During my years of reviewing music, I've heard many debut recordings, ranging from dreadful to impressive. ANTIQUUS, the freshman CD from keyboardist David Wahler, easily sits at the latter end of that continuum. With great production standards, a high caliber of assorted electronic keyboards, and a surprising variety of moods, styles and tempos, Antiquus instantly grabbed my attention and held it for its fifty-five plus minute playing time. A variety of musical influences are sprinkled throughout the CD: Vangelis ("Antiquus"), Jonn Serrie ("Angelis") [note: this would be Serrie from his romantic-era, circa Midsummer Century and Ixlandia], Deuter ("Ancient Dawn"), and a blend of Bernward Koch and Tristan Feldbauer ("Night Sky of Orion"). While these similarities are discerned if one listens for them, they are not in any way derivative or imitative. Wahler obviously pays attention to what these artists are doing with their music, but uses their motifs as a jumping off point, then spinning off in his own artistic directions. The artist adroitly carves out his own artistic niche employing a wide array of electronic keyboard virtuosity. Mood/musical style on the album varies from the stately subdued drama of the title track with delicate piano refrains over layers of electronics (layering in strings and emphatic Greek-sounding keyboards playing the refrain) to the gentle effervescence of the bubbly chill-out on "Night Sky of Orion" (my favorite song on the CD) to the somber yet lush melancholy of "Teresa" (an homage to Mother Teresa and the human suffering she witnessed in her life) to the floating ethereal strains of tones, sampled guitar, bell trees, and classic new age keyboard effects on "Angelis." "Apollo's Lyre" features solo flute and solo violin, soothing chorals, strings, and plucked harp evoking both romance and mystery while "Lune Mysterieuse" blends a gentle chill-out rhythm with twinkling bell tones and laser-zap synths.

Despite this cornucopia of music, as with all good artists, Wahler has a distinct "footprint" evident throughout Antiquus. You can hear it in the predominance of reverbed piano on some tracks, as well as the reoccurrence of assorted keyboard sounds, and an overall common thread of how the artist structures his compositions. Wahler favors strong often warm and romantic melodies played out on a blend of both new age keyboard sounds and sampled orchestral ones. When rhythms are present on a few tracks, they are relatively gentle and unforced, back in the mix not "in your face" which, if they were present, would "take the listener out of" the mostly non-stop dreamy/reflective atmosphere. Even the stronger rhythmic elements of "Delphi Dream" (which combine with cascading synth arpeggios, flowing pads and subdued world percussive effects) don't distract, but are expertly blended and set at the "just right" volume level. Of course, a "perfect" album is a rare thing indeed, and there is slight room for improvement on future recordings, but this particular weak point is also shared with many other CDs I've reviewed in my career. It's the solo violin sample. This may be the single most difficult orchestral instrument to "get right," especially compared to woodwinds, flute, guitar or other members of the string family, e.g. cello. However, this minor criticism is only present for a few moments on one or two tracks and easily overlooked in the presence of many other worthwhile qualities. Wahler also hit a home run with the album artwork which he must have turned over to a professional. Antiquus is gorgeous! Design, layout, color, and font choices are flawless. I'd strongly suggest buying the CD, not downloading it. It's that beautiful a digipack. With a debut this strong, David Wahler has launched his contemporary instrumental recording career straight into the upper stratosphere. Antiquus heralds another artist to keep a close watch on, expecting more great music on future musical efforts. Highly recommended. Rating: Very Good+ Bill Binkelman - New Age Reporter (Jun 1, 2009)