abasio

if you like acoustic elements in your chill (well done) then try Pan Electric - Conscious Pilot, I love this album It's Matt Coldrick from the Green Nuns Of The Revolution

Various Artists Left Coast Liquid Vol.1 Native State Records 2005 Tracklist 1 Shulman - NN3 (8:59) 2 Sympath - Pond Life (7:26) 3 Bluetech - Leaving Winter Behind (7:56) 4 Rena Jones - Autumn (5:31) 5 Nalepa - Fresh (5:49) 6 Bluetech - Oleander (Phutureprimitive Symbiotic Remix) (7:38) 7 Shakatura - Baldocious Turp (5:28) 8 Shen - Stonehouse (5:22) 9 Desert Dwellers - Parabolic (5:10) 10 Adham Shaikh - The Garden (6:49) After hearing some of the great artist albums released on native State Records, namely Rena Jones - Driftwood & Krill.minima - Nautica, I thought that it was definitely time to pick up some of their compilations. The first on my list was their first, Left Coast Liquid Vol.1. It has an impressive tracklist ranging from my Sci Fi companion Shulman to Rena Jones, whose album is still one of my favourite ever. I had high hopes for this one. 1. Shulman - NN3 Shulman here, offers us a more ambient intro the I'm used to from this project. Soft voice like synths a few spacey & glitchy sounds mixed with a very focused bass sound. All the elements come together harmoniously as the beat kicks in with less than 3 minutes remaining. The sound though reminds me of Bluetech rather than Shulman. Although it reminds me of Bluetech's work it has a definite Shulman stamp making it not sound like an imitation but more like a coincidental coming together of styles. 2. Sympath - Pond Life Some hollow sounding tribal beats start this before these are joined by a steadier beat & underlying bass. A funky melody tries to emerge from beneath the bass but the beats are too much & it seems very subdued. The bass comes to dominate more & it seems to resonate through the mind like a small tremor. Behind it all, still very subtly is that funky feeling. The bass makes your body move 6 your mind vibrate, the synths make you feel lost & beats steady your feelings. All in all, this mixed back manages to balance out very well. 3. Bluetech - Leaving Winter Behind Also released on Bluetech's album Sines & Singularities, this is one of the most distinguishable Bluetech tracks I have. The rhythmic melody & the short light stabs mix into the steady beat in a dream like way & this track never fails to lift my spirits. Everything oozes class & this is probably one of my favourite Bluetech tracks ever. It's happy & cold at the same time, melancholic yet hopeful. Great stuff. 4. Rena Jones - Autumn A slightly more upbeat offering from Rena Jones than I'm used to but with just the same class & quality of her album on this same label. The cello work is very melancholic in it's feel but the quickness of the beat seems to bring the mood up. It's quite a peculiar feeling to have such melancholy & energy together but it works really well. 5. Nalepa - Fresh The slightly melancholic feel of Rena's track has completely left & we are presented with a very bright, glitchy piece of downbeat. The feeling isn't quite there though. Whereas the other tracks seem to have some ambience in the background giving them depth, this is shallow & unlayered. What you hear on first listen is basically what you get forever. Very basic & over time not overly engaging. 6. Bluetech - Oleander (Phutureprimitive Symbiotic Remix) You can instantly tell the difference in this track. Right from the start there is a lot of depth in the music. The bass, the ambience in the back, the long drawn out melody & the tight little sounds pinging through the music. All of it is such a trip, taking the mind away on sonic voyages. Dark, melancholic, beautiful, warm & cool at the same time and overall mysterious. This is a remix to behold. Even better than the original as not many remixes have done, Phutureprimitive have managed here) 7. Shakatura - Baldocious Turp A more breakbeat track here. The beats just shuffle nicely as the melody reverberates through the still air, visually displacing it into ripple before me. Well not literally I'm sure but that's synaesthesia for you. The bass drives it along & the shuffling feel of the music never leaves. It's not just in the beats either but in the whole rhythm of the track. Pretty cool stuff! 8. Shen - Stonehouse An interesting track from Shen, the style is much more punchy than previous tracks here, echoed in the length, this is much more to the point ideas rather than letting things grow. It's a nice track with a lot of very pleasant elements but it lacks depth & progression and ends up a bit pedestrian. 9. Desert Dwellers - Parabolic A much more poppish melody, here. Very instantly gratifying but does actually stand up well after repeated listens. The melody progresses very well throughout so as the lack of depth in the track is less noticeable. There are layers here, and some sounds fit snuggly under the main melody but it's like the name suggests it's very illustrative of what it wants to be. A plane of existence easily accessible to man. 10. Adham Shaikh - The Garden I do tend to get excited when I see the name Adham Shaikh. he has created some of the nicest & most versatile music I've heard & he doesn't disappoint here. Very different from what I was expecting but I have come to expect that from Adham Shaikh. This is more electronic than a lot of his very natural sounding stuff. As if it's been made just for this compilation, it fits in perfectly. Of course it has more natural elements, most noticeably the tribal beats & some muttered voices but all in all it's a lot more dubby than I've come to expect from him. Good stuff though & a nice way to round off the compilation. Well this is mostly amazing! It's slightly brought down by a couple of weak, shallow tracks, Nalepa - Fresh & Shen - Stonehouse but other than that the music is all must have. So in total this is a must have compilation. Even those two weak tracks don't ruin the mood or derail the comp. It ends up being a 66 minute ride through a lot of cool, deep downtempo music. Enjoy!

