ALIEN MUTATION VS INDIGO EGG:Microcosm/Macrocosm
From a quiet beginning emerges a synth rhythm that is gradually joined by another rhythm(synth/perc/
bass) and more synth overlays as the composition progresses and is slowly built up over its 11+ minutes to mesmerising effect, mid-tempo percussive, full of swooping space synths, sampled distant voices, tinkling synth rhythms and the spacious rhythms-it could be a piece of classic Namlook. Most engaging stuff. Track 2 begins with 3 mins of spacey, cosmic synth layers, before a giant bass synth rhythm begins to undulate, echoed synth refrains and quietly buszzing space effects surround this as synth comets swoop and soar in the distance. Again, more layers are added as the piece builds, its rhythms becoming percussive as well as electronic, the echoed and space synths becoming more prominent, eventually flowing along in dynamic fashion with barely audible whispered space samples giving a more eerie effect as the river of sounds twists and turns, eventually flowing in gorgeous setting to the end of its 11 minutes of heaven. Track 3 is even more tranquil and sombre as well as spacey with a flowing set of slowly rhythmic and bubbling, ethereal synth layers setting up a most compulsive path, subtly changing as the 12 min track progresses, a little reminiscent of an ambient version of the first half of Klaus Schulze's 'Black Dance'. Track 4 begins spacey before emerge swirling whirlpools of synth rhythms, echoed split-stereo synth/perc rhythms and a gently soaring line of space synth passages unfolding on top and in the background. These lead to quite a stark effect, again very 'Fax-like' and equally fascinating over its very spacey and delicately rhythmic 10 mins. On track 5, after a short spacey start, sequencer and echoed synth rhythms/percussion beats emerge and the track flies along at mid-tempo accompanied by all manner of Hillage-like cascading synths,, Hawkwind style space swoops, a distant string synth backdrop and an assortment of foreground synth layers, all making for a stunning but still ethereal 8+ mins of bright and moody music. Finally, track 6 opens with undulating and swooping echoed space synths, out of the mix coming a spiralling synth rhythm and a beautiful string synth lead line which all evolves into avery spacey, cosmic set of multi-synth, ethereal music that soars, floats and drifts its
rhythmic/spacey way through some gloriously relaxed landscapes over 13 mins of brilliance.
AMBIENT TEMPLE OF IMAGINATION: Y2KAOS DBL CD
Yes, £10.99! Prepare For The Ride Of Your Life, but take care, because this is an intense listening experience - in fact, nearly two and a half hours of the most expansive music you'll hear but delivered in a manner that is so much more than space-music, so much more musical than space-rock and never have elements of the two been combined like this before. It's an instrumental voyage into an infinitely long galaxy of mind-boggling proportions. From the opening salvo of drums, electronic percussion, bass drones, echoed samples, scorching guitars (that Froese/Gottsching/Brock could only dream like sounding), massive electronic backdrops and layers of space effects and distant feedback, you are not, as on most such albums, at the start of the trip, but flung into the heart of the outer reaches of a musical universe that really is like nothing else you've ever heard. On disc one, for a continuous 70+ minutes without any breaks, all of these elements, in ever different, ever changing, dense, cosmic, deep, emotional and totally 'out there' musical settings, often with some of the strongest drum loops and rhythms present on such an overtly space-music album, have you completely hooked. You marvel at the way the electronics and samples seem to be all around the central structure and occasionally rhythmic framework, and are in awe of the way the magnificently produced and arranged music fills the room with and almost organic sound presence, so brilliant it lights the night sky like a blazing supernova. Yet it's a mix of darkness and light where the music posses no fundamental melodic or rhythmic structure and yet is totally cohesive as it takes over your consciousness. The drums die away on occasions to leave brief passages of calm. Using samples as integral parts of the overall sound, the constituent elements of percussion, electronics and samples produce a type of music that is wholly creative and unique...and that's just the first CD. There's a further 70+ minutes of continuous music, of even greater space-music proportions this time, on disc two, where percussion and rhythm take a lesser role and an infinite variety of soundpools, layers, samples and textures produce more galaxian soundscapes.
Make no mistake - this is an intense musical trip - if you want neat little melodies and sweet space music at one end of dark gothic stuff that does little but drift at the other end, then this is not for you. But if you want what amounts to REAL space music that totally ditches the space/rock/ambient rulebook, takes over every fibre of your feelings, you should turn out the lights, turn up the volume and just experience the effect, because this is so much more than 'just music' - it's one of the biggest 'highs' you can get that's legal, and one of the top music CD's of any style that I've heard in the last 7 years. It will split the audience up into those that can't get enough of it and those that can't get near it (so take total advantage of the approval system if you're unsure and want to play it safe), but you just have to hear it as it may well change your whole listening perspective - you simply cannot ignore it - perfection on a silver plate.
