Liquid Bloom 'Re:Gen: Deep Ambient Remixes' Review

Artist:

Liquid Bloom

Title:

Re:Gen Deep Ambient Remixes

Label:

Desert Trax

Released:

1^st May

The overall ambience and tribal chants places Liquid Bloom as one of my favourite on the Desert Trax roster. So 3 years after the original Re:Generations release, comes this album of re-mixes. Too long some might say, personally I’m happy to have the opportunity to listen and relay my thoughts.

The producers brought in have have done exactly what it says on the tin. You won’t get more relaxed than when you encounter the whispering vocals that float across the deep ambient synths and drones, on the Eternell Ambient mix of ‘Ensenme’, mesmerising like those seductive sirens of the Greek fables. Even the Temple Step Project’s re-mix of ‘Resonant Migration’ which features the Australian shamanic powerhouse Deya Dova on vocals, is stripped back, laid back with her tribal chants just carrying the music into the ether.

If you are seeking out deep ambient music, that is blended with eastern instrumentation (and the faintest touch of psy) as an aid for a healthy body and mind, or simply looking to kick back and relax, then this album ticks all the boxes as a perfect accompaniment.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

www.liquidbloom.com

soundcloud.com/liquidbloom

Aquiver 'Conexion Divina' Review

Artist: Aquiver

Title: Conexion Divina

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 10^th January

This producer from Israel who is totally fresh to my ears puts forth a concept E.P. dedicated to re-harmonizing human hearts to the wonders of nature. Across each of the five tracks he flirts with tempos and genres but has given them all a full psy exploration covering breaks, dub, dub-step, glitch and downtempo.

We get underway in slow motion fashion with light beautiful strings juxtaposed against glitchy dub on ‘Gen’ which overall is a pleasant enough enticer to the release. This is followed by ‘Crystalizer’ which is more of a bass heavy dub-step affair, injected with little touches that you would associate with psy-dub.

The next piece crunchs slowly before unfolding with some typically psychedelic spoken samples and dubby keys on ‘In Our Heads’. Whilst the title track utilises more ecological focused spoken samples and once again utilises some nice strings against a dubby background. From the snippet samples I first played this track stood out. However, it’s this final piece ‘The Great Barrier Reef’ when playing the full versions I found appealed the most. Where the harmonious vocal of the intro leads into a mellow piece of ambient dub.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://soundcloud.com/aquiversound

https://deserttrax.bandcamp.com/

Liquid Bloom, Porangui & Spice Trader 'Ayé Yewo' Review

Artist: Liquid Bloom, Porangui & Spice Trader

Title: Ayé Yewo

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 22^nd November

Liquid Bloom is a project formed by Amani Friend (Desert Dwellers) which places focus on inner growth through ancient and spiritual soundscapes, whether paired with meditation, yoga, bodywork, dance or artistic creation.

This single incorporates vocals and instrumentation from Porangui, with additional instrumentation and production from Spice Trader to form a blend of African music and deep house. Which is paired alongside an ethereal mix from neo-western producer Tone Ranger.

The single shuffles along nicely with an acoustic loop, vocal chants and tribal rhythms before adopting an afro-beat feel with the added horns. It slows down a tad and employs delay before the vocal verses takes hold. Whilst the Tone Ranger version initially seems to accentuate the drums overall it’s a smoother mellower take on the original piece.

Reviewed by Woodzee

https://liquidbloom.bandcamp.com/

Nango Manchay 'Under Our Sun' Review

Artist: Nango Manchay

Title: Under Our Sun

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 5^th April

Using original recordings from the mountains of Nepal, the deserts of India and the jungles of Australia and Central America, Nango Manchey has learned and incorporated instruments from all corners of the earth to create an album that spans borders and traditional genres.

“Under Our Sun is a tribute to the unification of humanity and the common goals of peace and understanding that is an underlying part of what makes us all human” he notes “We are all under the same sun, we share this planet together and this album represents many cultures uniting to create music of beauty that reflects the awe and grandeur of nature, our shared home and the depths of our own consciousness.”

The album starts with ‘Varnassi Flame’ an eastern flavoured slow-burner with deep harmonies both vocal and synthetic laid between the organic strings. This is followed by ‘Nepali Dawn’ which begins with a violin and flutes strengthening the eastern vibe, before being joined vocally I’m assuming by the women of Chote Chour village in Nepal mentioned in the footnotes. Additionally, there are passages within the piece that bring the electronics come to the forefront before subsiding back to the organic once more.

