The Orb 'Auntie Aubrie's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty pt. 3' Review

 

Artist:

The Orb

Title:

Auntie Aubrie's Excursions 

Beyond the Call of Duty pt. 3

Label:

Liquid Sound Design

Released:

4^th December 2020

I first came across the Orb among the shelves of a record store. It wasn’t an underground store that specialised in the latest imported 12’s, just a regular high street chain. The title of the item caught my attention ‘The huge ever pulsating brain that rules from the centre of the ultraworld’ I surveyed the listening booths and decided I wouldn’t bother queuing as with a title like this it must be good. I wasn’t wrong and for a few years I was bagging their audio and visual output, as well as enjoying them live at Glastonbury. Over the years I’ve dipped in and out of their releases and seen them perform on numerous occasions. There seemed to be a buzz about their album ‘Abolition of the royal familia’ and although I really liked ‘Chill Out World’ I could see why many were saying they were back to their best.

Now this release is a compilation of Orb re-mixes that for the most part have been released on various formats over the years, packaged into one handy playable album. Now like any artists who have been around this long they have their die-hard fans, who will already be eagerly awaiting their pre-order to be shipping to their doormats. So this review is aimed at those like myself, who like the Orb rather than the Orbsessed fanatics.

Now I’ve had this sat on my harddrive for a few months, and I have spent a fair amount of time comparing this collection to the originals I didn’t know, that I could source. I found it a mixed bag there’s artists we all know such as Coldcut and System 7 where the re-mixes are great alternatives. Obvious links to fans such as Youth & Gaudi, Killing Joke and the Transit Kings. Some were completely new introductions to me,as in the case of OMFO’s ‘Sirtaki on Mars’, which is a great piece of Russian chill out in it’s own merit and I loved the result. Whereas with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet’s ‘Legend of the Yogi’ I far preferred the original, but never-the-less was glad of the introduction. But all in all this is a collection that you can easily play through, with some great tracks and if you so desire a good reference point to explore further.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://liquidsounddesign.bandcamp.com/

Youth & Gaudi 'Astronaut Alchemists Remixes' Review

Artist: 

Youth & Gaudi

Title: 

Astronaut Alchemists Remixes

Label: 

Liquid Sound Design

Released: 

17^th April

When I reviewed the original album I wasn’t really feeling it. Not to say it was this album itself, but dub music in general. I couldn’t fault the production it was more a case of having listened to dub b-sides of 7” reggae from 1979, I wasn’t finding much in the genre that sounded fresh and inspiring in recent years. However, having attend the live show after penning that review and that impressed me far more.

So considering the wealth of talent brought into to add their touch to the tracks and already catching the promo of Pitch Blacks take on ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ (which was my personal favourite from the album). Alongside the fact I’ve found myself enjoying some new dub releases of late I decided to give this a go.

With 30 years of experience in producing dub and chill out as well as historically working alongside Youth, Alex Paterson’s the Orb seems a natural choice to start proceedings. Fresh off the back of their popular new album ‘The Abolition of the Royal Familia’ is the Orb’s Uraniborg Castle in the Sky mix of ‘Four Horsemen’. The intro sounds very much like the incidental music from the original Star Trek while the main body is carried along by a tribal beat, running the gauntlet of sound fx such as telephone dials, vocal reggae stabs, space launch commentary, vocoder and other samples with the ease and grace of an Olympic sprinter.

Record enthusiasts will be pleased to hear this will be released on 12” vinyl with Pitch Blacks remix on the flipside this autumn.

Following on is the Alsan Afro Tribal Dub of the title track ‘Astronaut Alchemist’. San Francisco’s Jef Stott is a multi-instrumentalist who has studied under some of the masters of Arabic instruments. He now teaches as well writing, producing and remixing for the likes of Azam Ali, Stellamara, Natacha Atlas and more and is regarded as one of the instigators of the global bass scene. The intro here fuses ethereal vocals and a sample that I’d hazard a guess is David Childress of Ancient Aliens over the rising volume of dub. Samples aside the piece is a nice catchy piece of dub with effective rolling tribal drums.

New Zealand’s electro-dub pioneers Pitch Black brew up a bass heavy concoction of samples, reverb and sound fx to tempt the taste buds with their Hubristic Prayerformance Mix of ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’. Whilst simultaneously stamping their individual brand of dub, that they have honed and crafted since the late nineties both in the studio and with electric festival appearances and shows worldwide. As well as having been selected to tantalise the ears of fans with the first promotional video of this album.

West Coast producer Eartha Harris weaves a musical tapestry of dub inspired global dance music under the name Living Light with four albums under her belt, compilation appearances for Desert Trax, Merkaba Music, Sofa Beats and of course LSD as well as touring coast to coast and appearing at festivals across the Americas and Europe. Her remix for Bluetech’s ‘Geometries in Dub’ proved to be extremely popular over the streaming sites. Here she ups the pace somewhat with her version of ‘Black Crow Dub’ and juxtaposes between tribal flutes and driving electro dub to brighten up the dance floors.

