Eguana 'Destiny' Review

Artist: Eguana

Title: Destiny

Label: Cosmicleaf Records

Released: 11^th November

The latest release from Russian artist Sergey Severin a.k.a. Eguana. Who surprisingly (considering he has had numerous albums released on a few labels since 2010) has only arrived to my ears this year.

The album begins with ‘Germind’ (quite possibly a nod of respect to his fellow Russian label mate) a lovely combination of chilled out space music and twitchy drum patterns that verge on breaking into drum and bass. The lush angelic voices employed in the elongated intro of ‘Galaxy Noodles’ is pure space ambient, although the drum patterns he’s created are similar to the opener, there’s a few guitar licks and piano notes that add to the piece … wonderful stuff. While ‘Orbital Station’ continues the theme creating an atmosphere where you can imagine you are floating out there.

As the album progresses the drums pay less of a part but the beauty transcends at times in these pieces. Now I was pretty impressed with the last Eguana album that I reviewed but here I am totally hooked. When Cosmicleaf advertised this album as he needs no introduction I can see why. If you are a fan of the space ambient style and familiar with this artist you’re probably already purchasing. On the other hand if your a fan of the space ambient style and unfamiliar with this artist I’d highly recommend you give this a listen.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://cosmicleaf.bandcamp.com/album/destiny-2

Triptone 'Around Me Remixes E.P.' Review

Artist: Triptone

Title: Around Me Remixes E.P.

Label: Cosmicleaf Records

Released: 4^th November 2019

Triptone is Franck Jousselin’s (better known as Kick Bong) trip-hop side project. This re-mix places focus on the collaboration with SR ‘Around Me’, which featured on the album ‘My Life’ released in April this year.

First up on remix duties is Tunisian Obsqure. Who creates a perfect balance of eastern flutes and electronica which lovingly cushion the vocal and provides a cinematic feel to the piece.

Next up is label head honcho Sideliner whose approach is far more of a plodding four by four downtempo techno affair. It’s an interesting enough alternative but doesn’t work as well for me as Obsqure’s take.

To complete the E.P. Franck dons the Kick Bong thinking cap. Here the vocal takes centre stage for the intro slowly trickling in the melodic keys and it takes a while before the bassline is employed. As with the Sideliner re-mix it’s interesting enough but didn’t work quite as well for me as Obsqure’s take.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://cosmicleaf.bandcamp.com/album/around-me-remixes

Pitch Black 'One Ton Skank'

Artist: Pitch Black

Title: One Ton Skank

Label: Dubmission Records

Released: 8^th November

The second single to be released from their highly recommended recent album ‘Third Light’ and features re-mixes from Tor.Ma in Dub and Robot Riddims.

Now as you can probably gather from the title of this track it was made with heavy bass in mind and I was intrigued as to how these re-mixes would fare. Tor.Ma immediately drops a heavy bass line and eases in the aspects of the original piece. utilising subtle echoes and fx that rise and fall as the journey progresses. For me he’s nailed it I’d even go as far to say I prefer it.

Now the 10K Skank Remix by South London’s Robot Riddims totally flips the script. Initially they up the pace and take the piece into a ska number, then surprisingly apply the brakes in the interludes with low-frequency dub-step, and it works.

So if you’re questioning is it worth buying the single and the album in my humble opinion if your a fan of Pitch Blacks sound then without a shadow of a doubt.

Review by Woodzee

Links

https://smarturl.it/onetonskank

Dense 'Revived Stones' Review

Artist: Dense

Title: Revived Stones

Label: Cosmicleaf

Released: 9^th October 2019

I’m not overly familiar with the solo productions of Berlin based Dense. In fact my knowledge stems back some time to his collaboration with GMO and the album ‘Tales from the Yellow Kangaroo’ and more recently ‘The Blue Hole’.

The album begins with a slightly soulful vocal intro on ‘Entering Triton’ and harps back slightly to said Yellow Kangaroo with a somewhat Aboriginal feel. This is followed by a more laid back chilled trance vibe on ‘Signals from Thalassa’ and the sparse vocals work better for me in this piece. Whilst ‘Siren’ introduces an acoustic guitar riff that adds an atmosphere of a sunny beach to subtle seductive vocals and I’m beginning to warm to this release.

Housey piano notes lead you in ‘Don’t Make Me Yours’ which has a little more drive than the previous pieces and kind of puts me in mind of Depeche Mode with a female vocal a very pleasant track indeed. There’s a touch of an acidic underbelly to the plodding beat and harmonious tones of ‘Landing Save in Naiad’ the first instrumental of the album. This is followed by ‘Halimede’ another which utilises a more intricate pattern with plenty of twist and turns from angelic vocal harmonies to darker gritter synth stabs.

This mood continues in a similar vein with ‘Psamathe’ with the vocal harmonies replaced by spoken word with a touch of reverb. Finally to close ‘The Missed Chance’ fuses eerie synth sounds with a trip-hop like beat, dubbed out spoken words and operatic harmonies.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

https://cosmicleaf.bandcamp.com/album/revived-stones

Sundrugs 'Hidden Scenes' Review

Artist: Sundrugs

Title: Hidden Scenes

Label: Cosmicleaf

Released: 10^th September

Sundrugs is the ambient/drone project of Warsaw based composer and producer Patryck Kawalarz. Following on from his recent release ‘Light Paints A Way’ on Cosmicleaf, this is actually a re-release of his debut album. Which was originally released on cassette and digital, through the French label BLWBCK back in 2013.

