from you soon. Congrats!!!. Teoman Pasinlioglu / Ankara This album will – fortunately!- be released by Groove. The final track list still hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the promo from Omni contains eleven tracks and four bonus remixes. In his native Turkey the classically trained (violin!) musician Can Atilla is a well-known artist, mostly because of his work as a composer, arranger and conductor. ‘Omni’ is his tenth album, the latest addition to his back catalogue which also includes two soundtracks and a live album. The music is bombastic, featuring warm-sounding sequencers (TD!) and modern rhythms, with sometimes pounding, but not too dominant bass-drums. Atilla handles all the electronics and drum programming, but uses a string section (on ‘Leb-i Derya’) and a number of guest musicians on guitar, sax (on the TD-styled ballad ‘Madeline Hotel’) and electric violin. Although 1980s TD is an important influence, so are disco rhythms and Turkish folk music (‘Leb-i Derya’), resulting in an outstanding, occasionally bizarre and yet impressive album. Besides some good, danceable tracks there are little gems that could have been created by Paul Ward or Michael Shipway (‘E=MC2’), while ‘Avalon’ clearly shows touches of Jarre. An excellent modern-sounding album which faithfully preserves the best sounds from the seventies and eighties. Perhaps Groove could release his older work as well? Menno von Brucken Fock / SonicImmersion.org