Adham Shaikh 'Basswalla' Review

Artist: Adham Shaikh

Title: Basswalla

Label: Black Swan 

Sounds

Released: 26^th May

When it comes to global bass Adham is not only a pioneer, but as the title implies he's a basswalla (in other words he's a master of his craft). Although this is his first mostly original material release in the last 5 years he has certainly honed his sound on his re-mixes throughout that period and once again completely satisfied high expectations with the content of this latest release.

The release begins with the title track 'Basswalla' and within 10 seconds of pressing play and for me the blend of eastern flutes and deep bass it's already a winner. The tracks that follow don't disappoint as Adham's 25 years experience of fusing world music with urban electronica blossom into full bloom. Whether it's the low bass, rump shaking Bhangra'esque hip-hop fusion of 'Cultivation' featuring the positive lyrics of Shamik, the haunting gypsy violin, rolling percussion and organ mash-up of the Elders Dance mix of 'Vibe Hunter' or the fusion of flamenco guitar with Armenian dudak (a double reed woodwind instrument not a million miles away from a clarinet) in 'Rumba Dub' it hits the spot.

The album closes with versions of previous tracks. Not wanting to simply re-mix again Adham takes the tracks back to grass roots. In the case of the Deep South mix of 'Crossroads' utilising a performance by Prakesh Sontakke on a mohan veena (a Hawaiian slide guitar modified to include the sympathetic resonance and drones found in Indian music) in it's entirerity and added percussion on the dholak by E Shankar.

It must be hard as an artist to maintain an interest from the fans with each new release. If your style changes some fans may depart and if you stay static others may get bored. For me Adham's at the top of his game and delivers exactly what he labels on the tin. In my opinion his only downfall maybe being saturated in an ever growing market where eventually listeners may begin to look for other styles. 

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

adhamshaikh.com

blackswansounds.com

Suns of Arqa 'All Is Not Lost, But Where Is It?' Review

Artist: Suns of Arqa

Title: All Is Not Lost, 

But Where Is It?

Label: Liquid Sound 

Design

Released: April 2015

The Suns of Arqa have been producing their blend of Indian classical instrumentation and Rastafarian Niyabinghi drumming under mainstay Michael Wadada and a prolific number of guest artists from around the diaspora since 1979.



This latest offering produced by Youth who has also roped in Raja Ram on flute and the Orb to step behind the mixing desk and add their years of production experience to enhance the release.



The opening track 'Mother Tounge' begins slowly with a mish-mash of chopped up SOA clips and samples which are soon accompanied by a powerful rolling beat providing a whirling dervish of psychedelic dub. This is followed by 'Sadrayama' which for the first couple of minutes is a more laid back affair. However, once the drums kick so does the squelch which works in perfect balance with the sitar sounds.



Bird song and spoken samples are the introduction to 'Erasmus Dub' a laid back piece of dub jam-packed with reverb, samples and scratches. Soft female vocal samples and fx are blended with bamboo flutes and song in 'The Fool Ascends' which although still dub ditches the reggae elements in favour of a more ambient chill feel.



'Discordian Dawn' begins with a cello like intro integrated with sequenced synth's before bamboo flutes and tribal drumming which are dubbed out in appropriate places stream through the main body of the track. There's an elongated piece of poetic dialogue nestled over distorted and dubbed out SOA with 'The Truth Lies Therein' before the vocal song and rolling drums are implemented along with trance like synth's.



The closing track is Youth's Dub mix of 'Pablos Lament' plucked from SOA's last e.p. and for me it's a gem. Traditional reggae vibes and harmonica are fused with SOA vocal hooks and reggae vocal samples in this dub-fest. There's also plenty of twists, turns brakes and turns of speed within the piece to maintain your interest.



If hearing the Suns of Arqa put through the array of fx and reverb and echo chambers of the dub laboratory appeals to you, then you can't really go wrong with the men behind the desk on this release.



Reviewed by Woodzee.

http://www.sunsofarqa.co.uk/

Another Fine Day 'A Good Place To Be' Review

Artist: Another Fine Day

Title: A Good Place To Be

Label: Interchill

Released: 24^th April

Tom Green first broke into the music scene in 1979 with the post-punk band 'Dum Dum Dum' and went onto work with a variety of artists throughout the eighties. In his spare time he experimented with computer music which led to working on five albums by the Orb.

His first release under the guise of 'Another Fine Day' was in 1993 on Beyond Records 'Ambient Dub Vol 3' soon followed by the album 'Life Before Land' (which was voted 3^rd in the Independent's chart of all-time ambient albums). The project caught the ear of Big Chill founder Pete Lawrence who was so impressed he booked Tom 15 times in a row for the Big Chill Festival.

