Desert Dwellers 'The Great Mystery Remixes Part One' Review

Artist: 

The Desert Dwellers

Title: 

The Great Mystery

Remixes Pt. 1

Label: 

Desert Trax

Released:

21^st September

Earlier this year the Desert Dwellers released 'The Great Mystery' which they consider to be their most diverse to date. To celebrate they embarked on a re-mix project of established and up-and-coming artists from across the globe with the intention of being just as diverse. The second part will be released in late October with contributions from Emancipator, Whitebear, Sixis, Mystral, Supersillyus, Halfred, Master Minded and many others.

Moving back to the release in question they begin with Liquid Stranger a producer whose releases are just as diverse, but whether he's focusing on dub-step, reggae or chill you can be sure there's plenty of low frequency bass. His take on 'Wings of Waves' is light and summery with flutes and chimes and subtle yet effective use of speaker shattering bass. Following on from the enticing opener is Gaudi's take on 'Our Dream World' where he's clearly put his knowledge of vintage synthesizers and gadgets to get this ethnic dub chugging along nicely. If you're not suitably impressed by the re-mix talent employed so far they're not slipping with Kaminanda joining the throng and taking on 'View of Laniakea' which he's kept down-tempo and melodic utilising the chorus and strings at times some of the fx tease and fool you it's going to go mental and then he pulls back at the last second.

At this point I'm guessing the album moves to the up-and-coming (well at least for me as it's an artist I'm unaware of) with the Tribone Re-Stomp of the title track. It's an interesting style slightly harsher than it's predecessors with an electro feel to the bass line, plenty of psychedelic twists before the atmospheric breakdown where the emphasis is placed on manipulating the Arabic vocals and strings while the final section pulls it altogether. I'm not overly familiar with Twin Shape either and their Lost Tribe re-work of 'The Sacrament' fuses spacey synths and harmonic voices with psy-bass and synthetic dialogue. Following on Acid Crunk pioneer An-Ten-Nae offers an alternative take of 'View of Lanaikea' where he masterfully manipulates the vocals and strings over intermittent choppy breaks.

Once again we move into the up-and-coming territory with AtYya's take on 'Birds Over Sand Dunes' slower and more minimal than the original echoing the vocal samples with a series of looped sequences and gated vocals sections which are pleasant in places but it didn't grip me overall. Land Switcher move back to the realms of psy-bass with their take on 'I Dropped It' with plenty of rapid loop sequences and drum rolls over the dubby main body they still manage to keep an overall down-tempo feel to the piece. While Drumspyder keeps us firmly placed in the east with his trademark doumbek infused alternative to 'Our Dream World' although much lighter than Gaudi's in places it still chugs along nicely in the appropriate sections.

Govinda deliver what I would describe as a minimal psy-bass take on 'Crossing Beyond' and once again maintain the eastern feel of the piece throughout. Finally, we're back were we started with the Hibernation alternative to 'Wings of Waves' a light and harmonious rug thrown over a slow and bass-heavy floor.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links https://desertdwellersmusic.bandcamp.com/

The Project Mix 'Drift' Review

Artist: 

The Projector Mix

Album: 

Drift

Label: 

Dubmission Records

Released: 

18^th September

The Projector Mix was Mike Hodgson's alias before he teamed up with Paddy Free and their releases were no longer contained to their native New Zealand but gained worldwide notoriety in the dub scene as Pitch Black. This retrospective release covers material that Mike composed, collaborated and re-mixed between the years of 1990 and 1996.

The album opens with 'Marshall Law Dub' the first of two collaborations with Hallelujah Picassos. The track begins in a manner not too dissimilar to Depth Charge's releases of the time, with samples that sound like they've been pulled straight out of Kung Fu and Blaxploitation flicks soon accompanied by the anticipated traditional dub reggae sounds and vox. The second ' Principal Dub' drops the gunfire and sirens and replaces them with a more soulful vocal stab, that aside it continues in the traditional dub reggae vein closer to King Tubby than the more electronic dub of Pitch Black.

