H.U.V.A. Network - Distances

[DeathPosture]

H.U.V.A. Network – Distances

 

 

 

Format: CD

Artist: H.U.V.A. Network

Title: When Solar Fields meets Aes Dana - Distances

Label: Ultimae Records, France

Cat. #: INRE 012

Year: 2004

 

Track listing:

 

01. 08’40” Distances

02. 07’40” Access to the Long Fields

03. 05’53” Rain Geometries

04. 07’12” Symetric Lifes

05. 03’29” Processing Lights

06. 06’48” Indigo Rooms

07. 08’29” Time Circles

08. 10’24” Overload (Putput Mix)

09. 05’46” Moon Town

10. 07’38” Morning Call (Dawn Remix)

11. 05’56” Sunday Barbeque with the Neighbours

 

Review:

 

Behold the battle of the giants…

 

Humans Under Visual Atmospheres Network… Sounds pretty posh, and in a sense it is… This is ambient heavy-weights Magnus Birgersson & Vincent Villuis (of Solar Fields and Aes Dana fame respectably). We heard the first taster of their collaboration of Fahrenheit Project Part 3, and now finally the full album is out…Naturally, it’s on Ultimae Records … That alone, says ‘quality guaranteed’ in my book…

 

Through broadband internet technology, they’ve been able to swiftly send bits and pieces back and forth from France to Sweden through Ultimae-servers… This album was in the making for six full months, and only a couple of times did the two sonic wizards actually meet IRL… Wow, the wonders of modern technology, huh!?

 

I’ve listened to this virtually non-stop since I received it in the mail, and it’s hard for me to describe how wonderful it is… I can’t stop listening to it… Ambient chill in its purest, cleanest form… From featherlike, dreamy, tribal atmospheric chill to deep, dark, dubby, alienated downbeat… So fresh, so clean, so well polished… This is beyond words!

 

Make sure you give this the respect it deserves, but playing it on a decent sound system… There is so much stuff going on, on so many frequencies – Headphones are highly recommended… The deep, rich baselines and the overall magical ambient feel will send you on a journey you will not soon forget… Strong contender for ambient album of the year!

 

9.5/10

 

Favourites: All (Oh, and check out the dark, gloomy hidden track after BBQ… Sweet!)

 

DeathPosture

 

External links:

Ultimae Records: http://www.ultimae.com (soundclips available)

Saiko Sounds: http://www.saikosounds.com

Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com

Chaos Unlimited: http://www.chaosunlimited.co.uk

[Guest lm]

Definitely another superb ambient album from Ultimae Records.

 

The label has been constantly releasing high quality albums and compilations during the last few years by carefully selecting artists and tracks.

 

I hope this won't change in the future and I would be happy if a few more labels could follow this example.

[seraph]

Yeah, this is very good, ambient journey and one of the best ambient releases last year. One guy from Aes Dana and one guy from Solar Fields produced very variable, rhythmic ambient piece and everyone that are seriously into this genre should get this...9/10

[healium]

There's some real nice tracks here - the ones that are more uptempo are really quite nice..

 

On the whole though this is a seriously languid and often boring composition.. I would have to be VERY VERY high to find most of it entertaining in any real way - I mean so high like I couldn't get out of my chair type of high....

[tbe]

10/10. Best Ultimae release. A true masterpiece.

[Dragonflier]

Very good album indeed, I kinda agree with healium though that the uptempo tracks are the best. In particular "Overload (Putput Mix)", which is almost like a pure trance track.

[Sawfly]

I think this is my favourite Ultimae Records ambient release. This truely is a real journey from beginning to the end No weak points found. Very relaxing.

 

10/10 without a doubt

[abasio]

Yes I think all the praise above is very justified.

What else would you expect from the people involved though?

 

[abasio]

H.U.V.A. Network

Distances

Ultimae

April 2004

Ambient

 

Tracklist

 

1 Distances (8:39)

2 Access To The Long Fiels (7:40)

3 Rain Geometries (5:52)

4 Symetric Lifes (7:11)

5 Processing Lights (3:29)

6 Indigo Room (6:46)

7 Time Circles (8:28)

8 Overload (Putput Mix) (10:24)

9 Moon Town (5:45)

10 Morning Call (Dawn Remix) (7:37)

11 Sunday Barbecue With The Neighbours (3:30)

 

When Aes Dana meets Solar Fields, in my opinion 2 of the best ambient/ambient trance producers since the turn of the century. Teaming up to create an album combining both men's skills & ideas. So do these 2 ambient maestros compliment each other or did they conflict too much. Let's take a look!!

 

1. Distances

We kick off with the title track. A soft dreamy track with an oscillating synth, right from the start. Soft voices are barely audible early on, unless you listen in headphones. If you listen carefully though it becomes more noticeable later in the track. The beat & the baseline are quite subtle & this creates a dark evening atmosphere. I feel like a small insignificant creature, lying in a field of black gold watching a UFO with mild interest.

 

2. Access To The Long Fields

A bit more melodious here but with a slightly alien feel. Long drawn out sci fi drones with high & low pitch form the intro before a slow heavy baseline played on a double bass brings us down to Earth after the intro. Little high hats build energy as a break beat teases in. The beat never becomes steady though & after a short time is gone leaving only the spacey sounds as an outro.

We were flying, crashed down back to Earth & started running before realising we were still in the air.

