AMBIENT/TRANCE/TECHNO, etc:
GANJA BEATS: Paradise & Tranquility CD
The last full album that ambient/trance and all-round electronic music genius that was Jake Stephenson, recorded before his sudden death a year or so back. This time, under his ambient dub guise as Ganja Beats -as opposed to his electronic alter-egos as Optic Eye, Optica, Crystal Moon, Shamanic Tribes On Acid, Bass Meditation, Dr Psychedelic, Mantra, Alien Mutation and more - this is a seventy-eight minute album of solid ambient dub with some seriously bass-heavy, floor-shaking rhythms, tasty electro-percussive beats plus acres of cascading, echoed, soaring, flowing electronic leads, soundscapes and layers. There's a whole ocean of carefully crafted electronic ambient dub at work here, and what makes it such a riveting experience is that it's full of human feeling - you just know this guy had dub running through his veins - and the feel that every note is there by design, structure and arrangement sounding so organic that it comes alive and surpasses the effect that most electronic dub albums have. With an average track time of around five-six minutes, nothing is overdone as one scenario moves effortlessly to the next, driven by vari-paced rhythms and overlaid with such a wide array of melodies, cascades, effects, and instrumental electronic guises. On some tracks the goalposts move towards a more chilled-out downtempo state of affairs, so that it's not all one ambient dub trip and these tracks, such as the awesome slice of real ambience that is the chunky rhythms and sparkling synths, solid bass and overlaid bass synth of the six minute 'Space Is High'. Overall, a faultless album and a fitting testament to a truly great contemporary electronic musician whose presence will be much missed.
INTERNATIONAL PEOPLES GANG: Action Painting 0006 CD
You just know that, when you hear an ambient dub track open an album, one that, despite the fact that you've been up to the eyeballs in ambient dub and want to hear some good old fashioned heavy metal, immediately hooks you in and makes you want to listen to even more of what you're hearing now, that you're in for a rare old treat on the album - and in this case, you wouldn't be wrong. It's six minutes, exudes atmosphere, has a kind of ethereal chunky quality, and structures it in such a way that immediately works it way into your head and heart combined. The even better news I that it's not an ambient dub album - the musical territories through which this travels are, as you'd expect from anything on this label, as far from clichéd and ordinary as you can get while still retaining its sense of structure, melody and rhythm. You only have to listen to a track like the wondrous five minutes of 'AC Harmonics' to see what I mean, the last couple of minutes of this remarkably strong, chilled-out, slice of unique downtempo exoticism being just to die for as the shuddering percussive rhythm echoes and chugs, around which, what sounds like a swirling sea of melodies and samples , all work their magic to brilliant degree. The near three minute 'Myopic' is just so strange yet extraordinarily hypnotic as this semi-muffled female voice exhorts you to follow the green light and follow the red light over the barest and yet atmospheric of electronic backdrops. This leads to the two minutes of the piano-led 'Waiting Room' as a chiming lead guitar emerges with bass guitar rumbling along the bottom, as echoed electronics swirl and flow all around the heart of the piece. The seven minute 'That Time Already', after a sea of exotic electronics to open the track, fires up on this slowly pounding chugging beefy drum rhythm as all manner of violins, wordless female vocals, lead guitar and electronics, are all overlaid. What emerges is a solid, powerful piece driven by all manner of percussion and drums, sitar-like shimmers, acoustic guitar strums, wall-to wall synth textures and beyond, as the track changes its path as it travels, but building into one massive sounding slice of rolling, symphonic ambience that is totally enthralling and endlessly enjoyable, the more you hear it. The four minutes of 'Fireworks' is anything but, as this slowly languid, but full-sounding track moves slowly by, an ocean of synth strings, symphonic electronics, electronic effects, samples and hushed female vocals, providing the necessary atmospheres. Whoever thought up the one and a half minutes of 'Polite State' with its "yes, no, thank you, please" sample wants congratulating for making such a crazy idea work so well as a vocal-electronic vignette. Nearly four minutes of 'Shimmer' does way more than that with chunky beats, swooping space synths bubbling up from time to time, chiming guitars in a more pastoral role, deep rivers of resonant bass and propulsive electronic drum rhythms with a warm heart, all combine to create another supremely atmospheric slice of uniquely structured and sounding ambient genius. Four equally superb tracks complete, what is both a unique and thoroughly rewarding ambient experience, but one that is repeat playable from now till doomsday.