Athenian bass player, dub, electro and psychedelic producer Vlastur, has amassed a healthy following of reggae fans and regularly graces psychedelic festivals with his live band in mainland Europe. Whilst representing the Mediterranean on ‘Bass Weapon’ ft N.Yiakoumis, he firmly places the traditional Jamaican reggae keys at the forefront of the piece. Paired with occasional horn accompaniment and short breaks of dub fx. The overall result of his work basks you in sunshine vibes from start to finish.

Melbourne based Auckland electronic producers Deep Fried Dub built up a cult following in their native New Zealand. They have released on Iboga and Dubmission Records as well as re-mixing the likes of Banco de Gaia and their local counterparts Pitch Black, International Observer and the Black Seeds. Whilst their re-mix of Issac Chambers ‘Krytology’ ft Dub Princess has multi-million streams across the platforms. Their rendition of ‘Ganjaman’ starts with a vocoder heavy intro that leads into a fusion of reggae bass, horns and switches the beat between reggae and drum and bass with comparative ease.

Since the early cassette releases Banco de Gaia went on to release on the legendary Planet Dog and Beyond Records Ambient Dub compilations. Easily accessible in the high street stores and widely received on the festival scene his brand of cinematic global electronica has acquired it’s place in musical history. Here he provides an eerie atmospheric countdown with his version ‘Empress of the Tarot’ that builds into a rocket of sequential loops, before settling down after the crescendo into ambient dub with harmonious waves.

Seb Taylor’s Kaya Project has made a name in their fusions of organic ethnic instruments, exceptional ethereal vocalists and electronica, as well as many side projects ranging from trance to techno, breaks and of course dub. Once more an act that appears on festival stages across the globe. Also tackling ‘Black Crow Dub’ Seb fuses tribal chill with the deep bass notes of reggae and flurries of psy-breaks.

Balearic Funk/Chill Out band the Egg are another familiar face of the festival scene. The Toscodisco re-mix of their single ‘Walking Away’ was mashed up with the vocal of David Guetta’s ‘Love Don’t Let Me Go’ reaching No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. For their part they went to extra lengths on ‘Good Summer’ and drafted additional musicians into the studio, reconstructing the original into a cinematic orchestral number, that provides a laid back chill out atmosphere and completing the piece with some funky horns.

Lawrence Harvey otherwise known as Kuba has formed a sound that bridges the gap between beach bar chill out, psy-chill, dub and eastern instrumentation. With 8 albums under his belt and another near completion, alongside festival and gig appearances with a live backing band, he has plenty of admirers. He provides atmospheric synths peppered with tribal elements alongside flurries of drum and bass in ‘Empress of the Tarot’ whilst adding slower passages with touches of glitch.

Once again representing the west coast of the U.S. The Bombay Dub Orchestra whose fusion of Indian Classical music and Dub brought them critical acclaim when they emerged in the late 90’s with appearances at film festivals across the world. Recording in various locations across the world utilising local musicians and mastering from reggae legends Sly and Robbie. Their input with the international spice station mix of ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ on this release continues in that vein with a soundclash of cinematic Indian instruments and organ drenched reggae vibes. Offering a vastly different perspective than Pitch Black.

Hailing from the Netherlands Uncle Fester on Acid’s ‘No Sense Unfiltered’ his deconstruction and reconstructed version of Pitch Black’s ‘Filtered Senses’ sent a shock wave through the social media sites and was released by Dubmission Records. He takes the original production of ‘Bass Weapon’ and applies the brakes, his technique molding a slow motion squelchy piece of dub.

Mindspring Music label head honcho Onium is an up and coming young producer of dub techno, chill out and psy-bass from Dallas, Texas. Also providing another version of ‘Bass Weapon’ where the results of his production work, delivers an electronic dub style, that’s not a million miles away from his peers Pitch Black.

Cape Town’s Sadhu Sensi draws his influences from a myriad of tempos and styles from ambient and dub, to techno and trance and more in between. Fusing elements of organic instruments with the electronic, with album releases on Iboga records and festival appearances, he’s slowly but surely establishing himself as a contender on the scene. Providing a deeply atmospheric and spacey take than his predecessors on the original production of ‘Black Crow Dub’.

Australian Gus Till has worked with an abundance of musical stars from Manu Dibango to U2 as well as being part of Michael Hutchinson’s (INXS) Maxi-Q project. Re-locating to London he was the in-house engineer for Youth’s Butterfly Records and is probably best known in later years as one half of Zen Lemonade alongside Supercozi. Although, appearing under his progressive trance pseudonym BUS on ‘Good Summer’ his stamp on the piece chugs along in an electro dub fashion with occasional atmospheric breaks.

Better known for his psy-trance and progressive productions as M-Theory and CIMI.  Appearing here under his psychedelic techno moniker DM-Theory. Where he adds a little drive to the original production, layered with an underlying psychedelic feel on ‘Astronaut Alchemists’. I think it’s noticeable and I have to give credit here, that this is not a dance remix where he’s just thrown down a four by four and it doesn’t quite sit right in parts of the track or the vocals, this works in it’s own right.

Frankfurt based Gabriel Le Mar has made a name for himself applying the dub production techniques to techno-house and on occasion to chill out as Saafi Brothers. He also lifts the pace of the piece towards a techno direction on ‘Stars’, applying touches of the iconic 303 acid sound to breathe new life into the piece.