The album continues in both a listenable and pleasing fashion, however, even the title track doesn’t reach the same heights as ‘Nepali Dawn’. That is until the last track ‘Diambura’ a sitar flavoured piece with suitably accompanying vocals and rhythmic percussion, which I found to be just as appealing in it’s own way.

Review by Woodzee

Links

https://deserttrax.bandcamp.com/album/under-our-sun

SaQi & SuRaj 'Dust into Gold' Review

Artist: SaQi & SuRaj

Title: Dust into Gold

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 16^th November

When I first saw this release advertised I initially thought I have no idea who these guys are, but I was intrigued at the promise of a deep fusion of progressive electronic downtempo and dance music with a variety of Middle-Eastern realms of sound. I’m still none the wiser to the previous productions of SaQi an electro-acoustic producer and trumpet player. However, SuRaj a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has performed for many years as part of of the Qawwali ensemble Fanna fi Allah. Throwing several guest vocalists into the melting pot and a couple of re-mixes added to the anticipation.

The album begins with the title track and features the vocals from Shazieh Shah, which I found to be melodic and rather than the Azam Ali’esque vocals I expected, I found the whole piece closer to Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn. The next track named ‘SuRaj’ I expect as his Oud performance provides a backbone to the synth and flute melodies that accompany the piece. Moving on the direction changes once more with Eastern European flavour of ‘Babushka’ featuring Sarasvati Dasi (who has worked with the Polish Ambassador) and placing more focus on the trumpet of SaQi.

Once again the style changes with the Sufi number ‘Taje Dare’ featuring SuRaj’s band Fanna fi Allah fused perfectly with SaQi’s trumpet. Then it switches back to more of the downtempo Massive Attack style with ‘Higher Place’ this time featuring vocals from Pepper Proud. Sarasvati Dasi returns on ‘Anu Pama’ which returns to the desert in a stereotypical fashion.

We then encounter the first of the re-mixes with Treavor Moontribes take on the title track under his Forever and Ever pseudonym, which adds a slightly growling electronic emphasis to the piece. Once again the emphasis switches back to the acoustic this time fusing the skills of renowned Israeli oud player Atallah with SaQi’s trumpet. The final piece of the jigsaw is the SAAND re-mix of ‘Higher Place’ where I think he injects a bit of magic to the piece, which wasn’t bad to begin with.

To summarise this release may not be on everyone’s radar. However, if you like your electronic world fusions to contain real instruments, it’s definitely worth giving it your ears at least once and you really can’t fault them for variety.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://deserttrax.bandcamp.com/

Desert Dwellers 'The Great Mystery Remixes Part One' Review

Artist: 

The Desert Dwellers

Title: 

The Great Mystery

Remixes Pt. 1

Label: 

Desert Trax

Released:

21^st September

Earlier this year the Desert Dwellers released 'The Great Mystery' which they consider to be their most diverse to date. To celebrate they embarked on a re-mix project of established and up-and-coming artists from across the globe with the intention of being just as diverse. The second part will be released in late October with contributions from Emancipator, Whitebear, Sixis, Mystral, Supersillyus, Halfred, Master Minded and many others.

Moving back to the release in question they begin with Liquid Stranger a producer whose releases are just as diverse, but whether he's focusing on dub-step, reggae or chill you can be sure there's plenty of low frequency bass. His take on 'Wings of Waves' is light and summery with flutes and chimes and subtle yet effective use of speaker shattering bass. Following on from the enticing opener is Gaudi's take on 'Our Dream World' where he's clearly put his knowledge of vintage synthesizers and gadgets to get this ethnic dub chugging along nicely. If you're not suitably impressed by the re-mix talent employed so far they're not slipping with Kaminanda joining the throng and taking on 'View of Laniakea' which he's kept down-tempo and melodic utilising the chorus and strings at times some of the fx tease and fool you it's going to go mental and then he pulls back at the last second.

At this point I'm guessing the album moves to the up-and-coming (well at least for me as it's an artist I'm unaware of) with the Tribone Re-Stomp of the title track. It's an interesting style slightly harsher than it's predecessors with an electro feel to the bass line, plenty of psychedelic twists before the atmospheric breakdown where the emphasis is placed on manipulating the Arabic vocals and strings while the final section pulls it altogether. I'm not overly familiar with Twin Shape either and their Lost Tribe re-work of 'The Sacrament' fuses spacey synths and harmonic voices with psy-bass and synthetic dialogue. Following on Acid Crunk pioneer An-Ten-Nae offers an alternative take of 'View of Lanaikea' where he masterfully manipulates the vocals and strings over intermittent choppy breaks.

