VA – Vajra [Indica Music - Jan2006]

Label – Indica Music http://www.indicamusic.com/
Release Date – Jan 2006
Format – CD
Style - Dub, Downtempo, Ambient, Chillout

Tracklist -

01. Gaudi – Lunar Patchouli (5:13)
02. Cell – Idea Spiral (7:11)
03. Tripswitch – Cumulus (9:54)
04. Mauxuam – Sounds A Lot (7:52)
05. Aes Dana – Opalin (Sonica Edit) (8:00)
06. Scene – Piano Suite (6:35)
07. Trotter – Clean That Too (6:25)
08. Tikal – La Bonne Étoile (8:18)
09. Chilled C”quence – Pardesi (8:31)

After a brief period of inactivity in terms of releases since the debut album “Phonic Peace” by French act Cell aka Alex Scheffer, Italian based Indica Music run by DJ Edoardo who is also well known in the psytrance scene with Neurobiotic Records have come out with a spanking new Chillout release featuring mostly globally well known artists and a few new and fresh acts who are on the Indica roster. Compiled by Josko who is also the Chillout DJ for Indica “Vajra” is a release that cannot go wrong with its massively chilled lineup .

Opening track “Lunar Patchouli” by dub and world music mastero “Gaudi” as the name suggests has a spacy feel with a Earthly dubby vibe, a perfect way to start the trip. Next comes Cell with “Idea Spiral”, this one has a phat tribal dub groove to it with generous doses of ethnic chants. “Tripswitch” whose album “Circuit Breaker” had everyone gasping for more gives us a epic piece of downtempo electronica with sharp blips and bleeps progressing into a 4×4 structure keeping the tribal groove intact, the break on this one is simply breathtaking with all the elements of the track popping up randomly along with a soft piano solo. Maurizio Liguori with his project “Mauxuam” is the best thing that could have happened to the chillout scene in ecent times, “Sounds a lot” takes the BPM a litle higher treating us to a highly psychedelic ride, undoubtedly one of the best tracks ive heard this year!!!!

We get a change in direction into tracey 4×4 chillout territories by Vincent Villuis aka AES Dana who is even one half of H.U.V.A Network and a regular on Ultimae Records, I can visualize “Opalin (Sonica Edit)” doing some serious mind elevation tricks on listeners if played at the right time, once again we get a highly psychedelic track. Next is Indica’s in house artist “Scene” with a psyfx splattered track full of jazzy and funky twists and turns, keep a look out for his debut album on Indica that should hopefully be released sometime this year. We seamlessly flow into the next track by Brazilian artist “Trotter” serving us a upbeat dub track with a very funky structure, another highlight which i have personally tested on the chill floor.

Nearing the end we are greeted by “Le Bonne Etoile” by “Tikal” who is a well established act in the trance as well as the chillout scene, the track dosnt quite grab my attention but has a very melancholic vibe with loads of vocal samples ranging from ethnic chants, movie smaples and a lady singing in what seems to me as French or Italian along a breakbeatish tune. Closing the compilation is the fresh Portuguese act “chilled c’quence” who released their highly anticipated debut album “Magic Sense” this year, a good track with excellent use of funk guitaring but nothing too groundbreaking.

As mentioned earlier “Vajra” has something for everyone and would go well with seasoned chillout listeners as well as the occasional ones. A must for every chillout DJ.

Favourites – 2,3,4,5,7

VA – Beneath The Surface [Native States - Mar2006]

Label – Native States Records http://www.nativestaterecords.com/
Release Date – 6th March 2006
Format – CD
Style – Ambient, Chillout, IDM, Glitch
Tracklist -

01. Irwin’s Conspiracy – The Beginning Of Something Good (2:26)
02. Bluetech – Ice Forming On Glass (5:50)
03. Sympath – Amethyst (5:18)
04. String Theories – White Dragon (5:09)
05. Marconi Union – Buildings And People (4:52)
06. Krill.Minima – CatDinR42 (6:42)
07. Nalepa – Porcelain (4:58)
08. Ganucheau – Stillness (6:29)
09. Rena Jones – Aurora Borealis (4:52)
10. Desert Dwellers – Stellar Dendrites (5:27)
11. Bluetech & Shulman – Midnight Bloom (6:32)
12. Aerostatic – Continuous (6:14)
13. David Last – Landscape (3:13)

Native States Records run by US based Evan Bluetech and Naasko have suprised most of the traditional chillout lovers by their unique and mellow approach. Their previous chillout instalment “Left Coast Liquid” had a more Dubby and Chilled direction, while “Beneath The Surface” is a like a glitched and minimal ride across a vast and scenic plethora of sound textures. Native States has surely left me gasping for more with its futuristic yet antique approach.

The first track by “Irwin’s Conspiracy” is nothing short of a cinematique expression making way for beautiful things to follow. The compilation is all about morphing textures which is exactly what “Ice Forming on Glass” brings with its indispensable creaky and melancholic Bluetech vibe. Next we have label manager Naasko and Canadian artist Noah Pred aka Shen with their project “Sympath” giving us a deep and dubby track suitable for night time pondering. “String Theories” a project by “Bluetech and Rena Jones” brings us a antisomatic track that once again highlights the melancholic Bluetech vibe along with
some beautiful violin work by Rena, this ones a excellent piece of art. “Building And People” by “Marconi Union” has a very organic texture with a urban feel, just like the title suggests. “Krill.minima” with “CatDinR42″ experiments with Ambient and glitchy IDMish overtones with a overall night time pulse, a scenic journey that givies us time and space to let our conscience travel many depths. “Porcelain” by West Coast producer “Steve Nalepa” is one of the fastest tracks on the compilation packaged within a very experimental fluid and glitched out beats, a definite highlight.