My conclusion is overall I liked it and there are plenty of remixes to choose from on this release. The depth of producers selected range from those who blend the organic with the electronic to the purely electronic. Admittedly with some tracks are covered more so than others. However, that works well to give different options of styles and finding one that appeals to you.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com

Bluetech 'Liquid Geometries in Dub' Review

Artist: Bluetech

Title: Liquid Geometries in Dub

Label: Liquid Sound Design

Released: 19^th of July

Liquid Sound Design re-visit and re-mix Bluetech’s album ‘Liquid Geometries’ initially released on DiN last year. They described the release as Evan using a huge range of analogue modular synthesizers, with a distinct nod to the Berlin masters of the past he upgrades that musical heritage with nine shimmering soundscapes utilising modern production techniques to create beautiful tapestries of sound. The DiN label boss Ian Boddy also features on the track ‘Tranquillity Gate’ using his distinctive Ondes Martenot analogue synth keyboard.

So if like me the original released passed you by and you’ve not left us to buy that already. You’re probably wondering who Liquid Sound Design have got onboard to add their musical seasoning to this already enticing album. As you may well have expected label boss Youth and fellow label artists Pan Electric, DF Tram and Mixmaster Morris make an appearance as well as Evan Marc himself and Ian Boddy. There’s more some of which are known to me and others which are not but they shall come to light as I work through the release.

The album commences with what I can only describe as a jumbled up space transmission reminiscent of a 50’s sci-fi film on Pan Electrics take of ‘Helix’, this leads to a series of bleeps and sequences with occasional changes of tone that throughout the piece left a sense of a spaceship navigating an erratic course through a meteor storm. Next up is DF Tram on ‘Dawn Ascent’, where he conjures up an exotic lingering piece of dub with plenty of apt spoken samples, and as I travel through the track it’s beginning to make me wonder what else is in store. Moving on to Mixmaster Morris with his re-working of ‘Tranquillity Gate’, and what an apt title it is, my ears are treated to synthesized sequencers, weaving through flute like and ethereal clouds of sound, resulting in me being enchanted by this piece of music.

The Saafi Brothers tackle ‘Crystalline Forms’ with a low-fi piece of acid tinged dub-techno that pushes a tad harder than it’s predecessors, but never fully breaks into a sweat. Fellow Americans the Desert Dwellers offer a similar pace and push on ‘Dawn Ascent’ although it’s more melodic in places, whilst atmospheric and dubby in others. Evan then joins the throng with Bluetech’s Dub Diver mix of ‘Vessels’, which in some respects reminds me of a slowed down piece of progressive house, counter-balanced with angelic chilled out voices and slow deep drums.

We then re-wind once again to ‘Helix’ this time with Living Light at the controls. There’s no space transmission here, this is a rolling piece of lush spacey electronica, with touches of echo fx and sparse drum rolls, which Eartha has injected in all the appropriate places. Label Head Honcho Youth drops the pace somewhat with an elongated beat-less intro to ‘Resonating Heart’. Once the drums do drop there are enough little fx and twists peppered through the lush synths to maintain your interest. I’m not familiar with David Last who adds his touch to ‘Bardo Waves’ but he ups the pace a little once more and the drum work is quite intricate and industrial, adding a mechanical harshness that juxtaposes the lighter synth sequences.

We re-wind and drop the pace again with Gaudi’s version of ‘Crystalline Forms’ it’s softer and lighter than the Saafi Brothers and somewhat like Youth he utilises an elongated beat-less intro. This is followed by a shuffling beat and bleepy tones that float along throughout the rest of the track. DiN label boss Ian Boddy eventually gets to stamp his mark on ‘Subterranea’, where the dark and foreboding intro seeps into the light somewhat, before the drones reclaim that fleeting glimpse with an eerie atmosphere. I then encounter a by now familiar track in ‘Crystalline Forms’ this time re-mixed by another unfamiliar artist Backstage Gurus. I find myself adrift here even more so than with Gaudi’s take as the flutes they utilise work wonderfully with the mellow chilled out synths and shuffling beat.

By this stage I’m in totally unfamiliar territory and enter into Takkra Satori’s version of ‘Underground Lakes’. Although, I’m oblivious to his usual productions, I think he’s held his own here with this lovely piece of chilled out dub, even offering some subtle touches of vocoder fx that feel totally in place on the album. The next track flips the switch with the Sy Borg re-mix of ‘Bardo Waves’, the most driving take so far and as I’m unfamiliar with his work, totally unexpected, but not unappreciated. Lastly (no pun intended) David Last gets another stab with his extended dub of ‘Bardo Waves’ the intricate drum work remains and there’s still a sense of the industrial feel that I mentioned earlier, this time more subtle and leads to far longer passages of guitar laden dub reggae.

To conclude this album is a journey within itself and as with any album there’s peaks and troughs. However, overall I feel this is going to be a strong contender when those end of year chill out charts are being compiled. My personal favourites were Mixmaster Morris, Living Light and Takka Satori, but I suspect there will be some debate amongst the fans regarding this.

