V/A - Raindrops in the Forest

[Rotwang]

V/A - Raindrops in the Forest (PsyberTribe Records)

 

 

Press Release:

 

After over a year of Hardships and unfortunate circumstances, PsyberTribe records finally proudly presents one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.Thank you all for your continued support! Compiled by label owner and DJ Nikon, we decide to be Mellowing things out a little, bringing you a collection of hand picked relaxing atmosphere's and ambient retreats for your well being. Covering the grounds of Ambient/Dub/glitch/Downtempo, and most of all, inner trancendance, we hope you enjoy this excursion into the realm of space and new found sound waves brought to you by new and familiar energy's of the beautiful underground world of future sound culture... Guiding those calm moments before the stormccccc

Tracks (click titles for Saiko Sounds sample):

 

1) Vegetal - Fast Food Issue 6:36

 

This being a Vegetal track, it inevitably opens with a bit of politics; mercifully, though, that's over after about 30 seconds and we're left with a very nice tune. The first half of the track is dominated by a melancholy string melody, but there's also some excellent tribal-sounding percussion going on in the background. Shortly after the four minute mark there is a moment of silence, after which the melody returns like a butterfly from a cocoon, having suddenly got a lot more interesting.

 

2) Phobosphere - Seperate Reality 7:24

 

Another excellent tune up next. This one starts with a bubbly synth noise, before introducing a very catchy glockenspiel melody. The middle section introduces another nice melody, this time on the flute, then returns to the original theme before ending with a lovely ambient soundscape.

 

3) Bubble Elevator - Big Bright Bubble 5:46

 

This track begins with a rather twee vocal sample which I find a bit grating, but after that it moves into similar territory to the previous two tracks: a very relaxed guitar line plays continuously in the background while a sequence of different themes are introduced over the top. I find it lacks the same je ne sais quoi that made the first two tracks so great, but there are enough surprises to keep it interesting.

 

4) Ovnimoon - Fab My Sun (Extended Mix) 7:38

 

Track four is much less organic and more synth-driven than what has come before. In fact this sounds a lot like it could have come straight off Autechre's Incunabula album, albeit a bit more upbeat. Many very nice noises to be heard here, and every time you think that the artist has thrown all of his ideas at you he comes up with something new.

 

5) Magman - Tjallberry (Phobosphere Remix) 6:31

 

This track, like the first two, is very much dominated by its main melody, although it has a more dubby style. There's not much else to say about it, except that it's great.

 

6) Unknown Cause - Utopian Landscapes 9:48

 

Track six has something of an epic feel to it. Again it begins with a very shanti speech sample which I find slightly naff, but that is more than forgiven when the actual melody kicks in. Like track two this is in ternary form: after the intro the main theme fades in gradually before the rest of the track is built up around it, then after around four minutes fades out to give way to a kind of aimless, meandering ambient section, before the main melody returns again.

 

7) Audiovoid - The Melting Woman 9:48

 

The Melting Woman has a very different style to everything which has come before. It is less melodic and more glitchy, with a lot of harsher, atonal noises like hisses and clicks, and some complicated IDM-style rhythms. Much less relaxing than previous tracks, but much more trippy. It ought to sound out of place on this album, but somehow it doesn't.

 

8) Audiopathik - Sour Soul Syrup 8:38

 

Yes, that Audiopathik - the one who makes some of the least chilled, most dischordant, blood-pressurising darkpsy around. I was surprised to see his name appear on a downtempo compilation, and even more suprised to find that his track sounds like - well, exactly like all his other tracks. Only slower. It's even got the sampled screams and heavy breathing, and the same sequence of agonising key changes. It's an interesting and original idea, but in my opinion it doesn't really work as chillout. Maybe some people will like it though.

 

 

 

Overall: I can't recommend this enough. It has a more pop music feel to it than most psy-chill, since most of the tracks are driven by catchy hooks, but it manages to do so without sacrificing depth. And there's not a single track here that feels lazy or acts as filler; every track has interesting ideas and stands out in its own right. 8.5/10

 

Favourite Tracks: 1(!), 2(!), 4,5,6

[phobium]

Nice review man!

 

I had missed it, I thought the CD passed by quite unnoticed. Turns out at least someone gave it some attention ...

 

I am a bit biased here since I've got two tracks on the compilation, but apart from those two I share many of the same opinions that you do regarding the compilation.

[Rotwang]

Nice review man!

Thanks!

 

I had missed it, I thought the CD passed by quite unnoticed. Turns out at least someone gave it some attention ...

As far as I can tell, nobody here except me has given this much attention (present company excluded). A shame, if so - this CD really deserves to be heard by a lot of people.

[abasio]

 

Various Artists

Title: Raindrops In The Forest

Label: Psybertribe Records

Released: 29 April 2008

 

Tracklist

 

1 Vegetal - Fast Food Issues (6:34)

2 Phobosphere - Seperate Reality (7:23)

3 Bubble Elevator - Big Bright Bubble (5:45)

4 Ovnimoon - Fab My Sun (Extended Mix) (7:37)

5 Magman - Tjallberry (Phobosphere Remix) (6:30)

6 Unknown Cause - Utopian Landscapes (9:47)

7 Audiovoid - The Melting Woman (9:48)

8 Audiopathik Sour Soul Soup (8:37)

 

Psybertribe Records bring us “an excursion into the realm of space and new found sound waves brought to you by new and familiar energies of the beautiful underground world of future sound culture” A collection of relaxed tracks covering psybient, dub, ambient and glitch. The result is a story that starts off exploring the wonders of the elemental forest and they slowly introduce more human and less ethereal elements until the last few tracks seems to exert humans dominance with their machines over the beauty of nature. I have no idea if this is the real theme of the compilation as there is very little information about this release even on the label’s website. If it is or not, that is definitely the ideas I get from this music. The first 3 tracks have such lush melodies and natural sounds that they all sound like they are in the deepest parts of the forest. The next track Ovnimoon – Fab My Sun introduces some more human elements in that it feels in the first half like it is in a park rather than the forest but by the end the city has all faded away back into the forest. The next two tracks have darker moods and start introducing more human elements whereas the last two tracks are the darkest by far and really feel like machine invading the forest and destroying the natural beauty that was built up in the first half of the album.

 

One thing that really needs to be mentioned about this album is the fantastic use of samples. Apart from the opening sample in the first track all the samples are integrated brilliantly into the tracks. Even though some of the samples are close to monologue length they never dominate, they never spoil the music or divert my attention away from the rest of the music. In fact they I feel like they are important parts of the music adding to the feeling the rest of the music creates rather than detracting from it. For me this is quite a feat as I don’t feel like many artists manage to use long samples well in any of their tracks but there are many artists here brought together on the same compilation.

 

So if you like nice natural psybient with a themed journey, great melodies and lots of atmosphere then you’d do well to check this release out. The cover might look like it is trying to hard to look like it is new age and hippy shit but don’t let that put you off turn the CD over and look at the back cover, it’s just the forest without the woman and you’ll start to get an idea of what the music (at least the first half) is like.

 

 

Track By Track Analysis

 

1. Vegetal – Fast Food Issue

We start out with quite a preachy message in the sample about only eating fast food after we have been bombed by Anthrax or if we are stranded on a deserted island. I mean really, where are we going to find fast food on a desert island? It’s all up from there though with a cool tribal beat and some lush strings creating an ethereal atmosphere. I really am put in mind of the forest near my childhood home but this time filled with Shakespearean trouble makers. When the beat kicks into another gear in the final third the energy is pushed up slightly giving me a feeling of running through this forest. This is a very nice track aside from the opening sample.

 

2. Phobosphere – Seperate Reality

This track continues with the tribal forest feeling but here with a really beautiful melody. It sounds like it is being played on fairy bells or something equally as other worldly. The sample is muttered but adds a human element to such mysterious track. It sounds like some human explorer is walking through the forest, marvelling at the sites he has seen for the first time but still totally oblivious to the real beauty of the forest. A great example of a well used sample. The track progresses very nicely as well with different melodies coming in and out & a whole host of trippy little natural sounds, natural yet so unnatural at the same time. Brilliant stuff, the soft ambience of the outro is also just so sublime.

