DeathPosture Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Solar Fields – Leaving Home Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Solar Fields (Sweden) Title: Leaving Home Format: CD (digipack w/16-page colour booklet) Label: Ultimae Records (France) Cat. #: INRE 017 Distribution: Ultimae.com/network Date: Ultimo October 2005 Track listing: 01. 04’41” Home 02. 05’01” Time Slide 03. 08’23” Insum 04. 01’05” Star Fruit 05. 02’44” Magnetosphere (Star Fruit Part 2) 06. 04’08” Stereo Hypnosis (Magnetosphere Part 2) 07. 12’21” Air Song 08. 10’36” Cocoon Moon (Glastonbury Festival 2005 Mix) 09. 15’44” Monogram 10. 07’41” Times Are Good 11. 07’27” Leaving Home .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/d6mq2 (all tracks!) Review: Sonic chromatographies and equal differences… Magnus Birgersson from Gøteborg, Sweden is one of the living chill-legends... Yeah, pretty much everything he has released has been solid gold – the previous two SL albums + the H.U.V.A. Network album + all the amazing compilation tracks… This guy is the ambient armadillo! And who else than Solar Fields could pull off a stunt like releasing two full length albums simultaneously!? Yeah – this is the ‘regular’ album whereas Extended is more of a concept thing (review to follow shortly!)… As mentioned above, Solar Fields has yet to let me down, and I’ve been looking forward to this album for a long time… Released on my fav’e chill-label Ultimae, this *has* to be good… Let’s find out… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Home Every journey starts at home… And so does this one… What we get here, is soothing, mellow ambient which slowly develops into laid-back downtempo… Running water, subtle sitar and digital jungle sounds… This is the tease track – before you know it, we’re right into the next track… #02: Time Slide Again we drift back into mellow oblivion… Free your mind and let your thoughts drift! If it wasn’t for the electro-pads, this would sound very similar to Sigur Rós… Epic, well-crafted ambient with a pompous glory to it… The traditional Indian string instrument veena is heavily used in this track, which creates a very emotional and melancholy feel… Sliding through time! #03: Insum And the vast, pompous soundscapes continues – and damn, what an intro to this track… Something resembling a power drill… More sitars… Digital acid-rips… Static electro-hisses… Oh yeah, you can cut the tension with a knife here… This is highly experimental ambient – soaked in surprising twists and turns… Solar Fields aphex’ed up… Very refreshing and innovative to say the least! Best track so far! #04: Star Fruit #05: Magnetosphere (Star Fruit Part 2) #06: Stereo Hypnosis (Magnetosphere Part 2) As these tracks are obviously connected, I’m gonna review them as a whole… We start with a short skit, which is as much a transition as it is an intro… Heavily cut dubby beats of industrial proportions… Kinda scary really! Soon enough we’re back to floating, oriental, filtered ambient – with a strong emphasis on majestic chords on some kinda warped piano/synth… The last part of the trilogy of tracks sees the focus shift more towards an old-fashioned rhythm section… The percussions are shredded, mutilated – only to be patched back together into a mutant of joyrex’xy dimensions… Again SL is pushing the experiments to new, uncharted lands… Very refreshing in all its gory glory, though maybe a tad too inaccessible for the untrained ear… I like it though! #07: Air Song The experimentation continues, and once again the borders of Ultimae chill are widened… This is another introvert track, which a thick emphasis on heavily cut beats and breakz – giving the track an outerworldly Ant Zen spin… Technoid noises for chilled people! Yeah, the first part of this track reminds me of the sound of Funkstörung or the likes… Halfway through we shift back to more extrovert ambient with deep, dubby beats and murky, melancholy pads in the background. The final run ties up things nicely, with its roomy, panoramic qualities… A very complex, wholehearted track… And if you were to pick one track, to represent the album, this would be it… As massive as it is mature! #08: Cocoon Moon (Glastonbury Festival 2005 Mix) We drift seamlessly into the track which I’m guessing was performed at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival (well, d’uh!)