Midnight Soul Dive

[abasio]

 

1 Unoccupied - Everyday Life (4:26)

2 Cord - Zodiac (6:25)

3 Krill.Minima - Wie Die Wolken Zieht Auch Der Tag Vorbei (6:18)

4 Hibernation - Melt (5:17)

5 Cosmic Fools - Bohemian Atmosphere (6:00)

6 Anahata - Prana (6:29)

7 Vataff Project - Plasticine Bird (10:40)

8 Omnimotion - Embrace (4:47)

9 Ishq & Shulman - Mother Nature (6:45)

10 Elve - Cyantium Flower (9:35)

11 Bluetech - Snow Drift (4:32)

12 Rena Jones - A Curious Unraveling (4:32)

 

Aleph Zero. A label that really has a quality filter on their music. Almost every track released on the label is at least very good and this time they have put together a very nice night time chill compilation. The cover is very reflective of the music inside smoky urban night time grooves. A lot the earlier tracks put me in mind of an underground lounge club with the atmospheres whereas the latter tracks remind me more of the end of a night.

 

Lets take a closer look at the tracks

 

1. Unoccupied - Everyday Life

I don't know what I was expecting from this the first time I put it in my CD player. It's closer to massive attack than your conventional psy chill. A nice trip hoppy track. Starts with a long heavy drone which stays throughout the track in the background, a melancholic melody, rather depressing 'shut in' lyrics & slow electric guitar makes for a rather melancholic opener

2. Cord - Zodiac

Another kinda trip hop track, at least with the beats. This one though is much funkier. Quite random in parts with a lot of sounds not seemingly doing anything but when the really funky baseline kicks in it all seems to come together nicely. It's more atmospheric & better in the second half of the track for sure.

 

3. Krill.Minima - Wie Die Wolken Zieht Auch Der Tag Vorbei

Crackly analogue sounds mixed with sounds of nature is a strange intro. A minute in and the dark night time atmosphere is back. Think of a cool, dark, underground lounge in New York, Paris or Tokyo and you'll get the smoky atmosphere of this track. Soft pads, jazzy melody & water sounds mix surprisingly well. The melody morphs into a more relaxed keybord one towards the end. It's nice & leaves me wanting to listen to it more & more

 

4. Hibernation - Melt

Think weird ambient with a flavour like the previous track. That is the 1st half of this one. The second half sees some beats come in and a soft female vocal (sounds quite alluring). I again get the feeling of sitting in some poorly lit back street bar in the basement with big comfortable sofas & very few customers & a sultry singing waitress

 

5. Cosmic Fools - Bohemian Atmosphere

I think this track & title sums up the CD so far. Urban bohemian lifestyle. Nice beats, dark night atmosphere. Trippy twisted melody. Cool track very reflective of it's title.

 

6. Anahata - Prana

Interesting track, what sounds like sitar (?) but actually played well is the main focus. Slight yet prominent beats & some electronic sounds surround it but still the strings take all the spotlight. When it's not there though the music sounds flat which leads to a really disappointing end to the track. It feels like a transition track (which it is)

 

7. Vataff Project - Plasticine Bird

Love this track. The longest on the comp at over 10 minutes & we've made the transition from downbeat to more ambient sounds. There are still a few beats but they are very minimal & the ambient drone is at the forefront of the track. A minimal melody is very nice and interspersed with little 'plop' sounds. A very nice track. I especially like the waaaaahhhh drones later on

 

8. Omnimotion - Embrace

Great intro & follow on from the previous track, very majestic. A slow operatic song seems to fill an entire auditorium while a slight yet heavy beat pounds in the background. The beats become a little more involved but the atmosphere remains the same, dark, slow urban nights. Lots of random glitchy sounds permeate adding to the feeling of a slowed down busy city at night

 

9. Ishq & Shulman - Mother Nature

I must admit I was probably expecting too much from this collaboration between these two heavyweights of chill. It's a good track though much more in ishq's style than Shulman's. In fact I can't hear Shulman's influence at all. Completely ambient & very dark & natural sounding. Think forest at night, beatless & could have been better given more time to evolve. A really nice vocal comes here & there but the track is just a little too short. This gets me looking forward to ishq's forthcoming albums but gives me no insight into what shulman's might be like.

 

10. Elve - Cyantium Flower

This track only highlights that Shulman's influence in the collaboration can only have been a distraction from the dreamy floatiness of what ishq can do alone. Here we can see what he's capable of by himself. A better vocal wail & much more ethereal. My only gripe is that it's not new. I already had this track on the Elve album

 

11. Bluetech - Snow Drift

Think Bluetech collaborating with ishq & that's what you get here. Sounds a lot like his Sines & Singularities album but chilled out even more. Ishq is not actually present on this track which shows that it is Bluetech's evolution, taking his beautiful sounds and turning it into even more chilled out bliss.

 

12. Rena Jones - A Curious Unraveling

A curious end to the compilation. After the last 5 tracks completely chilling me out along comes this one with more energy. Enough to make you open your eyes anyway. Not a lot of energy mind but it seems more after the preceding tracks. It's in the style of her album, Driftwood. Very nice floating ambient with a smattering of beats & strings.

 

Well, a great compilation again from Aleph Zero. The first half sounds like night time urban lounge music & the second half sounds like end of the night ambient like you've come home sat in the garden & watched the sky.

It's perfect for a sunday night after a heavy weekend. Put this on & let the music do it's work.

 

 

Favourites 3,7,8,10,11