Omnimotion – Dream Wide Awake [Aleph-Zero - Oct2006]

Promotional Text –

After four years of recording, producing and composing new music in his Ambium Studio based in Stockholm, Sweden, Omnimotion is finally back with a second album. Utilizing inspirations and knowledge he picked up along his very diverse musical path, Stefan has created Dream Wide Awake. The album contains the best musical gems that were carefully chosen from the music that accumulated in this four year period. It is a beautifully mellow yet optimistic album, with a strong acoustic presence. Dream Wide Awake is an incredibly diverse album. It features eight different vocalists- from a rapper to an opera singer- and many guest musicians with an array of instruments including the violin, accordion, guitar, drums, harp & flute. The outcome hovers between the electronic and the acoustic, the hypnotic and the melodic, between abstract ambient and mellow songs, between dubby songs and IDM glitches. Omnimotion weaves and paints here an emotional musical journey that must not be missed and will leave you dreaming wide

Artist – Omnimotion
Title – Dream Wide Awake
Label – Aleph-Zero, Israel
Genre – ??? (:-) A Mixed Bag of downtempo goodies)
Format – CD
Release Date – Oct2006

Tracklist -

01. Nothingness (6:39)
02. Being (5:47)
03. Days Of Silence (4:38) [Vocals - Aleah]
04. Wide Awake (6:34) [Vocals - Krister Linder]
05. Une Autre Vie (5:17)
06. Elves of Athoria (6:34)
07. Cozy Life (5:08)
08. Dubber (4:59)
09. Japan (4:48)
10. Purple Sky (4:47) [Vocals - Adam Perski]
11. Electronic Love (6:16)
12. Open My Heart (3:57)
13. Ton Image (7:25)

I couldn’t be happier when I first heard about this album, the promo text by Aleph-Zero is a 110% true. Bluetech, Shulman and now Omnimotion, innovation seems to be Aleph-Zero’s motto. “Stefan Lundaahl” from Sweden with his second solo release “Dream Wide Awake” has chosen a varied and very acoustical path to our senses, Smelting elements from various styles we are presented with a mixed bag of downtempo goodies. Fasten your seatbelts and let’s jet set into 5^th gear.

“Nothingness”, quite a paradoxical title for a track whose tranquil nature takes me away to an early morning sunrise along marine drive, adding to the wonder is the gritty flute sounds, it’s all just so perfect to set the groove for your day. “look at the skies, look at these trees, its so beautiful” The next track “Being” with its playful symphonic sounds and soothing vocal bits along with the emotional violin instantly put a big smile on my face. “Days Of silence” deserves much more then a standing applause, mellow guitar and violins layered over triphop beats with the deep and hypnotic voice of Aleah from the Binah fame to guide our senses, a formula that cannot go wrong,

Track 4 indicates its time to board the dub train, ensure you have window seats to enjoy the scenery along the way. “Dream Wide Awake” is the only track from the album I didn’t quite enjoy; I guess it’s the gloomy vocals that play foul for me. “Une Autre Vie” and “Elves of Athoria” combine Rastafarian elements with summer Corsica vibes in the most elegant way possible, two really great laidback dub tracks. The same would go for “Dubber” which has a much deeper and pure Rasta feel with abstract beats and flute sounds.

“Cozy Life” and “Japan” are tracks that I simply cant get enough of. Even though the vocals have a very pop feel, the tracks are standing example on how chillout artists can incorporate vocals without making them sound cheesy, the spacey guitar work on both tracks are astounding. A special mention would be the bass on Cosy Life, it’s a groove that get listeners hooked instantly. Stefan surprises me once again with “Purple Sky” featuring Hip Hop MC “Adam Perski “ and turntablism yet maintaining the chillout feel, if your complaining about the rap bit go hear the lyrics carefully, at least they compliment the music and make some sense as compared to random gangsta bling bling.

Nearing the end we have “Electronic Love” that forays into glitchy and IDM sounds with random opera style singing bits that sound great, another display of creativity that’s not bound by any genre restrictions. “Open My Heart” takes us back on the dub train, but I wonder why it wasn’t placed along with the other dubby tracks. “Ton Image” closes the album on a very acoustic note with blissful vocals in some language that sounds like French or Italian to me. I actually went to check if there’s something wrong with my CD player when this track got over. I couldn’t believe the journey ended so fast, 72 minutes over in a jiffy!!! Wow!

