Up to now this has only been available as CD-R but now it will be released in it's full glory... With bonus tracks and a new cover! Can Atilla: Keyboards, programming, drumming Cenk Eroðlu: Lead guitars Meriç Demirkol: Alto and Soprano sax All music composed, arranged and produced by Can Atilla. Tracks 1-10 recorded and mixed at Studio Ankara by Goksan Arman in 1996. Tracks 12-14 recorded and mixed at "Home" Studio in 1998. Track 11 recorded and mixed at Poem Studio in May 2003. 2003. Press information. I've always loved electronic musik that can really touch my soul and this release is just one of them that can do that, I find Can Atilla's style to be his own, Not sounding like Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze or Jean Michel Jarre, It's a beautifully created set of melodic pieces that will truly become a wonderful classic "Love Sequence" is Excellent!!..Loved.. 2008. The Cosmic Frequencies Wow what can I say, I've been a Tangerine Dream fan for a long time and always enjoyed the 80s and 90s TD era but of late have not enjoyed there music as much since Paul Haslinger departed then Linda Spa. But I've found the music I've been hankering for in the shape of this fantastic album by Can Atilla. Very melodic and some great rhythms and tunes. I just cant stop listening to it. Another very happy English man 2003. Mall Smith / UK Can Atilla shapes in this album a vigorous music, that flows between Synth-Pop and Space Sequencer Music, with incursions into the New Instrumental Music and evocations of Trance. Though there are slow parts, much of the music has a lively rhythm. The sequencers have an important role in all the compositions. Can Atilla shows in this album a great sensitivity when it comes to creating passages dominated by warm, emotional melodies, together with others where the strong sequencer rhythms dominate. A general trait of the album is the fact that the music happens to be very intense, vital, as if reflecting strong emotions. Edgar Kogler There is some controversy within reviewing circles concerning the use of references to popular artists for the purposes of describing music, but when an album as derivative as Waves of Wheels comes along, I feel it would be almost irresponsible not to use them. Waves of Wheels is heavily inspired by Tangerine Dream, although unlike most other albums fashioned in TD's sonic image, which generally explore more Berlin School territory, this album is inspired by TD's output between 1988 and 1990, known amongst TD fans as the "Melrose Years". For those unfamiliar with this TD period, it is generally characterized by bright, compact compositions that utilize crisp, overtly digital sounds, all encapsulated in a traditional pop song format. Note: Unless otherwise specified, all of the following references are to Tangerine Dream. Those who have Atilla's last album Live will recognize the opener "Torchlight", although in this version Atilla abandons the Jarre-esque lead lines, arpeggios and trance pulse, instead opting for a decidedly more TD-like sound design. This includes Froeseian guitar solos, Linda Spa-style sax circa 220 Volt, the famed Melrose Years harpsichord voice, and even that upward sliding effect from Rockoon's "Graffiti Street". Those who thought that "Torchlight" reminded them uncannily of TD will most likely be blown away by the title track, which is highly reminiscent of the upbeat middle section of "Midnight Trail" from Optical Race. In addition, it features synthesized choirs and snappy chord transitions, all propelled by a vigorous drum track and a well-defined sense of progression. "Mona Lisa Smile" offers both relaxed, velvety sax lines as well as upbeat sections, but at one point shamefully transitions between these sections with an almost note-for-note rip-off of the Lily on the Beach title track. The following "Love Sequence" is blandly but aptly titled, and its opening refrains reminded me of something off of Christopher Franke's Pacific Coast Highway. Although Atilla has crafted an intoxicating sequence and has overlaid it with an endearingly sentimental melody, he fails to gather the momentum necessary for a truly impactful piece, which becomes overly repetitive towards its conclusion. "Steel Sky Tales" is another saxophone dominated song, and this album's abundance of sax will probably be grating at the nerves of hardened TD purists by now--assuming they're still listening, that is. For those with a bit more "cheese tolerance," however, the sax will most likely be interpreted as at least heartfelt if not altogether tasteful. "Pause of Time" would be more appropriately titled "Delay of Time", as it comes across as pure filler, despite the fact that a strangely and awkwardly aborted initial bassline had some potential. "Eagle's Dance", although starting out with some "Radio City" style virtual bongos and attitude-infused bass and guitar riffs, evolves into yet another saccharine saxophone piece. With "Lost in Madrid" we are finally presented with a song that's not blatantly derivative, instead exploring somewhat ethnic territory with lively, stylish Spanish guitar-sounding lead lines, all underpinned by a driving trance pulse. The next piece "Winterland" can also be found in a slightly altered form on Atilla's previous album, Live, and its similarity to Christopher Franke's "Purple Waves" from Pacific Coast Highway is more than just striking, it verges on downright plagiarism. Although it fails to surpass the melodic brilliance of that piece, it does feature a more varied soundscape, including various instrumental embellishments and greater sense of development. "Epilogue" is next, and its simplistic yet poignant solo piano melody immediately brought to mind "Cool at Heart" from Melrose. The remaining four songs were composed following this album's initial release in '96 and were added for its re-release. Together, they comprise a generous 32 minutes of this nearly 80 minute album. "Angel in a Dream" is what TD would probably have sounded like if they had retained their long-form compositional style into the late '80s, as it clocks in at just under 14 minutes while