As with any new release for a favorite artist, there’s always that small piece of trepidation that the sound you grew to love wouldn’t find its way onto the new album. Thankfully, it’s not the case with Dissolving Archetypes. This is the (val)Liam sound: Beautiful meandering floating pads, light dreamy melodies, and somewhat different in style on this release, a heavier emphasis on rhythms. It works, and is a worth successor to Daydreamer. Click to go to the review.
Also posted in 2012
Tagged (val)Liam, Beats & Pieces, Daydreamer, Dissolving Archetypes
Well, here’s the new Ishq album! After releasing Sama last year on Electronic Soundscapes, which everyone had been waiting for since 2001′s Orchid, Ishq returns to Interchill records with And Awake. I’m happy to report that the new album (not to take anything away from Sama) is a return to the magic we all experienced on Orchid. I haven’t enjoyed an album this quickly in a very long time. To put it succinctly, it’s my favorite release of 2011. Nothing really comes close to it. Click to go to the full review.
Following the releases of Idyllic Life (2008), and Planet Discovery (2009), as well as numerous singles and EPs, the trio of Easily Embarrassed has finally released their follow-up album, Tales of the Coin Spinner. A short review: It’s superb. It’s exactly what you’d expect from musicians who’ve managed to stick to their own unique sound, while still evolving and improving. TotCS is a masterful amalgamation of various styles of electronic music, fused with new sounds and the novel approach of a concept album usually found in over-ambitious prog rock albums. I won’t ruin it for you, dear reader, but the guys of Easily Embarrassed have crafted their music around a solid narrative, one in which that I won’t comment on much as it’s part of the overall experience of the music, as well as the artwork. You’ll see if you purchase the CD… On to the review.
Also posted in 2011
Tagged 2011, Easily Embarrassed, Reviews, Tales of the Coin Spinner
Androcell, bulwark of Celestial Dragon Records, released his album, Entheomythic, in December of last year (2010), and, well, it’s a doozy. Vintage Androcell with deep, throbbing and bobbing bass lines, complex yet accessible rhythms, and very, very ethnic and organic, but still somehow modern sounding. Click here to read the review!
Also posted in 2010
Ether is Altar Records’ fifth and final compilation in the Elements series. At the time of this writing, a sixth record is due out Summer 2011, titled The Missing Elements. No info on that has been released as of yet.
So what’s the word on Ether? It’s good. Real good. Exclusive tracks from Flooting Grooves, Asura, Distant System, and more. Not bad. I bought the album purely for the Distant System track, as I think Tyler Smith currently makes some of the tightest psy-ambient tracks. I was also pleasantly surprised to find some of the other artists’ tracks were just as good, too. In short, Ether is easily the best out of the Element Series. It’s also one of the top releases of 2010. Let’s get to the tracks.
Also posted in 2010
Tagged Altar Records, Astropilot, Asura, Distant System, E-Mantra, Ether, Flooting Grooves, Lab's Cloud, Mr Peculiar, Shakri, Tentura
Leaving Home is pure headcinematography. Think headtrip. Where the music creates movies behind closed eyelids, and when it finishes, I feel as if I’ve returned from somewhere far away. Solar Fields‘s music does this, and this is why I’ve been listening to his music for 2005. Leaving Home was my introduction to the Solar Fields sound. Magnus Birgersson got the formula figured out with this, his third album, and what I consider to be his masterpiece. It’s eleven tracks are blueprint to a futuristic cityscape. Each song, having it’s own characteristics, reflects the album’s overall theme. Let’s take a glance.
Also posted in 2005
Tagged 2005, Leaving Home, Solar Fields, Ultimae Records
Hot on the heels (did I really just use that? Good job.) of Waveform Records second Transmissions compilation comes the ten-track third volume. A slight departure from Volume Two, the third compilation is filled with a slew of tracks from relatively unknown artists, as well as a few older gems (Stress Assassin, anyone!?). My initial impression of the album as a whole is one of straight-up electronic dub. Gone are the outright psychedelic meanderings from the other Waveform Transmissions artists such as Capsula and Master Margherita. Replacing them are the more relaxed dub tracks from artists Bluey, The Push, and Jah Acid Dub. There are a few mainstays from all three volumes: Warp Technique (appearing as Warp Factor on Volume One), and International Observer. So dim that same lamp, flick that flame over the pipe and let’s go.
Also posted in 2010
Tagged 2010, Bluey, Doof, International Observer, Jah Acid Dub, Pitch Black, Stress Assassin, The Push, Third Ear Audio, Tiger Mendoza, Warp Technique, Waveform Records, Waveform Transmissions
Celestial Dragon Records is now out with their latest compilation titled Vital Signs and is the project of Tyler Smith of Androcell and Distant System fame. It’s definitely his personal pet project as half of the tracks are his: three Androcell tracks and a Distant System. He’s also gathered four of the biggest names in the genre to round out the album. I went ahead and ripped this straight from the label’s website because I can’t think of a better way to state the compilation’s concept:
Vital Signs is a concept compilation comprised of tracks that were custom created for this project by renown artists such as Aes Dana, Asura, Solar Fields, Cell, Androcell, and Distant System. Each artist was carefully chosen and assigned a specific track title/theme to interpret the essence of their “vital sign” through the sonic medium. Title assignments were based according to each artist’s individual music style. Together, like the modular structure of sub-systems in the body, the tracks function as an interconnected unit which depend on each other to complete the whole. Each “vital sign” serving as a reminder that these systems are operating and we are alive.
There you have it, on to the tracks.
Also posted in 2010
Tagged 2010, Aes Dana, Androcell, Asura, Celestial Dragon, Cell, Distant System, Solar Fields, Vital Signs
Field Rotation is Christoph Berg of Kiel, Germany. Licht und Schatten is his first label release, and is the second release on Fluid Audio after the Hope compilation. This EP spans seven tracks and is a trip to the softer, slower, melodic side of electronic music. It’s really a beautiful piece of music that incorporates not only electronic sound manipulation and programming but also utilizes a few instruments. It all adds up to a well-crafted and well-made album that just might be the perfect music to play as you find your day coming to a close. I’m also writing this deep into the night, as a major snowstorm buries the city in two feet of snow. It’s rather fitting.
Also posted in 2009
Tagged 2009, Field Rotation, Fluid Audio, Licht Und Schatten
Waveform Records is out with their second psychedelic-dub-infused compilation, Waveform Transmissions Volume Two. It features some of the biggest names in psychedelic dub music as well as some brand new artists that I’ve never heard of before. The many different styles of dub are represented fairly here, I think, and the listener is bound to find a personal gem among the 10 tracks.
So dim the couch-side lamp, take a hit or seven and let’s begin…
Also posted in 2009
Tagged 2009, Capsula, Hanfstengal, Hoehle, International Observer, Master Margherita, Paddy Free, Pitch Black, Sounds from the Ground, Third Ear Audio, Warp Technique, Waveform Records, Waveform Transmissions