bomble

can't wait... bomble is coming out to play...

Ok, I have been absent... a long time... and most likely there aren't many around who remember my somewhat unhealthy addiction to the off topic forum... but seeing this news of the demise of Chaosunlimited has drawn me out of hiding. No... not to put on a false beard with head scarf and wander around the mountains saying how much I hate the Cornish for their blatant neocon supremacist attitude and pasty-politics. But rather to say my little piece, turn teary eyed and sentimental for what has been a really important part of my life, though sadly not in recent years due to my living in France and being such a nomad (mail order isn't so great if you are living out of hotels!) Ok... rambling finished... why do I feel so sad? Well I had my first Chaosunlimited mixtape of Mark Allen in 1995 or 1996. My first cd order with them was numbered in triple digits - I saw them grow to provide the most wonderful selection of discs; I danced with Loli at Tyssen street; chatted with her, Mick, Ali & George about what was worth ordering before spending almost all of my student budget on expanding my collection; grabbed some fantastic bargains at sale time and basically relied on them for tunes for six or seven years. I know my orders wouldn't have kept them afloat, but I regret that I didn't take more opportunity to benefit from them in the last two years. I am really sorry to hear that it has come to an end... and wish them all great futures... the universe should reward them for bringing me such happiness... bomble says bye

Near Huntingdon, in the UK. He's the Boothroyd of Boothroyd-Stuart bomble

When I get my hands on this, I am going to head over to my uncle's factory to listen to it on a pair of these.... Meridian DSP8000 ... the finest speaker system I have ever had the pleasure to hear, but at $50000 a pair, I am not sure I can afford them yet!!! I hope to then experience everything the dynamic duo manage to squeeze into their music... bomble

Some artists to try out... Steve Roach, Tetsuo Inoue, Global Communications (especially 7614), Ashera, Shuttle 358, Jeff Pierce, Steve Reich (for "classical" ambient... especially Music for 18 Musicians & Drumming), Toru Takemitsu (e.g. raintree), Aphex Twin selected ambient works vol.2, Moby (on his ambient cd in Everything is Wrong ltd. edition, and maybe Moby Ambient though I haven't heard it). Lots of artists on Em:t records old stuff also do this kind of music ( e.g. Gas, Miasma, Woob...) really the list is endless, but there are some starting points... (thanks to Epic Automata for several introductions...) bomble

I have listened to psychedelic music and trance since 1993, and my vote goes for 1997 - the mighty Matsuri records was at its peak, Transient, TIP, Spiritzone, Blueroom, Flying Rhino, Koyote & Dragonfly were turning out blistering compilations and albums. I suppose that it was the best year for the UK scene as far as I remember (and I was at the right age to be appreciating it!) Some other examples of why 1997 was spot-on (totally subjective opinion of course): Hallucinogen's Lone Deranger Astral Projection's Dancing Galaxy Juno's Bible of Dreams Colorbox's Train to Chroma City Prana's Geomantik Green Nun's Rock Bitch Mafia OOOD's Alive Pleidians' IFO TIP 3D Transients' Dance Trance & Magic Plants Plus the UK party scene was fiery... Enlightenment, Pendragon, Omnipresence etc Parties at Tyssen Street. and the New Year's eve party at the Paradiso, Anjuna was the most powerful party I have ever been to (once it finally got going that is...) Happy memories... but I don't live in the past... there's been plenty more highlights since, and I hope there'll be plenty more to come... bomble

My wife... who happens to be called Melodie! bomble

this is a superb, broad-minded and horizon expanding album that should sit in everyone's down-tempo rack. Lots and lots of playtime ahead, I am sure... bomble

Point me to the topic and I'll get the grey-cells fired up... bomble

Tokyo 24/7 is a lot of fun... gives the dancing shoes a good workout... I haven't bought many compils this year though, so I have probably missed some good stuff... bomble

Chroma City is spectacular - segmented into parts that carry a common theme. I would say that they have a similar power to Shakta's silicon trip or others of that genre. I have one or two other tracks on compilations but didn't know there were other albums... I shall hunt them down... bomble

this album restored my faith in my total love of psytrance... for a while there I was wondering if anything was going to give me that same 'wow the universe is a special place' feeling that had kept me listening, buying, dancing and hunting for years.... top top top stuff... bomble

get's my vote as the best FSOL album... and my kingdom gets my vote as their best single. bomble