still flaunting those signature Melrose Years elements. The subsequent pieces clearly draw their inspiration from TD's Dream Mixes 1, with "Omega Gate One" sounding very similar to "Rough Embrace", "A New Life in Medresse" liberally borrowing its sounds and style from "Little blond in the Parc of Attractions" (it even has those otherworldly female vocals), and "Karma" sounding like a conglomeration of various pieces from that period. That said, all of these songs are skillfully reworked and present compelling interpretations of their source material. Can Atilla clearly has an unsurpassed ability to emulate the distinctive sonic qualities of his musical idols. However, although Waves of Wheels is a technically superb impression of TD's modern period output, I couldn't help but feel that it failed to capture that vital essence that is responsible for the best Melrose Years material. Still, this album is recommendable to fans of that period or of the more accessible approach to EM. I just hope that with future albums Atilla overcomes his apparent dependency upon the works of others, as exhibited in all of his releases thus far, and attempts to develop a more unique style. Travis Briggs Can Atilla a Turkish e-music impresario, released Waves on Wheels in 1998. It is now available in a remastered and extended format on the Groove Unlimited label. It is pure retro and pure Berlin school but retro to a more recent era than listeners expect. This set harkens to the late 1980’s and early 1990’s ­ somewhat unspectacular times for this style of e-music. However, Can has the moxy and virtuosity ­ not to mention the temerity ­ to make it work. It is easy to compare Can to Tangerine Dream from that era. It is not accurate. Can is much better and this disc is miles beyond the best TD of those years. It is great electronica as fans have come to expect and love from Groove! Jim Brenholts A lot of em-composers nowadays, after listening to their favorite music at home, decide to follow their predecessors and do their own material in this particular style. Can Atilla is one of them. He’s from Turkey and has won several prizes for composing, but I must remark that this seems to be his first album in this particular style. Beside keyboards, Atilla did the drumming as well and got help from Eroglu on guitar and sax. You can’t miss his devotion for the Optical Race album from Tangerine Dream. He has filled a whole album with Optical Race soundalikes, but he did a good job and you actually can’t hear the difference, or tell that these are Can Atilla’stracks. The first ten tracks were recorded in 1996. This is a must have for Optical Race-diehards, others would wisely avoid. Roel Steverink This CD from 2003 offers music which was originally released as a rare CD-R in 1998, and is now available in remastered form with additional material, featuring a total of 78 minutes of energetic electronic music by this talented Turkish synthesist. Many electronic musicians find powerful inspiration in the music of Tangerine Dream, generally focusing those influences on TD's Seventies period style of lushly sequenced music. Atilla, though, deviates from that model with this release, seeking to pay homage to other styles explored by TD during their long and varied career, specifically from the late Eighties and early Nineties. Joining Atilla on these tracks are: Cenk Eroglu on guitar, and Meric Demirkol on saxophone. Dense layers of crystalline keyboards are laced with lively chords and heavenly textures. Charismatic riffs explode with verve and determination, echoing within the craniums of the audience long after the CD has finished playing. There is little use of cyclic patterns; instead, Atilla pursues a constant accretion of variations, keeping the melodies active and relentlessly evolving. Thrillingly vibrant guitar, emphatic sax, and dynamic percussion add greatly to this expansive magnificence. The guitar licks soar with fiery splendor, catching the audience's collective breath with each successive escalation of enthusiasm. Sustains are tortured to produce monstrous pinnacles of ecstasy. The saxophones are vivacious and steeped in celestial glorification. The rhythms evoke a potent fervor, propelling the melodies with appealing tempos of great distinction. Exuding a pleasantly insistent quality, these melodies churn with passion and cerebral impact. A transcendental glory permeates the tune age, infinitely satisfying and rewarding. Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity Not surprisingly, the music of Tangerine Dream continues to be a source of inspiration for other musicians and very often people simply try to copy it. Some do this very well. Most of the time the result is classic TD music harking back to the seventies. Can Atilla however takes the other route. On the album ‘Waves Of Wheels’ he is clearly inspired by TD’s late-eighties and early-nineties sound, which is quite unusual. This also accounts for the fact that Can is from Turkey and there are not too many electronic musicians there. ‘Waves Of Wheels’ was originally released as a CD-R only in 1998 and is now available as a remastered version, coupled with some new and unreleased tracks. Can’s music is very neatly played and recorded, showing a lot of respect for his source of inspiration. Certain pieces, like ‘Torchlight’ with its great sequences and lead guitar by Cenk Eroglu, and ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ featuring Meric Demirkol on sax, sound as if they could have stemmed from TD albums like ‘220 Volt Live’ and ‘Rockoon’ while ‘Destination Berlin’ would have made a good host for the album’s title track. But there is more to it like the romantic sounding ‘Love Sequence’ and ‘Winterland’. In my opinion though this period didn’t produce the best TD albums and some of the tracks sound quite commercial and danceable, which is not exactly my cup of tea. Can has made another album with TD-inspired material, ‘Ave’, which was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of TD. The new track ‘Angel In Dream’ also sounds like a homage to 35 years of TD. Paul Rijkens / SonicImmersion.org