Title:
Purple Chillies
Label:
Regan Records
Released:
5th of July
I'd not come across
Australian artist David Le Breton (Daheen) before he submitted this
album for review but he's released a couple of albums since 1998 and
upon listening I found it certainly fits the ethos of this blog. I
can't tell too much about David other than he enjoys creating chill
out and psy-trance and performing live with his lap-top, keyboard
guitar in an array of theatrical masks and costumes. This album is a
collection of his down-beat tracks amassed over several years and
features the vocals of Karolina Kulczynaska-Le Breton and Dom Edwards
on Digeridoo.
The aptly titled
'Rising Sun' is a lovely introduction to the album with gentle
acoustics layered over mellow keys and a down-tempo didgeridoo
creating an overall laid back and summery atmosphere. Next up is
'Vibratones' which maintains the acoustic elements and laid back
attitude, additionally features ethereal feminine vocals and has a
slightly Eastern feel to it. 'Anthropcene' on the other hand employs
ecological scientific samples you would expect in a psy-dub track,
however, this is a more gentle and acoustic affair more akin to 90's
trip-hop and lounge.
The album changes
direction with 'Tinkling' which as the title suggests begins with
some classical piano but slowly evolves into a more twisted
psychedelic dub, employing a number of clever tactics from dropping
back to the piano adding acoustics and the ethereal vocals into the
body and ambient breakdowns. Now the album gets dirtier, darker and
dubbier with Australian newsreel samples on
A widely unpopular
issue with 'Frackin' Hell which to me is very much in the vein of
tracks such as Coldcut's 'Revolution'. Following on in a similar
fashion with global issues that concern the planet reeled over a
psy-dub with hard-hitting low frequency bass on 'Mass Extinction'
shows the versatility of the album.
The next track
'Symphing' reverts back to the classical piano, this time accompanied
by strings, brass and ethereal vocals before the dubby bass-line is
featured. While 'Hope' is a psy-fused reggae dub containing vocal
samples on 'Materialism' issues. The Purple Chillies mix of
'Hummingbird' begins with an African storyteller slowly introducing a
gentle ambience before dropping a throbbing low frequency bass-line,
hypnotic synths and acoustics. The album closes with 'Remembering' a
gentle and atmospheric piece again featuring the ethereal vocals and
sparse deep bass notes.
To summarise, I
can't see this being the soundtrack to everyone's summer but then who
wants to follow the crowd? Personally, I like this album for the
elements it employs at times gentle and heavenly at others dark and
dirty, at times retro sounding and others far more recent. Ultimately
it serves the purpose he's set out to achieve.
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