ARTHUR LOVES PLASTIC: No Nations No Peoples CD
In an age where musical boundaries are being crossed and broken all the time, it's so refreshing to come across a musician whole music, rather than being so original it defies categorisation, is actually so refreshing that it gathers together all your favourite categories and reinvents them in one fell swoop. This album, from 2002, consists of twelve rhythmic tracks that take on the happier sides of house, industrial electronic, "synth", ambient, ambient dub and more, managing to create compositions that are so addictive in the rhythmic departments while remaining so mesmerizing where the melodies, tunes, layers and effects are concerned. Most of the tracks are instrumental, some with samples from assorted sources, and the main body of each track revolves around synths, electronics, electro-percussives, assorted samples, loops and percussion, arranged, created and delivered so that each track is a mixture of addictive rhythm and highly engaging foreground, often with so much in the mix that you really need a few plays just to take it all in, and yet each track is just so easy to enjoy right from the start. Solid and substantial, musically just so varied, and yet so darned catchy, it's an electronic ambient downtempo brew that will have your feet tapping and your body swaying as track after incredible track fills the airwaves, each one full of the most wondrous array of melodies layers and textures that you could hope to hear - a simply astounding album that is so refreshing and vital it should be prescribed to anyone feeling down or alone. Fantastic and then some.
ARTHUR LOVES PLASTIC: Higher Fruit CD
Studio album from 2003 and this is another twelve-tracker that is yet another highly engaging, rhythmic, chilled-out, downtempo slice of electronic music that not only covers the best that ambient, house, ambi-dub and a touch of drum 'n' bass, can offer, but manages to produce a set of uptempo works that are so lovingly crafted and arranged as to put the likes of Orbital, Future Loop Foundation, Moby, modern Orb and the like, firmly in the shade. With a sparkling array of synths, keyboards, samples, percussives and occasional vocal plus sampled news sources, this is yet another varied and constantly engaging worlk of organic sounding, heartfelt and, above all, emotional compositions that simply cannot fail to move you from head to foot, the very essence of its music getting into every fibre of you body and filling you with music that will uplift, drive and fulfil you for years to come, its mix of accessibility, solidity and sheer wealth of layers, the warm and strong face of genre-bending ambient house, an undoubted winner from start to finish, tracks you will play and play and play.
ARTHUR LOVES PLASTIC: Nadir CD
Now this is simply amazing. A studio album that is altogether way more intense than what has gone before. The soundscapes sound positively angry, but in the sense that you shake your fist at some spiritual being who you feel is letting your life down, trying to find some reason for what is happening around you. The sound textures, layers, rhythms and effects are this time a good deal more taut, yet retain their sense of flow and drive throughout. Take 'Reality' as an example where, in the space of two and half minutes, you'll hear string synths, electronic drums, percussives, female voice, guitar, electronic rhythms, spacey synth swoops diving in and out of the driving rhythmic mix and swirling electronics all combining to create a highly addictive track that seems to be way more than the sum of its parts and a hybrid of intense and refreshing at the same time - simply divine. Then the way it goes seamlessly into the rich synths, synth choirs, rumbling Magma-like electronic bass rhythms, driving electro-percussives, heart-melting string synths and soaring choral voices is simply to die for, as the track flies higher and higher, lifting you up like no other and yet still somehow having a sense of loss behind it all. From there it's into a more foggy electronic, industrially percussive sounding territory, and beyond, as track after glorious track unfolds before you, the rich, sumptuous mix of synths, electro-percussive and sampled rhythms, samples, keys and electronics, are all structured with love and affection to create another flawless,addictive,foot-tapping, heart-warming, powerful and personally intense slice of electonic music that is simply in a league of its own, so darned catchy, so darned accessible, so darned easy to enjoy and yet so solid and substantial at the same time - from start to finish. A winner in anyone's books and no mistake, and yet another gem of an album from one of the finest talents in electronic music around today.
BANCO DE GAIA:Maya
A timeless classic and one of the all-time pinnacles of ambient music which should be owned by everybody. The compositions flow with layers, crystal clear sound and cohesion with simply awesome melodies and rhythms that wil sound good in 10 years time and the CD is one all-out high point.
BANCO DE GAIA:Live At Glastonbury CD
Many have said that Banco's set 'stole' the non-main stage part of the festival and on the evidence of this 70+ min CD, I can see why. With a stronger emphasis on percussive rhythms and use of, particularly Middle Eastern, samples, this is one uninterupted journey through many of Banco's best tracks, going right back to the early tapes, and is an essential piece of listening for all synth music fans who don't mind a tad of a dance influence with their music. The playing is great, the music is great-can't go wrong with this.
BANCO DE GAIA:Last Train To Lhasa DBL CD
This covers everything that has made 90's ambient music such a world-wide force and remoulds it into something that is unique to Banco de Gaia. To compare this to "Maya" is like comparing the Orb to James Last (and we all know how brilliant"Maya" is). Disc one features the more rhythmic pieces, with the feel of a vast train journey as the huge complexity of rhythms,melodies,soundscapes, samples, textural layers and more, cruise through your head leaving you gasping with amazement on many occasions. Disc two, an hour long and featuring just 3 tracks, the ambient "meisterwerk" that you've always wanted. With a vast heavenly, multi-layered set of melodic, ambient, purposeful and dynamic soundscapes that really do develop and evolve with passion and fantastic beauty, this is one of the best spacey-verging-on-rhythmic ambient CD's ever created.