Well, good things always come to an end but what remains is the feeling. It’s obvious that Stefan has worked really hard on his second album, the production is really top notch and the mastering by Yaniv Shulman just adds to the sonic magic. The album is perfect for any downbeat electronic music enthusiast and I am sure this will make waves even outside the psychillout circles. As opposed to mass opinion I say leave the headphones behind and put this on a big sound system *winks*.

On a final note when it comes to Aleph-Zero one cannot miss to mention the artwork. The beautiful pastel and organic colours on the album cover are so soothing and beautiful. This release is a concept one has to grasp, the music, the artwork, the album and track title all combine to form a cohesive bond. Stop reading and get that credit card out.

Mystical Sun – Deeperworlds [Cyberset - Dec2006]

Mystical Sun is an adventure into new sound worlds, the world of the atmostronica sound. The music is lush deep and serene at any tempo as the music dilates time. The attention to detail and subtleties in every song will reveal new aural treats with each listen.

Mystical Sun is a human hyper-dimensional radio-interface that tunes into the sound of the universe and records it on a G5. When you hear the lovely female voice on some tracks you are listening to the voice of Dawn.

Artist – Mystical Sun
Title – Deeperworlds
Label – Cyberset
Genre – Ambient/Chillout/Dub
Release Date – December
Format – CD

Links -

https://cyberset.cc/home.php
https://cyberset.cc/artists.php?tr_artist_id=11
http://www.mysticalsun.com/

Tracklist -

01. 2012 (7:28)
02. Blue Magnetic Ocean (7:21)
03. Halo (8:13)
04. Pure (6:36)
05. Cloudbursting (7:14)
06. 7 Generations (6:11)
07. Ceremony (4:17)
08. Ninth Sphere (4:40)
09. Innerworld (4:33)
10. In Between Orbits (5:37)
11. Dragonfly (2:53)
12. River Goddess (3:19)
13. Waters Of Life (4:18)
14. Antediluvian (1:17)

This CD has been a very pleasant surprise for me, When I got the CD I faintly remembered hearing the name “Mystical Sun” even though he has a bag full of releases on top chillout labels like Interchill, Waveform and Ultimae (Fahrenheit 1,2,3), and an album called “Primordial Atmosphere” released way back in 1994.

Like most of the solo albums “Deeperworlds” released by “Cyberset Music”, a young and dynamic label from San Fransisco, is a collection of a few previously released tracks and many fresh new tunes by Richard. What really got my attention is the variety of sounds in this release, Richard manages to take the listeners on a subtle journey through ambient, dub, abstract visions and even upbeat progressive grooves all suspended in a aqueous transmission.

The first 4 track glide through organic and mystical dubby textures along with very serene and mild psychedelic beats that would work marvels on the chillout floors. After nearly 30 minutes of chilled dubby vibes we are pleasantly greeted by “Cloudbursting”, an upbeat trancey track with a very live instrumentation feel especially with the guitar strums, flat bassline and a pinch of tribal chants. Track 6 and 7 takes us into a darker and pagan journey with a platter of some instrument that sounds like an oriental flute to me. “Ninth Sphere” puts the listener back into the chilled groove with its mellow mood. Calling for a 360 degree turn track 9 “Innerworld” explores into an array of deep hypnotic 4X4 beats with tribal percussions and female vocal bits, a decent track but not really a standout as compared to the other 4X4 tracks or maybe its the vocals that sound a little cheesy to me. Track 10 brings back the epic ethnic sitar laden dubby vibe. The last four tracks of the album indicate its time to really chillout into ambient atmospheres, taking the listener on a more abstract ambient trip with some colourful and “Staring into the Abyss” moments.

Final verdict, well this is a very good release in terms of variety of psychedelic sounds as mentioned earlier but I think the tracks could have been arranged in a better flow especially in the mid section. Another point worth mentioning would be the small sounds throughout that don’t really grab any attention at first but upon repeated listening they become more evident. Ill definitely be checking more of Cyberset releases.

Favourites – 1,3,5,6, and 13