His second album 'Salvage' was released by Six Degrees in 2000 and the EP 'Chasing Tornados' in 2004. Since then Tom has worked on TV, Film music and for sound libraries as well as co-producing for Baka Beyond and playing the array mbira as a member of 'Newanderthal'.

This latest release begins with 'Nature Boy' a combination of field recordings with the emphasis on sparse jazz piano which epitomises perfectly lazy Sundays by the beach. 'A Dream Of Seals' in contrast is a more sequenced melodic piece introducing percussion mid-way. While 'Child's Play' is a melodic ambient piece where the array mbira provides a music box like quality behind the piano.

'Spanish Blues' meanwhile conjures up visions of smoky jazz bars with a combination of piano keys, sax and subtle used of hammond organ'esque sounds. 'Naiad' on the other hand begins with sparse piano before mellow beats and electronica add a slight bounce to the track. 'Enfolded' is a more atmospheric ambient piece with understated choral elements which completely immerses you into a chilled state.

The sparse piano theme continues with 'I Can Hear You Heart' alongside a slow plodding beat, mellow synth's and melodic array mbira. 'That Path' combines classical piano with laid back synth's sinking you further into the sofa. Then 'Dusty Feet' lifts the mood slightly with a combination of piano, array mbira and African percussion.

Gentle acoustics join the piano alongside down-tempo electronic beats and bleeps in 'From Tiny Acorns'. Whilst 'Andy Woz Here' is an atmospheric drone of electronics and field recordings. The album finishes with the aptly named title track 'A Good Place To Be' which in reality is an elongated outro of sparse piano chords with a classical feel.

Review by Woodzee

Links

http://anotherfineday.co.uk/

https://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/

Don Peyote 'Blue Lotus' Review

Artist: Don Peyote

Title: Blue Lotus

Label: Don Peyote Recordings

Released: 1^st May 2015

It's been a while since Yvon Mounier (Don Peyote)'s last release 'Heaven and Earth' in 2012 and this latest offering of tribal instruments, Amazon forest field recordings and multi-layered synthised drones provides a deeply meditative, shamanistic soundtrack which he recommends is listened to in one sitting in a darkened meditative environment.

The journey starts with the aptly titled 'Beginnings' where rippling waters and bird song are soon accompanied by an ambient drone which is a quick introduction to the excellent 'Deep Earth Groove' where Byron Metclafe's frame drums, rattles and clay pot provide a ritualistic background for Ganga Giri's didgeridoo.

'Liquid Chimes' provides a brief and haunting interlude of synths, chimes and field recordings before 'Ripples and Mist' adds a dark foreboding ambient drone to the sounds of the rainforest. This darkness is soon compensated by the incantation like mantra of the late Hermana Maria Luisa Tuesta Flores in 'La Madre Icaro' icaro's are shamanic chants which are believed to offer protection, evoke spirits or healing, learnt from the spirits themselves with the aid of ayahuasca.

Eerie ethereal synths join the rainforest field recordings in 'The Way Of Light' pave the way for the title track 'Blue Lotus' where rain sticks, shakers and wooden frog underlay Dan Richardson's bamboo flute, the central piece in this slow paced and deeply meditative excursion which co-incidentally is the longest section of the composition.

'Thunder In The Forest' provides a brief interlude of chimes, drones and field recordings before Dan Richardson's bamboo flute is employed again in shorter but equally beautiful 'Heart Flute in A min' which leads into the gentle incantations of 'Ocanocanoe Sacred Song' which I assume is another Icaro. The final piece of the journey is a mellow combination of deep ambient synths and field recordings entitled 'Onward' indicating it's not an end to the journey but rather a beginning.

Review by Woodzee

Links

http://www.donpeyote.net/

http://www.juno.co.uk/labels/Don+Peyote/

Sun:Monx 'Into The Trees' Review

Artist: Sun:Monx

Title: Into The Trees E.P.

Label: Interchill

Released: 23^rd March

Melbourne based duo the Sun:Monx (a collaboration between Austero & Opiou) return with more of their guitar laden, glitchy dub and funk sound two years after their debut album 'Power Salad'. With four new tracks to whet your appetite for a new album in the pipeline.

The e.p. starts with 'Rotney Stem Cell' a smooth slinky guitar piece, which would easily slot easily into any funk set and groove a dance floor, with a subtle but effective additional glitch to twist your hips to.

'Lo Keys' squelches the bass deep and low while funky horns spring into action, add a little husky 'Yeah' sample and smooth guitar breakdowns and it's another winner.

