Gus Till - Ghosts Of The Earth Review

Artist: Gus Till

Release: Ghosts Of The Earth

Label: Interchill Records

Released: 30^th September 2014

Now although Gus Till may not be a household name he's certainly been lurking in the background alongside a fair few. From his humble beginnings in Melbourne's punk/new wave scene of the late 70's he was part of Michael Hutchences band 'Max Q' and jumped on the emerging dance scence of the late 80's as part of Third Eye. Re-locating to England in the 90's he was a studio engineer for Flying Rhino as well as working with Jamirioqui, Manu Dibango, Todd Terry, System 7, Adam Freeland, Bim Sherman and many more. These days Gus is based in Bali releasing solo material and is one half of Zen Lemonade alongside his significant other.

The concept of this album is that no matter how far technologically we evolve there are still cultures in the world who are deeply rooted in our past. Which lays a foundation for a combination of electronic and organic with a tribal edge and features Steve Hillage on guitar, Chika Asamoto on Sax and percussion by Rip Van Hippy . My first impressions of this album is it's very different to 'Between The Silence' the only other solo release I have, which leans far more to minimal tribal chill.

The album begins with 'We Advanced The Masked' with groovy guitars and slightly vocodered vocals, there's bursts of prog rock and tribal chants before Steve lets fly. It's a real hard one to pigeon hole and although there's plenty going on with all the little background loops and fx it never sounds too crowded. The next track 'Sunset' changes direction it's very reminiscent of the Miles Davis re-mix album 'Panthalessa' with a tribal edge, sterling stuff!

There's two things I can say about this album 1) the production is second to none and 2) the combination of electronic and organic music is highly unique 'So Long Emergency' for example is dreamy and soulful with a few Sphongle'esque twists and more than a touch of Hillage. While the title track sounds like Herbie Hancock's been dragged through the jungle and thrown into a dingy dark dancefloor. 

As with most albums there's a couple of intro fillers which in this case are superbly layered and cleverly thought out and a couple of down-tempo no's more akin to the album I mentioned previously. Now, although I can't say this album will be to everyone's taste I highly advise you give it a listen.

Review by Woodzee.