To: idm-owner@techno.Stanford.EDU
From: Terre Thaemlitz <Terre_Thaemlitz@qmcumc.mail.cornell.edu>
hi there! here are two reviews of comps that i recently did for Trip fanzine.
i was emailing them to the editor and thought i might as well post'em to idm
as well...
-terre
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EMIT0094 - Various (US: Instinct / UK: Time Recording)
Contemporary ambient on the soulful side - this cd is the shit! All of the
tracks have a very loose touch to them, and most use common jazz/funk
instrument sounds such as piano, conga and jazz percs, organ, electric bass,
etc., to lesser and greater degrees. The comp opens with Coco, Steel &
Lovebomb's "Harlem," which is a warped revisiting of early urban soundscape
tracks by EWF and Kool&TG. The mood is set. "Sweat," by Voodoo Warriors of
Love, brings in a little more contemporary ambient feel, but doesn't let loose
of the free groove. None of the tracks do - they just take you deeper and
mellower, resting you up for the final beat drops in Woob's "Void, Part One."
This comp is destined for many an afternoon of repeat play in my cd player,
and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for smoove contemporary ambient
without that sharp cyber edge. (TT)
Chill Out Phase Two (US: Instinct)
This double cd set continues in the same encyclopedic vein as Instinct's first
Chill Out comp, combining numerous facets of the contemporary ambient genre
that you usually don't find all in one spot. The tracks range from the synth
and string washes of Sad World's "Apadana" to the electro-experimentation of
Prototype 909's "Understand." There are plenty of classics here, such as Air
Liquide's "Sun Progress," (yeah, that groovy inner track from the blue vinyl),
and a mix of The Irresistible Force's "Space is the Place." There's also
recent stuff from big cheeses such as the Aphex Twin ("Blue Calx"), Dominic
Woosey as Mysteries of Science ("Creatures Made of Light...), The Drum Club ("
Spaced Out Locked In"), and Cabaret Voltaire ("Project 80"). But hey, you don'
t have to be a music mogul to be fierce! Human Mesh Dance (Taylor808 from P909)
definitely pulled it off with "Wet Moon," which will be dj-accessible on a
limited edition ambient vinyl double album coming out on Instinct this summer (
it will also feature hand-picked tracks by Instinct comrades Omicron,
Mysteries of Science and Terre Thaemlitz). Chill Out Phase Two is a high-
quality comp that's well worth getting. (DJ S)