BANCO DE GAIA:Big Men Cry CD
Put succinctly, this is another classic studio album and easily his best one to date, not a bad feat considering the stature of his previous works. Throughout the first part of the CD the rhythms are just immense, not dance-oriented, but with huge, solid layers of acoustic and electronic drums underneath layers of synths and samples, all put together in classic Banco fashion, echoing what's gone before but now sounding supremely confident with more of a flow to the soundscapes plus a maturity and depth of composition. Track 4 leaves the rhythms and goes into a spacey, Moroccan flavoured 5 mins of synths, electronic sprinklings and delicate rhythms from synth and el perc while track 6 goes one stage further and drops the rhythm cascades with a composition centred around a slowly emerging mist of ethereal choral vocals, synths, and what sounds like a mellotron but probably isn't, on a magical piece of cosmic, symphonic music, like a modern take on the intro to Watcher of The Skies', as the music soars grandly for over 4 minutes. Then it fades into a slow, spacey section where synths and a solid, slow set of drum layers pass by for 6 mins. Finally track 7 ends the CD with a magnificent 19 min, predominantly full-sounding, multi-synths space music track that is much more varied than many similar tracks, becoming percusively rhythmic for 3 mins towards the end, but finishing as it began with a set of wondrously spacey synths. Overall, an absolutely brilliant album and yet another great studio offering from one of the best electronic music artists in the UK today.
BANCO DE GAIA: The Magical Sounds Of Banco De Gaia CD
Arrived just to late for a review in the April supplement, but let me tell you now that this is a masterpiece from one of the genuine pioneeers of real ambient music in the '90's, and this is arguably the best album he's done to date. Right from the synth vibes, crunching rhythms and addictive samples of the opening track (the USA-only CD single release), you are leaping around the room with a smile on your face and a warm fel in your heart as a truly classic slice of rhythmic ambient music scorches into your brain, with all the elements we've come to expect from Banco but never realised it could sound as good as this, on a track that you'll be playing to death, believe me. With a further 7 tracks and nearly 60 more minute of music, he covers a range of moods and influences, from trad western ambient through African and Eastern textures to some corking train-like rhythm bases that are just so solid and addictive. Every track is a gem on a truly faultless album that will rightly ge regarded as one of the top 10 albums of the year when the roll-call comes round. Absolutely essential.
BANCO DE GAIA: Iqizeh CD
Like me, you may have heard opinions on this album that effectively ask you to 'look out - it's not what you know from before'. Well, that's as maybe, but all I can say is that it is simply phenomenal. With a decided influence from Arabia in general and no doubt Egypt in particular, this is a blinding set of tracks that has you hooked from the start and riveted to the end. From tracks that surge like whirling dervishes to the three minutes of track five that would have not been out of place on the 'Blade Runner' soundtrack, this is a positive delight throughout. Most of the tracks are rhythmic, and the best bit is that most of the tracks can be classed as classic ambient music, the sort you knew and loved in the early-mid '90's and pine for more. The rhythms are from synths, electronics, drums and percussion, while the melodies and soundscapes seem to have so much depth to them, it's like falling into an endless heaven of multitudinous, gorgeous, addictive music that seems to wrap itself all around in a warm caress. The feel is supreme, the atmosphere electric, the mood electrifying and the enjoyment at unparalleled peaks. The whole sound, when turned up loud, is positively engulfing, as the album tracks soar from new height to new height. Anyone who might have thought that Banco were 'yesterday's thing' had better think again, because this wipes the floor with most of the current ambient acts around right now and is a decided candidate among the electronic top ten releases of the year 2000. Essential listening.
BANCO DE GAIA: 10 Years DBLCD
Christ - has it been ten years!!! Jeez, I was there at the beginning, selling Banco De Gaia cassettes by the truckload, knowing that here was an act destined for big things indeed, and so it came to be. Sadly, none of the cassette material is presented on here, as it all predated the first Planet Dog album, but what you do get is a completely and utterly unparalleled voyage through the history so far, of one of the founding fathers of real ambient/downtempo/chill-out/ambient dub music. Over two and a half hours long, this is the most magnificent introduction to the band that it is possible to have, complete with some rare mixes and tracks that have previously only ever seen the light of day on long-deleted compilations. But for the committed fan to, it's a treat as I've got all the original albums, yet I've played this whole album several times in the week that I've had it. If you think you're an ambient/downtempo music fan and you have no Banco De Gaia, then you are simply not. This is essential listening. The way it's been constructed is magnificent with track after foot-tapping track pouring out into your senses, all so addictive that you never want to take it off before the final note has ended. The selection of tracks is perfect and the whole thing hangs together so well, that if you didn't hear themes that you recognised along the way, you might swear you were listening to a completely new album - it really is THAT good.
