|
|
 |
|
------
Various - Namaskar |
| STYLE |
|
Mid-downtempo instrumental chill-out
with a variety of global flavours. Namaskar opens with Cell's
processional 'Zaz', rich with Indian female vocals and then
progresses on through acoustic guitars and some trebly, d'n'b
loops spluttering across half paced electronic sequences and
vocoder voices. Tikal's 'Canicule' with its flutes, environmental
samples and blunt bass line is somewhat reminiscent of Delerium's
Terra Firma from Poem. Flutes, strong basslines and skittering
d'n'b percussion feature on a number of tracks here along
with ethnic and other vocalisations processed and mangled
beyond recognition mouthing unfamiliar utterances. Wire, skin
and breath combines with circuitry and programming to create
a strong CD with minimal filler. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
Energetic
and solid - Namaskar is a relaxing album, but at the same
time it's stirring rather than soporific. The mood is positive
and grounded, emphatic beats beckoning from the dancefloor,
with sub and deep basses moving the listener somewhere down
near the bones. Some pieces are dark and rolling, others
relaxing and blissful. Whispered words and ethnic chants
soften beats that at times mimic tribal rhythms, some subtle
hints of dub are here and there, notably in the twinkling
'Peace Of Mind' from Vibrasphere.
|
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
A
luminous digipack featuring a front cover photograph of sunlit
doors within a shadowy temple. The intricately graven structure
glows with colour hinting at the tone of the musical material.
The simple text 'namaskar' appears in both English and Hindi.
The back cover highlights some complex wall decoration and
provides the usual tracklist. Inside the theme of eastern
architecture is maintained with a second extended version
of the tracklisting, this time detailing the artists behind
the names. Contact information is provided as always - but
unnecessary verbiage is kept to a minimum. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
“Namaskar”
is a Sanskrit word meaning welcome but the original meaning
is: "I bow to God in you, I love you and I respect you,
as there is no one like you”. The album contains nine
tracks and features some big names and a few I've not encountered
until now. Compiled by Josko and Edoardo at Indica - this
is a more consistent compilation than some others that are
about. A number of tracks feature slow, moody introductions
with long build-ups, and atmospheric interludes, but most
could certainly be danced to (which isn't surprising since
many of the artists here are known for their trance creations).
Although aimed at the chill-out market, this album has a lot
of pace and substance. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Namaskar will appeal to the
downtempo audience that doesn't like to get too downtempo.
Less ambient than many chillout releases, but rich with
global flavours and enjoyable throughout.
|
| |
|
 |
|
------
dbkaos - Art of Sacrifice |
| STYLE |
|
Long pieces of pure electronica where, smooth
synth lines and prowling nebulous pads repeatedly give way
to dark electronic rhythms and gutsy beats. Percussive loops
are a major feature on Art of Sacrifice paralled by well-crafted
sequences and deep basses. Breathy airy effects swoosh behind
the arrangements where melodies range from delicate to menacing.
Tracks at times drift off into indistinct darkness only
to return more emphatically with a shift of nature - seething,
boiling, bubbling. Mangled electronic gongs morph in distorted
patterns, turbulent bruised soundscapes fold in on themselves
and reform, aquatic sonic assemblages and dreamy abstractions
all take their place in this remarkably modern sounding
flight of fantasy. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
The
mood created by dbkaos varies considerably throughout this
album - expansive and spacey, bleak techno-futuristic, ethereal
and meandering. Many passages are dark arrangements with melodic
patterns tending toward brooding shadow. Ponderous developments
and slow progressions with subtle nuances create an unhurried
impression even when beats are taking the forefront - at any
given moment though something is shifting, evolving, taking
new shape. There are moments of heavenly light and clarity,
but grit and swirling density has the dominant hand. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
A
striking graphic that resembles a wound-up bouquet of frosted
barbed wire sits boldly on the front cover. The image is repeated
throughout the artwork in different colours - but here it
rests in a deep grey-green - threatening and beautiful at
the same time. Tracks are listed on the back cover and within,
alongside their respective timings. Inside the CD booklet
aside a hazy monochrome abstract is a complete breakdown of
gear used on the album. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
dbkaos
is Dave Hickman who lives in the South-West of England and
has built up a reputation programming synths and sound effects
for Zero-G sample CD's, a background that has clearly stood
him in good stead for the amazing sonic textures and layers
on this album. I would say that Art of Sacrifice is definitely
a rhythmic album - it has its interludes of drifting cloud
and drawn out introductions where lush aural environments
are set up and explored - but electronic percussive loops
and sequences form the backbone of the majority of tracks.
