furthur

disintegration of my mind wow beautiful pure bliss

folding time is simply amazing the best trance track i have heard in a long long time there are some other very good pieces on the album, and some not so good pieces but just foldingtime alone is more than worth the money a couple of nights ago, i sat mesmerized listening to foldingtime maybe 15 or so times n a row, just kept getting better and better dont remember myself doing that with anything since led zeppelin iv

yeah, when i saw him he was playing at night (outdoors though) and seemed like he was trying to make ppl stomp holes in the floor, and it just was not working or maybe it was, but i was looking for a floaty dreamy hypnotic set, and didnt get it

preach - oxygen enhanced

heard him live last summer was not good enough for me to go on the dancefloor glad to hear that that was not representative of him

VA – Beneath the Surface Label: Native State Records (Canada) NSCD003 Date: 6 March 2006 Track listing: 01. 02’26” Irwin’s Conspiracy – The Beginning of Something Good 02. 05’50” Bluetech – Ice Forming on Glass 03. 05’18” Sympath – Amethyst 04. 05’09” String Theories – White Dragon 05. 04’52” Marconi Union – Buildings and People 06. 06’42” krill.minima – CatDinR42 07. 04’58” Nalepa – Porcelain 08. 06’29” Ganucheau - Stillness 09. 04’52” Rena Jones – Aurora Borealis 10. 05’27” Desert Dwellers – Stellar Dendrites 11. 06’32” Bluetech vs. Shulman – Midnight Bloom 12. 06’14” Aerostatic - Continuous 13. 03’13” David Last - Landscape Label’s Statement: ‘Beneath the Surface’ is an exploration of that which lies just below the threshold of consciousness, where subject and object lose their distinction, and the definitions of the commonplace lose their validity. ‘Beneath the Surface’ weaves its way into the listener’s experience through deep ambient landscapes, crystalline digital beat structures, and lyrical organic melodies over the course of 13 tracks. This compilation represents a foray into deeper and more delicate ambient structures. Atmospheres are allowed to evolve, textures wind quietly through the background, and inteligent electronics establish icey and foreign structures for your imagination to inhabit. Review: Native State records compile another voyage through sound for us, bringing together veterans of electronic music that might otherwise go unnoticed by many “psy-chill” afficionados. As their previous output Left Coast Liquid swept me completely off my feet and left me breathless ever since I first heard it, I could not hide my excitement when I learned that this was going to be released. I have had it for quite a while already and even though I have been enjoying this immensely, I have had a hard time deciding to formally review it. The thing is, the music here is even more complex than on LCL, and needs a lot of attention if the most is to be taken from it. Let’s go through it track by track. The American Irwin has been involved in live electronic music since ’96 incorporating drums, samples, and other sounds from modules or computer, accessed via theremin and looped on the spot. Here he presents us with an opener suitable for an epic film. A very desolate piece, but one which hints that the desolateness is not inevitable. A short beatless symphonic adventure. Healer-musician Evan Bluetech needs no introduction here. Ice forming on glass has that typical Bluetech sound. Flawless percussion work, slowly evolving dreamscapes that do take us to that first freeze-up. Nature goes into a slumber, and with it so do we a bit, at least we have this music to keep us company. The subtle melody and the multitude of layers are very thoughtfully woven into a great minimal psydm song. This would have fit very well onto Sines and Singularities. Not Evan’s best work, but a very worthy effort nonetheless. Sympath is an all-Canadian collaboration between Shen aka Noah Pred and Native State’s manager Naasko. Here, we get the first song that has a bit more to hang onto. This is also much closer to the standard aquatic dubby chillout, not to say that the song is standard. A piece very suitable for nighttime listening imo, with occasional breaks in the clouds to let the moonlight shine through and show us the foliage beneath our feet. This is definitely one the less experimental and more straight-up emotional pieces from Native State. Nothing groundbreaking here, just very intelligent structuring and a very good song overall. String Theories is the project of Bay Area string musician Rena Jones and Bluetech. A very tribal beginning to this next installment in the Bluetech saga. More of his sounds being blended extremely well with Rena’s string work. Quickly turns out to be a very melancholic song. Personally, I would have preferred to have a slightly bigger focus here on the instrumental work and less on the dubby percussion, even though the effect of the drums sounding like they’re kept from breaking out of their shell that appears a couple of times is very cool. Manchester’s Richard Talbot recently released his full-length album Distance on All Saints records under his Marconi Union moniker. Buildings and People is licensed from that album, described as a single unified piece of work exploring images of travel and city living, evoking the feeling of being silently driven around an unknown city at night, observing the activity and life of the urban sprawl from the sealed safety and isolation of a car. With Buildings and People, we go into more upbeat territory. Do not get me wrong, this is still highly relaxing material, but there is a more present bassline, and it is pulled off very well. Sort of reminds me of a lighter Downhill, but less broken. Great atmosphere created here. Definitely amazing for a cold rainy night in the city. Best song of the record so far. Krill.minima is Dortmund’s Martin Juhis experimenting with clicking rhythms, ambient constructions, warmth, emotion, and pop appeal, having released the full album Zwischen zwei und einer sekunde on the free net-label Thinner. This pive here is very heady, very ambient, very psychedelic, very patient. It takes a full minute for the first