The album moves away from the collaborations at this point with a trio of re-mixes. First up is Mike's take on 'Began Dub' by Nemesis Dub Systems which sounds like a chopped up industrial post-punk track slowed down and given the dub treatment in an almost Andrew Weatherall like fashion. Next is his re-mix of 'Orbital Dub' by another New Zealand act that's more than likely caught your attention Salmonella Dub. Where the under-laying atmospheric synths behind the dubbed out guitar, keys and sax show a sprinkling of a few of the Pitch Black signature sounds. This section of the release closes with the re-mix of Sound Foundation's 'Lethal Dub' a spacey Mad Professor'esque dub that's slow and minimal in places and bass heavy and distorted at others.

The rest of the release is strictly solo material beginning with 'I am a Wanderer' a bass heavy dub with rolling percussions and sequences that could arguably be categorised as dub-step before it's time. This is followed by 'Like The Angels of Dub' which layers sampled dialogue over rock guitar and hard hitting percussion. While 'Like The Angels of Light' begins as though it's a lighter flip-side guitar wise that said the percussion although more electronic is just as heavy. Next up is 'Miro Pump' which at times is slow and atmospheric with an eastern feel but there's plenty of distorted fx pumped in for good measure. The album closes with the aptly named 'The Key to Laughter' which is quite simply dubbed out laughter in various pitches before the bass and percussion is employed.

Overall I think you need to place this album in the period it was created as at times it's far more minimal than most of the multi-layerd dubs released in more recent times. However, if you're a fan of Mike's output it's an interesting insight into his early works and will probably appeal to fans of dub in general.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Additionally, if any fans of Dubmission Records output are in London on Friday the 11^th of September their head honcho Crazy Baldhead is putting on a free 4 hour DJ set at Camden's InSpiral Lounge which kicks off at 21:30.

Links https://theprojectormix.bandcamp.com/album/drift

Disco Gecko's 'Strange-Eyed Constellations' Compilation Review

Artist: Various

Title: Strange-Eyed 

Constellations

Label: Disco Gecko

Released: 4^th Sept

Compiled by Toby Marks (Banco De Gaia) with a title inspired by a Tom Hardy poem and as tribute to Mike Barnett the founder of Beyond Records who featured some of Toby's earlier works on their Ambient Dub series.

The album begins with 'Dum Spiro, Spéro' by Astropilot, whose space style synth work I've always admired but the four by four beats he often employs can become repetitive. There's no such problem here with this beat less number which hooked me immediately with it's sheer aural elegance. This is followed by 'Sirens of Lorelei' by Dr Trippy as I've never heard him before. Admittedly, there's an ethnic element to the track which increases in the middle but either side throws a sheet of angelic voices and flutes over a snail pace beat. The theme of mixing angelic voices and tribal chants continues with 'The Inuit Snow Song' by 100^th Monkey a superbly chilled psychedelic dub and by this point I'm tipping my hat at Toby's fabulous selections.

The looped sequences that kick off 'The Future's Bright the Future's Incandescent' by Radium88 immediately brought Fluke and Underworld to mind (albeit with the brakes on) upon which an ethereal vocal leads to a more eastern flavour and you'd be hard pressed to find a more chilled vocal than this. The mood turns slightly darker with a combination of eerie atmospherics and tribal beats with 'Floating World' by Spatialize but the light shines through the darkness with some lovely strings. This theme of light and dark continues with a Far East drone fusion with the Shanghai 8am mix of 'Falling Tides' by the man himself and surprisingly not under his Banco De Gaia moniker.

I'm not sure you can go much slower than the dreamy tribal dub 'Festival of Lights' by Oombata Key. Whilst the tempo is taken up a notch with 'Dimensions' by Temple Hedz this piece initially layered with guru monologue and complemented further with a lovely eastern vocal is still more than suitably chilled. Moving towards a more experimental direction with 'Project Transmissions' by The Heavenly Hundred combines soft gentle piano with fuzzy atmospherics and distorted orchestral tweaks.

Back under his Banco De Gaia pseudonym 'To the Nth Degree' threatens to bring an uplifting surge with it's opening tribal chorus but soon dips down into soothing ambience with field recordings and piano. 'It's Beautiful Mike, It Really Is' by James Eller is a wonderful combination of NASA transmissions, spacey fx and piano. Although, he may not be the first to utilise this theme with the samples it works superbly well. 'Penates' by Sam Salem drifts back to the eerie atmospheric tribal drones of some of the previous tracks and leads us to the climax 'Epiphany' by Andrew Heath where once again the piano takes centre stage in a beautifully gentle melodic piece.

