Guest Astro Cortex Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Shades of Orion (1993 Fax) 1. 24:09 Biotrip 2. 12:38 Shades of Orion 3. 12:46 Did You Ever Retire A Human... 4. 20:43 Liquid Shade All tracks written by Pete Namlook & Tetsu Inoue Here we have another fantastic Namlook collaboration, this time with the incredibly talented Tetsu Inoue. If you expect a totally beatless album now (such as 2350 Broadway), you'll be surprised with this, as two of the four tracks include an actual 4/4 rhythm. As the title and the cover art suggest, we are offered a serious space trip here. Biotrip is a 24-minute low-gravity space walk. The track has a rather symmetric construction, with a very mellow and peaceful in- & outro, which take up about 6 minutes each, and a central half that is driven by a slow 4/4 beat. A joyously bubbling synthline from Tetsu gets cleverly juxtaposed to Pete's trademark space chords, and the whole thing somehow puts you in a comfortable and contented state of mind. I also like the distant echoey percussion and the overall subtle arrangement of this stunning piece of work. Shades of Orion is pure ambient and it is based upon some squelchy hissing noises and lush ethereal synth drones, just the way it should be It eventually blends into Did You Ever Retire a Human..., which is an excellent funky and highly dancable ambient techno piece. It is full of Namlook's well-appreciated space melodies and -harmonies, while the hi-hats remain in the background, which gives it even more space. And there are some very cool echoing percussive effects panning between the speakers. As if two people alternately plopped a beer bottle on opposite sides of the galactic centre . On Liquid Shade we are back in beatless territory. A magical trip full of meditative atmospheres and shimmering tones courtesy of Mr. Inoue. There are liquid sounds here indeed, and the whole thing feels like drifting through a huge and vast condensing interstellar cloud, watchig the formation of new stars. But beware, there is a really hefty bass stroke appearing every once in a while, and it signalizes pressure and density fluctuations. This, folks, is space art!! Damn, it seems I'm using the word 'space' way too frequently in my reviews, but if I had to define the music in one word, this would definitely be it (with 'trip' as a close alternative) . I can't really pick a favourite track here, as each of them has something special to offer. Luckily this album was reissued on Ambient World, so there's no excuse for not grabbing it. You just can't go wrong with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 Nice album. I love track 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Quality sci-fi ambient techno right here. Each track is long and takes it's time to evolve and they evolve really well, Spacey and trippy. Definitely worth a listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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