psyberhippie aka V!nc3 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi Folks I'm not gonna compare this album to Blumenkraft or a shpongle album because I feel that the album deserves to be reviewed on it's own, the way the artist intended it to be. This is a masterpiece of production....the quality is amazing. There is not a single sound or note out of place on this album....except when Ott want's it that way...! Ethereal, soothing and emotional are some of the words that come to mind when I think about this album. Granted, a lot of people have moaned about the use of the samples we've heard before etc etc....but in my humble opinion I think that the usage of the samples is perfect, I don't find myself getting annoyed at them...none are overused on any songs.... To pick favourite tracks off the album is hard as I feel the album works best when played from start to finish, but if I had to pick I'd go for Rogue Bagel, 382 Seaside, Roflcopter and Signals From Bob....and all the rest...lol For me, it's the album of the year so far, and it's gonna take something BIG to topple it for me. Hope you guys enjoy as much as I do. 9/10 for Skylon by Ott Psyberhippie aka Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 OTT - SKYLON TWISTED RECORDS 2008 Updated June, 18, 2008. Track list 1. From Trunch To Stromness 2. The Queen Of All Everything 3. Rogue Bagel 4. Daisies And Rubies 5. Signals From Bob 6. 382 Seaside 7. Rolfcopter 8. A Shower Of Sparks I can't say which one is better, Blumenkraft or Skylon, but the latter isn't bad per say. It's all really a matter of perspective. The disappointment is that the album is nothing ground breaking or spectacular, although the debut had its fair share of songs I didn't care for. Nonetheless, the debut was cutting edge, so it's realistic to have expected more from the follow up. There is still some beautiful work here that is more or less original, including greater variations of previous ideas developed. 1. From Trunch To Stromness begins with the sustained notes of a gentle accordion. Soon after appear the echoing of various psychedelic sounds, possibly being the artist acknowledging to the listener that the album won't be as ordinary as he/she may expect. The second minute introduces some dreamy, sustained melodies and incoherent, though pleasant hymns/vocals in the background. Ott's general dub sound, to those familiar with the debut begins around 3:55, and a nice melody joins the beat around 4:27. Overall, this is a nice, albeit harmless and tired (uninteresting, not that original, putting me to sleep) way to start off the album. More energy is invested in the melodies during the second half, and the peaceful transition that loses the dub edge completely around the 7-9 minute mark is pretty good, creating a floating and mysterious ambient sound. The generic dub style and sound returns art 9:22. Several melodies add flavor. But this song is too tame, disenchanting, and slow for a starter. Saying a song is "nice" as a whole isn't a good compliment. It means the song is okay and not unattractive per say. That said, this is a starter, an intro of sorts. Lets see where the path takes us now that the door is open. C+ 2. The Queen Of All Everything is the first real track to start up the album that won't be mistaken for a lengthy introduction or opening, and it sets the bar pretty high. It has a very strong, emotional, artistic, unique, and novel sound throughout, much like 2007's gorgeous Psychic Gibbon track by Younger Brother. I find this a sometimes sad, less upbeat, and other times romantic discovery, and hands down, one of the best tracks OTT has ever produced. The transition in the middle third is superb, and takes place from around 4:00 to around 5:35. This song is a classic example of how to start off good and build up into excellence, a piece of music that goes beyond any piece itself due to the seemingly endless beauty it creates. More super songs filled with passion and heart like this one would be excellent. But would this song have been even more romantic and beautiful, potentially sexy with a beautiful female voice as opposed to what appears to be male vocal alterations? Either way, this is one of the best songs of the year. It's beautiful, and this uplifting, elegant sound is what I really feel OTT is most talented and gifted at. A- 3. Rogue Bagel has a strong focus on upbeat, ethnic melodies and voices. The introduction or general build up is good, lasting about a minute before the song takes off. The number is completely different in concept, sounds, and structure from previous tracks, making the song variety great so far on this album. Although the number doesn't evolve much as a musical piece, the beautiful melodies coupled with the catchy, ethnic vocal work carries it strong throughout. I actually love the male and female combination here in the vocal department. The artist captializes on the selling point, the most catchy aspect, and it works. Vocals disappear around 3:00 to and the same catchy tune and style continues. The beat is lost around 4:28 soon after the vocals return, thus producing an elegant in music, from downtempo, danceable ethnic pop art a catchy, trip-hop inspired ethnic ambient fusion. The song is very friendly and positive sounding, and it evolves as it continues. I read somewhere that the song is all the samples have to offer but the general samples do not showcase the evolution of this song. It's very well done, and a great, unexpected, and fresh approach to the general norm of what I'm