To summarise as with many compilations some tracks appeal more than others. However, there are some really strong tracks on here for me and I can't say I particularly dislike any of them. The years not over yet but for me this has to be a contender for ambient album of 2015. Full marks to Mr Marks so to speak and hopefully this isn't the last we hear of his selections.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

http://banco.co.uk/

http://www.discogecko.com/

Pre-Order here https://discogecko.bandcamp.com/album/strange-eyed-constellations

Terra Nine 'Lucid Dreaming E.P.' Review

Artist: Terra Nine

Title: Lucid Dreaming 

Label: Altar Records

Released: 12^th August

Hot on the heels of the recent Karune E.P. New Zealands Mike Westcot delivers 3 new tracks comprising his unique blend of electric viola, lush ambient soundscapes, breaks and trance.

The opening track 'Field of Wishes' is an eerie journey through atmospheric down-tempo electronics and lush viola that could easily slot into the background of any sci-fi flick. While the title track 'Lucid Dreaming' has a heavier breakbeat undertone the lush strings of the over-layered viola maintain the dream like quality that the title suggests. The E.P. closes with 'Positive Vibrations' a collaboration with Transient Dreams and going by the title you could be forgiven for expecting a reggae dub fusion. The reality is a slice of glitchy psybient for the viola to spring off and soar.

Overall this release didn't leave as deep an impression on me as the Karuna E.P. However, saying that it's not a bad E.P. and very reasonably priced. As always Mike delivers a dream-like quality that appeals to me which you certainly find in this release.

Reviewed by Woodzee

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/terra9music?v=app_2405167945

http://www.altar-records.com/

Enoch Prusak 'Eye Contact' Review

Artist: Enoch Prusak

Title: Eye Contact

Label: Digital Duvet

Released: 

10^th August

Hot on the tail of the excellent recent Digital Duvet release 'Sunset Gliders' (a free download depending which format you're after) comes this latest album from Charles Massey's ambient side-project. What appeals to me about Charles releases as Perpetual Loop is he never seems to put his stamp whole heartedly into one genre, but rather borrows choice sounds from trance, psy-chill, electronica and summery Ibiza vibes.

The album begins in a classical style with melancholic cello and piano with subtle use of electronica and unlike his Perpetual Loop material sets a certain stamp for what's to follow. A few tracks in there's a vocal number as far as songs go I feel the making of a hit is where the union between the music and the vocal is cemented and the words spring to mind from the first few notes. Unfortunately, here this doesn't happen and the marriage between the two feels slightly out. However, he soon makes up for it here on in with lush orchestral strings, classical piano and subtle but effective synths.

To summarise this album is certainly inoffensive I guess you could call it easy listening. I'm not saying that in a negative way and I certainly can't deny the tranquillity and beauty contained within some of the pieces. Although, it may not appeal to all of the Perpetual Loop fans the album definitely shows another side of Charles approach and skills in his productions and it's a fine album for a lazy Sunday.

The limited number of CD's are only available from the Digital Duvet website, where an additional bonus digital album 'Imperfect Sphere' is available free with every purchase.

Reviewed by Woodzee.

Links

http://www.digtalduvet.co.uk

Daheen 'Purple Chillies' Review

Artist: Daheen

Title: Purple Chillies

Label: Regan Records

Released: 5^th of July

I'd not come across Australian artist David Le Breton (Daheen) before he submitted this album for review but he's released a couple of albums since 1998 and upon listening I found it certainly fits the ethos of this blog. I can't tell too much about David other than he enjoys creating chill out and psy-trance and performing live with his lap-top, keyboard guitar in an array of theatrical masks and costumes. This album is a collection of his down-beat tracks amassed over several years and features the vocals of Karolina Kulczynaska-Le Breton and Dom Edwards on Digeridoo.