BANCO DE GAIA: 10 Years Remixed CD
Absolutely fantastic stuff!! This is what remix albums are all about. Where the source material is genuinely used as a template around which the various remixers work their own magic. The cast list reads like a "who's who" of ambient, including Eat Static, Future Loop Foundation, Dreadzone, Loop Guru, Higher Intelligence Agency, Asian Dub Foundation, Zion Train, Transglobal Underground and more, across seventy-seven minutes of wondrous music. Interestingly, the first two tracks on the album, mixed by Eat Static/Future Loop Foundation respectively, rather than up the tempo, do exactly the opposite and create two glorious slices of languid ambient dub with a beautiful downtempo tranquility to it all, but layered and deep at the same time. The flavour of the whole album is one of strong, textured, layered rich-sounding ambience and ambient dub, much with a distinctly ethnic and exotic touch, as African and Asian laced rhythms wind a sinuous path around the foreground melodies and electronic layers/samples. There's not a bad mix on the whole thing and it's the sort of album that, once started, has to be played to the end as you get caught up in its spells and charms. Solid, substantial yet with that far-off quality and atmospheric bliss, this is one stunning album, and one of the finest of its kind.
MATT COLDRICK: Music For A Busy Head CD
50 minutes of bliss!!!! Seven tracks of absolutely gorgeous flowing, floating, layered, melodic, relaxing, deep, inspired, warm, resonant, cosmic, evolving synth music that bridges the timeless gap between chilled ambience and full-sounding space music, too melodic for the former, more interesting than the latter, in their strictly traditional terms. The way the musician has constructed the mid-length tracks to produce glorious soundscapes that are constantly changing, always developing yet still appearing to stay in that heavenly realm of deep space that you enjoy so much, is nothing short of a triumph, and this is the sort of album that you can put on in practically any mood without either droning yourself to death on one hand or feeling overly "syrupy" on the other. It's gorgeous qualities to its layers of synths and keyboards, deep bass rivers and hints of strings reign supreme as one absolutely magical album unfolds and virtually guarantees to relax that tired mind and worn-out body. In the realms of a more solid, ambient style of USA eighties synth, this is timeless music that can be played to destruction without ever tiring of it.
EAT STATIC:Implant CD
Six rhythmic and two more relaxed tracks as the full-on soundscapes of Eat Static create some incredible trancey rhythms whic work on all levels with the 2 spacier tracks serving to break up the relentless power
EAT STATIC:Science Of The Gods CD£12.99
Well, if this doesn't wake the dead, nothing will. This is thundering music that really roars through you with its nuclear elements of hard trance, heavy bets and miles of synth layers. The rhytms are enormous and it's like having a rhinocerous pounding at your skull. They still give out one of the heaviest sounds in trance circles but with so much more musical range and variation, remiaqning the kings of melodic hard trance.
EAT STATIC:B-World CD
In short, this is an album that so far transcends the genre in which it exists as to be so much more than mere trance, techno or ambient. This is one of the best electronic music release of '98 and is a thunderous, raging monster of an album but with endless depths of emotion and atmosphere throughout. With electronic and electro-percussive rhythms and sequences, massive slabs of synth backdrops, synth comets flying all around the mix, synth swoops, vast melody lines and playing/production bordering on the near-perfect, this is a towering monument to all that makes the '90's world of electronic music so exciting and such a blast. You wouldn't have thought trance/techno music could be so inventive and full of constantly changing musical ideas while remaining true to its psychedelic dancefloor roots. A 9 track, 74 minute CD that is absolutely incredible and their best album to date by a long way. Massive
EAT STATIC: The Alien EP's CD
At last, all the early singles that have never been on any album, all gathered together neatly on a single CD, and all mastered to sound totally vibrant and fresh, which actually is the case. The thing you now notice about these early trance style singles is the quality of the melodies and ideas that the band exhibited at such an early stage of the trance music genre. Despite, in some cases, the ideas being predominantly rhythms with overlays as opposed to the huge sound they went on to develop, it all sounds a lot better now than it did then, something you can put down to the quality of the performances and the remastered production job which really brings the life out of some much treasured gems.
EAT STATIC: Decadence CD
First studio CD following the amazing "B-World" live album. Now you would have hoped that the return to the studio after all of that may have fired them up to produce new and exciting music taking in new directions. Well, it's exciting, not exactly 'new' (in the sense of innovative) and it' s the old direction, too. Sounds like I'm putting it down? Well, yes but that's only because the last one was so amazing. I reckon in a couple of plays time I'll be leaping around the place to this one, too, so try me next time and see if In can be peeled off the wall.
EAT STATIC: Prepare Your Spirit DBL CD
Excellent value album, remastered for the first time on CD, of their first tape-only album from way back, and its combination of beats, synth rhythms, samples, string synths, soaring synth leads, trance rhythms, breakbeats and multi-layered electronics, somehow sound more in context and fresher now than they did way back then, although full credit has to go to the remastering and production job, that ahs brought music that may have seemed previously a little sparse, right up to date and sounding fresh, vibrant an dtotally alive as the tracks race through your brain, full of emotion and ambience while still being overtly trance dominated - quite superb and even better than some of the more recent studio albums. A winner in anyone's book.
ISHQ: Orchid LTD DBLCD(Jap Pressing) Normal Single CD
From the other half of the duo Alien Mutation & Indigo Egg, Matt Hillier, this is one of the most sublime examples of real celestial, classic, flowing, atmospheric, early-'90's influenced, partially rhythmic, real ambient music complete with electronics, synths and acoustic instruments that create a number of the most gorgeous soundscapes, seven in around sixty-nine minutes, and it's like having The Orb, Enya, Mike Oldfield, Biosphere, Pete Namlook & Steve Roach all together on one gigantic super-session, as smoothly travelling layers of multi-layered textural ambience soar and drift alongside strong bonds of cohesive sonic delight. From rich to symphonic, mysterious to wide-eyed, this runs the gamut of warm-feeling emotions and comes out a winner. Right from the opening three minutes, you KNOW you are hearing, reviewing and experiencing an electronic music album, not only of exceptional musical and sonic quality, but that takes the very essence of early nineties ambient music to create something that sparkles, surges, slides, glides and takes off, gorgeous layers and textures spreading themselves over solid yet fluid electro-percussive rhythms. The effect throughout is simply spellbinding and it's one of those albums you will play and play and play without ever tiring of hearing one solitary second of it. As I said, works of this quality and long-term enjoyment don't exactly come along every five minutes, so when you see one, grab it. This is essential listening for all ambient, chill-out and downtempo music fans - trust me.
JADE WARRIOR: Horizen CD
The thing about Jade Warrior is that they have always defied categorisation. Only the space synth of "At Peace" could be pigeon-holed. Everything else has always been full of class and quality, with elements of most of the classic forms of serious music in them, from psychedelic and prog to ethnic and electronic, with their Island label albums in particular receiving praise across all four as timeless classics. The recent remastering of the first albums, the 'discovery' of the two previously unavailable albums have all led to the band receiving a higher profile than ever, a band previously championed by the likes of Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno and Steve Winwood. But one album to this day, not only remains unissued on CD, not only was their 'forgotten classic', not only was the last thing Tony Duhig recorded before his death, but is an album for which the full story has never been told. Now at last the circle is complete - fully remastered for CD, non-compressed to keep its remarkable dynamic range intact, with sleeve notes from Pulse label originator Dave Lawrence explaining the origins and inspiration behind each track and released as a 'memorial' album in tribute to Tony Duhig. I was actually the first mail order operation in the UK, as Lotus records, to champion its causes when it was released way back in the '80's, even almost putting the 'band' on at one of the annual UK Electronica festivals, so it now seems fitting that, for the first time in nearly ten years, I return to a long-cherished album; and you know what - it has lost none of its magic, not one bit. Sounding as timeless and contemporary now, if anything even more so, the combinations of instruments, including some fantastic electric guitar work from Duhig, make multi-instrumentalists such as Oldfield and Gandalf seem almost like division three players. This album is right up there with the classic Island label quartet as one of the serious music' must haves'. You will find on here synths, guitars, drums, percussion, flutes, more synths, and an atmosphere that is so expansive you'll find it hard to believe. Melodic to an unbelievably brilliant extent, the album has emotion running all the way through, rhythmic and expressive too. The combinations of layers, textures, arrangements and playing are unique and rarely equalled, but it is the sheer joy of composition that result in the sheer joy of listening to what has to be seen as one of the finest instrumental albums of the '80's that sounds every bit as good now as it did way back then.
MOKSHA: Moksha DBLCD
The synth music project from Ozric Tentacles' synths man, Seaweed, and a guy named Quiller. The result is a CD that is nothing short of sensational. Owing much to the likes of Zorch & Tim Blake, there is not one track on here that is less than engaging, most of it absolutely riveting. Take the track 'Trans Synpase Express' as an example - in this superb composition you will hear 'Crystal Machine'-style Tim Blake, 'On The Run' style Pink Floyd, and first album-era Jean-Philippe Rykiel, as heady and full-sounding a combination of psychedelic synths music as you'll hear as eleven minutes of magical music fills the air on what is a simply fantastic track. Elsewhere the album is full of flowing melodies, loads and loads of synth swoops and space effects in a space-rock/psych style, and the whole thing wreaks of seventies from start to finish, and that's a point in its favour that means it's sure to find a place in your heart. Like the aforementioned artists, it's not overly complex or layered, but the heady combination of rhythms, melodies and space synths just SOUNDS wonderful as the album unfolds, taking you right back to the "glory days" once more. Across the two CD's, you'll hear a consistent musical stew that cooks and simmers to perfection, full-sounding with plenty of emotion, feel and atmosphere, space synth swoops to die for, the "spirit and sound" of Basil Brooks & Tim Blake always watching over you, and a sea of superbly flowing music that you'll treasure for a long time to come.