Interestingly Dave lists the Casio MIDI guitar among his equipment,
an instrument that converts pitch to MIDI, 'deriving the pitch
information from a magnetic hex pickup next to the bridge'. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
As is the purpose of DIN
releases, Art of Sacrifice forms a bridge between "electronic
music's analogue ancestry" and "cutting edge
digital soundscapes". dbkaos has a moody sound that
will be appreciated by synth fans that appreciate a strong
beat and some dense breathing atmospheres.
|
| |
|
 |
|
------
Shpongle - Nothing Lasts....But Nothing Is Lost |
| STYLE |
|
Longform psy-trance with frequent shifts,
colour changes and ambient interludes. Nothing Lasts...
feels like something boiled down, distilled, in concentrated
form - the energy spread among these twenty tracks (or is
it just one?) is infectious and mesmerising. Chaotic processed
vocal bytes and global acoustic performances constantly
spring up among the pumping beats, basses and synths that
propel this album forward. Probably one of the richest sonic
tapestries in the genre, Nothing Lasts... is definitely
'feel good' music and not afraid to apply a good dose of
silliness where appropriate. Middle-eastern patterns, ethnic
voices, guitar solos and trippy psychedelic effects pepper
the mix alongside a vast array of tonal shifts, morphing
voices, filter sweeps and other arcane audio processes. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
An
unbridled, frenzied lightening-fast tour of the combined
imagination of two of Twisted's clearly colourful minds.
Not a chillout album - the pace is too fast, most tracks
have tribal intensity and a tempo to match, skittering up
to the edge of drum and bass in some places before falling
away again. The mood is certainly exotic passing through
salsa rhythms, flamenco fingering, beautiful flute passages
and some unusual time patterns - Shpongle sound like a runaway
carnival, careening through a funfair and liable to spill
over at any moment. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
multifaced Shpongle idol beams out from a front cover as intricate
as the music. Vivid yellows and greens of hallucinogenic circuitry
form a glowing backdrop and a complex skin for the disembodied
head that floats centrally. The booklet is a three-panel fold-out
with track-listing and credits on one panel and some glorious
graphics on the others. An aged stone edifice carries the
trade-mark triple face in monochrome and a delirious jungle
scene in rainbow colours becomes the setting for another apparition.
The words "Dedicated to the memory of Terence McKenna"
are printed near the base of the page - referring (like the
album title) to one of the bands big influences. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Nothing
Lasts... is a very busy album with a huge variety of collaged
and juxtaposed elements - despite this, however, there is
a surprising unity to the whole. This is something like
the unity of a photo-mosaic - made up of myriad tiny images,
yet viewed from the right distance these resolve into a
single satisfying picture. Among those familiar with the
genre this has been a highly anticipated release. Shpongle
are held in reverential awe by many fans and it's pretty
certain they'll love this CD. Simon Postford and Raja Ram
are the names behind the sound with Pete Callard credited
on a couple of tracks for his guitar work (of which there
is more than the usual here). These guys obviously have
access to a state-of-the-art studio since the production
is glassy and bright - no mean feat considering the density
of sound - it could so easily have become muddy - but not
so.
|
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
If you fancy licking some
brightly coloured sonic frogs, these come fresh from the
rain-forests of Outer Shpongolia sugared with rainbow
sherbet. Exotic trance lovers will surely go for this
album, too pacey to be called ambient in any way except
for a few passages - but brimming with life and sparkle.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
------
Robert Scott Thompson - At the Still Point
of the Turning World |
| STYLE |
|
Ambient soundscapes with subtle
brooding shades and gentle pianos. Still Point feels almost
orchestral at times, empty and drifting at others. Melodic
pads, dissonant ripples and dense currents of sound mingle
with plucked tones and deep, deep drones. Processed pianos
and chimes present a simple harmonic foreground bringing light
to clouds that occasionally harbour ethereal voices hidden
somewhere within; metallic clangs and bell trees along with
noises that resemble huge plucked springs stir the mix bringing
variation to an album that constantly changes and alters its
path. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
Serene, drifting
sonic densities that are mostly shadowy and overcast - yet
often backlit or silvered at the edges. Still Point often
has a plaintive tone, becoming increasingly poignant toward
the final tracks. Robert Scott Thompson takes us from low,
fog-thick banks of mist high into the sky and into clarity
- panoramic and angelic. The shifts of mood across this album
are quite dramatic - allow yourself to be immersed and you'll
find moments of that aching beauty that pulls at the heart
and passages of moody ambience, folding in on themselves,
heaving, breathing. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
A
latticed cloudscape adorns the front cover, heavy and luminous
at the same time, against blue sky. The faintest crescent
of a moon gleams through the brightest section of the cloudbank,
enlarged and presented again on the back cover as a backdrop
for a tracklisting. The sleeve booklet is backed by a cloud
image of a dramatically different hue - the deepest of oranges,
brighter and more saturated still within. Here inside are
publishing details and contact information - simple and white,
making the eye tend to keep drifting across the mass of colour
filling two whole panels. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
This is a strong
album of slow drifting melodies and washes, well captured
in track titles - Water Out of Sunlight, Tinted in a Temporal
Hue, Figured in the Drift of Stars. The longest piece on the
CD is ten minutes fifty nine seconds long - the shortest one
minute forty seven, this great spread mirroring the variety
of sound within the individual pieces. Robert Scott Thompson
is no newcomer to the ambient scene having a large number
of releases under his belt as you can see from the website
at Aucourant Records. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Ambient fans who
enjoy music without a beat - quite melodic in structure, not
really minimal and with plenty of shifts in atmosphere. Moody
music with passages of melancholy and intense beauty. |
| |
|
 |
|
------
Various - A Magical Journey |
| STYLE |
|
Truly a magical journey, in two halves -
the first mainly spacey, dark and ambient, the second pulsing
with chilled arpeggios and downtempo trance beats. The voyage
begins with a voice philosophising about the nature of the
universe and its relation to information and code and then
we're off into downtempo psychedelia grounded in deep dub
basses, lulling grooves, flitting synth patches and airy
arrangements. Voices come and go; spoken, ethnic chants,
wordless utterances; hand drums and programming intertwine;
whirling effects sweep the air and prowl the shadows. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
As
you'd hope - this CD transports the listener to strange sonic
landscapes and mental sceneries but things are kept user friendly
and familiar with a clear contemporary Western chill-out aesthetic.