Ganucheau’s brings us another highlight of the compilation with a hypnotic n glitchy atmosphere that crawls over broken and scattered beats, with a very ethereal piano solo somewhere in the middle. “Rena Jones” who’s solo album is lined up for release in the month of september has a very unique style of fusing classic and symphonic music with modern electronic soundscapes, after listening to “Aurora Borealis” I cant wait to see what we have in stock for the future. “Desert Dwellers” have a certain way with their music that makes me feel really gloomy but in a good way, Iam probably not making sense but its a feeling I find hard to describe. “Bluetech and Shulman” is a duo that cant go wrong, “Midnight Bloom” sends a shiver down my spine whenever I hear it, I wont say much about this track just go and hear this one and iam sure you wont be disappointed.

Ending the complilation we are greeted by hypnotic and static ambient sounds by “Aerostatic” and “David Last” that reminds me of “Selected Ambient Works” by “Aphex Twin” which could be beacuse of the dirty beats on “Continous”, both the tracks are not
really ground breaking or stellar but are perfect for winding up the compilation.

Evan and Naasko have once again done a splendid job covering so much ground in terms of experimental electornic music thats truely worth a stand up ovation.

Favourites – 4,5,6,7,8,9,11

Shulman- Random Thoughts [Aleph Zero - Feb2006]

Label – Aleph Zero Records (Israel) http://www.aleph-zero.info/
Genre – Downtempo Electronica/Ambient/Chillout/IDM/Dub/PsyDM
Release Date – 20th February 2006
Format - CD
E-Flyer – http://www.aleph-zero.info/ShulmanFlyer.htm

Track List –

01. Shulman – OMG (11:11)
02. Bluetech & Shulman – Midnight Bloom (06:36)
03. Shulman – Zero Degrees (07:36)
04. Sub6 feat. Michele Adamson – Ra He.ya (Shulman Remix) (09:33)
05. Entheogenic – Spaced (Shulman Remix) (07:59)
06. Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix) (07:06)
07. Shulman – Look Honey it’s the Vitties! (07:40)
08. Shulman feat Lee Triffon – I Dive (08:43)
09. Shulman – Staring at the Abyss (06:22)

Having released 2 critically acclaimed albums in the past the Shulman duo need to introduction. Random Thoughts brings together a collection of various tracks that have accumulated in the Shulman studios over the years. The cd features 6 new tracks and 3 collaborations between shulman and the finest of chillout artist who have vaired and mystic backgrounds.

The opening track OMG, really lives up to its name showcasing brooding ambience to blissful beats along with the trademark dripping synthlines and the middle eastern influence in the form of arabian chants. Next track “Midnight Bloom” with US based “Bluetech” has a very haunting and mellow n’ glitchy IDM atmosphere along with the msyterious shulman sound, pure nostalgia. Getting a little deeper we find “Zero Degrees” which iam sure would be a super hit among the Indian audience with its flute, shehenai and blissful guitars, a true pagan wonder. “Ra Heya” originally by Israeli trance duo “Sub 6″ featuring Michael Adamson for some heavily fx’ed vocal bits generated quite a controvesy amongst shulman fans but honestly I love the original and the Shulman remix has added a totally new dimension and life to the track. Next track is Shulman’s remix to “Spaced” by “Entheogenic”, i like this version more then the original and the suprising jazzy hamond ending is something everyone should look forward to.

Shulman’s remix to “Ya Bouy” by “Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan” who are of arabic origin has a very upbeat chilled tribal feel with a phat groove that would get people dancing at the chillout, originally released on Aleph Zero’s first compilation its probably the oldest track on the disc. Nearing the end we are greeted back with 3 fresh Shulman tracks. “Look Honey Its The Vitties” is a totally crazy full power psychedelic rollercoaster, imagine locking up Aphex Twin and Shulman with a saxaphone player for days in a cramped room, we get everything from IDM, Jazz, to uptempo broken beats in here. Track 8 featuring female singer “Lee Triffon” isnt really my taste, its a very nice track in regards to the music but the vocals ruin the entire magic for me, but thats more of a personal issue. Ending the cd “Staring at the Abyss” is a very spacy and emotional beatless ambient track with an oceanic pulse, a very appropriate end leaving listener to anticipate a new full length Shulman album that would hopefully release sometime in 2007.

Shulman with “Random Thoughts” has really managed to transend all earthly musical boundaries, and show us the insides of a creative genius who can weave tracks with brief stories that engulf the listnener into a musical world of crossbreads between humans and aliens. A must for all shulman and downbeat electronic lovers alike. All I see here is high quality production, amazing artwork, extreme psychedelia and true emotions, the albums a steal. Aleph Zero hits the jackpot once gain leaving no stones unturned when it comes to releasing cds.