LOSCIL: Triple Point CD
On the ever consistent Kranky label, this is an hour of gorgeous ambient soundscapes, deep dark resonant percussive rhythms and a river of deep bass undercurrents, all set on a sea of sombre yet exquisite electronic horizons. The feel is Labradford-meets-Orb, the paintings much darker and serene, mysterious but with warmth and emotion. In essence, yet another side to the ambient styles exhibited on the label to date but no less convincing an album.
MAKYO: Swara Mandala CD
Long awaited new studio album gets off to a solid start with chunky rhythms from tablas, deep bass drums, chugging sequencers and throbbing bass synths, all of which provide a spirited foundation on top of which space synth swoops, breathy. sultry, wordless female vocal, and the barest of layered melodies all ride. But it is that feast of hallucinogenic beats and rhythms, changing subtly as if goes, that hooks you in and keeps your attention for over ten gorgeous minutes. With a decidedly exotic Middle Eastern atmosphere, it's a tremendous start to what turns out to be an equally excellent album. Peppered with quality melodies, soaring layers and atmospheric textures, driven by an assortment of rhythms that are top notch in terms of their quality of sound, arrangement and production, you are taken on a journey through 7 tracks and over sixty minutes of rhythm-driven Eastern mysticism and Western ambient electronic flow. If you need references then the more exotic qualities of Banco De Gaia, Orb and TUU come to mind on the instrumental side, while a lot of the vocal work is highly reminiscent of the Transglobal Underground side of things. A mix of ambient, atmospheric and downtempo, this is solid chill-out for the journey to Marakesh and beyond.
SOUNDS FROM THE GROUND: Luminal CD
Brand new studio album and it's an unashamed feast of ambient dub, but there's nothing one-dimensional about this as testified by 9 magnificent tracks that cross every wondrous facet that the genre has to offer. There's everything from ethereal to moody, atmospheric to purposeful, gorgeous to downright brooding, all propelled by a variety of rhythms that are pure early nineties ambient dub sounding clean, fresh and up-to-date. Four of the tracks feature vocals, but for the most part. with one being male and three female, they are used as much for the tone, quality and structure of the voice, rather than an actual song. On 'As The Day Goes By' vocalist Tanya Tagag Gillis delivers wordless heavenly harmonies, while on 'Stampede', vocalist Rachel Calladine's performance has lyrics to some degree, but is used so texturally, that it flows along superbly as part of the overall instrumental spectrum. On 'Ten Tons Of Dope' vocalist Dillinger delivers a brooding voiceover for selected parts of the track that takes you right back to the early days of ambient dub and is the most "reggaefied" track on the album, but just superb. On 'Move On', vocalist Taz Alexander delivers her impassioned, slowly moving vocal over a slice of slowly moving, powerful and chunky electro-percussive rhythms as the layers of synths and electric pianos deliver notes and atmospheres that positively sparkle, the whole thing exhibiting the qualities of a band such as a more atmospheric Massive Attack or a chilled-out Moloko, but just sublime. Elsewhere the 5 instrumental tracks provide a wonderful set of ambient gems, propelled by some superbly solid rhythms, with all manner of ethereal, melodic and atmospheric electronic layers and textures on top, each one having its own identity but so cohesive and consistent in line with what is a quite brilliant album. Fans of a band such as early Orb will love and treasure this - and hopefully many more of you out there will do the same.
V/A: Earth Octave Lounge Vol 2 CD
With an album as sublime and gorgeous as this, from the opening second to the last chords, you don't need to have a blow-by-blow description. All you need to know is that it's a feast on the ears for the discerning ambient/chill-out/downtempo music fan, as a set of chunky beats, flowing melodies and multi-textured soundscapes provide the stuff of dreams on tracks that exude atmosphere, from exotic ambient dub through to cascading, sparkling and positively heavenly waves of synth strings, deep bass, solid chunky beats with a hint of Middle East and layer upon layer of electronic bliss, of which the track by Alucidnation pretty well sums the latter up. But, overall, as pure ambient and chilled-out albums go, this stands proud, with not a second on it that's less than a joy to hear, totally timeless and utterly spellbinding.