The mood is often dark and enigmatic with alien cultural references
running throughout.
Introductions are especially rich with
global colour and ambient texture - there are rapturous sections
that make you float heavenward and brooding passages full
of dubbed out delays and thick basses that send you tranceward. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
artwork I have is from the promotional package - a folded
sleeve booklet featuring a suitably esoteric temple that looks
to have been photographed in the mists of dawn or early evening.
The tracklisting is inside with details of writers and production
alongside. A verse about the lotus fills the second inner
panel with the legend 'Not Knowing, Cuckoo'. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
This
compilation is from Ajana Records, put together by Mouka and
Rudra. Artists from such diverse locations as Israel, Chile,
France, Sweden and Russia come together - familiar names like
Cell, Kukan Dub Lagan and Electrypnose sit alongside some
that are newer to the scene. Tracks do not interfade - each
one sits within its own space creating a unique atmosphere
- dark, mysterious, dubby and cool like An Ancient Tale by
Derango or rippling with cycling sequences and regular kicks
like Cell's Asian Morning. The combined drones of acoustic
instruments and modern technology create a timelessness throughout
- but well exemplified in Terra Nine's Axiom. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Aimed at the ethno-chill
audience and with more atmospheres and scattered weirdness
than most A Magical Journey will appeal to anyone looking
for something with a good beat to lie back and travel
to. Ambient, downtempo goa-trance thick with brooding
trippy exotica and tropical environments.
|
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|
 |
|
------
Pathaan (various) - Tandava |
| STYLE |
|
Global fusion with focus on
the Indian sub-continent drawn together by UK DJ Pathaan.
Here the softness of hand drums and shakers reverberate
over deep basses and smooth synths to create "an energizing
mix of sensuous rhythms, meditative riffs, and world music".
Indian voices distant with reverb contrast acoustic guitars,
thudding drum loops fuse with tablas and sinewy Eastern
violins meet smooth, clean synths. tj Rehmi's 'You Are We
Am I' features some nimble fingered guitar work, reversed
notes and a warm evening sensuality, Govinda presents a
crunchy beat littered with Asian sound snippets and swirling
programming and Ikarus blends a striking Thai vocal with
a deeper Indian voice along with a strong fusion drum track. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
A
chilled but brightly daubed blissful vibe is consistently
established right from the start. Running from the deep dub
of Gaudi's 'Dub It' to Karsh Kale's drum and bass oriented
'Letting Go' the album suggests a spiritual aspect that listeners
can take or leave as they see fit. Steeped in the wires, bows
and flutes of India, the Western ear can't help but sense
the exotic nature of this collection. Generally restful and
serene, but not sleep-inducing. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
A
card sleeve hugs the jewel case with a reproduction of the
same painted idol graphic that sits inside. The back of the
sleeve tells us about Pathaan and his DJ background his connection
with Shiva Rea that led to the creation of Tandava. On the
jewel case reverse is a complete track-listing complete with
timings. Inside is a sixteen page booklet with a page explaining
the CD title, another outlining Pathaan's discussion of the
project and a more detailed track-list with full credits and
contact information. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
The
rear cover text proclaims "In the realm of electronic
world beat, Pathaan is arguably the singular choice. Truly
the ambassador of international sounds..." being "one
of the very few UK-based DJs to have truly crossed the dance/world
divide". Judge for yourself - Tandava is a clear vision
that flows naturally through the combined talents of Amniotic,
Abakus, Prem Joshua (remixed by Sean Dinsmore), tj Rehmi,
Gaudi, Govinda, Ikarus, Karsh Kale, Sonik Gurus, Ma Faiza
& Veet Sandeh, Bahramji & Maneesh De Moor, Abhijit
Pohankar and Adham Shaikh.
|
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Global
dance fans that appreciate the sounds of India should go for
this one. More emphasis on breaks and fusion rhythms than
most of the ambient-trance collections being released at the
moment. |
| |
|