beat to kick in, and when it does (in an oh-so idm way), we are not dissapointed. Lots of moods are mixed here, but it stays slightly dark throughout. Yes, a lot of ambient producers have been giving us this style on free net-labels, but they are rarely made with as much feeling as here. It gives you structure to hang onto, and yet leaves you enough freedom to take it wherever you want to. Brain-massage music. Steve Nalepa is a West Coast software developper who had a beautiful and one of the most experimental tracks on Left Coast Liquid vol. 1. This is for me the stormer of the compilation. Who knew drone music could be so danceable. If this does not put you into a state of trance, nothing will. Magnificent melody, intelligent sound design, beautiful organic undertones to very electronic sonic landscapes. Music created on foggy mornings on an ocean coast. It definitely takes its time to develop, but the wait is well worth it, because once bliss comes, it takes over one’s whole being. Wow. Bay Area film musician Matt Ganucheau has been writing electronic music since 1998. With stillness, he treats us to a desolate desert landscape where life is well hidden at first and then breaks out into a dance once the moment presents itself in the form of shade or rain. The sound is crispy clear, but I fear that the idea has already been done before. Reminds me of Mum, but in a different genre of music. All the necessary ingredients are here, but that is exactly my problem with it, it needed some unnecessary component to distinguish the song. Not a standout, but a very good piece of music. And then everyone crawls back into their hideout as the sun comes back up. Virtuoso Rena Jones, whom Native State has introduced to us on LCL is about to release a full-length sometime in the summer of ’06. If her singles on compilations are any indication, the album will be a must-have. Aurora Borealis begins sounding like the soundtrack to a spooky film with children playing in the first scenes. Is in a similar vein to the earlier Marconi Union song, in that it would wonders on a rainy sleepless night aimlessly driving around town. The irregular percussion work, which is so easy to bungle up passes the test with flying colours. Very very well done. Santa Fe’s Amani Friend is another Native State regular with his Stellar Dendrites taking us deep beneath the surface. If you watched the HBO original series Carnivale, you might be asking yourself if it was not Mr. Friend that was writing their music. One cannot help but imagine oneself in the middle of a central American dusty plain with people fleeing the poverty. Only you cannot bring yourself to leave the spot you are glued to, and keep going further and further beneath your surface. Very original, very relaxing, and very engaging piece of music. Better than his output on LCL in my opinion. Bluetech and Israel’s Yaniv Shulman had this piece released on Yaniv’s latest album Random Thoughts as well, and it was one of the most mesmerizing pieces on that album. Very hypnotizing and entrancing without losing that touch of experimentation. More digestable that a lot of the rest of this compilation, Midnight Bloom adds a more human and organic touch, what with Alyssa Palmer’s amazing singing. If anyone ever tells you that you listen to background music, just put this on for them, and it will change their mind about electronic downbeat music forever. Very trippy. New York’s sound designer for children’s programming Michele Darling seems to have written this without her Aerostatic partner Terry Golob. Another great droning ambient piece here that comes from a Hub Culture DVD entitled Antarctica. Honestly, I find the production here of a lower level than the rest of the compilation. The beat sounds somewhat muffled. Nothing really wrong musically with this one, but nothing special either, much less interesting than most of Native State’s choices. New York’s electro-organic musician David Last has a full-length album The Push Pull released on the underrated and very psychedelic downbeat label the Agriculture. He offers us the closer Landscape, another grandiose-sounding ambient piece that does not reinvent the wheel at all, but is a suitable and soothing end to this very visual compilation. Well, this is no Left Coast Liquid, but it is still a very good compilation in a similar vein. Native State continue to cross boundaries in bringing us hghly psychedelic music from all over the place. The regular artist roster is very solid, and I cannot wait until Rena Jones’ album on Native State. The artwork here is much better than the first time around. Suits the music very well and is very tasteful. Recreates the mood Antix was going for with TCD. There was one weak song here for me, no. 12. The rest are all very good, with no’s 5,6,9, 10,11 standing out, and 7 completely out of this world. Overall, I give it 8.4 out of 10. www.nativestaterecords.com

you forgot hidra - fixed

Tao - Pacific Intervention

mekanizm - agitate

yes this was realy good, but not as good as pressure optimal

antix - hiding place i know it's not antix, but its shorter to write antix

I will do my best to review it as honestly as possible.

amazing piece discovered it through bluetech's mix, and really into it since hmm, have been eyeing that green box too, maybe i will pop it in

switch - good lyrics?

i second open by kooler form that list, because you say you like colours and 2nd brigade amazing album, the best for me after lull

robert rich

where is that sensient mix? did i miss it?

POTS - Bravo (Antix remix)

got it yesterday too, forgot it in the bar though, will go tomorrow to pick it up

here is the website of the artist that made the cover: http://lunatixx-art.net/

thx for making it available for download (ie not as a torrent) will get back to you with comments (on ekto, right?)

i would just add antix - lull as an absolute essential to see how far psytrance's boundaries could be pushed also midi miliz - antistat haltya - electric help elves check out ishq and everything he has done

Anyone know and/or dig this music? Tell me what you think plz

fuzzion's black magic