NEURAL NETWORK:Brain-State-In-A-BoxCD
NEURAL NETWORK:Modernite + Bonus Mini CD
To say that 'Brain' is an immense work is not doing justice to the word immense. The opening trac sets the tone with a stack of sound layers from the booming bass rhythm at the bottom of the mix to a whole host of sytnh melody lines, percussives and some gorgeous female voice samples like the narrator fron the 'Dune' film. The mood and soundscapes give way to a mid-paced rhythm as the synths soar above the mix and layers are added from expansive string synth to echoed synth and a swirling mass of warm, watery musical heaven. Track 2 opens with a cymbal rhythm before the drum enters with percussion and synths taking the piece along on a tidal wave of epic proportions with the melodies flying high on top. The soundscape is vast with lots going on in the mix, with echoes of Banco De Gaia in parts. Track 3 is another rhythmic gem, again with full sound, superb melodies, storming effects and thunderous rhythms. The rest of the CD is just as immense with every track a gem and featuring richly textured layers of varied rhythms and melodies with so much going on. Those who like early Children Of The Bong and Banco De Gaia should love this and it is an awesome release.
After the awesome power of the debut CD, the second one is an absolute masterpiece of ambient music composition being essentially a single 75 minute piece split into 4 sections and one of the best quality CD's in a long while. The opening 23 minutes is built around creating a tranquil but musically satisfying environment with layers of synths inhabiting a gorgeous musical universe full of rich textures, harmonics and variation. Throughout the rest of the CD you'll discover the delights of rhythmic passages that fly along, combinations of melody, space and rhythms that are so magical you are spellbound throughout heady trip. Add to that the fact that the initial quantities come with bonus 22 minute mini CD that is full of warm tones, layered rhythms and music that is just so vast in concept and performance, and you have nearly 100 minutes of maximum enjoyment. Essential and, dare we say it, another total classic that we discovered first and which, a year down the line, we are still the only ones with these masterworks of '90's electronic music.
N-TROPIC: Bud CD
Trance music with an ambient twist, in other words, synth and sequencer rhythms galore that sparkle and race around your head, over, under and around which an assortment of great melodies weave their merry ways as layer after layer unfolds, with the result on the first track being a cross between Tim Blake, Shamanic Tribes On Acid & Banco De Gaia, deceptively repetititve on first hearing, but play it again, and all the nuances and subtleties within, come into bloom and as a striking eight minute opener, it works a treat. As for the rest of the album, as ambient trance music goes, it's got one hell of a lot going for it, as a wild ride of rhythms drives forth, sometimes more bass-oriented, sometimes higher register, but always with synths, sequencers and electronic percussion in perfect harmony, as melodies, spacious tunes and string synth textures form just part of th eoverall make-up of the largely 7-10 minute compositions. If you think trance music is something that will drive you senseless with its rhythmic qualities, then this will come as a shock to you as it is a serious listening musical experience that could change the way you think about modern synth music forever and as such, comes highly recommended to all electronic music fans who may be sick of the old ways and want something new, exciting and vibranrt that isn't going to drill holes in their head - quite superb but make sure you give it a second play as the first one will not reveal the emotions in you that this music is capable of bringing out.
OPTICA:ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW CD
The LP comes with a bonus 12" of live tracks not available anywhere else and not on the CD format.he Optic Eye CD "Light side of the sun" tended to veer more towards the uptempo dancefloor influenced tracks. But with thisdebut Optica CD the duo have introduced the range and degrees of variation that made the live tape only release so good and yet which was a little lacking on the Optic Eye CD. The opening track is one of the best rhythmic/melodic, powerhouse openings you'll have the privilege of hearing on any ambient CD. Its bite and deep booming tones has you hooked right from the start and sets the scene perfectly for what is to follow. After this come a further 13 tracks of varied and brilliant music with lots of great rhythms, powerful sequences, soaring melodies, vast multi-layered synth soundscapes, the present and implied dancefloor influences and an attack resulting in music that flows purposefully throughout. A trulystunning release.
OPTICA:F-U-Z-Z CD
Brand new album from Jake and it's a confirmation that the Optica project has now moved firmly into new and more consistent musical territories.The opening track features massively powerful kickdrums, clattering percussion and cascading sequencers over which a really weird set of electronic motifs and repeated soundbites are heard to add a sense of strangeness to the whole thing, more than just your average trance album and managing to be as engaging as it is rhythmic. Track 2 starts with a minute of space music before it moves into a sequenced rhythm, a second rhythmic layer of more solid sequencers, cymbal-like splashes of percussive rhythm and various layers of synth surrounds as a chorus of almost heavenly synths rises from the depths, but with the solid sequencer rhythms taking centre stage on one absolutely superb 7+ min track. Track 3 is another gem of solid but varied and not bombastic rhythms, spiralling sequencers and some gloriously spacey rhythmic synth passages along with careful use of samples and swirling synth layers that give the track its sense of mutli-textures and layers on what is yet another 7+ min slice of melodic and semi-rhythmic synth excellence. Track 4 returns to trancier waters with a thoroughly engrossing and powerful track, again the sort of trance you can listen to and enjoy without feeling you're being blasted into repetitive oblivion - when it comes to addictive listening trance, this is one synth musician with all the right moves. Track 5 decelerates the pace and is another slice of swirling synth allied to dynamic drum rhythms and cascading synth sculptures, rhythmic yet flowing and another 7 min gem. Track 6 is nothing but solid acid trance, enjoyable if you like this style, a racket if you don't. Track 7 is another exercise in multi-layered mid-paced trance with the synth spiralling and soaring all over the place while track 8 is like the 'Flight Of The Bumble Bee' done trancey style and is the weakest track on an otherwise brilliant album. Track 9 is different yet again with its solid bass work, Tim Blake style synth swoops, soaring space synth surrounds and heavy but deep rhythmic base, this time featuring a flowing layer of string synth style backdrops under and around the musical currents, ending the album on a more spacey, less trancey and still rhythmic 7 mins of exquisite music. Easily the best Optica/Optic Eye album to date and a great set of well played, produced and constructed compositions for synth fans with a trance interest or trance fans who want to mellow out a bit.