Jairamji Kindred Spirits Dakini Records 2003 Tracklist 1 Chime (8:52) 2 Swaragami (8:33) 3 Breathing Space (12:56) 4 Pianissimo (10:47) 5 Mother Tongue (11:25) 6 Heal (11:05) 7 Celestial Reasoning (14:15) After hearing the Jairamji track Temple on Nada Masala Vol.3 I fell in love with Jairamji's sound. I went on to download the album Very few albums that I've downloaded have I ever given a chance to. I really loved the album so eventually bought it & I'm glad I did. I've given so much more attention to it now I own the physical product. Enough to write about 1. Chime We start with what sounds like a dive. The water splashing on impact briefly lingering until a warm summer air & some tribal beats take over. Little cords play recessively & a few strums of a guitar can be heard fading into the background. A dark heavy bass gives the hint of nighttime and the flute as well as the cello gives the feeling of floating through the warm atmosphere from the comfort of the ground. Natural sounds all about, water, birds singing & light vocal chants. The beat becomes more intense & intricate lending a more intense party/ceremony feeling. Great beginning. 2. Swaragami Swaragami continues with the tribal feeling but more of a routine ritualistic one than a special occasion. The ethnic vocal is that of an old man I'm sure & it gives a gentle nostalgia to the music that the soft violin strings really accentuate. I'm not overly impressed when the music breaks down & the violin gets all squeaky but all is brought back moments later when the percussion kicks back in a little more prominently & the string melody warms the heart. Nice stuff. 3. Breathing Space This track is a little more mystical than the opening two, the flute played reeks of importance & ceremony. Like it is calling through the veil to the spirits on the other side to grant a request of the player. As it is a pretty long track there is no sense of urgency to get underway & the sounds creep in almost unnoticed around the flute. The beat continues to increase in intensity from a few smatterings here & there to a fully incorporated one. The piano melody floats around very musically & before you realise it, the air is full of all different sounds. Very nicely done I must say. The track progresses lightly & it's worth it's length. Easy to drift off & get lost in this one. 4. Pianissimo As you can guess from the track title, this is a very piano orientated track. From just the piano melody by itself at the start & when the bass & tribal drums come in it just oozes class. Probably the best track on the album thus far, with rhythm, melody & a lot of feeling. The feeling is intensified by the beautiful vocals which drip with regret. The string melody in the latter half while light in manages to give a dark edge. Quite a melancholic track. Very nice as it comes full circle so although it progresses it goes back to the great start, so you enjoy but look forward at the same time. 5. Mother Tongue Flute & guitar in the intro, really soft & nice. This is more vocal than anything else on the album. The vocals are right in the foreground of the music but they don't dominate like they could. Maybe my inability to understand the words makes the voice sound like just another instrument. But the human voice can be such a wonderful instrument can't it? Without the distraction of crappy lyrics I can appreciate the voice without it distracting me from the quality musical elements behind it. The guitar is just about constant & creates a fantastic base for the rest of the sounds to amble along. At their peak, the vocals are a little too dominating but the peak is brief so doesn't still my enjoyment of the track too much. 6. Heal This starts of with what sounds like a very Spanish guitar so this instantly makes me feel warm & summery. Think about standing on a beach in midsummer, looking out over the sea to the deep blue and then back in land to the verdant greens. This is the feeling I get from the intro. The beat kicks in almost unnoticed until the flute draws my attention to it. A very nice mellow beat it is too, fitting very well with the relaxed summer vibe of the rest of the music. the flute & the strings take me away from the beach further inland but with the same mellow holiday feeling as before. 7. Celestial Reasoning Keeping with the warm feeling but a much more evening feel to the music in this track. Beautiful sounds played from the piano, the guitar & strings float effortlessly around the darkening air giving a sense of achievement & satisfaction to the atmosphere. When the tribal beats kick in, it really feels like the home stretch of a wonderful journey. The travelling has been great but the excitement of reaching the destination takes over. The flute & the vocals both ethereal in tone & let the mind drift away to an astral plane while the body rests among the tall grass. Although it's over 14 minutes long, this track seems to fly by. It's always changing slightly & progressively getting more intense. The sounds cloud the air in the final third before they are stripped away to leave only the guitar & soft distorted vocals before the end. If you like Dakini's sound then you really need this album. It is a must in any collection of a lover of good ethnic chill. As always with Dakini, the ethnic music manages to sound real & honest not overused sample ridden stuff but original, well constructed music. Whenever I listen to this album, I always smile reflexively. i just can't help myself with this infectiously warm happy music.

