Omicron - Acrocosm (Instinct Ambient EX-289-2)
1 7:23 Earth Rider
2 3:02 Spaced Nature
3 6:12 Warped Upward
4 10:28 Lluana
5 7:06 Caterpillar To Butterfly
6 5:46 Tranquility Base
7 6:23 A Thousand Dyes On The Moist Earth
8 6:23 Orca
9 5:30 One Voice
10 12:08 Acrocosm
Instinct likes putting out ambient, and a lot of it seems to take
on a similar sound. Mysteries Of Science, Human Mesh Dance, and, yes,
Omicron all put out music that serves well as ambient, but seems to want
to be noticed as something else as well. After hearing Omicron tracks on
earlier Instinct comps, I decided that I'd save some money and just buy
this album.
I'm glad I did. It's full of beautiful ambient songs that seem
to ebb and flow along. Several songs feature warm, throbbing bass that
envelops the rest of the sounds. Lots of flowing noises, deep hums --
it's good stuff. Usually I don't "listen" to ambient, I throw it on and do
something to it (sleep, study, whatever). With this CD, I want to turn
it way up and let the bass rumble through.
If you liked any of the Omicron cuts on Rising High Trance
Injection or Chill Out Phase II, I'd recommend this. The only really bad
track is the third one, which uses these annoying little bursts of studio
feedback. Bad cut.
8 out of 10 sounds good.
Juno Reactor - Luciana (Intermodo INTA002CD)
1 61:20 Luciana
Oh, boy, new Juno Reactor, sez I, remembering Transmissions,
which I liked so much. I'll be the first one on my bock to get it! But
why is it in the experimental music section? And what's with only one
song? Hmm. Well, it's got to be good. Ooh, lookie here, it's got some
guy named Dr LX Paterson on it. Maybe I'll take it over to the player
and check it out. Oh, no, I'm late! Well, I'll just grab it.
Boy, was I in for a suprise. I put this on, and listened
intently for a good twenty minutes, waiting for a beat to kick in and the
customary Juno Reactor hijinks to start. Then I got desperate and
started scanning for a beat. Didn't find one. What I did find was
sixty-plus minutes of throbbing bass that sounded like a refrigerator
pump, with some samples and flourishes on top.
It does go somewhere, but it takes a long time, and doesn't go
far. It sounds most like something industrial (in fact, it reminds me
intensely of something by Lilith, if that means anything to anybody), but
I don't think it fits the IDM mold.
Anyway, I give it a 4/10 for this audience, though another
audience would get a different rating. Listen before you buy.
Jesse
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"If you ain't a beat junkie then you ain't said sh*t" -- The Pharcyde
Jesse Stricker jstrick@gladstone.uoregon.edu