abasio Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Colourform Visions of Surya Virtual Musical Reality 2008 Tracklist 1. Kaleidoscope (16:24) 2. Nubien Sunset (6:12) 3. Flying Carpet (6:47) 4. Monkey Puzzle (9:59) 5. Diving Into Sun (8:46) 6. Dissolution (8:36) 7. As Stars We Are (9:15) The third release on Matt Hillier’s record label Virtual Musical Reality is by Matt Hillier himself and the Jake Stephenson who passed away in 2005. As I have loved just about everything that Matt Hillier has put out & also Jake Stephenson’s output as Shamanic Tribes on Acid great trippy acidic music I had sky high hopes for this. I was expecting a soft ambient journey through magical lands & meditative states. I was not only not disappointed but this album blew my expectations out the window, surpassing them all. 1. Kaleidoscope The sounds of a busy street somewhere between New Delhi & the outer Pleiades set up a soft dreamy feel edged with adventure & discovery. The sounds of the street vanish & we’re left with wet spacey sounds like enjoying the morning mist below a purple sky in a field of blue & red. There is a strange energy to the music, almost percussive sounds oscillate back & forth in the air as long warm drones breeze through my relaxed mind. At times the air becomes thick with the sounds like the colourful air is pouring with sonic rain. Sometimes it’s a fine mist sometimes it’s a downpour but it’s always falling down around us. This is such a peaceful, relaxed piece of music that takes my mind away to an alien world where I can just lie & relax, wondering at the strange beauty around me. A kaleidoscopic world full of bright shining colours for a kaleidoscopic mind. 2. Nubien Sunset Nubient Sunset starts off again with sounds of life, what could be a tractor in another dimension, the bleat of a goat in a different life but as with the opener these sounds fade away into the distance as we climb higher into the strangely glistening sky. This is even more ambient than Kaleidoscope with very little but drones, blips of light electronica & melody so drawn out it’s hard to remember it even as you’re listening. A voice creeps into the soundscape as we go higher among the clouds & the wind, the voice is beautiful, ethereal & fills the heart & the mind with visions of joy. 3. Flying Carpet Flying Carpet starts with an electronic voice like that of distorted computer from the 1970’s future. The message is unclear to me. Whether or not I’m supposed to understand I’m not sure but my failure to comprehend has opened my head enabling the music, suddenly with a beat & audible melody to seep in & be soaked up by the grey matter. I don’t quite get the feeling of flying so much from this track as I did from the last one but I do get a sense of travelling & coming across something spectacular. Like walking through the jungle, climbing & hill & then seeing a long lost city of gold hidden away from society. 4. Monkey Puzzle Monkey Puzzle takes us back to the kaleidoscopic world but this time it’s darker, not dark in anyway but the colours all seem to be a deeper shade than they were before. They seem to have taken on an early evening hue punctuated by the glitchy sounds in the air like small harmless bugs that come out in the evening to feast on our blood but these ones are just floating around never bothering but with the faint threat that they might. I can hear the sound of spirits rushing about just beyond my visual perception. Out of the corner of my eye they appear but when I turned to look they are gone, yet they are still there. A very strange, ambient track full of unnatural nature & otherworldly entities. The end sounds like an alien Zen Garden pool with the sounds of infants at play and the return of the distant street noise. 5. Diving Into Sun The quite & peaceful yet busy & bustling street is there again & from this comes our first real beat. This feels dreamy & adventurous like exploring strange new worlds from the comfort of your bed as you dream the impossible & live the indescribable. The beats lift us up high into the sky again & the almost voices that are carried on the wind seem to whisper sweet nothingness. As the beats stop we plummet to the ground, down on to a flowing river but before impact the beats start again & lift us up, spiralling in a twist of sound & colour, of melody & rhythm, of excitement & contentment. This is a stunningly beautiful track, it’s bright & lovely and warms the heart & eases the tired mind. 6. Dissolution Dissolution is an aptly named track as I feel like my Musical reality is dissolving around me. The walls of my consciousness are ripped down & another dimension starts to slip slowly in. Sliding over the broken ruins of my barriers & picking up pace until the new reality is pulsating in my brain. The transition is nerve-wracking yet the anticipation of what it’s bringing is enough to keep my sanity. What we are left with after the pulsating has died down is a colder, darker soundscape with the twinkling of musical stars overhead. A cold wind blows around me but does not chill me, instead I feel enchanted & if not warm then at least content with the coldness. The night becomes big & deep with big almost orchestral sounds boom out like a warning before sounds like an approaching spacecraft dispel l the feeling & bring us full circle into a bright spiral of colour. 