[Reviewed by stark]
I guess I can say that around 7-8 years ago I was a big fan of Ô Paradis. These days I don’t listen to this Spansh project very often and even if I do, I come back only to the first three or four albums, and obviously to both collaborations with Nový Svět, which are legendary. At least to me. The latter albums were a bit less to my liking, although I still appreciate the unique style Demian managed to achieve over the years. It is not very often that after a few single sounds you’re almost 100% certain to say which band or musician is responsible, and Ô Paradis is definitely among this tiny group. The specific vocals, not perfect from the technical point of view, but always full of passion and feeling. The guitar work, it stands alone. The influences so distant from one another, like David Bowie, neofolk, a soundtrack of the European erotic movies from the 70s, flamenco – these are but a few of them. It often has a surreal atmosphere like from the Bunuel movies or Dali pictures. Most of all, love, death, sex, sun, Mediterranean Sea, red wine…
After 16 years, Polish Wrotycz Records has released a 2CD compilation summarizing this period. I don’t think there was any key in choosing these songs apart from personal sentiments by Demian. There’s no chronological order, one composition from 2001 is next to another from 2014. He slightly prefers his works from the current decade and doesn’t much cherish such albums as “Ensuenos” or “Reinos” (three songs from both in total). I suppose it is natural for all artists – many times we’ve heard or read in interviews opinions like “my last work is my favourite”. Damian had a lot of material to dig through, as he recorded a decent number of albums with the tracklist counting over ten positions. So I’m not very surprised that my personal Ô Paradis highlights are missing here, tracks like “Sirenas” or “La Ultima Orilla”. I also regret that he didn’t include any track from the magic “Entre Siempre Y Jamás Suben Las Mareas, Duermen Las Ciudades” and “Destello De Estrellas En La Frente”, both recorded together with Nový Svět. Perhaps it was a matter of legal rights or something. It doesn’t bother me though, as “Eon” is not an album for me, but rather for those who aren’t very familiar with the project, perhaps for someone who checked some songs on Youtube and doesn’t want to buy any album at random.
Demian’s music is sensitive and intimate. It makes me wait for the summer, as it always reminded me of the warm summer sunsets. It’s a nicely composed compilation – if you don’t know Ô Paradis and aren’t a thick-skinned bastard, you should check it out. “Eon” seems like a good place to start.
Ô Paradis – Eon 1999-2015
Wrotycz Records, WRT 026
DoubleCD 2016
Santa Sangre 