Review by Woodzee

Pre-Order vinyls, compact discs and digital via

https://bluetech.bandcamp.com/album/liquid-geometries-in-dub

Exclusive interview with Liquid Sound Design

Liquid Sound Design is hosting a special event the 19th April on Good Friday at London hot spot Mau-Mau Bar on Portobello Road. The event comprises conscious talks, art, a pop-up shop selling classic L.S.D. & Dragonfly Records vinyl, cd’s, and label paraphernalia.

You can also hear Dj sets from Youth, Gaudi, Dr. Alex Paterson/The Orb, Mixmaster Morris, Robin Triskele & Liquidyne.

I took a little time leading up to the event to prise L.S.D. label manager Robin Triskele away from her busy schedule to talk about the event, recent releases and what the future holds in store for fans of the label.

1) What does it mean personally to you managing an iconic underground label as Liquid Sound Design?

I have been listening to L.S.D. releases since the labels inception in the 90s and for sure some of my very favourite early psychedelic dub albums would be from Liquid Sound Design. Being in the scene in various manners since the 90s, I have always had a deep respect for Youth as he is renowned for launching the first Goatrance label with Dragonfly Records and of course soon to follow was the first ‘psydub’ label with L.S.D. These early releases defined these genres throughout the world by putting them to vinyl & CD.

When I was asked by Youth to manage the relaunch of the label in early 2015 I was quite honoured. Through running a music and event management consulting agency with Triskele Management, I have had the chance to work most of the scenes artists and labels over the last 15 years but to be given the opportunity to help bring such a seminal label back to life has been a wonderful opportunity.

Having already been friends with or connected to the labels artists and much of the other leading downtempo electronica artists, has helped considerably in making the label grow and bring new sounds and styles into the fold. Everyone fully got behind the label with such amazing releases and remixes and this has led the label to be quite prolific. I am blessed to have such legends weaving our labels history again, including Youth, Mixmaster Morris, Gaudi, Saafi Brothers, The Orb, Kuba, DF Tram, Suns Of Arqa for example. Most of us have been involved in the music industry for decades, we all share a strong family vibe and the artists have a very dedicated approach to the music we are releasing. The best part is it feels like we are just getting started!

2) I tend to think of Liquid Sound Design as a psychedelic dub/dub reggae off-shoot to Dragonfly Records. More recently it’s much more diverse for example Abraham Carmona’s ‘Ibiza’ focused on a far more laid back Mediterranean sound. What did you feel this release brought to the label?

The one thing that we are consistently doing within the label is trying to find new talented artists and music that is fresh and cutting edge. Music that is different to the norm with an open mind and slightly left field approach to the genre profile we were defined by in the earlier days of L.S.D. While psydub/psychill is still very much prevalent in our label, we have been exploring a wider variety of new styles. Over recent years we have seen the chill out scene become much more diverse and artists are exploring and experimenting more with sound. We see chill stages at music festivals and events are now offering more eclectic line ups and the music scene seems to be widening its scope of what is considered chill out. We want to be sure to embrace this change in L.S.D. as well now and you will continue to see us dipping our toes into different genres and scenes more and more with releases to come.

Abraham Carmona recorded his traditional flamenco album ‘Homage to Catalonia’ (Suriya Recordings) with Youth at his legendary Space Mountain Studios in Spain. After finishing the traditional album, they decided to explore a new sound, combining beats, samples, electronics, and merging them with Abraham’s unique style of infusing jazz techniques with a flamenco aesthetic. The result was ‘Ibiza’.

This album goes to show how the labels idea of downtempo electronica is not wrapped up in just one sound. It also shows how well different styles and genres can morph together to create something new and exciting and shows our fans we are always there with something unpredictable. At L.S.D. all artists & DJs involved with our label are truly passionate about all types of downtempo electronica and sharing good music! We are pleased to have the platform to share what we consider to be ground breaking music and to be able to introduce these new sounds through our releases.

3) Another example is DF Tram whose previous album release was on Afterlife’s Subatomic UK label which again focuses on the sunset Balearic sound. What inspired you to bring him over to the dub side so to speak?

Personally, even before I came to re-launch L.S.D. in 2015, DF Tram had been on my peripheral radar. Being from the US originally, I visited San Francisco several times and was familiar with the underground chill scene from the early 2000s. Dylan has been involved in the North American underground scene for over two decades and is known for his eclectic and thought provoking multi-media collages combining music and video. He has also visited the UK several times playing Big Chill Festival.

DF Tram came to know Mixmaster Morris almost 20 years ago from bringing him to play a weekly club night in San Francisco he was organizing and has also has worked with him on some early The Irresistible Force productions, but his original connections to the LSD family came through Alex Paterson/The Orb. Alex sampled one of his tracks many years back and this led to him playing shows with both The Orb and Thomas Fehlmann, they have remained friends since, so much that he has been opening for The Orb on their 30 yr anniversary tour stateside. Dylan passed ‘Serenitay Infinitay’ on to Alex Paterson, who passed it on to Youth and the rest is history!