 

3. Rain Geometries

More melodious still with an actual melody from the start then a heavy (sounding) base melody over the top. Some minimal acoustic guitar & the beat kicks in at the same time. The beat is steady but very spacious & slow. It seems initially to add very little to the track until it leaves & comes back which is when you realise it is timing your thoughts so you can understand every little addition. As all the sounds have arrived a break beat flutters through an infectious if simple melody.

 

4. Symmetric Lines

This this track has a really spacious feel to it. Big orchestral droning synths in the background feel like a solar wind pushing us through space. The most percussive track so far is the most spacey & trancey. Bits of melody come at us but they feel distant as if they are moving away from us. The vocal that comes in later is a nice touch but it seems like a humanly alien landing in a parallel universe.

 

5. Processing Lights

The sound of waves can be heard under a strange sounding drone. Light rushes from under the sea as we are shown the wonders of the deep. This track has a very wet feel like the sea. The little electronic twinkles even manage to sound like sea gulls. Albeit twisted alien ones.

 

6. Indigo Room

If water was made up of colour & lights then this track would be the rain. I never got this track on the stereo as the baseline is very prominent and can take over an unfocused mind but listen carefully beneath the base & you can hear a colourful rain & a sonic wind lightening things up. Even the middle section with no baseline seems to have hidden depths. Listen to this track. Focus on it's beauty.

 

7. Time Circles

A very difficult track to describe. Errrr..... the start is like many a dark ambient album. Long dark synths, no melody or percussion, just atmosphere and weird noise. A dark alien voice comes in halfway through bringing with it a soft yet oppressive bamboo beat. I have to describe this track as passively aggressive. It's chilled yet uptight. It's spacious but too dense. It is a paradox. I'm just not sure about it. I usually like weird abstract stuff but I just don't get this! It's not too weird it's just not that good.

 

8. Overload (Put Put Remix)

The longest track on the album is quick to get going, short stabs of synth seem to act as a danceable beat & there is energy from the get go. When the beat comes in it's a 4-4 beat right from Aes Dana. Very driving relaxed dancefloor stuff. When the beat comes back in with the beat lines coming back in perfectly, I really feel like my brain's on overload.

 

9. Moon Town

Follows on nicely from the outro of Overload. It feels spacey but also feels more tribal & grounded. Think alien tribe sacrificing someone to their god on a full moon or a double moon. It's much more relaxed than overload with a more intricate beats. It's a lot trippier & a great track visually.

 

10. Morning Call (Dawn Remix)

The celestial vocals at the start bring with them a light warmth. The sound of an alien oceanic wave crashing against the cliffs puts me on a beach and the steady rushing sounds put me at dawn. The voice sounds like the sun's light creeping over the horizon & the beats feel like the light creeping over the hills to light the rest of the world. It feels like the day is underway but I'm on the wrong side of it. Experiencing the sunrise after being up all night.

 

11. Sunday BBQ With The Neighbours

Now that the day is underway, the birds are out & the sun is shining. Melody seems to come out of the sky but it fades away in a foreboding manner. When it comes back it seems more sinister, the sounds behind it bring dark clouds but still the birds sing. After fading the second time only the birds are left behind. Then silence for a minute followed by some dark BBQ destroying spirits. The total opposite of the start of the track. Sounds a bit like rain and as we know rain kills BBQs.

 

 

 

So did Aes Dana & Solar Fields work well together? I think they did! It's a good album & apart from Time Circles, which is crap, the tracks all form part of a story.

The album goes from early evening through the night to the dawn & even until the day with poor weather.

Favourites are symmetric lines, indigo room, overload & morning call but I wish there had been no inclusion of Time Circles.

 

This is not the greatest ultimae album & being a combination of 2 great artists that it is I can't help but feel a little disappointed.

You should listen to this before you listen to Solar Fields or Aes Dana.

[frozen dream]

austere and beautiful, i would rate it... after about 4 listens (one REALLY louda )

 

7/10

 

goodness the way it ought to be,

 

now playing: symetric lifes

 

a deep deep dive in a no-swimming zone.

[Yard Hippie]

I'm liking it too. Arrived in the post yesterday and have played it also about four times. I'm not getting the 'weirdness' that Abasio describes in 'Time Circles' though maybe I'm just not as astute with me being so very new to this style. In any case it's an awesome addition to my collection.

[Novacron]

I really wish they would press more of these.. I missed out on a copy the first time around.

[Yard Hippie]

I really wish they would press more of these.. I missed out on a copy the first time around.

They have printed more, that's why we're suddenly talking about it again as though it's just come out It can be found here

[Novacron]

They have printed more, that's why we're suddenly talking about it again as though it's just come out It can be found here

You are a Godsend. Thanks buddy.. buying a copy now

[Yard Hippie]

You wont be dissapointed

 

You are a Godsend. Thanks buddy.. buying a copy now

[psytones]

.. I would have to be VERY VERY high to find most of it entertaining in any real way - I mean so high like I couldn't get out of my chair type of high....

I'm armrmered down in the sofa so high right now. and this cd is so beautiful, all tracks tell their story and journey. 9/10

[MattMan]

 

armrmered.

[Trance2MoveU]

Solar Fields and Aes Dana?

 

Together?

 

That's peanut butter and chocolate, people.

 

Not people. I didn't mean...that people were chocolate people. Just chocolate...You know, like a Reeses.

 

Receptionist: Al Sharpton on line one!

 

F*ck.

 

When you make downtempo and ambient as good as these guys putting them together is gonna make some noise. Sweet, beautiful, flowing noise. The tracks are awesome by themselves, but partially mix them and you have an epically smooth journey. Safe to say this is a classic.

 

Mdk