Aligning Minds "My Heart Is Remixed" Review

Artist: Aligning Minds

Album: My Heart Is ReMixed

Label: Gravitas Recordings/Critical Beats

Release Date: 5^th November 2013

I’ll have to admit I’ve not heard the original album “My Heart Is Love” by Aligning Minds. However, having been impressed by their re-mix on the Desert Dwellers album “Re-Calibrated 2” and having heard the promotional Androcell Re-Mix of “In The Wake Of Forever” featured on this album my mind was aligned with the sound and I was more than happy to give an ear to this selection of re-mixes.

The album is part of the Critical Beats series which we have previously mentioned before and money will be donated to RAN (The Rainforest Action Network)

For further info on Evan Marc’s Critical Beats project aimed at helping the indigenous people of the rainforests and RAN see the links below.

http://criticalbeats.org/main/

http://ran.org/

The opening track is Anvil Hands take on the title track which layers a chilled atmosphere and soothing soulful vocals over slo-mo deep bass stabs. I’ve never heard of Anvil Hands or the original track so I’m in the dark as to how similar or different the track is to the original. It’s not the greatest or catchiest track you will hear, but I think it achieves a laid back atmosphere so a good start all in all.

The album continues fusing elements of ambience, dub-step & glitchly electronica of which there’s nothing wrong but it doesn’t really grab me until it chills right down with the Androcell re-edit I mentioned before (a welcome respite to the previous track which got a little hectic) this track really is quite special featuring beautifully alluring vocals, perfectly laid over soothing music and when the psy-dub interjects it compliments perfectly. All in all a sterling job by Tyler.

Overall, the album is well produced drawing on a range of styles and sub-genres, some which I find appealing and others not so much. But it does contain a few gems alongside the Androcell re-mix. I thoroughly enjoyed Krusseldorf’s glitchy ride through ambience with their take of “Oak Kalendar” and Shortmanb’s reggae vocals which sound almost vocoder’ish in places offers a different outlet to the rest of the album.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

http://music.gravitasrecordings.com/album/my-heart-is-remixed

https://www.facebook.com/aligningminds
http://soundcloud.com/aligningminds
http://gravitasrecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gravitasrecordings

Subaqueous - Threshold of Night Review

Artist: Subaqueous

Title: Threshold of Night

Label: Critical Beats

Release: February 2013

‘The Life of Pi’ by Yann Martel for those of you, who don’t know, tells the story of 16 year old Pi being stranded on a boat with a 450 pound Bengal Tiger. Without giving away the ending (the Tiger did it, in the library with a blunt instrument to the head)!!!

I found it to be a story about Faith...a belief in the more beautiful story, although it presents us with the problem of two differing versions of ‘the truth’. Stick with this it will make sense in the end!

The primary goal of Critical Beats was to raise awareness and money for non-profits working in Amazon conservation and sustainable education. Initially funds were raised through the release of a compilation album constructed through the following steps …

Step 1:

Indigenous songs, instruments, nature sounds, stories, and spoken word are gathered from tribal communities, sustainability schools, and artists in the Amazon and Sacred Valley

Step 2:

The recordings are shared with music producers around the world

Step 3:

New songs are created which incorporate the collaborative efforts of both cultures

Step 4:

The new songs are compiled into a Critical Beats album which is used to raise awareness and funds for Amazon conservation

Step 5:

Events are held featuring the original music created for the Critical Beats project

Step 6:

Through dancing and celebrating, listeners and attendees are contributing to a cause while gaining increased awareness of the state of the Amazon, its communities, and possible ways to take action

Step 7:

All proceeds go to projects and non-profits in the Amazon working for conservation, sustainable education, and protection of indigenous rights.

This concept has continued resulting in further releases from a variety of artists most notably the album “Rainforest Reverberation” by Bluetech (a.k.a. Evan Marc who has been actively involved with the project).

Last month Critical Beats transferred $5000+ in previous album sales to support organizations like Metareilá of the Suruí People in Brazil. This group is a Rainforest Action Network Protect-An-Acre participant who is using Google mapping and carbon rights to help protect their land.

Moving back to the music “Threshold of the Night” the latest release from Critical Beats depending upon your viewpoint this is either-

A) The first view is that this is an EP with four tracks of solid, but on the whole unspectacular music and two tracks, 1 and 5 standing out above the rest.

Track 1 ‘Shimmers in the dark’ featuring Jamil opens with a Sufi quote that ‘everything is light, even in the dark there is dark light’. Which surely could be considered a parable for our times? It then proceeds to develop into a sinuous Dub bass driven track with the sensual spoken words of Jamil.

Track 5 ‘Visions embrace’ featuring Masaru Hig sounds like a delightful collision between Mediterranean sounding guitars and what sounds like a Japanese instrument. This is a truly delightful track that floats by like the promise of spring on the breeze.

B) The second view is this is an EP full of six tracks ideal for horizontal listening with tracks 1 and 5 sounding out above the rest.

Track 1 ‘Shimmers in the dark’ featuring Jamil opens with a Sufi quote that ‘everything is light, even in the dark there is dark light’. Which surely could be considered a parable for our times? It then proceeds to develop into a sinuous Dub bass driven track with the sensual spoken words of Jamil.

Track 5 ‘Visions embrace’ featuring Masaru Hig sounds like a delightful collision between Mediterranean sounding guitars and what sounds like a Japanese instrument. This is a truly delightful track that floats by like the promise of spring on the breeze.

So...using Life of Pi as the analogy (at last...I hear you cry) you can choose which version to agree with...which is the more agreeable story? Which version will enrich your life?

Don’t just listen to me , dear readers, go out and make your own minds up and remember ...it’s all for an exceptionally worthy cause.

Reviewed by Matthew Foord 

Links http://www.criticalbeats.org/