The aptly titled 'Rising Sun' is a lovely introduction to the album with gentle acoustics layered over mellow keys and a down-tempo didgeridoo creating an overall laid back and summery atmosphere. Next up is 'Vibratones' which maintains the acoustic elements and laid back attitude, additionally features ethereal feminine vocals and has a slightly Eastern feel to it. 'Anthropcene' on the other hand employs ecological scientific samples you would expect in a psy-dub track, however, this is a more gentle and acoustic affair more akin to 90's trip-hop and lounge.

The album changes direction with 'Tinkling' which as the title suggests begins with some classical piano but slowly evolves into a more twisted psychedelic dub, employing a number of clever tactics from dropping back to the piano adding acoustics and the ethereal vocals into the body and ambient breakdowns. Now the album gets dirtier, darker and dubbier with Australian newsreel samples on

A widely unpopular issue with 'Frackin' Hell which to me is very much in the vein of tracks such as Coldcut's 'Revolution'. Following on in a similar fashion with global issues that concern the planet reeled over a psy-dub with hard-hitting low frequency bass on 'Mass Extinction' shows the versatility of the album.

The next track 'Symphing' reverts back to the classical piano, this time accompanied by strings, brass and ethereal vocals before the dubby bass-line is featured. While 'Hope' is a psy-fused reggae dub containing vocal samples on 'Materialism' issues. The Purple Chillies mix of 'Hummingbird' begins with an African storyteller slowly introducing a gentle ambience before dropping a throbbing low frequency bass-line, hypnotic synths and acoustics. The album closes with 'Remembering' a gentle and atmospheric piece again featuring the ethereal vocals and sparse deep bass notes.

To summarise, I can't see this being the soundtrack to everyone's summer but then who wants to follow the crowd? Personally, I like this album for the elements it employs at times gentle and heavenly at others dark and dirty, at times retro sounding and others far more recent. Ultimately it serves the purpose he's set out to achieve.

Links

https://soundcloud.com/daheen

Various Artists 'The Underground Sound of Ibiza Vol 2' Review

Artist: 

Various

Title: 

The Underground 

Sound of Ibiza Vol 2

Label: 

Bedrock

Released: 

17^th of July

Following on from the success of last years compilation this release compiled and mixed by progressive house pioneer John Digweed covers different points of the evening over 3 CD's. Here I'm going to focus on the 3^rd CD '8 AM' which is aimed at post-club after party listening.

The journey unfolds with the deep and dreamy 'First Light' by Greek house DJ/producer Stelios Vassiloudis which leads into the reprise of 'Taking Over' by an another progressive house pioneer Quivver containing a stereotypical elongated lush progressive drop full to the brim with piano, chimes and vocals. While Mark Romboy takes it seriously deep and atmospheric with part 2 of his chunky new house release 'Counting Comets'.

The journey continues in a similar fashion with the beatless version of 'Sad Robot' by another veteran of the U.K. scene Nick Warren this time teaming up with Tel Aviv's Guy Mantzur. Which leads nicely into part 1 of 'Backslider' by C-Jay a slightly darker down-tempo atmospheric affair with lighter key sequences overlapping. Where as 'Wake Up Later' by Charlie May leans back to the past with Vangelis like elements evident in his piece.

The bass comes in slow and low not a million miles away from dub-step with the down-tempo version of 'Sizzles' by Brad Wilder balanced nicely with dubbed out mellow keys and spooky synths. Following on in a slightly similar fashion bass wise is 'Eagles and Butterflies' by Life in Reverse who also offer the occasional tribal drum roll, bubbling synth fx, indistinct vocal samples and distorted keys.

Then it's over to Omid 16B's underwater mix of 'Heart of Silence' with dark rumblings set amidst a lighter atmospheric backdrop. It may not be a classic like 'Escape (Driving To Heaven) but it certainly slot's into this compilation well with it's own qualities. Then the album comes to a close with 'Just Waiting' by Robert Babicz who provides a dreamy fusion with some wonderful laid-back jazzy piano keys.

To conclude as always fans of Bedrock know what to expect and this compilation won't disappoint and is available to pre-order now.

Review by Woodzee.

Links

www.bedrock.uk.net

www.johndigweed.com

www.bedrockmusic.bigcartel.com

Underground Sound of Ibiza Series 2 - CD3 Minimix (8am Downtempo) by John Digweed on Mixcloud