OPTIC EYELight Side Of The SunCD
71 mins and 10 tracks. Opens with the classic ambient synths and rhythms of the single 'Sunburst'. Over a fast-ish ambient dub style bass rhythm, all manner of synths and rhythm layers soar away in the powerful melting pot to conjure a vast train ride of electronic melodies ehich perfectly complement the rhythms, 7 mins of insistent music that will be with you for hours later. 'Brain of Morbius' opens with voice sample, slower and thunderous rhythm complemented by a synth rhythm, over which electronics, sequenced melodies further samples and layers of synth lead lines create a superb setting , stop briefly, change direction and a gloriously symphonic combination of synth melody, rhythms and spacey chorus carry on to the end of the track. ' The Listening' is a more sequenced melodic/rhythmic T.Dream style composition. 'Chain Reaction' hurtle along on a classic trancey rhythmic soundscape with some soaring melodic synth passages and cosmic backdrops cascading and flowing over the multi-textured rhythms. On it goes and every track is superb combining '90's ambient/trance rhythms with a supreme melodic sensibility taht can be enjoyed often.
SEOFON ft STEVE ROACH/VIDNA OBMANA/ROBERT RICH/STEPHEN KENT: Zero Point CD
The main guy is the guiding light behind Ambient Temple Of Imagination and it is from their last proper studio album that the source material for this project emanates. However, the music has been treated and recycled by the other musicians, and the result is one of the finest space music albums on the planet. The album opens with a brief flurry of rich cosmic synths and shuffling rhythms before the rhythm dies away and you embark on one of the best space music journeys there is to be had, guided by the expertise of each of the musicians concerned. Without any identifying breakdown as to who does what and when on the album, it's designed for you to lose yourself in the splendour that constitutes the soundscapes that surround and envelop you in a multi-layered set of synths, treatments and deep, dark rumbles, percussive textures and rhythmic backdrops, soaring synths all around you, as perfect an album that is not on the Hypnos label as you'll find, but better than anything that's come out of that label to date. More serene than the ATOI albums, this is real cosmic music as it should be heard, with dynamics, range, variation, atmosphere and depth, creative, full of ideas but not in any way meandering or aimless. There is substance to all this, a heart at the centre and a sense of purpose that makes this a voyage not to be missed. Simply can't be faulted.
TEK-SAN: Radio Tek-San CD
Don't you DARE ask me to "pigeon-hole" this album - I wouldn't know where to start - and I can categorise most things!! What is it? Well, sort of prog in a Crimson-ish vein, psychedelic, Krautrock, ambient, jazzy - I mean, that's just part of it. The first track, 'Bosphorus' is quite atmospheric but with electronic drum rhythms as squalls of electric guitar, echoed flute, effects, layers and textures are all added to create this bubbling cauldron of ambient-psych-jazz-Krautrock that is fantastically brooding and out of this world, totally unlike anything else around. But if that was good for starters, wait till you hit 'Transmolecularization Dub' as this IMMENSE Tony Levin-like bass rumbles away on the bottom, aided by some chunky drum programming, and over which this echoed trumpet squall soars and dives like some mental seagull, while all around more electronic textures are layered. Then, if that wasn't enough, this Hillage-like echoed guitar figure comes out of nowhere then disappears, the drums becoming ever more chunky, the bass still rumbling on, the sound still full of subtleties and nuances., but so beefy as to be untrue. All of this, guitar and all, continues to fire up as it goes, creating a piece that will surely take your breath away, time after time, ten minutes of heaven. 'Hieroglyphics' begins with more sampled rhythms of an electronic drum-sounding nature, only this time the bass is altogether more restrained but no less funky, while all around the sonic arena, carefully crafted effects, guitar figures, sampled voices and more give the whole piece an almost ambient-world-prog-Kraut feel, as the rhythms chug away, the soundscapes are stripped bare and the almost alien nature of the music is left, highly rhythmic, very atmospheric and positively tribal, slowly building the layers as it resumes its travels. After this, each of the further four mid-length tracks revolves around setting up a myriad of soundscapes and textures above, behind and around the central core rhythmic framework that is created on the sampled, programmed drums and electronic drums, the whole effect being absolutely mesmerizing, original and simply excellent music, nothing challenging, but nothing obvious at the same time. The signpost to "new music" will have a copy of this CD's cover firmly stapled to it.