Once again we move into the up-and-coming territory with AtYya's take on 'Birds Over Sand Dunes' slower and more minimal than the original echoing the vocal samples with a series of looped sequences and gated vocals sections which are pleasant in places but it didn't grip me overall. Land Switcher move back to the realms of psy-bass with their take on 'I Dropped It' with plenty of rapid loop sequences and drum rolls over the dubby main body they still manage to keep an overall down-tempo feel to the piece. While Drumspyder keeps us firmly placed in the east with his trademark doumbek infused alternative to 'Our Dream World' although much lighter than Gaudi's in places it still chugs along nicely in the appropriate sections.

Govinda deliver what I would describe as a minimal psy-bass take on 'Crossing Beyond' and once again maintain the eastern feel of the piece throughout. Finally, we're back were we started with the Hibernation alternative to 'Wings of Waves' a light and harmonious rug thrown over a slow and bass-heavy floor.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links https://desertdwellersmusic.bandcamp.com/

Various Artists 'Vajra Mind: Meditative Soundscapes' Review

Artist: Various

Title: Vajra Mind:

Meditative Soundscapes

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 3^rd June

Compiled and mixed by Amani (one half of the Desert Dwellers) this release exhibits the ambient side of the Desert Dwellers, Liquid Bloom, Variant Field, Rara Avis, Bluetech and Shamans Dream. Collated from the Desert Trax catalog from 2001 to 2015 and featuring some exclusive tracks and remixes aimed specifically at relaxation and artistic creativity over a 2 hour duration.

As soon as you press play you will discover that Amani dives deep fusing atmospheric synths, field recordings, flutes and Arabic instruments with some choice selections from the Desert Dwellers mystical arsenal spanning the first half an hour. At this point the artist selection is interuptted with a collaboration by Bluetech and Shaman's Dream. However, unless your concentrating on the tracklist you would never notice as the piece maintains a perfect harmony and doesn't interupt the flow.

The rest of the album flows in a similar vein with subtle changes of atmospherics, tanpuras and sound fx where the occasional loop, didgeridoo or snake charmers flute awakens you from a dream like slumber to set you adrift again. It's very easy to lose track of where you are on this journey, even if you're already familiar with a number of the tracks and there's an ever present danger of falling asleep. Personally, I like this direction it's more of a return to the original Desert Dwellers vibe and there's definitely a time and place for this in my life. Amani without a doubt achieves the calm to help unwind after a stressful day.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

http://desertdwellers.org/

https://soundcloud.com/desertdwellers/vajra-mind-meditative-soundscapes-compiled-by-amani

Deya Dova 'Symbiotic Re-mixes' Review

Artist: Deya Dova

Title: Symbiotic Re-mixes

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 24^th November

"Hailing from the expansive Nullarbor desert in Australia and currently based in the Byron Bay area, it is like Singer Producer DEYA DOVA fell out of the stars on an ancient piece of space rock. One of the few female electronic producers and a ground breaking vocalist recording live at sacred sites, Deya Dova fuses the earthy human-ness and sensual power of her voice with the cutting edge futurism of Global Bass music Synthesizing ancient Songlines / Tribal voices and evocative Story telling with Cinematic soundscapes, Whomping bass, textural Glitch and Totemic beats, Deya Dova invokes a mythic temple vibe and brings euphoric tribalism to the dance floor."

I first came across the name on the Desert Dwellers 'Night Visions' compilation and having no concept of sex or nationality decided to dig a little deeper. Eventually, 'Symbiotic' was released and the track that caught my attention was 'Footsteps in the Stars'. Now make what you will of the media press release above. I for one couldn't deny the powerful and at times alluring vocal that sprang out of the native American indian like chants.

This release begins with Temple Step Project & Dakini's re-mix of said track. They certainly produce a grittier version with a deep and dirty bass that would shake any sound system speakers. I like this version but feel it suits that environment more as it slightly distracts from the vocal compared to the original for a laid back chill.