V/A: Invasion From Hyperspace CD
An album of psychedelic trance with some seriously pumping beats from a veritable arsenal of electronic drums, sequencers, synths and programmed rhythms, all of which keep this album on a driving express ride to psy heaven. On top of all this, there are guitars, space synths, echoed electronics while riding alongside is wicked bass work from guitars and synths. A total of 9 red hot tracks provide a rollercoaster ride of wickedly rolling proportions as the heady mix of beats, rhythms, melodies and effects, takes hold. Every single one of the tracks is addictive if you like your electronics on the bangin' side with as solid a sea of rhythms as you'll encounter, one that's got real structure and power behind it. It is the rhythmic content of the album that becomes the overriding feature while melodies and effects are the icing on the cake. The sound is full, the production perfect, the arrangements huge-sounding and the execution absolutely spot on.
V/A: Talisman CD
An ambient dub album that's more dub than ambient, so if you like the genre with its heady, addictive and compulsive rhythmic beats, then this is absolute manna from heaven for you. All the tracks are propelled by a wide range of dubby rhythms and the whole thing becomes almost impossible to just sit there without tapping your feet, at the very least. Above the insistent rhythms, every band injects its own brew of melody, soundscape and structure, from ethereal flutes and exotic strings to the multi-textural qualities of synthesizers and electronics, topped off by echoed effects and assorted musical layers. All of which makes for a thoroughly rewarding and consistent album of dubtronica brilliance.
EURO-ROCK/CONTEMPORARY:
LANDING: Brocade CD
The opening track 'Loft' is pure seventies Neu/La Dusseldorf sounding brilliance, with all the right ingredients from rhythms to textures, to leads to arrangements and beyond - just one absolute GEM of a track that you never want to end. Sadly, its heady mix of guitars, drums, bass and more guitars does leave us around the eight minute point, but it really delivers the goods and I'd buy this album for this track alone. But it doesn't end there - the next track is similar only decelerated, with tons of sky-high, soaring Rother/Fripp-like cosmic guitar textures over a cyclical, slow sequenced electronic rhythm that reminds me of something so strong for which I just cannot recall the name of the band - but this is just gorgeous stuff and, without percussion or drums, is every bit as powerful as the opener, but in a high-flying, soaring, mesmerizing manner that is simply addictive and then some. The guitars gather and build, creating this huge-sounding landscape above the far-off bass rivers and that wondrous cyclical sequence, it all dissolving into a half minute finale of cosmic might before it segues directly into track three at just over eleven minutes long. Starting with gently cascading guitars, it soon adds synth backdrops, a lone soaring cosmic guitar and slowly proceeds, gathering shimmering guitar layers, and more soaring guitar textures, as it travels, slowly but constantly changing shape and form as it goes, and just one astoundingly beautiful piece of music at twelve and a half sublime minutes. Once more, without a break, it's right into the powerful Neu-like territory that is the rolling drums, heady guitars and hushed vocals of 'How To Be Clear', a song that just rises up and takes you with it as the band let go and the spirit of classic Krautrock is evoked, even daring to add solid electric bass growls and string synth just before the guitars erupt and catch fire to jaw-dropping degree, on a truly astonishing four and a half minutes of magic. The album ends on a track called 'Music For Three Synthesizers' which, although with the presence of layers and textures that do not sound a million miles away from the guitar textures of earlier, almost certainly is exactly what it says. Over eighteen minutes it simply drifts, floats, flows, soars, shimmers, echoes and cascades to produce this magnificent sounding, always changing, slice of essentially cosmic electronic music, but one the likes of which you've rarely heard as the textures and layers are rich and warm, full of atmosphere, but it is the sound and arrangements that make this the gem that it is. Overall, a totally faultless album that does not have one less than amazing second on it, and an album you simply have to own.
OM TRIO: Globalpositioningrecord CD
Instrumental from bass, drums and keyboards/synths, with a guest electric guitarist on 3 of the 14 tracks. For those of you at this point who are thinking 'Nice-yawn-ELP-yawn", let me tell you that you are completely on the wrong track. It's actually incredibly non-progressive sounding. The drummer sounds like he should be in Can while the keys/synths player could have been off any number of seventies albums that utilized this style of and sound of keys/electronics. The whole thing swings and has a real groove about it, preferring to have you swaying and dancing rather than sitting there in wrapt attention - although you can do that as well. It's actually one of the most addictive albums of its kind that I've come across in ages - the rhythms get you for a start, but as to its musical identity - it straddles a line between Krautrock, fusion, prog-rock and all done with a seventies flavour for sure, so that bands such as Suntreader, Keith Tippett and a guitar-free Isotope come to mind, not to mention the Canterbury stalwarts such as Hatfields & Mole (without guitars of course). But then, on a track like the six minute 'Tor S' they'll suddenly introduce a delicious Hammond organ lead that'll throw you completely as to where this album's really at. I've not heard its like in years and years - and this is a feast of keyboards and rhythms in what is more melodic fusion than anything but will have an appeal to a wide cross section of music fans.