… We start in ambient territory, but soon we cross over into laidback, downbeat land… Like a weird, unfamiliar electro bastard child this track is very hard to place anywhere… It’s repetitive and minimal, yet also evolving and eclectic… As trancy as it gets with Solar Fields – but still kept within a downtempo framework… A true electronica hybrid from start to finish… And maybe even less easily accessible than some of the previous tracks here! Interesting, but it will take me a long time to fully appreciate this I reckon… #09: Monogram This is much more to my liking though… This is another gargantuan mofo of a chill track… Ranging from virtual beatless ambient, over ethno-chill to up-tempo electronica… Everything spread across fifteen minutes and forty four seconds… Complete with mysterious jungle-sounds and the works… A solid SL track! #10: Times Are Good Times are good indeed – and it’s time to leave this earth and explore inner as well as outer space! This is undisputed, unparalleled chill-out… Gone are the grimmest explorations into IDM, and we’re left with soothing, transcending ambient soaked in subtle twirls, frills, thrills, spills and… Guitars! Amazing track! #11: Leaving Home So, we never really left home, eh? Clever! Well, this is another perpetual Solar Fields ambient tune… Beautiful, floating beatless melodic pads which eventually are accompanied by a subtle rhythm section… Yeah – this CD wouldn’t be complete without one of these ‘trademark SL’ tracks which we’ve all come to love so much over the years… A solid tune and the best damn possible way to end this unique album… Unique is the keyword here – this album is totally unique… The level of experimentation is unparalleled and style wise, this crosses back and forth between more genres than I care to count… But it’s still unmistakable Solar Fields down to the very last second… You wanna know what it really is? … It’s talent! The vast composing talents of Mr. Magnus Birgersson – the ambient armadillo! This is by far his most mature album – it’s definitely not as easily accessible as some of his previous instalments, but what is lacks in ‘easy listening’ it makes up for in fertility… This album is ripe of the bone, and will serve the listeners for light years to come… Give the extrovert parts some time to grow on you, and I’m sure they’ll come around… Most of them have for me! As always with Ultimae, everything is top-drawer material here. From the beautiful artwork, down to the very last well-mastered second of audio-bliss… A safe buy for any fan of experimental ambient seasoned with nonconformist musical warps, twists and turns… Audio anarchy! Now stop reading, and go order this album… It’s amazing! … Enjoy! Favourites: 2, 3(!!), 7(!), 9, 10(!!), 11(!) DeathPosture External links: Solar Fields: http://www.solarfields.com Ultimae Records: http://www.ultimae.com Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/532089 Ultima E-shop: http://tinyurl.com/7d6te Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/9csc8 Amboworld: http://tinyurl.com/7rqav ShopSonic: http://tinyurl.com/br39j Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/8v8uo Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/bneun Juno: http://tinyurl.com/c8mo3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahf Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 Thanks for reviewing this one Deathposture. I am seriously impressed from the samples I have heard from this album. The sonic manipulations and intelligent breakbeats really set this apart from run-of-the-mill ambient chill. In fact I'm tempted to say that this is some seriously unique and cutting edge work, and that solar fields has progressed a long way over the course of his albums. I suppose I can't say any of that for sure, as I don't own the real thing, but what I have heard is enough to get me salivating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 This is quite a good album from Solar Fields. Didn't enjoy his Blue Moon Station released in 2003 that much, but on this he has taken a huge step fowards Magnificent stuff. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Pretty good, floating, sometimes spacey ambient music. Samples below: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/inr/inr1cd017.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banan Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 "tom heasley - desert triptych" and "solar fields - leaving home" are best ambient albums of 2005 for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Solar Fields Leaving Home Ultimae Records 2005 Fantastic Tracklist 1. Home (4:41) 2. Time Slide (5:01) 3. Insum (8:23) 4. Star Fruit (1:05) 5. Magnetosphere (Star Fruit Part 2) (2:44) 6. Stereo Hypnosis (Magnetosphere Part 2) (4:08) 7. Air Song (12:21) 8. Cocoon Moon (Glastonbury Festival 2005 Mix) (10:36) 9. Monogram (15:44) 10. Times Are Good (7:41) 11. Leaving Home (7:27) Well, this is a biggie for me. Arguably my favourite artist is Solar Fields & his most listened to album by me is this one here, Leaving Home. An almost perfect album I can come back to time & time again & continue to be blown away each time. It's dark in a kind, hopeful, beautiful way. Melodious, atmospheric & amazing