L.S.D. Label night : YOUTH & GAUDI ‘ Astronaut Alchemists’ launch party video



Video by Gem Rey / rockumentary.london

4) The tail end of last year you put together an album launch at Bloc in London for Youth and Gaudi’s ‘Astronaut Alchemists’. Whilst this Easter weekend in conjunction with Dragonfly Records, you’re promoting an afternoon of talks followed by an evening of Liquid Sound Design D.J. sets at London’s Mau Mau Bar. Could you tell the readers a little more about these events?

Being in event production and management for over 20 yrs, I’m involved at any given time with several ongoing festivals and events globally, but I have really been wanting to do something new and interesting locally within UK. For the last couple of years I’ve been flirting with the idea to do L.S.D. label events but have been waiting for the perfect opportunity. It seems the stars aligned when the Youth & Gaudi album dropped and thus came the first in a series of bespoke nights that would be tailored to appeal to the new generation, whilst still enticing to the music aficionados from days of L.S.D. past. I was clear on the vibe I wanted to create and the visual image I wanted to present, something that would leave an impression with people and an image that would remain consistent throughout the future events.

When Youth launched the label in 1998, his intention was ‘to create an outlet for more experimental and down-tempo music as well as satisfying the demand for the post club chill out sounds.’ So I wanted to create this vibe along with top notch visuals and deco that bring a reminiscence of the 60’s psychedelic consciousness and art. I wanted to somehow keep in mind and honour Youths vision and his ideals from early days of the label.

I invite you to read the press notes from our release Society Of Inner Light compiled by Youth:

‘Youth started the Society For Ancient Enchantment in 1999, with the intention of combining ritual, music performance, spoken word and DJ's to be able to dive deeper into the mystery and meditation of the music. This created some legendary early L.S.D. events and recordings and is directly connected to this Society of Inner Light album and future events. The inspiration behind this compilation goes back to the 1930's and "Dion Fortunes Order Of Inner Light ". Some of her rituals in Bloomsbury were said to have ushered in the 1960's flower power era ... Our intention here is to facilitate that same intention and free the spirit of those times for our present and future tribal, dance floor, chill out gatherings and facilitate and create an esoteric counter culture that communicates to mind, body and spirit.’

With the Mau Mau takeover we are opening the scope and bringing it to the community by hosting a day out for people to come along to have a chat, hear enlightening talks with Gregory Sams, Lee Harris & Youth, share some wicked music and be immersed in art in a more laid back vibe. It’s a great opportunity for us to see our music family in a more social setting and be able to share new ideas and dream new concepts into creation, invite people to embrace and co-create the esoteric counter culture Youth speaks of. We will also be hosting our first Dragonfly & L.S.D. pop-up shop to bring the label to people personally and connect. We’re really looking forward to a chilled Good Friday with good folks and good music at this legendary Portobello Road spot.

5) What else is in the pipeline for Liquid Sound Design this year?

We have started the year off with a bit of a much needed break after dropping 8 releases in 2018!
So far this year we’ve mostly been busy arranging some really exciting artist collaborations whilst stepping into and tickling many different genres. We are curating remix albums for Youth & Gaudi – Astronaut Alchemists, The Irresistible Force – Kira Kira, the Saafi Brothers seminal debut album Mystic Cigarettes (originally released on Blue Room in 1996). We are really excited to be bringing Bluetech into the LSD family fold with ‘Liquid Geometries in Dub’, with a collection of rather eclectic artist remixes from his recent ambient and fully modular release on DiN Records. We also have a new album soon to be delivered by psydub maestro KUBA, the next release in the Future Horizons series and EPs from both Pan Electric and DF Tram.

On the flipside…. We are super excited to be on the precipice of a re-launch of the legendary Dragonfly Records! The label has been resting far too long and we think it's time to bring it back to life. We have been collecting demos and seeking new talent to join us alongside some of the original Dragonfly family for the next instalment of the well-loved ‘Order Odonata’ series, coming this autumn! The label will also see a new psy trance album from label head YOUTH, the first in almost 15 years.

So as you can see, we are full steam ahead!

Find us online:


Facebook: facebook.com/LiquidSoundDesign

Bandcamp: liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com

YouTube: youtube.com/c/LiquidSoundDesign

Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/liquidsounddesign

Robin Triskele FB: facebook.com/RobinTriskeleDJ

Pan Electric 'Step Out' Review

Artist: Pan Electric

Title: Step Out

Label: Liquid Sound Design

Released: 7^th December 2018

This new release from Matt Coldrick features a combination of new productions and re-works from the past, such as his first single under this moniker ‘Shadow Hunters’ on Flying Rhino twenty years ago. I must admit I was blissfully unaware of this production at the time and it wasn’t until 2007 I picked up on tracks from ‘Conscious Pilot’ on a One World Music podcast. At that point it was an instant purchase and remains a firm favourite. So I was pleased to see a couple of the tracks given a fresh lick on here.

The album begins with the title track ‘Step Out’ which at just over 13 minutes combines piano, lush ambient tones, Balearic guitar and a fitting vocal hook which work in phases throughout the track maintaining the interest. The next track ‘Half World’ adds a few more minutes entwining elements of dubbed out electronica, folk and at times sounding somewhat akin to Eat Static around the time of the ‘Implant’ album.

The album continues with a more typical length on ‘Rhythm Is A Sense (Quarter World) where a shuffling rhythm is over layered with spoken samples and ambient dub like tones and bleeps. Following on is the 2018 version of ‘Rising Slowly’ one of my favourite pieces from ‘Conscious Pilot’, this version retains everything that I loved about the original, the vocal harmonies and blues guitar licks that give a nod to 70’s prog rock, Matt just adds suitably placed dub echoes and a deeper bass. This is followed by the album mix of ‘Sweet As Rain’ where African vocals are layered over electro-folk which absolutely maintains the laid back atmosphere of the album.

We then move onto the aforementioned Fractal Kiss re-mix of ‘Shadow Hunters’ which is probably the most uplifting track of the album, switching from melodic harmonies to touches of trance. The final piece is the Veena mix of ‘Always A Way’ my favourite from Conscious Pilot. The added vocal sample works well in the sense that I felt I could relate to the lyrics of the original and this now implies could it also apply to artificial intelligence? That aside it works it’s way slowly luring you into the crescendo you know will follow, where the vocal harmonies (which once again harp back to the days of prog rock) work perfectly in tandem with the ambient electronica.

To summarise if your already a fan of Matt’s music then this fresh take on the pinnacle of his productions is subtle enough not to ruin any of your favourites, yet interesting enough to bag a copy as it’s a joy to listen to in it’s own right. For me it’s up there as a contender in my best Chill Out albums of 2018.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com/album/pan-electric-step-out 

https://soundcloud.com/ambientnun

Youth & Gaudi 'Astronaut Alchemists' Review

Artist: Youth & Gaudi

Title: Astronaut Alchemists

Label: Liquid Sound Design

Released: Dec 2018

Comprising two producers whose careers have been heavily entwined with dub, simultaneously in the studio. With Youth on bass, Gaudi on keys and taking turns in the knob twiddling studio fx. So on paper this promises to be an album of interest to fans of this genre. Therefore, it stands to reason that the question is does it live up to the expectation?

The album opens with ‘Bass Weapon’ a stereo-typical piece of dub reggae comprising low frequency bass, keys and lots of reverb. Initially, it fulfils what you would expect from a dub reggae tune with nothing to stand out from the crowd. However, around two minutes in there are some uplifting strings which unfortunately are short lived. I felt this was remedied somewhat with ‘The Gods must be Crazy’ a far more interesting piece in my opinion, which although maintains an old skool feel I could imagine enjoying on a speaker shaking sound system.

As I moving through the album I think I’m able to answer my question above. It does live up to expectation in the sense it’s well produced and arguably could hold it’s head high amongst some of the classic albums of the genre. However, where I feel it’s lacking is it’s nothing new even down to the samples on ‘Apollo’ (which were to be expected I guess considering the album title) utilised countless times before.

That said I can imagine the live performance will be rocking and those in and around London at the time the launch party is being held at Bloc in Hackney Wick, London on Friday the 7^th of December. You can book your tickets via https://accessallareas.org/listings/youth-gaudi/

Review by Woodzee

Links

https://liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com/album/youth-gaudi-astronaut-alchemists

DF Tram Interview

To coincide with his new album release on Liquid Sound Design. DF Tram took some time out to talk about his albums, favourite record store haunts, movie mixes and more ...

1) Firstly, thank you for taking the time out from your busy schedule to complete this interview. Could you tell us a little about yourself and what first appealed to you about music?

Hi Martin, first off, thanks so much for having me, i'm a big fan of your reviews and DJ mixes.

I've been DJ'ing and producing for over 20 years. I'm originally from Los Angeles but moved to San Francisco about 23 years ago (upon moving to San Francisco I began to learn to DJ and produce). San Francisco is a very inspirational place to be, I never really got into the club scene much but the natural beauty and creative energy there is very strong. It informed my work greatly.

I was also lucky that I lived with my oldest brother there for a while, he had an amazing record collection. He brought me my first DJ mixer, and I would go through his record collection and learn to mix different styles of music, he had everything, krautrock, jazz, spoken word, comedy, minimal music and everything inbetween.I fell in love with music. Being a pretty shy person, it was a great outlet for me and a way to communicate without talking my own words. Furthermore, when I was about 20 years old I broke my neck in a car accident. This incident changed my life forever and made me determined to pursue my musical dream. That is why there is a track called 'Broken Neck' on my new album.

2) You utilise a lot of samples in both your DJ sets and productions. How did this come about and how large is your collection?

Sampling was huge for me, when I first heard music from acts like the Orb and The Irresistible Force I was amazed at how the samples pushed the music even further, creating pictures or movies inside my head. I wanted to be able to do the same, not just to make music but to tell stories.

I have a very big vinyl collection and the biggest part of it is my spoken word and comedy records. When I go crated digging it's what I seek out most. I love the happy accidents that happen with sampling and the way it allows the listener to put the familar in a new context. I'm also a big film fan, so a lot of that comes out in my sampling.

3) As a fan of back of the bucket vinyl rarities, do you have any favourite music stores?

Amoeba in San Francisco is a favourite. I lived very close to there so it was always dangerous. I spent way too much money in there over the years. Some of my favourite records were found at flea markets, charity shops, and small record shops in San Francisco, like Jack's Record Cellar in the Haight/Ashbury district. I even found some great records the other day in an outdoor flea market while visting Split, Croatia.

4) Your first album 'Illegal Lingo' was released on Steve Miller's (Afterlife) Subatomic UK label. How did this come about considering you were based in San Francisco?

I was a big fan of Afterlife and one day I contacted him about the possibility of doing a remix for him, he said 'Forget about the remix, how about I produce an album for you?' A lot of the tracks on 'Illegal Lingo' were tracks I'd been working on over the years but never finished, he helped see my vision through. I think it's a modern day 'lounge' album. I think it fits in nicely in the Subatomics label catalogue. The track 'The Idea' from the 'Illegal Lingo' album was my attempt at making an 'Afterlife' sounding track, I think it sort of succeeds in that.

5) Your new album 'Serenitay Infinitay' is an imminent release on Liquid Sound Design. How do you feel it differs from the first?

I think 'Serenitay Infinitay' is more of a diverse album and has a definite psychedelic edge. It is also a more mature album, I think. My love of different styles of music comes out a bit more on this album. There is dub, spoken word, easy listening, comedy, 70's style synth music, krautrock, sound design, progressive rock, hip-hop, lounge/exotica, electronic, folk and of course ambient.

6) You've recently moved to Malta. How do you feel the European chillout scene compares to the States?

I think the scene is much stronger in Europe than in the United States. Here in Europe people have been listening to chill out music a lot longer, so you hear it a lot more in restaurants, bars, lounges, advertisements etc. That is partly why I moved to Europe, my music is better received here, as people are much more accepting of it.

I also just love Europe a lot and always dreamed of being here. Malta is an interesting place. I have to thank Salvatore Muscat (Sequcnchill) for introducing me to Malta. He is the ambient 'Don' there and I'm glad to have connected with him.

7) If you could play at any venue in the world, what would be your first choice and why?

Hmm, interesting question. I love old venues, One of the best places I have ever played was at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. You could just feel the history there from all the old bands that had played there before. I'd love to do an audio/visual piece at an opera house or big old theatre one day. Maybe the 'Teatro Colon' in Argentina. I also love festivals an my audio/visual shows seem to do well at outdoor venues.


DF Tram & Cal-TV presents: The Great Movie Remix (Trailer) from John Callaghan on Vimeo.

8) You've collaborated and compiled 'The Great Movie Remix' and 'Stellar by Starlight' Could you tell us a little more about the process and what appeals to you about fusing your mixes with visual movie clips?

Movies had a profund influence on me, and some of my favourite music comes from film soundtracks and scores. I think the visual element adds a lot to the music I play. They just work well together. 'The Great Movie Remix' started off as a DJ mix I created with music and dialogue samples from my favourite movies. I would put dialogue from from one movie over the music of another movie.

An Irish visual artist 'Cal-TV heard this mix and went about finding all the films and movies I sampled and then edited in all the film clips. It's one of my favourite pieces I have collaborated on. It took the mix to another level, it's like a DJ mix but with movies. I liked it so much I did a couple of others with the visual artist 'Video Dub Poobah' ... 'Illegal Lingo' and most recently 'Stellar by Starlight' which features a lot of material from my new album 'Serinitay Infinitay. We just screened it at the Bestival festival earlier this summer.

9) Do you have any up and coming live shows? If so, where can people hear you play?

I am supporting the Orb on their up and coming tour of America. Needless to say this is a dream come true for me. I'll be playing for my hometown, family and friends (hopefully making some new ones too)

Thanks again so much for having me and the support.

Links ...

https://www.dftram.com/

https://liquidsounddesign.bandcamp.com/

https://vimeo.com/85238507

DF Tram 'Serenitay Infinity' Review

Artist: DF Tram

Album: Serenitay Infinity

Label: Liquid Sound Design

Released: 24^th of August

Dylan Yanez A.K.A. DF Tram is a D.J./Producer from San Francisco who has recently relocated to Malta. His D.J. sets combine a selection of crate digging rarities ranging fromambient, jazz and world music, which are infused with sampled dialogue from film, documentaries, adverts and cartoons. He goes further at times playing alongside film clips in what he calls a Movie Mix. His first album ‘Illegal Lingo’ was released on Subatomic UK and reflected the style of his mixes somewhat and also had a slightly different feel to the other sunset Balearic releases of that label. Dylan has made no secret that he is overjoyed that this release, which he produced in San Francisco was then mastered by Youth with re-mixes from his musical hero’s the Orb and the Irresistible Force. There are also vocal inclusions from Coppe Sweetrice (who appeared on Illegal Lingo) and Lina Fouro, piano from Clifford Borg and bass from Youth himself.

