Friends Electric 'Friends Electric E.P.' Review

Artist: Friends Electric

Title: Friends Electric E.P.

Label: Triskele Music

Released: 21^st June 2014

My only knowledge of Friends Electric prior to this release was their re-mix of Pitch Black's 'Free Fall' a good while back, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chaps behind Friends Electric is Bill Robin (Rebel HiFi, Dub War, Warp Technique) and his old pal Sam Rice-Edwards. So taking this into consideration my first thoughts were I might be pleased with what this E.P. had to offer and my second a 10 track E.P.? Surely, this is an L.P.?

The first track 'Longwave' starts with dusty record crackles, radio tuning fx and a lovely acoustic guitar hook. This is soon accompanied by lush synths and an ethereal operatic female voice which when all combined forms a solid chill out track. Next up is 'Freeze Frame' which again utilises those dusty record crackles to form a nest for some lovely loops and a funky bassline which glides along like a penguin on ice. I'm already starting to be sold with this release.

'Pondlife' begins with an ambient intro followed by sparse drumming which slowly becomes more consistent while a variety of twisted fx and pitch bends are implemented to stunning effect along with a sprinkling of robotic female samples and little jazz like keys. Although, all three tracks so far are quite different this is proving to be down-tempo at it's finest. 'F%ck The Whole Thing Up' is a dubby piece of electronica with a little more drive than the previous tracks add some well sourced samples and some interesting diversions on the breakdown it's perhaps my favourite so far.

'Ode To Allen' is a jamboree bag of dubbed out cosmic afro-funk followed by a couple of Pitch Black re-mixes including the one I mentioned before. 'Try To Breathe' is a spacey melodic dub followed by a more hard hitting & squelchy 'Sonica Dub' which leads nicely into the final track a re-mix of I.S.W.T. 'Temperamental Vibrations' and to be honest I'm not familiar with the original but going by this I suspect they've dubbed out a lush and jazzy piece of trip-hop.

Review by Woodzee

Links http://triskelemusic.bandcamp.com/album/friends-electric-ep

The Chill Out Sessions

This year I have been alternating with Ian of the Liquid Lounge hosting the Chill Out Sessions on Boxfrequency fm While Ian utilises his air time solely for his own D.J. sets, I've been featuring guests alongside playing old favourites and new releases. 


This months show airs on Sunday the 29th at 19:00 until 23:00 G.M.T. and will feature the following guests ...





Lauge & Baba Gnohm http://laugebabagnohm.bandcamp.com/

These Danish chill out producers cite influences from artists such as Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre and Solar Fields as well as documentaries such as Planet Earth and the nature of Scandanavia.

These influences have inspired and formed a lush combination of Artic ambience and Pink Floyd'esque guitar with subtle hints of psy-chill and dub here and there.

 

Dubtrak http://dubtrak.com/

Growing up in Poland Richard immersed himself in the local Punk/Ska scene. Re-locating to Toronto his musical tastes were broadened by the sounds he heard living in a multi-cultural city. 

As well as producing Dub Reggae, World Music and Psy-Dub under his Dubtrak Moniker he also releases other music under other names covering genres such as Folktronica, Shoegaze and Glitch and hosts a series of Yoga themed mixes.



Previous broadcasts are available on Mixcloud and Soundcloud. 

Broadcast 1 - Woodzee with Special Guest DJ Maggie

Broadcast 2 - Ian Of-The Liquid-Lounge

Broadcast 3 - Woodzee with Special Guests M&M's and Machine 475 

Broadcast 4 - Liquid Lounge 

http://www.mixcloud.com/woodzee/

https://soundcloud.com/woodzee

http://www.mixcloud.com/LiquidLounge/

https://soundcloud.com/liquid-lounge-1

https://soundcloud.com/my-favorite-things/sets/chill-out-sessions-5

Kaya Project 'Firedance E.P.' Review

Artist: Kaya Project

Title: Firedance E.P.

Label: Interchill

Release Date: 27^th of May

Taken from Kaya Projects latest album of the same name 'Firedance' is actually one of the more up-tempo tracks. However, I'm more than happy to feature it on here as it's a track with tribal chants that is full of eastern promise and the re-mixers take the track into different directions.

Strangely enough the e.p. doesn't begin with the title track but a re-mix of 'One Hundred Lights' by Grouch. The track begins with sparse deep twitchy bass notes alongside the vocal and slowly becomes more dominant flickering between Sitar chords and reggae all in all it's a quality re-mix.

Now we reach a re-mix of the title track from Chaos By Design, who to be honest I've not come across before. There's nothing to worry about though as he/she/they take the track into a combination of ambience and utilise the percussion with bass music creating a unique feel of Jungle with the brakes on.

Next it's Kaminanda's take on the title track (this guy seems to be churning out the re-mixes of late) once again there's a combination of ambience and percussion but there's a little more space between than Chaos By Design's chock full of little loops and fx perfectly balanced through out the track. It's a wonderful piece which only re-affirms this is a solid release.

Last but not least is Seb's own re-mix of 'Through The Flames' under his psy-breakz Digitalis moniker. This track is perfect for getting the rump shaking and enticing people on to the dance floor with it's glitchy bass line that's seems to gel perfectly with the sounds of the original track.

Review by Woodzee

Links

http://www.kayaproject.com/

http://www.interchill.com/