Ambient yet groove-oriented, ethereal yet grounded with irresistible dance beats, the music of the Canadian duo Mythos offers a perfectly textured balance between modern electronic sounds and ancient flavors that ring timeless. Blending sounds that are purely human and organic (soaring vocals, piano, and guitar) with foundations and atmospheres strictly from the age of the synthesizer, Bob D'Eith and Paul Schmidt achieved international acclaim with their self-titled 1998 Higher Octave debut, which Chart Magazine called "otherworldly." Mythos' latest recording, the similarly provocative
Reality of a Dreamer, shifts focus from the globetrotting tendencies of the first album and to a more Western leaning combination of classical, jazz, and pop influences. Producer D'Eith and guitarist/assistant producer Schmidt added the human element to Mythos' sound with the primarily wordless vocals of accomplished jazz and classical performers Christine Duncan and
Jennifer Scott (who also appeared on Mythos' debut), and the alternating thundering and subtle basslines of Rene Worst. Each track has a one word thematic title -- "Alchemy," "Kaleidoscope," "Venice," "Reveries" -- which captures the feeling of the songs themselves. "Vision II" presents a first for Mythos, taking the throbbing instrumental track to "Vision I" and putting actual lyrics (as opposed to wordless vocals) to it. The lyrics were inspired by the duo's experiences filming the video "Platinata" in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula for their last album. ~ Jonathan Widran