are all words I would use to describe this masterpiece. How anyone can release two albums at the same time (this & Extended) & have both of them be so perfect is quite an amazing feat. While Extended is a flying in space & through the world ambient journey. This one is tighter, more earthy & more for every mood. 1. Home A long slow opener builds a very earthy, natural atmosphere with just a hint of modernity. I feel like I'm standing at the edge of a forest watching a little traveled motorway as very few cars speed by. As time goes on a few more cars pass but non notice the silent observer. Definitely evening time after the rush. 2. Time Slides A big track with a big baseline. The whole track is built on the sublime slow baseline with a melody to match. Everything else falls into place in a crescendo of sound. The melody is played on a sitar, an instrument I usually despise in it's usual hippie, tuneless drudgery but here it's actually played well with a tune It fits well and sounds like it's played by someone who is actually sober & talented! 3. Insum Dark, spacial nature starts us off with a trippy eastern melody half coming in as the beats tease & the drone moans. Finally the beats trip in but in an irregular fashion at first but finding order in the chaos they created as a baseline hums under rushing sounds. Halfway through, the majestic melody bursts through & adds a whole new dimension to the music. Hell it rips a whole in your head & transports you east into the arms of an alien Buddha. It's dark, spacey, light & earthy at the same time. An amazingly trippy feeling! 4. Star Fruit Star Fruit takes us on a powerful base charged journey into the atmosphere. 5. Magnetosphere (Star Fruit Part II) Magnetosphere holds me in the Earth's atmosphere. It's big & it's open, it's cold & it's bright. Up among the clouds with a melody from the sun. 6. Stereo Hypnosis (Magnetoshpere Part II) Stereo Hypnosis continues the spacey atmosphere but pushes it more into the cold dark reaches of space. An ice like melody & cold industrial beats give this an alien feeling from the cold dark places of our solar system. Great. 7. Air Song This is possibly one of the greatest pieces of music of our time. I don't think I've heard another track so perfectly arranged, the beats, the big long baseline the background early morning noises that conjure up images of empty city streets, the piano playing us a sad song, off key voices from the darkness, the rushing of nothing, the sudden introduction of a storm & thunder and thunderous basenotes baaaaaam baaaaaaam baaaaaaaam baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmm. So distinct, instantly recognisable yet difficult to remember. As quick as sound, as slow as the joy it creates. Majestic, Perfect, Amazing, Jaw droppingly good & my favourite track of all time, or at least a damn strong contender. (I think that Solar Fields - Air Song (8am Version) on Extended is slightly better) The whole atmosphere builds up to a wondrous ongoing climax that never seems to end but is over too quickly. 8. Cocoon Moon (Glastonbury Festival 2005 Mix) I wish I had been at the Glastonbury Festival while Magnus was playing. One of the few act that I would really love to see but have never had the chance to. This tracks main feature as it starts is it's soft squelchy synth melody replaced by an energetic beat underlying a melody that fits perfectly with the drums & which pushes the body & the brain into space easily. Not often does a chilled track make me want to dance but this has me positively twitching. The slow, seamless evolution of the track is like a ninja that gets inside your head, grows & grows & takes over your entire brain. It's that good! 9. Monogram 16 minutes of seamlessly sleep inducing dream worthy wonder! It never rushes, as one might expect & slowly unfolds into a joyous masterpiece. The first few times you hear this one you might not like it but I'm sure that after a few quality listens you'll fall in love with this. If you can go the distance! It builds so slowly that it's missable so close attention is needed at times. It all builds to crescendo of feeling before bringing us down again to Earth. 