THERMAL+SEOFON: A Monument Of Chance CD
In which Thermal teams up with one half of Ambient Temple Of Imagination to produce a four track , 52 minute album that is pitched at a mid-point between the pair's other albums. Here, with two tracks 'evolving' from previous ATOI performances, the music is essentially space music but mixing the rich, multi-layered soundscaping and miles upon miles of electronics, percussion and echoed effects (as opposed to samples) with an almost melodic quality to some of the lead layers and burning percussive rhythms. making the 15 minute first track roll along like some slow-motion juggernaut, strong and unstoppable but positively hypnotic in its effect as the soundscapes rise climactically from the speakers to jaw-dropping effect. The near 12 minute track two takes all these elements, drops the melody quotient, beefs up the drums, makes everything altogether darker and louder, resulting in a monumental piece of music where electronics and synths and percussives will knock you right out of your seat. The 15 minute third track is closer to the mind-boggling intensity of the ATOI CD, with vast armies of drums, synths, electronics combining to produce the strongest piece of music on the album so far - music that could move mountains and, turned up loud, will probably move the neighbours, too. An experience waiting to happen.
The final track surprises the hell out of you by doing a number that's even louder, more intense and yet even more accessible, ending the CD on the biggest high you could imagine, as giant waves of electronics, drums, synths and samples roll inexorably forward with a huge sound that could drop elephants at 40 paces. But it also has beauty, motion, depth and heart and you will be spellbound every time you play it.
THERMAL+FREEZER+CUE: Time Out Of Mind CD
A three track, 69 minute space music epic, but not as you know it. The first track is just great - Thermal on his own with a deliberately quiet but deceptively layered intro that gradually ushers in a shuffling electronic drum rhythm over the distant (and I mean distant) spiralling electric guitar figures, echoed samples, washes of electronic soundscapes and overhead soaring string synths, all very cosmic and far, far away. Slowly, the piece pushes forward in the mix and the constituent elements become louder as you also become aware of the changing subtleties within the gorgeous textures and layers that are unfolding before your very ears. The electronics, delicate guitar lines and echoed drums/perc take on stronger roles with an almost glissando-like sound surrounding the entire mix. The, now rolling, rhythms high-flying, swirling space synths and glissando figures, a repeated guitar line that's just SO infectious - all these and more make up a most incredibly heady space music trip that really is unique and utterly addictive.
On track two, Thermal is joined by BPM/O (Peter Becker) to form Freezer, and as the name might suggest, the result is an ice cold slice of astounding, beautiful, crystalline, full-sounding, multi-textured space music with deep rumbling bass lines through swirling synth figures to high-register soaring synth layers that fly overhead, all intermingling, adding new sounds and layers, becoming a mix of sonic sculpting and heavenly, flowing music that's evolving all the time into ever more creative soundpools, and leaves the likes of Biosphere standing at the starting post. The third, and longest, track on the CD is from Thermal and CUE (Charles Uzell-Edwards) creating a huge-sounding, drifting, starkly and subtly rhythmic, flowing and quite jaw-dropping 30+ minutes of space music, largely synths-derived, that has some of the most gorgeous textures and sounds but all delivered in a manner quite unique - neither light or dark but some timeless world in between where all known life stands frozen as new life evolves from the slowly changing sonic soup. All in all, one of the best and most unique synths-space music CD's around for a long, long time.
21st SENTRY: Cut Me Loose CD
Debut album from new Liverpool ambient/dub sensations and it's as fine a concoction of melodies, rhythms and samples as you'll find. The album starts with 'Mellow Style" that features a fine selection of spoken word "urban" samples over this deep and rolling ambient dub rhythm base, above which piano melodies, synth leads, synth surrounds, electro-percussive foundations, throbbing bass and echoed sequencer-like effects, all pile on, layer upon layer, to produce a fantastic, busy and huge-sounding slice of chilled-out dub that really sets the vibe and flavour of the album going, six splendid minutes. 'Flick Knife' starts with a stronger electro-drum/percussive beat, faster and more percussive, still with that wonderful bass depth, as lead synths sparkle and soar above this, again the layers consisting of echoed sections, string sections, lead melodies and more, this time sample-free, and a magical slice of melodic, rolling, ambi-dub. 'Win or Lose' gives us a taste of chilled-trance/techno with an ambient depth, again melodic and multi-layered, but here with a more trance-like rhythm base while the synths zip like flies round a lightbulb as choral voices are sampled to add to the texture of the piece, as it decelerates to provide a spacious mid-section, before rising up to take the original rhythm to its conclusion just short of eight minutes. 'Broken Piano' is just one phenomenal track, starting with this wickedly solid layer of rolling industrial strength electro-percussive dub rhythms as samples, electronics and a ringing piano chord provides the foreground. Then it all stops as a violin-like layer fills the void in fine spacey fashion, only for the whole rhythmic sensation return with a vengeance to take all of this and more on a fantastically solid, heady journey to a five minute end point - a scorcher of a track. With five further, equally hot tracks following a similar feel and varied styles within its framework, this is one class-A album that should have a strong appeal to anyone who likes great ambient dub with strength, rhythms, melody and lots of layers.
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