The bass riff undercurrent of 'Into The Trees' sounds familiar and works wonderfully with the lush guitar licks before the dub reggae switch and smooth sax … all thrillers and no fillers so far.

The final track 'Run' is more of an outro but as outro's go it's a lovely melodic downtempo gem with contrasting guitar that really deserves an extension.

To summarise this is a well produced fusion of sun soaked dub and funk with a touch of glitch that really hits the spot for me. I'd even go as far to say glitch-haters might re-consider when they hear the Sun:Monx sound.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links:

https://sunmonx.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/sunmonx

DISSØLV 'Realms of Passage E.P.' Review

Artist: DISSØLV

Release: Realms of Passage E.P.

Label: Merkaba Music

Released: 23^rd March

Valentin Santana has studied tribal percussion and classical violin since he was 5, as the sole writer and producer behind DISSØLV (a high energy live group which combines live instrumentation with electronic dance music) he has performed along-side heavyweights such as Sphongle and Infected Mushroom. This latest release has changed direction with the focus aimed at exploring areas of mid-tempo concious bass music rather than continuing with their psy-trance and dub-step roots.

The E.P. begins with 'Oracle Iris' a slow melodic number layered over natural field recordings, with areas filled with deep bass injections, tribal percussion, eastern vocal stabs and elongated ambient breakdowns. For me it contains all the right ingredients but fails to hit the spot.

This is followed by 'Royaltea' which opens in an orchestral manner and although the piece is melodic in places it also takes the bass deeper in others. Filled with low horn sounds, gritty twists and Arabic synth sequences it's certainly holding my interest more than the opening track.

'Ascending Sun' is a contrasting track that toys with twitchy deep bass and hip-hop vocal stabs, then drifts into more uplifting chilled dub with a mellow vocal hook that overlaps more and more frequently as the track progresses.

The e.p. closes with 'Entanglement' where the bassline chugs along nicely with occasional deep bass rips nestled amongst melodic keys and rolling layered synth sequences.

To summarise, This new direction works efficiently as a studio production. However, as a live perfomance I guess some of the energy of the act will be lost, replaced with speaker shaking bass (which may well work for some). Overall it's not a bad release but for me 'Royaltea' is definitely the stand out track.

Review by Woodzee.

Links

http://www.dissolv.net/

http://www.merkabamusic.com/

Subaqueous 'Re:Create' Review

Artist: Subaqueous

Title: Re:Create

Label: Merkaba Music

Released: 24^th March

As the title suggests this release is a collection of re-mixes from the album 'Tides of Twilight' released late last year. The original release was a melting pot of down-tempo ambience, dub & global grooves and the artists (many of which I'm unfamiliar with) on-board this project further compliment those vibes.

The album open's with Yaima's take on 'Dusk's Dawning' which provides a low frequency ethnic dub-step background contrasting with the light airy female vocals. This is followed by Bogtrotters re-rub of 'Voyage' which again contrasts the light and the heavy in a unique style he calls 'Swamp-Step'.

The Moonfrog re-mix of 'Glimmers' was a bonus track on the original album and thoroughly deserves it's place here as it's a lovely laid back affair with plenty of chimes, flutes and classical strings. 'Subconcious' on the other hand take the similarities of 'Depth of Field' into the realms of bass heavy dub-step. 

Guda fuses ethnic tribal rhythms and tablas alongside reggae and glitchy dub-step with 'The Dissolve'. Whilst Drumspyder's Arabic electronica once again injects a mystic blend of tribal rhythms and strings employing the usual Dharbuka's and Oud to 'Insistent Shades' with impressive results. 

Anchor Hill take an instrumental approach with their version of 'Dusks Dawning' and it's a bit of gem with eastern flutes, harmonica' stabs and guitars layered amongst the sparse bass-heavy contrasts. While Kozmo get real gritty with their low-frequency dub-step growler of 'Phase Shift' 

Skytree has a unique take on 'Voyager' it's almost as if they've ripped it up and glued it back together at times glitchy and others like psychedelic smooth Jazz. HANNAH complete's the trio of 'Dusk's Dawning' re-works on the album which focuses more on the melancholic strings than the previous two. Which provides a slowed down Gypsy feel to the piece. 

Finally Entheo see us out with another version of 'Glimmers' which initially toys with the vocal before releasing it and the result provides a combination of acoustic-pop and sun-soaked electronica.

Overall I enjoyed listening to this release which injects a fresh feel to the more arm-chair orientated original and although theirs a certainly elements of chill remaining overall there's a tad more bass and growl implemented.

Review by Woodzee.

Links …

https://subaqueous.bandcamp.com/album/recreate