Now drone as a genre strikes me as though it charms a niche market. It’s very marmite in it’s love /hate appeal. It’s something that, personally I have to be in the right mood for and a genre I’ve only really dipped into. I’ll openly admit it’s also a genre I find difficult to review as album tracks can be strikingly similar.

So I find myself asking what stands out with Sundrugs compared to other drone artists that I’ve listened to. Now despite the darkness of the portrait cover and some of the track titles, it’s nowhere near as dark sounding as some of the other artists that I’ve come across. It doesn’t slowly build throughout to end with a crescendo finale, and nor does it build and drop in a series of crescendos. If you think of those other productions as a leaf in a storm which is tossed around in differing intensity. Then what Sundrugs offers is more akin to being carried on a constant breeze, with subtle changes in movement.

So if you’re still with us, then you’re probably a fan of this musical marmite known as drone and wondering is it any good? Personally, I found it listenable but not overwhelming. However, as someone who only dips into this genre I’m not a great judge, so my advice is to take a listen and find out for yourself.

Review by Woodzee

Links

https://cosmicleaf.bandcamp.com/album/hidden-scenes

Terra Nine 'Eternity' Review

Artist: Terra Nine

Title: Eternity

Label: Sofa Beats

Released: 12th Oct 2019

Mike Wescott returns under his down-tempo guise Terra Nine, with eight new tracks of viola driven dub and psy-chill flavoured goodness following his annual European festival stint.

The album sets off in slow motion with ‘Dub Terratory’ where almost trance like sequences spring off the squelchy bass chords and electronic rhythms. The next piece ‘Metatonic’ lifts slowly from it’s ambient space music like intro into tabla percussion, fusing ethnic and harmonious angelic voices throughout the piece.

The journey takes another turn with ‘First Date’ where a fuzzy electro groove leads slows down and then leaps up slightly with piano keys and soaring voila, which I guess could well reflect the emotional turmoil of the title. There’s no speed fuelled car chase with ‘Vanishing Point’ it begins more akin to drum and bass with the brakes on, while the 10 minute road trip dips through atmospheric avenues and moments of angelic viola licks.

The following piece ‘Ocean’ retains those angelic voila licks but with somewhat of a dark underbelly than the atmospheric feel of the previous piece. Whilst there’s something of a fusion of 80’s euro synth-pop and 90’s trance slowed down with ‘New Vibration’.

There is a slow sweeping build up on ‘Incandescent’ that you could be fooled into thinking it will take off. That is, until the slow plodding beat is employed and your dropped into an atmospheric ambience. However, don’t rest on your laurels just yet as Mike springs into harmonious dnb for the majority of the track. Now unusually and finally we reach the title track ‘Eternity’ and it really is a beautiful piece where piano chords are infused into drum and bass and indistinct vocal samples.

Review by Woodzee

Links

https://terranine-music.bandcamp.com/

https://sofabeatsmusic.bandcamp.com/

Pitch Black 'Third Light' Review

Artist: Pitch Black

Title: Third Light

Label: Dubmission Records

Released: 13^th September 2019

One of New Zealand’s hottest exports return with eight tracks of sonic pleasure to push through your speakers and into your lugholes. Following on from the recent single and teaser for this album ‘Artificial Intolerance’ and a pre-cursor to their tour.

We get underway with ‘The Silver World’ where a melodic loop leads into a crisp static atmosphere and dubby chords, this is soon followed by indistinct vocal snippets and piano notes that add an element of beauty. If I’m honest this is a tad unexpected and throws me in mind somewhat of Massive Attack. All I can say is what a start! I’m in no way disappointed with where they take us next on ‘One Ton Skank’ the slow paced piano chords in the intro add a darker feel and again the vocals are indistinct. Then when they drop the looped sequencer, woah another winner.

By this point we reach the title track ‘Third Light’ which is atmospheric and gritty with crisp drum patterns that leads to the stereotypical reggae chords intertwined with fx and harmonic looped sequences that just lift and drop the piece in all the appropriate places. This is followed by the bleepy intro of the aforementioned single ‘Artificial Intolerance’ which if you haven’t heard by now takes you on a slow paced atmospheric journey through the light and the dark, that is until stuttering electronics and drum and bass completes the excursion in the latter third of the track.

We then move on to ‘Daylight Wasting’ a twitchy piece of electronic dub with lush waves of warm synths and harmonic tones that lovingly drift into those dubby echoes. Whilst ‘The Lake Within’ again employs those piano keys in an almost dubbed out jazz fashion that still manages to maintain the atmosphere created throughout the album.

There’s a slightly dark feeling to the intro of ‘A Doubtful Sound’ with a slow plodding beat and really apt spoken words, before it switches to a growling dnb fusion and I’m sold. To see us out ‘Did you get the Message’ re-affirms the piano notes enveloped in atmospheric synths and field recordings of waves and nature. Just like the opener this closer is another piece of beauty.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links

https://music.pitchblack.co.nz/music

https://dubmission.bandcamp.com/

Catch them live

17/10: Neck of the Woods, Auckland
19/10: White Night, Napier
24/10: San Fran, Wellington
25/10: Church Steps, Nelson
07/11: Sebright Arms, London
08/11: Sebright Arms, London
09/11: Être Révélé, Paris
10/11: OCCII, Amsterdam with Uncle Fester on Acid and Ramses
13/11: Crofters Rights, Bristol
14/11: 23 Bath St, Frome
15/11: The Tin, Coventry with dr trippy and 100th Monkey
16/11: Panke, Berlin with qnp and Bill Robin