Now to get to the nitty gritty what is the new album like? The opener ‘Lounge Lagarto’ begins like a TV show and quickly moves into a dub fusion of the Middle East bazaar, which sounds like it could be plucked from an old movie rather than a newly produced piece. The track is over-layered with short samples of duck hunting and horse riding, which may not appeal to some depending on your stance of the subject matter. This is followed by the Orb’s Bravo Foxhole re-mix of ‘Lovers Radio’, which begins beatless and very much in the style of the early 90’s ambient dub, eventually a plodding four by four bassline is utilised alongside a vocal sample that I imagine relates to the bunkers used in the Vietnam war. Next up is the title track ‘Serenitay Infinity’ a slow burner overlapped with poetry, that you could imagine springing up in a beatnik bar of 60’s San Francisco. ‘Eagles Shield’ takes a funky turn, filled with samples and orchestral sounds that remind me of old movies, that is bridged with more of a country music feel. This would fit easily alongside releases from Coldcut or the Jurassic 5.

The album takes another turn with ‘A Thousand Knives’, where gentle piano leads to distorted vocals that provide a slight 80’s New Romantic undertone, before sampled psychedelic themed dialogue and a dubbier bassline join the throng. This is followed by ‘Body Fizz’ which again has an ambient dub feel, where the samples sound like they have been plucked from a story not too dissimilar to Alice in Wonderland and the vocals have an early 70’s pop feel. The album then moves on to ‘Stellar by Starlight’ the title employed to a movie mix, recently aired in Malta and this years Bestival in the U.K. The piece itself is very ambient accompanied by faint harmonic voices from Coppe which rise and fall in a gentle sleepy manner. The mood then gets initially darker on ‘Honeycomb where a deep dark bass gets us underway with vocal samples, before lighter tones juxtapose and sultry half spoken vocals and vocoder voices (initially reminiscent of Newcleus) are employed. Which are possibly a combination of Coppe and Lina?

The album continues once again with Beatnik like poetry, distorted fx, old Arcade game sounds and half sung vocals on ‘Broken’. While ‘Dawn is Breaking’ another slow burner which begins with lush analogue sounding synths and vocal dialogue samples, the track builds into something reminiscent of classic Tangerine Dream before calming once more. The final track of the album is the Irresistible Force re-mix of ‘Sandcastles’, a haunting piece of synthesized ambience which once again initially has a somewhat retro feel to it (in this case Berlin School) before the beat comes in and it morphs into a dubbier affair.

To summarise I’ve always found Dylan’s mixes to be a creative journey and this album reflects that more so than ‘Illegal Lingo’ the change of label may also open his productions to a whole new audience. Admittedly with it’s wider palette of sounds it may not appeal to those who strictly love the dub reggae but it’s definitely dubby and definitely psychedelic. I for one would certainly bag this for my collection.

Review by Woodzee

This album is available to pre-order via Liquid Sound Designs bandcamp page

https://liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com/

Liquid Sound Design 'Society Of Inner Light' Compilation Review

Artist: Various

Title: Society Of Inner Light

Label: Liquid Sound Design

Released: 9^th of September

Youth started the Society For Ancient Enchantment in 1999, with the intention of combining ritual, music performance, spoken word and DJ's to be able to dive deeper into the mystery and meditation of the music.


This created some legendary events and recordings and is directly connected to this Society of Inner Light album and future events. The inspiration behind this compilation goes back to the 1930's and "Dion Fortunes Order Of Inner Light ".

Some of her rituals in Bloomsbury were said to have ushered in the 1960's flower power era ... Our intention here is to facilitate that same intention and free the spirit of those times for our present and future tribal, dance floor, chill out gatherings and facilitate and create an esoteric counter culture that communicates to mind, body and spirit.

The album begins with Tripswitch 'Collider' which begins in a tribal dub fashion before adding his  distinctive progressive touches applying plenty of reverb in places and the balance of the two styles on the whole works rather well. This is followed by the Youth re-mix of Kuba's 'By The Foot Of Your Mountain' Where classic ska, dub, spoken word samples, horns and harmonica are chopped up with the original Indian vibe to great effect.

The next track takes a more chilled out eastern dub-step approach with the Youth re-mix of Elfic Circle's 'Om Beach'. The chilled out atmosphere continues with Mixmaster Morris and his Ambient Sunrise Mix of his alter ego Irresistible Force featuring Nick Turner (of Hawkwind fame) and Youth's 'Duende' a stunningly gorgeous piece of ambience further enhanced with Nick's accompaniment on the sax.

Then we enter the dub wise riddim's with Brother Culture vs Youth in Dub 'Urban Rebel Dub' a stereotypical speaker shaker featuring the dubbed out lyrical meanderings of Brother Culture. This is followed by the Outer Space Chug Dub of the Dub Trees featuring Jah Wobble 'King Of The Fairies' and it's an aptly titled track where the tribal drums chug along with plenty of dubbed out fx with the odd vocal snippets sounding quiet different from the original piece. The album closes with the Youth re-mix of Mycal 'I Wonder What Happened In The Future' which picks up the pace somewhat and utilises those classic ska sounds again along with the catchy vocal chant.

Overall I really like this album I'd go as far to say it's probably my favourite of the L.S.D. releases over the last couple of years. It may not contain a great number of tracks but everyone's a winner for me.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

https://liquidsounddesign.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LiquidSoundDesign?fref=ts