Oh so many Omnimotion - Days of Silence Dreamfish - Hymn Hi-Fi Companions - Skyclad Intermix - Solar Temple Infected Mushroom - Dancing With Kadafi Enigma - The Child In Us Jairamji - Temple Puff Dragon - Qi Gong Global Communication - 14 31 Binah - Crescent Suns Western Rebel Alliance - Duke It Synaesthesia - Intelligence Dream Angel Tears - Dmaot Malach Prometheus - Sweet Tooth Nada - Earth Garden Mantra Man - Shivai Tripswitch - Deer Park Shpongle - Around the World In A Tea Daze Shpongle - Shpongleyes Carbon Based Lifeforms - MOS 6581 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Photosynthesis Also there are whole albums I can't get enough of Rena Jones - Driftwood Solar Fields - Leaving Home Solar Fields - Extended Jikkenteki - Revelations And Moments Of Clarity Secede - Tryshasla Evan Bartholomew - Caverns Of Time V/A - The Mystery of the Yeti V/A - The Mystery of the Yeti Part II Hallucinogen - In Dub The Infinity Project - Mystical Experiences Shpongle - Are You Shpongled There's probably loads I can't think of as I type but listen to a lot, too much in some people's eyes but not enough in my own. I wish I had more time

Downloading it from your sig! That seems to work

Although I am a culprit of writing far too long detailed reviews, I often don't have the patience for long reviews by others But the beauty of Psynews is that anyone can write a review so we have so many different kinds. There's always something for everyone

Did you hear the Fuzzion album, Black Magic?

Still loving this

New album ay?

Mine so far is Global Communication - 14 31

Pan Electric - Orbital Overture

Shulman - Mia Nihta Mono Den Ftani

Track 2 9:10

ollie olsen - emptiness

Global Communication 76 14

Sweet! Downloading now

You never know what any member brings to the project. Even if he's just there for vibes, leaving may have a huge impact. Lets hope it doesn't :posford: