Templar Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Twentythree Ultimae Records, 2011 1. Arecibo 2. System 3. Somewhere In Russia 4. Terpene 5. Inertia 6. VLA (Edit) 7. Kensington Gardens 8. Held Together By Gravity Carbon Based Lifeforms are my favorite artists from Ultimae Records, the magical world of Vincent Villus, along with Asura and H.U.V.A. Network. The trip with otherworldly sounds created by Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad had started long time ago together with the advent of their debut album called "Hydroponic Garden". The artists wanted to create a purely ambient album for a long time. Finally they managed to fulfill their dream, which resulted in the "Twentythree" album. Until now Carbon Based Lifeforms have accustomed us to other kinds of tunes, more dynamic, very often laced with acidic atmosphere. While getting familiar with this album do not expect something you know from their previous albums. Here the Swedish wizards leave every sonic adornment and their typical sound behind and take up pure beatless core, achieving ambient apogee, made immortal by the likes of Biosphere. As one of their leading motifs on this album Johannes and Daniel introduce deep space shrouded in mysteries, where mankind tries to find even the scarcest answers, some significant singnal from infinite frontiers. It is pure ambient at its best, served in and elegant form and an elegant packing, which continues the tradition of Ultimae Records releases' new cover designs established by the "Origin #01" album by Solar Fields. Nice pastel colors presented on the cover contrast in an intriguing way with peculiar colors of space created by the sounds. Imagine that you can levitate freely and effortlessly without any kind of help from a special space-suit, or the necessity to breathe. Long and hypnotic portions of sounds, which dominate throughout the whole thing, emulate a free flight into the infinite cosmic abyss. Everything seduces and sucks further into the bottomless sonic pit like an invisible sprayed mist of pheromones. Along with the following chapters of this story we will find ourselves in Puerto Rico ("Arecibo" and the famous radio telescope), Russia ("Somewhere In Russia"), Socorro in New Mexico (the "VLA" track, the title of which stands for the Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory), or London ("Kensington Gardens"). Although the material presented here is far from the past CBL releases, one can still feel characteristic features of the Swedish artists' music, who try to convey their visions in an extremely tasteful way, building consistently a truly unearthly atmosphere. The album is great for soothing oneself, perfect for headphones. Delicate, floating ambient music will lull both the body and the mind to sleep, relax, enable deep reflections - whatever you want, guaranteed it is without any movement on your part. Just you and the sound. It is more than evident for me that not all people will like this release. They don't have to. Carbon Based Lifeforms recorded what they wanted and how they wanted and in my book they managed to perform this task flawlessly, thus scoring some extra points. Personally I prefer the vibe presented on "Hydroponic Garden", however they succeeded in catching my full attention with this album. It's beautiful, melancholic and deep in its own way. The album proves to be a great friend whenever I want everything around me to slow down and chillout, along with me in the centre of it. For some it might be just pure boredom, fortunately not all are destined for such shortsightedness and ignorance, because in these supposedly banal ambient tracks lies the power of their message and an interesting story, which is lead slowly but consistently. It is a beautiful backdrop of dreams and a cloak of space enchanted in sounds, just waiting for our presence and inviting us to explore it with every single piece of our minds. Templar / http://www.psytrance.pl Links: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/inr/inr1cd047.html http://www.ultimae.com/en/news/449.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Zeed Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 As a big CBL fan i have to say i was a bit disappointed in this release. Dont get me wrong, if youre into pure ambient drone then youll love this and wont be disappointed. its just that in my opinion this is not the style they do best. Tracks like Neurotransmitter and Supercede is where they do there best stuff for me. The last album Interloper was superb, full of melody and movement and this couldnt be more different. Personally i hope they dont continue to go down this path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolmot Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I got mine today and listened it through twice. It would be nice to rate each album as an individual piece of work, but at this point of CBL's career comparisons to previous work are common and unavoidable. Everyone has their own ranking of CBL albums. While the #1 spot also varies, few can deny the fact that Hydroponic Garden was a landmark release. When the ominous beat of Central Plains kicked in at 5:30, CBL and even Ultimae as a whole stepped permanently on the map. People may favour later albums musically, but that defining moment is hard to top. World of Sleepers was another solid album. It was equally fine mix of sturdy beats, spacey samples and colourful soundscapes. I found it a little less coherent than HG, but that could be simply because the flow of HG is 100% hard-coded in my spine. Still plenty of big hits on WoS, so to speak. Now Interloper...for some it's the best, for me it didn't work that well. It was fine music again, no doubt, but somehow too casual. The previous albums had a feeling of being somewhere far away. Interloper felt like the title of HUVA Network's track "Sunday Barbecue with the Neighbours". It's very organic and down to earth. There are many analogue elements in its sounds. It's not pre-party, rave party (well, chillout room) or after-party music. It's Sunday noon music. (Add "to me" to everything, of course.) Also, many of the patterns were directly recycled from WoS. That's why it felt like leftovers - of very good stuff, sure, but leftovers nevertheless. Maybe it has its places and times. However, I haven't been in that kind of mood too often. That's why it hasn't received much attention around here. Then we got Twentythree, surprisingly soon after Interloper. It has fewer beats than any of the previous albums (well, none, really) - but it's cosmic again! Am I just fooled by the cover? I don't think so. It's "far away" music. It's for pre-party, rave party, after-party, planning things, doing serious work, you name it. There's very little Sunday barbecue here. The flow is even more seamless than before. It's easy to spot recycled instruments here too, but this time they're from HG and Irdial EP, which were the heavy stuff. For those reasons, I'd rank it #2 among the main CBL albums. Many people will undoubtedly disagree but hey, ambient is for listening and discovering your own style, not for teaming up with the cool guys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspartic Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 I admit that I have no knowledge of previous Carbon Based Lifeforms work, but when I read the word 'drone', I just had to check it out. And yes, it reminds me of Astropilot's Solar Walk. I love this kind of music. A multitude of soundscapes and an eerie atmosphere. Buying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminon Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 World of Sleepers was another solid album. It was equally fine mix of sturdy beats, spacey samples and colourful soundscapes. I found it a little less coherent than HG, but that could be simply because the flow of HG is 100% hard-coded in my spine. Still plenty of big hits on WoS, so to speak. Yeah, that's my #1, personally rated better than HG. WoS' sturdy beats and extremely psychedelic soft tunes lead the way. The variety between tracks is also nice. You may think it's less coherent, I think HG is a bit too much coherent and not so psychedelic, the atmosphere remains kind of light, unless you're really immersed to pay total attention to details like slight variations in melody and rhythm. It doesn't compel you to listen, like let's say, Photosynthesis. But HG is definitely my #2. Now Interloper...for some it's the best, for me it didn't work that well. It was fine music again, no doubt, but somehow too casual. The previous albums had a feeling of being somewhere far away. Interloper felt like the title of HUVA Network's track "Sunday Barbecue with the Neighbours". It's very organic and down to earth. There are many analogue elements in its sounds. It's not pre-party, rave party (well, chillout room) or after-party music. It's Sunday noon music. (Add "to me" to everything, of course.) Also, many of the patterns were directly recycled from WoS. That's why it felt like leftovers - of very good stuff, sure, but leftovers nevertheless. Maybe it has its places and times. However, I haven't been in that kind of mood too often. That's why it hasn't received much attention around here. Exactly, Interloper doesn't sound otherworldly, hypnotic, fascinating and a little wicked. A thought came to me, never have tried it before, but maybe this is what I always wanted and what all these folks call ACID. Overall, Interloper is a positive and relaxing music. Of course it's innovative, compared to common chillout or ambient artists. But if I sometimes want to warm my heart a little, I put on some Asher Quinn or other New Age instrumentals. (don't look at me like that) Then we got Twentythree, surprisingly soon after Interloper. It has fewer beats than any of the previous albums (well, none, really) - but it's cosmic again! Am I just fooled by the cover? I don't think so. It's "far away" music. It's for pre-party, rave party, after-party, planning things, doing serious work, you name it. There's very little Sunday barbecue here. The flow is even more seamless than before. It's easy to spot recycled instruments here too, but this time they're from HG and Irdial EP, which were the heavy stuff. For those reasons, I'd rank it #2 among the main CBL albums. Many people will undoubtedly disagree but hey, ambient is for listening and discovering your own style, not for teaming up with the cool guys... You mean, there are parties, before, during or after which they put on such a music? In my experience, people writhe and squirm in presence of moods used by the Ultimae crew and all their relatives. They want the reassuringly familiar and predictable sounds of mainstream. As for the album itself, it's definitely one of the best drone albums out there. The sound's not so lush as the brilliant Solar Walk by AstroPilot, but a little minimalism is not a bad thing. Twentythree is very listener-friendly, it doesn't overload your ears like AstroPilot, neither it feeds you weird sounds like another wonderful ambient album by Ishq, Sama. And it's very homogenous and lacking melodies, compared to my favorite piece by Loscil - Plume. Ambient drone music is again not a very universal one, there's not always mood for it, but I think it fits CBL better than heart-warming positive tunes they showed in Interloper. I think I'll pair this album with VLA, put on headphones play it on a low volume on a group meditation session. It's certainly better than this sweet and innocent relaxation music they usually play. Eerie, that's the word, thanks Joost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisomy_brain Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I've heard much better pure ambient/drone music, this album is not very interesting unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminon Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I've heard much better pure ambient/drone music, this album is not very interesting unfortunately. Do me a favor please and tell me. I'm always glad for thematized recommendations. I hope it won't be something like Biosphere's Substrata or Klaus Schulze's Irrlicht. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 This is drone ambient but it is definitely very different to you usual drone ambient. It has the unique CBL sound to it and apart from VLA, it sounds like your usual CBL goodness transformed into beatless ambient. I really enjoy this as a lover of both psy & ambient as this mixes both in a fairly unique way. I can understand why people will think there is a lot of better drone ambient out there; this is in that style but very different so won't be liked by every drone ambient lover. Thanks CBL, you've added a new dimension to my music collection. I love hearing something that is familiar yet very fresh and that is how I would describe this album. Love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time_Trap Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Do me a favor please and tell me. I'm always glad for thematized recommendations. I hope it won't be something like Biosphere's Substrata or Klaus Schulze's Irrlicht. Why not? Biosphere is 10 levels above CBL. And of course there's tons of better drone ambient out there. eg Steve Roach - Immersion: One Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Really enjoyed this CD! Glad CBL tried something different. Better than Interloper. I think this has its own style, as many drone CDs do. Very different from Biosphere's Substrata...which is neither drone for like 23. Recommended. Pedro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trance2MoveU Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Artist: Carbon Based Lifeforms Title: Twentythree Label: Ultimae Records Date: July, 2011 1. Arecibo 2. System 3. Somewhere In Russia 4. Terpene 5. Inertia 6. VLA (Edit) 7. Kensington Gardens 8. Held Together By Gravity Like Iono to progressive, Ultimae is to chill out and one of the heavy hitters of the genre is here with their fourth album. Swedish duo Daniel Segerstad and Johannes Hedberg have cemented their place in emotional chillout, but something is different here. They left the beat machine at home. So to honor them...I left my gifs at home. Arecibo is a huge beatless ambient undertaking with filtered pads slowly cycling in waves. This is seeing the reflected sun on the largest desert on Earth...only this one is of the frozen variety. Where the polar bear is top of the food chain and all you can see it white in every direction. No trees, no lakes...just flat ice. System has slowly churning pad turnover with more effects which help me focus on what's happening. This defines the coldness that is space and the lonliness and isolation one must feel as they walk upon the space stations hull. It's eerie and just how I imagine what the soundtrack of Earth would be miles above its surface. Somewhere in Russia- To me Russia could be like space. Have you ever f*cking looked at a map and seen how vast that country is? The biggest thing we got here is Alaska and I think we could fit 3 or 4 of those in there. They've got 9 different time zones...more that twice my country. Huge. It's more evolving pads in a simple melody with some clutter in the background. Pretty big and a slow mover. Like a fat guy going up the steps. Terpene- With the shortest track they have a small melody that crawls amid wide open space. Almost like an interlude. Inertia- From the shortest to the longest Inertia balances the cold of the desert in Arecibo with the canines of your dogsled. The dripping of water off icicles taller than buildings give you hope that life can be sustained out in the middle of nowhere. More pads and a mournful voice wrap around you like a frozen blanket. If I had to pick one word...barren. VLA (Edit)- Very Large Array is pure drone to me. 10 minutes of this non altering pad can be looked at in two ways. One, you gotta be kidding me 10 minutes?!? Two, it's so utterly hypnotizing, like a blank canvas on which you can create your own horror movie. I choose two...cause I'm an optimist. Kensington Gardens- It begins with soft garden chimes as a breeze blows, but the ominous pad underneath threatens to take the innocence of child hood and throw it in a dark dungeon where nobody could find it. But thankfully that never happens. Didn't like it. Nope, sure didn't. I could go to home depot and ring their chimes for 6 and a half minutes and maybe it would sound the same. Cmon, let's be honest...you reaaaallllly have to like beatless to get anything out of this. Held Together by Gravity- They saved the most positive and uplifting track for last. It's another pad heavy twirl through the great cosmos. But now think of it as a tour of duty that is almost over and your family is waiting for you to come home. First thing I'm gonna say is if you plan on getting the most out of this album block off an hour and 10 minutes of uninterrupted time. No phone, friends, internet, porn...And if you could be outside I believe it would also help. This is different than their other stuff. Beatless ambient and drone are acquired tastes. Some think it's dull as insurance while some get totally lost in it. Kudos to them for trying something new and having the courage to make an entire album out of it. They added another feather in their cap as far as I'm concerned. Yeah it's tough to get through this album if you're not a fan of the genre and VLA and Kensington Gardens can stretch a brother's patience. But you cannot get more chilled out than this and still be breathing. It's cold, melancholy, and becomes the perfect backdrop to let your imagination take over and paint your own picture. Just look at the cover...they sent out the signal. Now we just have to find out who's listening. Psyshop Beatspace Goastore Mdk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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