Huxflux - Cryptic Crunch remains one of my favourites, though I don't have a real 'favourite'. Interesting to see nobody mention IM yet.... bomble

I just have one of their albums - and indeed it rocks.... bomble

I shall be reviewing "Youth in Dub" a little before it is due to be released. bomble

Butterfly Dawn Elucidations and Mana Medicine all on Liquid Sound Design

It's been a long time since I was active on this forum - mainly due to lack of personal internet connection. However, if any of you remember me, you'll know I am a lover of fine ambient and chillout music. email me if you know me, and you want to find out more about about a gathering I am playing at in the UK this weekend. bomble

Nada on Butterfly Dawn is not the same as the other Nada... the one on Butterfly Dawn is Humphrey Bacchus and Russell Davies. See my review.... As for Laughing Buddha... great news... Jez is making trance again after a bit of a break, and from what I have heard it is spectacular... look out for new releases. bomble

V/A - Butterfly Dawn Artist: Various Title: Butterfly Dawn Label: LSD Date: 2003 Track listing: 01. Nada : Earthgarden 02. Mantra Man : Shivai 03. Nada : Raja Mati 04. Loop Guru : Climax (Youth & Humph'S Remix) 05. Tripswitch : Exiled 06. Nada : Manakhana 07. J Viewz : Into The Mood 08. Adham Shaikh : Somptin Hapnin (East Shore Mix) 09. Prometheus : Sweet Tooth 10. Tripswitch : Silver Review: This is the tenth album from Liquid Sound Design and the third with Humphrey at the helm after Mana Medicine and Elucidations. So? do I even need to review it? Well, I will suppose that some of you haven?t had the fortune to hear any other LSD releases and so I?ll just go ahead and tell you how much I love this album. To my ears this is the best of Humph?s compilations to date. It carries the ethnic flavours and warmth of Mana Medicine with more of the creative beat structures and psychedelic moments heard on Elucidations. Still, there?s no point comparing only to these forerunners as this album has a musical pedigree that will make it stand its own against any chillout disc out there. If Shpongle and Ott?s Hallucinogen in Dub captured the essence of a gloopy, dripping Otherworld of magic plants and psychedelic visions, Butterfly Dawn takes us to a place much more firmly rooted in our own planet Earth. It is the natural extension of the tribal and ethnic into the electronic. One key theme is reserve? none of the tracks let fly too early and they all give the impression of having deep maturity. There are hooks and melodies to be found but they aren?t flirting with your head from the outset. When they do reveal themselves they carry so much more passion for having withheld themselves. Of course the production is of excellent quality too, as you would expect from LSD. The album begins in a very laid back manner with a gently progressing track from Nada ? Humphrey Bacchus and Russell (Abacus) Davies. Soft, Indian samples set the mind at rest as the crisp beats keep the pace. Then we have Biddu Orchestra?s offering ?Gayatri Mantra? ? majestic and continuing the Indian theme. From a man who has sold 36 Million records and had 7 number one hits worldwide, this is very down to Earth and a beautiful piece of music in any context? not even a Kung Fu Fighter in sight! Then comes one of the highlights on this album for me ? the stunning Raja Mati from Nada. With a child?s voice singing a Nepali folk song and the Himalayan instruments to back it up, all passed through the Abacus sonic effects that were the signature of Return to Rama on Elucidations, we have here something special. Breathe in that mountain air! I like a bit of Loop Guru from time to time, though I knew that it wasn?t Humph?s favourite sound. So when I saw that he and Youth had got to work on Climax, I was a little surprised. However, if you didn?t know Loop Guru well, you probably wouldn?t have realised this had anything to do with them! Much more in the vein of East of the River Ganges or Dub Trees with all the Youth signature noises and beats? puts a fat smile on the face. If you heard Shamanic Tea on Mana Medicine you will know that Tripswitch has a bag of tricks that can make your head spin. Exiled is an absolutely superb tune and if, like me, you are a sucker for a catchy hook then the final part of this track will give you the shivers. It?s a properly psychedelic tune with plenty of far Eastern and aboriginal flavours. It sneaks along on a very deep bass line and every sound seems well placed, gradually growing to the splendid finale and leaving you wanting more. Epic. Nada?s third tune is also astounding ? the most trance-orientated tune on the compilation, leering with Leary and riding on an extremely clever beat structure. Somehow I think the production at the beginning of this track slips a little ? probably due to some of the samples ? but it soon picks up. The vocal samples ? Leary and chants ? create a very rich atmosphere of something very beautiful happening all around. I can?t tell you much about J.Viewz, except that he/she/it produces a smooth and warm tune that does indeed get me Into the Mood. Balearic in flavour and sweetly melodic, I can see this getting a lot of playtime on beaches around the world. Adam Shaikh can always be relied on to deliver the goods ? his tune as Drift, ?Arc en Ciel? is one of my favourite chillout tracks as are his outings as Ekko. This tune takes some time to take off, but when it does it will have your hips wriggling in your hammock. Effortless rhythms and melodies deliver big morning smiles all way to the end from this one. Benji Vaughan needs no introduction as Prometheus, and unsurprisingly this is a deep and trippy number. Some Ninja-Tune styled beats and samples thrown into a ripped and twisted framework make it distinctive on this compilation. It builds again to a Sweet Toothed vocal climax, but still in keeping with the reserved and withheld feel of the album. I can?t say I?ve heard anything quite like it, but it works for me! After all these strong tunes, it takes big feet to fill the shoes of ending this compilation. Tripswitch is the man with just those oversized feet. This tune is definitely more about atmosphere and texture than about going to a particular destination, but it is the perfect ending to the best chillout compilation I have come across in ages. I am sure that most of you will have just skipped over all that bomble-drivel to the punchline? which is: favourite tracks 3,5 and 6 (for today?) no bad tracks, no filler and an ultimately magnificent chillout voyage. I know how much work and emotional energy went into bringing this to release, but it still seems like it just arrived effortlessly to my ears. A well deserved 9/10. bomble

