Artist: Conjure One
Title: Conjure One
Label: Nettwerk Productions
By: Chad Harnish | 19 September 2002
Tracklist:

1. Damascus
2. Center of the Sun
3. Tears from the Moon
4. Tidal Pool
5. Manic Star
6. Redemption
7. Years
8. Make A Wish
9. Pandora
10. Sleep
11. Premonition Reprise

Conjure One "Conjure One"

After stepping from Front Line Assembly to Delerium, Rhys Fulber has finally released his highly anticipated solo album – Conjure One. Fulber has good reason for the delay. For years he’s been busy producing, remixing and assisting other artists with their projects. His most recent release was with Bill Leeb, also a Front Line Assembly collaborator, on the latest Delerium album.

Delerium’s 1997 album Karma drew great acclaim with the smash single “Silence,” featuring Sarah McLachlan. The song achieved a number three slot on the UK charts. Karma’s success established Fulber an in-demand producer and remixer. His credits include work with P.O.D, Sarah Brightman, Mudvayne, Fear Factory and, most recently, Josh Groban. Drawing from his extensive production experience, Fulber is currently showcasing his solo talent on Conjure One.

“It’s ambient, epic music with a pop structure,” explains Fulber. “The goal was to make cool, world-influenced songs without the constraints of a specific genre. As an artist, you are always grateful for the support of your core fans, but at the same time you want to stretch and reach a broader audience. To create something that everyone can get into is music in its purest form.”

Rhys pulls of his plan of ambient, epic music with a pop structure in an amazing way. Each track stands on its own yet as a whole creates memorizing exotic imagery. From the beginning with ‘Damascus’ to the closing track ‘Premonition Reprise’, Fulber leads the listener through an epic journey.

Stand out track ‘Center of the Sun’ is a deep slow groover featuring vocals and lyrics by critically acclaimed Atlantic recording artist Poe. Rhys uses great production techniques to wrap this song around your head. "I wrote the melodies and lyrics after just three listens," says vocalist Poe, who appears on both "Center of the Sun" and "Make A Wish." "Rhys' music inspires that sort of creativity. His songs are beautiful and have that rare timeless feeling."

Together with Center of the Sun, tracks such as ‘Make A Wish’ and ‘Manic Star’ show Rhys emotional side in productions. In addition to Poe, Rhys used other spectacular vocal talent including Chemda, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, and Melanie Garside. Additionally, Sinead O’Conner lends her voice to ‘Tears From the Moon’. In addition to vocal talent, Tom Holkenburg (Junkie XL) lent his hand in programming and mixing, and string arrangements were by composer Chris Elliottand the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Says Fulber, "Everyone involved played an integral part in the making of the record. It's exactly the kind of album I wanted to hear and I don't think there's a lot of music out there that sounds like this. I must admit though, I did feel a certain amount of pressure at times. You get to a point where you don't know if what you're doing is good, but I got great feedback and support from my friends, my manager, publisher and label people. When I listen back to the record now, I'm really pleased. I feel like I've said something with it."

Conjure One was released on September 17th with a bonus disk. This will include exclusive remixes by Hybrid, Max Graham, Ian Van Dahl and Robbie Rivera of various songs from the album, including the next single, "Tears From The Moon," sung by Sinead O'Connor and songs "Redemption" sung by Israeli vocalist Chemda and "Sleep" sung by Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo from Argentina.