Album Review of
Halos And Dogs

Written by Robert Silverstein
March 8, 2022 - 2:08pm EST
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Robeone is essentially keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist recording artist Robert Schindler and he steps into the sonic spotlight with his late 2021 solo album Halos And Dogs. With a cryptic title like that you’d be correct if you found the all-instrumental album to be experimental and it is, but in a good way. Being all instrumental, the six cut CD encompasses a range of music—from electronica and beat-friendly space music to avant-garde prog-jazz.

The jazzier aspects of Halos And Dogs can’t be denied. Several tracks have a solid mid-1970s Chick Corea in Return To Forever vibe while the more experimental tracks echo electronic keyboard trendsetters—from Tangerine Dream and Jan Hammer to Jean Michel Jarre. The techno percussion and melodic attack on “Morning Rush” is very Hammer-esque in the best possible light. The thing that sets Robeone apart is his ability to converge a range of styles in an effort to come up with his own unique sound perspective.

Fans of progressive instrumental electronica and jazz fans turned on by the late Chick Corea’s daring synth fusion keyboard sound in Return To Forever and Jan Hammer’s late 1980s techno-prog soundtracks will find much to like about Robeone and his latest opus, Halos And Dogs.

Having played keyboards with and for a wide range of artists, bands and musicians, including Ronnie Spector, Johnny Nash and Ruth Copeland, Robert Schindler, now at age 70, has established himself as a modern day keyboard virtuoso. Those following his career will note that Halos And Dogs is actually his sixth solo album. Showcasing inventive sound layers revealed with each following spin, Robert Schindler’s Halos And Dogs is clearly an essential album of progressive electronic music.