GENERAL:
LINDISFARNE: Run For Home CD
Legendary band with an album of two halves - the first 10 tracks concentrates mostly on the best studio tracks from their two late seventies comeback albums 'Back & Forth' and 'The News' with a clutch of excellent songs including the hit title track, plus classic Lindisfarne songs that are every bit as good as the early seventies ones for which they are still more respected, but listening to tunes such as 'Warm Feeling', 'Juke Box Gypsy', 'Roll On That Day' and more, makes you realise that these could have been from that time frame too. However, if you're still feeling nostalgic for that period, the band make it up to you with live renditions, from the later seventies also, presumably, of anthems such as 'Clear White Light', 'Lady Eleanor', 'Fog On The Tyne' and more, for the final 6 tracks on the album and excellent sound quality. Overall, at this price, you just can't get better from this band.
SATURNIA: Muzak CD£
A place where early seventies prog and psychedelia meet head on. Track 2, called 'Organza' only lasts around six minutes, but in there I found, prog in early Pink Floyd vein, shuffling rhythms, heady, swirling psychedelia, and early seventies Krautrock, all on a song that can't readily be pigeon-holed but keeps you listening, all the same. In keeping with the flavour, the next track, 'Kyte', has this sort of dream-pop atmosphere, more organ work, a strong flavour of the psychedelic '60's, right down to breathy harmony vocals, a "la-la-la" chorus as an early Floyd-styled slide guitar as a summery slice of mellotron-drenched psychedelic prog-pop unfolds and hazy days of Beatles, Floyd, San Francisco and flowers in your hair, all leap into your mind. Up next is the six minute 'Infinite Chord' and here the pace is accelerated, the strength increased as a positively vast sounding sea of bass, drums, mellotrons, space synths and swirling synths create a booming mantra-like soundscape, complete with subtle textures of rippling keys as the space synths bubble up against a backdrop of shuffling drums, "om" choral harmonies and a rhythm that soon subsides into something that early Gong would have been proud to call their own, the whole track blossoming out to breathtaking effect on oceans of mellotrons, synths and, now, Pink Floyd-styled rhythms, combine with a flowing melody from the synth that oozes over the top of this expansive horizon of gorgeous sound. 'Analepsis' starts more like a parallel universe 'Cirrus Minor' courtesy of early Floyd, with close harmony multi-part lead vocals, choppy but solid rhythms, more of that delicious seventies atmosphere, this time with a synth that's right out of something like 'Peter & The Wolf' (if you remember something that obscure!). Gradually, the whole thing decelerates and becomes as close a heady slice of psychedelia to '70-song oriented Pink Floyd, as you'll get. Then it starts to accelerate once more and the song just flows forward in absolutely glorious fashion, complete with beautiful guitar chords, rustling cymbals, solid drums, deep bass, strummed guitars and a wondrous, expansive production that is simply superb, all ending just short of seven minutes. Track 6 is 'Aqua' and this opens with more early Floyd, so much so that it made me want to reach for the sleeve just to check I'd got the right thing on - but then the mellotrons fire up, the space synths swoop and soar, the guitar slides and glides as the rhythms shuffle along and the hushed harmonies that are the sublime lead vocals, just soar into the skies to breathtaking effect as another brilliant song, arrangement and production job complete the picture-perfect scenario. Then it heads into an extended instrumental finale with more mellotrons per square inch than you'd find on a Moody Blues album, as the backdrop of sliding guitars has the hairs standing on the back of your neck, and then it's gone - and you find yourself having to exercise great discipline not to interrupt it all there and play the track all over again, right away. A further four tracks carry on this remarkable blend of late '60's-early seventies prog-rock and psychedelia mix, all with a strong dose of early Floyd running through its veins, as mellotrons, guitars, solid and fluid bass and drum rhythms, acoustic guitar textures, close harmony vocals and more, all combine to paint a veritable masterpiece of a homage to a bygone era that's not only being recreated to glorious effect, but sounding as though it never went away. With guest appearances from Space Ritual's Nik Turner & Gong's Daevid Allen, this is possibly the closest thing to early post-Barrett Pink Floyd that you'll find. Comparisons aside, it's a superb album, all the same.