used to from OTT, the second big surprise (in a positive way) on the album so far! B+ 4. Daisies And Rubies is the first real dub song on the album. Initially, the vocal hymns sound nice. In time I realize that this has been done in the second number, and done much better, to stronger music so far. Even Madonna used this general voice alteration effect in her Die Another Day "007" soundtrack song. And I realize it has been used in psy/downtempo for many years now. Crossing over into the third minute, the vocals are gone as a variety of psy sounds bubble around a dub beat. The psychedelic sound effects compliment the track, and an attractive melody that becomes more noticeable from 4:00 to around 5:00, as it fades into a gentle transition of ambient. It is this center third of the song that raises the quality of the song. But as the general dub sound returns around 6:10, so appears a circus like melody that does absolutely nothing for me. Around 7:28 introduces some eerie, whispering tunes, a nice though small addition. Sustained melodies help whatever generic dub sound Ott has going here. Overall, it's not a bad song, and one with more ideas so far than the general track on the album. But the dub sound has a very been there, done that feel to it. I'm being shown nothing really new. The melodies in the end are really nice. The 10:25 second song just doesn't capture me as a whole. C+ 5. Signals From Bob I don't care for. It's okay I suppose, but a rather slow and plodding, uneventful piece until some children's voices arrive. It's a nice idea. By then however the track has all but crashed and burned. I've lost interest. But I can't deny it having some nice melodies, although nice melodies are expected. You don't get a cup cake for that. C 6. 382 Seaside is a more joyous, floating track with female vocals. The chorus is uplifting, although I have no ida what the woman is saying. The voice is very attractive. This has a bed time sound to it, a charming tune that turns unexpectedly aggressive around 2:20. But the pretty music joins the transition soon after around 2:40 and gives the alteration in sound an attractive mix. The song sounds like a fairy tale with a pinch of intensity or darkness; this is not a dark song. Overall, it's interesting, beautiful, uplifting, and different. I like it, and I'd love the artist to take more approaches with songs like this and the first three tracks on the album as opposed to recycling his yester-year dub sound, unless he has something really innovative and catchy to offer. The song also has a peaceful ocean meets dolphin sound in its last 35 seconds. It's a good/great song, very relaxing. B 7. Rolfcopter starts out great, like something out of a powerful, emotional fantasy film, before going back to the Psy/Dub style I don't care for. This song could have lifted off into a gorgeous Phoenix based on the beginning, before the dub sound kicked in around 0:58. Oh well. The altered voices are alright, although they seem a bit random and distracting from the music. They're unnecessary actually. I love the follow up from the beautiful opening from 4:26 to 5:22. Why couldn't the entire song be built upon this arresting sound? It's excellent, and provides the heart and soul that some songs seemed to really lack on this album. The melody that comes up for air around 6:20 is pretty good, and again, I don't know why the artist didn't capitalize on creating the ethereal beauty throughout, that which is displayed in the opening and middle transition. The whole is not equal to the sum of its parts. Awareness to the artist is to take what's great and to capitalize, evolve, and develop upon it, as this artist has done best so far here in the second number. This is a more or less pretty good track with moments of greatness. B- 8. A Shower Of Sparks is more to my liking, although I felt that 2007's closing track on Younger Brother was stronger. The closing track here is pretty, floating, relaxing, emotive, and catchy. It has enough good ideas to keep my interest throughout. More on this level and beyond would be super. This is a strong song, and a great number to end the album on. If only more songs were showed this new Ott off as tracks 2, 3, 6, and this one generally seem to do best here. While the voice alteration sound playing like melodies have been done several times here by now, they actually work well in this closing elegance and beauty and light. And the shifting in sound around 5:35 is ascending, making this one of the best, most positive songs I've heard all year! With more tracks on this level, Skylon could have been a masterpiece, and the next album has the potential to be just that. A- In Conclusion, Ott's follow up to what appears to be a little cult treasure called Blumenkraft is a mixed bag because it doesn't really raise the bar that the debut set. It follows in the same general style and sound, with few exceptions. But those exceptions are huge, giving us some of the best downtempo/chill tracks we've heard so far all year. However, other tracks pale in comparison; they're lackluster and just not that eventful or interesting. I think I like this album more than the debut because of the newly styled sounding tracks. The other, more familiar "dub" style brings nothing new to the table, thus producing a recycled sound we're all too familiar with. On the other hand, the ethnic Rogue Bagel is strong and catchy, and the slow but powerful and romantic downtempo work of The Queen of All Everything and A Shower Of Sparks deserves attention. Both are excellent songs and reason enough to hear the album. 