over on HBR1 dream factory net radio... Bomble ... Drugged Onions... let me know what you think, bomble Tuesday 10:45 GMT www.hbr1.com

Yeah Anton, I have got about a half CD worth of Loza stuff and it's bliss - but I don't have it here in Strasbourg with me. I do however have the mp3 version of my radioshow in which I played several of his tracks, so let me know if you want a copy of that to get a taster. Loza himself has more tracks but I can't get in touch with him until I am next back in the UK as he has moved house and doesn't answer his email! bomble

You should be a truly happy gringo then! This music has brought us so much pleasure and good times so I hope it does the same for you. There are a few reasons why vinyl is less popular amongst psy djs (though a lot of people love it and wouldn't be happy without it). First off, the early scene was built in Goa and other hot beach party locations where vinyl quickly turns into useful but unplayable fruit bowls. DAT was favoured back then because it didn't warp and because the tracks could be traded and exchanged. CD is similarly heat resistant and also recently is a medium which can be exchanged and traded (good psy can be hard to come by through the normal channels). So those are the main reasons as I see it. As for recommendations, make sure you hear some Hux Flux (e.g bring your own bios, the cryptic crunch album etc.)! bomble

I have been ordering happily from Chaos for three years now - they are reliable, friendly and generally very prompt. I have never been asked for my card to be faxed, but I suggest you call them. You won't get a reply until after Wednesday (it's a national holiday here at the moment) but you can be sure that they'll explain why they have to have a fax if it is necessary. The only time Chaos messed up an order was when they sent me the same batch of cds twice - and they were fine about full refunding (though in the end I gave many of the cd's to my brother for his b'day). There are times to be cynical, but I would have to say that in dealing with Chaosunlimited I have had nothing but smiles from people who love the music as much as I do... bomble

I have Woob2 on Emit records - and I am told that Woob1 is even better... anyone got it? Oh - and Mike, I'll send you some suggestions by email sooner or later... bomble