 

3. Bubble Elevator – Big Bright Bubble

Here we have another example of how to use a sample. The length of the sample is quite long but somehow it really feels like part of the music and not disconnected like many long samples. It’s spacey which fits the music and thought provoking at the same time. As for the music I said it was spacey but not spacey like Distant System but like being the aforementioned forest at night with a trillion stars filling the sky. That sense of wonder at how small and insignificant we are. The music helps remind me though even though humanity is a tiny insignificant speck in the universe we have still made such beautiful things. The synths here are spine tingling and the flute melody is a damn fine example of how to use a flute in electronic music. This is another great track.

 

4. Ovnimoon – Fab My Sun (Extended Mix)

A short sample, bright melodic synths & a slightly wetter beat starts us off in this track. A nice little melody & a tight bassline make this the coolest track so far, it is funkier and a little more urban in its feel than the previous tracks. Not urban like bars & smoke but more like sitting in the park surrounded by trees but being able to see the skyscrapers in the distance. The whole mood changes halfway through though and as the bass & beats fade out so does the city, birds start singing and the melody steps up to the front stronger than before and showing natures dominance. Some more flutes used sparingly here just adding to the lush green feeling that oozes out this CD. Even the synth work near the end manages to sound green but it is like a shade of green never seen before seeping through from another dimension. Thank god for the extended mix

5. Magman – Tjallberry (Phobosphere Remix)

A darker track here with an intro that sounds like it’s going to break into Michael Jackson’s Thriller before the rumble of thunder and foreign sample (not sure which language) which seems to abruptly stop to make way for the lead into the melodic segment and the beat. The beat is slow & there are some reggae influences in the background. The melody when it comes in is a high pitch sound over lush deep ringing sounds that along with the voice with all his indistinguishable charm and the reggae rhythms adds up to a track that seems at odds with itself. It doesn’t quite have the beautiful forest atmosphere of the other tracks but it does sound natural just with much more of a human edge to it. It’s a nice track but not my favourite on this compilation.

 

6. Unknown Cause – Utopian Landscapes

Another long sample (English) talking about the universe and life, again while I usually don’t like these long samples, it is used very well here & even after listening to it many times I still enjoy it. Maybe it is because it is used as in intro and it leads into the music so well that it is still enjoyable 10 listens in. Maybe it’s the tone of the voice or the content of the sample that makes it so appealing. Whatever it is it adds to the musical experience instead of detracting from it which I am glad of. The music itself is more ambient here with a simple repeating melody and a strong but calm undulating sound. That sound leaves but the melody stays much longer with natural sounds coming in and out culminating with a river sound that runs right through my head. Suddenly everything is gone & we are left just with some acoustic guitar. Now I’m really a fan of the sound of a guitar so I could have done without this. After 7 minutes of pretty much an ambient track some funky beats come in alongside the melody that chimes along energetically like bugs in summer. Apart from the guitars I like pretty much every element in this track but it doesn’t quite have the structure I’d like from this kind of music.

 

7. Audiovoid – The Melting Woman

This track is a much darker one this time with a harder and harsher beat and much glitchier sounds. A lot of the glitch in my head sounds like machinery with things banging, spinning and turning. I am put in mind of the huge logging machines they use to clear the rain forests. The dark atmosphere surrounding the glitch forces the image of loss into my head like the elementals that live in the forest are losing their home to onslaught of progress and modernization. When the melody finally comes in I have a sense of relief like the forest is fighting back. What comes next sounds to me like an energetic fight between the forest dwellers and the would be destroyers. Ethereal voices cry out trying to stem the machine glitch but the machine fights back and the glitch in the end seems to over power everything. Shame, I would have liked the forest to win.

 

8. Audiopathik – Sour Soul Syrup

Here we have a stronger beat driven track with a similar dark feeling to the last track. A woman speaks almost indiscernibly at the start and then we get the beats and her heavy breathing. It sounds like someone being pursued through a dark forest at night and coming out into a clearing dominated by the presence of giant machines. The energy is high but gone is the light relaxing beauty of the opening tracks replaced with a more menacing feeling. The music is still great though with sharp acidic synths scything down through the trees and harsh guttural voices grunting in tandem with the beats adding what is almost an extra percussion. Cool stuff in the end to remind me that no matter how much we fight, there is no stopping progress.