10 Times Are Good The intro sounds like a we've been dumped in the middle of a dark nebula after Monogram. Quite a contrast in feelings. More electric. Sounds of the storm & a slow but driving beat all add to this fantastic atmosphere. To be honest I'm not sure what images this track conjures in my head. It's positive while dark, energetic while chilled. It's quite the paradox. The melody is just as paradoxical, it's played on the guitar but I'd swear it's anything but. It sounds very alien but human at the same time. 11. Leaving Home The title track is introduced to us in a simple melodic fashion before the final atmosphere hits. And what an atmosphere it is. It's big, spacious, alien & energetic. It's a perfect example of the whole album, it starts off very soft & around three quarters in it gets very beaty with big heavy intricate beats which don't quite last until the end in favour of an ambient outro. What a trip! No bad words to say about this album, really! One of the best albums ever crafted & contains possibly the greatest track in the genre, Air Song. If you don't own this album, you should definitely get it. If you have it & don't like it then please refrain form recommending me any music as I can guarantee that our musical tastes are too different! As close to perfection as I've ever heard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzman Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Abasio, i envy your imagination and your ability to see the soundscapes as pictures and things.. Wish i could do so.. But you are right about this album, it really is perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melancholyman Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Abasio, i envy your imagination and your ability to see the soundscapes as pictures and things.. Wish i could do so.. But you are right about this album, it really is perfect! You're just not high enough on psychedelics when listening (i'm not encouraging you to take drugs, just tellin) , then you will also see them soundscapes forming nio front of you're eyes, there is a moment at the ned of the album where you make a slow and mellow transition, like going uphill and just get to peak out over the event horizon. Most beautiful thing I ever SAW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 You're just not high enough on psychedelics when listening (i'm not encouraging you to take drugs, just tellin) , then you will also see them soundscapes forming nio front of you're eyes, there is a moment at the ned of the album where you make a slow and mellow transition, like going uphill and just get to peak out over the event horizon. Most beautiful thing I ever SAW! Nah, you just need to close your eyes and you can see them... at least I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzman Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 You're just not high enough on psychedelics when listening (i'm not encouraging you to take drugs, just tellin) , then you will also see them soundscapes forming nio front of you're eyes, there is a moment at the ned of the album where you make a slow and mellow transition, like going uphill and just get to peak out over the event horizon. Most beautiful thing I ever SAW!I doubt that abasio is high on anything but good music and an really open mind, if he can express his visions and feelings like that. Correct me if im wrong.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 You're just not high enough on psychedelics when listening (i'm not encouraging you to take drugs, just tellin) , then you will also see them soundscapes forming nio front of you're eyes, there is a moment at the ned of the album where you make a slow and mellow transition, like going uphill and just get to peak out over the event horizon. Most beautiful thing I ever SAW! I doubt that abasio is high on anything but good music and an really open mind, if he can express his visions and feelings like that. Correct me if im wrong.. That is right I don't take any drugs anymore so whenever I review anything I'm not high on anything. I think I might have taken too many in the past though cause I do vividly hallucinate whenever I listen to music like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohankiwi Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 One of my all time favourite chill out albums, with my all time favourite chill out song: Air Song. This album practically defines the word 'soundscapes'. 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Air Song is one of the best pieces of music ever crafted. Everyone needs this album if only for that track. Even without Air Song though this would be a 10/10 album Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzman Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Yeah 10/10 I believe this is the best album i have ever heard... Im falling in love with this, and every time i listen to it, it makes me love it even more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melancholyman Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Yeah 10/10 I believe this is the best album i have ever heard... Im falling in love with this, and every time i listen to it, it makes me love it even more! Congratulations, you have taken the first step towards enlightenment! :posford: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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