382 Seaside is good too relative to OTT's newer, more elegant self emerging here on Skylon. The other tracks however, or much of the work scattered throughout the other tracks is weak and forgettable, unfortunately. Half of the album is great, and the other half sounds outdated, uninteresting, and this is my problem with the album. My problem is that OTT is trying to appeal to old fans too much while breaking out, but not completely, into something great and fresh sounding. To fully evolve, this talented artist must let go of trying to recreate Blumenkraft II to some degree, and focus on the evolved light that shines brightest here, mostly in the even numbered tracks of Skylon, including track 3. Those who like dub may enjoy several tracks here, but the dub songs are rather dull and forgettable. There are some wonderful moments here in the sound department. Ott can produce a superb album if he puts his heart and soul into excellence throughout. But I found too much of the album that left me hanging, waiting, hoping that something more catchy would take place in the older sounding dub" tracks to capture my attention. In the end, Skylon is one of those albums that the general person will pick apart and/or characterize through a playlist or careful selection to compensate for enjoying the several great songs here. It would be wonderful if next time, a more determined focus went into more refreshing and catchy works on the level of The Queen of All Everything and A Shower Of Sparks, for top starters. For the record, OTT has so much potential to make a masterpiece, it disappoints me when I get several super parts coupled with some of the most ho-hum, uninteresting songs I've heard all year on an anticipated album. All in all, Ott is an extremely talented artist who gives us several tasty pieces of pie, and next time it would be magnificent if the entire pie (or much more than is here) was delicious. Best Tracks - 2, 3, 6, 7, 8. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrognomix Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 I don't know how Skylon got all the way to page 3.... Queen of All Everything is the most beautiful song I've ever heard, and even though the intro track is gives the exact same feel of Blumenkraft's intro I think there is still a lot of credit due here. This album is musically diverse, and songs like Shower of Sparks and Queen of All Everything are extraordinary tracks even to people who don't like electronica I've showed them to. Ott pushes musical boundaries, and that's what electronic music is all about... getting shivers listening to Queen of All Everything right now it's so beautiful... It's like Ott decided to give the world a big hug... so soothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redington Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 The Queen of All Everything, A Shower of Sparks, Roflcopter, and 382 Seaside are awesome. The fact that he named a song Roflcopter is hilarious also. I don't see why people should complain that Skylon is similar to Blumenkraft. So do you complain when a good thing is replicated a few times? Perhaps if it starts getting too repetitive but it just sounds like a bunch of whining to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uth Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 This album is terribly boring. And what's even worse, it made me like Blumenkraft even less. Yeah, yeah - Ott and dub, yes yes yes, we get it. And it's horribly boring. It's the same thing over and over again. Rogue Bagel is the only decent track, but those exact vocals are used by many other artists. 2/5 I can't understand how you could find this album boring. Maybe after listening to endless hours of hardcore filled and jazzed up trance you might think of this as simplified but other than that I can't imagine. It's quite amazing to think what people listen to these days... especially mainstream. I got 2 words for this album. Simply a masterpiece! One of my all time favorites for sure. 11/10 if I may. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klas Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 The Queen of All Everything, A Shower of Sparks, Roflcopter, and 382 Seaside are awesome. The fact that he named a song Roflcopter is hilarious also. Word about everything! The queen of everything is top notch. Rarely listen to the whole album through though. Too much Dub. Reggae-rhythms is not made for me. (Emotions is a funny thing...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen dream Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 has a few highlights and all in between is smooth ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lomme Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Wonderful album, I have been listening to it for a year and still love it IMHO the best album released on Twisted Records. If you have not heard it yet go get it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanjuice Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Not sure where they are from, but it is a familiar sounding English voice. I'd always thought that it was Scroobius Pip, but can't find any evide for this now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redington Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I like Skylon a fair bit more than Blumenkraft now. Hopefully some day the next album will be released. Not holding my breath for that one, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.