Next up is fellow Australian 'Whitebear' with his take on 'Skyroarer' where the vocals although still tribal take a more melodic and mantra like twist. Once the beat kicks in it skips along like a kangaroo encouraged by a musical accompaniment of Aborigines. Which provides a lovely soundscape when the vocals return.

Now I wasn't as taken with the original of 'Symbiotic' as I was with 'Footsteps in the Stars' and was slightly bemused it was the title track of the single. However, San Fran based Scott Sterling a.k.a. Drumspyder has injected some new life into it with his brand of Darbuka fuelled electronica and it blends together so perfectly I have a new found love for this track.

Now I haven't really paid much attention to the Trap scene so I'm not really in a postion to compare the Dancing Tiger Tribal Trap re-mix of 'Bone Dance' to other tracks of that genre. What I can say is the drum pounds and the voice is vocodered and there's a lot of changes between stabby bass notes, panning synths and toying with the vocals it's not really to my taste but that's probably me showing my age.

The e.p. finishes with another producer from down under Kalya Scintalla on the re-mix duties. This piece begins in a light and airy fashion but once he gets his grip on things the intricate drum rhythms behind inject a tribal dance passage or two to help out the toe tappers and rump shakers amongst us.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links: http://www.deyadova.com/

Desert Dwellers 'The Gathering Remixes' Review

Artist: Desert Dwellers

Title: The Gathering Remixes

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 14^th July 2014

Once again the Desert Dwellers have selected some smoking hot producers to do their magic on some classic DD tracks, the original tracks were compositions co-produced with Shamen's Dream as part of a series of yoga DVD's. Now although, this e.p. has fewer tracks than some of the releases earlier in the year, quality rather than quantity is probably what your after anyway.

Up first is Living Light weaving her magic on 'Kumbh Mela'. Now, I've been listening to L.L. a fair bit recently and I'm definitely partial to her distinctive sound of reggae keys, bamboo flutes and summery uplifting chill with a dubby psychedelic underbelly. This re-mix is no exception to the rule and what a way to start the e.p.

Next up is Quade's re-mix of 'Ras Mandala', now I only remember Quade for the excellent low bass frequency re-mix of 'Tala Odyssey' which I personally hammered alongside Drumspyder's more tribal edged re-work. Maybe it's a grower but this didn't grab me instantly. It's a slow plodding number which blends eastern horns, darbukas and vocals with the industry standard wub, wub, computer game like sequences and sweeping synths that seem to build to no drop.

Finishing off the e.p. is Soulacybin with an alternative take of 'Kumbh Mela'. Now although the original is easily recognisable he's really gone to town on the fx producing a psy-dub version with more loops than a cotton mill. I'd hazard a guess that they are probably more prominent with headphones for a full panning experience.

Review by Woodzee

Links http://desertdwellersmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-gathering-remixes

Desert Dwellers "Union: The Whitebear Re-mixes" Review

Artist: Desert Dwellers

Release: Union:

The Whitebear Re-mixes

Label: Desert Trax

Released: 10^th March 2014

This release contains the Desert Dwellers original version and two re-mixes with different approaches by an up and coming young Australian producer that I've not come across before “Whitebear”.

The original starts very much in the manner of an Indian Classical piece with gentle ambient synths and bamboo flutes. I could easily be fooled into believing it was a piece by the Suns of Arqa. In the second half it sounds like a slide Oud is introduced with subtle delay. Wonderful stuff I have to say I like this track a lot.

Whitebears Groove Mix is a completely different approach. However, in it's own right it's also a bit of a gem, commencing with flutes and field recordings which visually took me straight into a union with the nature of the tropical rainforest. But don't be fooled after all this is the Desert Dwellers and Desert Trax. He layers the predominant instrument of this track, the Oud over slo-mo deep bass chords that are stretched and twisted along with some lovely loops that give an impression that the track is released in short bursts. Halfway through the breakdown is accompanied by bleepy keys reminiscent of early Warp tracks before resuming the initial vibe.

Whitebear's second re-work the Psyborglitch Edit is probably the most suited to the dancefloor of the three. Here Whitebear releases the oud between the twitches, glitches and trailing loops. I can see this working well as an early evening enticer to shake your rump at a psy-event. It would seem Whitebear could well be one to watch out for in 2014.

Review by Woodzee.

Links

http://www.beatport.com/release/union-whitebear-remixes/1247154

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/union-whitebear-remixes-single/id817347368

https://desertdwellersmusic.bandcamp.com/album/union-whitebear-remixes