The following review is from the UK Dance Digest
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 17:13:39 GMT
From: steveh@tqmcomms.co.uk (Stephen Hebditch)
Subject: UK-Dance Reviews #15
Woob: Woob
Em:t / T:me Recordings EM:T1194 UK 1994 72:55
On Earth; Odonna; Amoeba; Wuub; Strange Air; Emperor.
Woob is the first album by Paul Frankland, apparently a one-time
collaborator with the Future Sound of London's Gary Cobain, though
quite what that involved is left as an exercise to the reader. This
is one of those albums that just clicked with me. Music that takes
you on a journey and also employs some wonderful original sounds.
This makes it come across as more of a film soundtrack than a run
of the mill ambient album.
On Earth is the big opening opus. It starts with deep choruses and
chanting with snatches of bird noises and voices before moving into
a tribal beat that grows and grows over its 20 minutes. First a
repeating horn refrain and a deep bassline then layer upon layer of
percussion until it suddenly all falls away back to where it
started. Odonna continues in tribal vein, the main section of the
track coming from a drum loop with one of the most massive bass
drums I've heard on CD yet. Amoeba is a strange mouth organ and
guitar interlude, as if they'd mixed up the reels in the cinema.
Wuub is a great builder, the main melody held by a strangulated
synth vocal while strings skim across the surface and the bass is
rocked by what sounds like someone wobbling a huge board. Strange
Air gets darker in feel. Dissonant textures, horror movie samples
and a sudden scream that comes right out of the blue. Emperor takes
you out with deep, deep rumbling and slowed down tape effects that
conjours up images of hippopotamuses writhing in mud.
8/10
bleep...bleep...transmat@teleport.com