7. As Stars We Are The only track that is disconnected from the others is spacier than the rest with melody played on some strange strings. The spacey feeling is no more like floating through outer space rather than any alien world. Like we have left our temporary home on some distant planet in a galaxy far away from here, the music feels like we are floating serenely in no hurry but with a specific destination. Like returning home from a wonderful journey but with the expectation that your house will be cold & empty so giving you no reason to rush & every reason to hold back & extend the trip if only for a very brief time. Out of all the albums released in this series, Ishvara – Magik Square of the Sun & Elve – Infinite Garden, this is definitely my favourite. Those were great albums for me but this one is even better. So peaceful, relaxed & extremely psychedelic this takes me on a journey so effortlessly & each time the journey is a colourful brilliance that stuns my senses & soothes my mind. A perfect album for relaxing, meditating or just to fly away to. Any fan of Matt Hillier will be very pleased with this work with Jake Stephenson and any fan of Jake Stephenson will be happy with this as the trippiness is on a par with his other works. A great tribute, may he rest in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p(sy)ayam Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 can't wait to get my hands on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melancholyman Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 We need more ambient fanatics on this forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzman Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 We need more ambient fanatics on this forum!Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melancholyman Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Why? I feel lonely, the only ones I know are Abasio, Snapinho and well that's about it others are ofc into some ambient/chill but not as their main genre. It's hard to discuss the subject with so few really into it. But it doesn't matter sooner or later everyone is going to realize that it's in downtempo the real journey lies... :wank: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p(sy)ayam Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I feel lonely, the only ones I know are Abasio, Snapinho and well that's about it others are ofc into some ambient/chill but not as their main genre. It's hard to discuss the subject with so few really into it. But it doesn't matter sooner or later everyone is going to realize that it's in downtempo the real journey lies... :wank: +1 :wank: i'm a new ambient fanatic member of this forum !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfunk Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 We need more ambient fanatics on this forum! count me in ,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banan Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 beatless ambient lover here too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen dream Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 haha banan thats like hilarious XD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Brilliant release. My favourite downtempo album from this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psygnus Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Ambient to the bone... How cares about psytrance.. Listening to it now...sounds amazing so far!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKennaDMT Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 One of the most beautifully psychedelic albums I've ever heard. Some of the sounds that this man creates are not from this planet, well they are, but they don't sound like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkee Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 nii!ce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffymushi Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 decent psychedelic ambient but doesn't contain the same "magic" as the elve or ishvara albums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 It's so sad that Jake Stephenson never got the appreciation he deserved, he really was an ambient master! Rest in peace dude Sorry for the off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caffein:me Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I feel lonely, the only ones I know are Abasio, Snapinho and well that's about it others are ofc into some ambient/chill but not as their main genre. It's hard to discuss the subject with so few really into it. But it doesn't matter sooner or later everyone is going to realize that it's in downtempo the real journey lies... :wank: I like Ambient as well XD i listening to buddha bar / Prem Joshua / Café del mar - before listening to Psy-trance / Ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEMO.BOFH Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 1. Ambient / Chill 2. Dub 3. OS Goa 4. Tech house 5. Techno/Elektro 100. Psytrance.... well, chillseeker here as well. always been and always will be. As for the album above, I will give it a 9.5/10, I really like it (Sorry for no review) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qa2pir Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 1. Ambient / Chill 2. Dub 3. OS Goa 4. Tech house 5. Techno/Elektro 100. Psytrance.... well, chillseeker here as well. always been and always will be. As for the album above, I will give it a 9.5/10, I really like it (Sorry for no review) I don't think it's very cool to judge things like that. What do you want to achieve by stating that psytrance is at 100? Also, what is OS Goa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caffein:me Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 OS goa = Ol' Skool 604 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 This topic looks like Ambient lovers support group. Well, with the amount of good releases these days you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p(sy)ayam Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 this one is getting better and better each time i listen to it....every time it's as fresh as the first time solid 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphythecat Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 ive been listening to this album for a while now, and everytime, theres something different i feel inside something new, fresh, exciting(not if your too tired, youll fall asleep lol) every sound is where it needs to be not really psy, well it depends on what you mean by psy, its peaceful ts just wonderful, the best ambient album released by FAR this year! its that good :posford: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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