Jump to content

Carbon Based Lifeforms - Interloper


Melancholyman

Recommended Posts

Posted Image


Carbon Based Lifeforms - Interloper

Label: Ultimae Records, Ultimae Records
Catalog#: inre 041, inre041
Format: CD,Album, Partially Mixed
Country: France
Released: 03 May 2010
Genre: Electronic
Style: Acid, Downtempo, Ambient

1.Interloper
2.Right where it ends
3.Central plain
4.Supersede
5.Init
6.Euphotic
7.Frog
8.M
9.20 minutes
10.Polyrytmi





The long awaited third studio album, from duo Daniel Segerstad & Johannes Hedberg aka Carbon Based Lifeforms is finally here. After having released a couple of mediocre tracks on various compilations and a modestly interesting EP, has it been worth the wait? The question to that answer has to be answered in a positive way, or rather in jubilation.


Slow throbbing basslines, layers of ethereal sonic tapestries accompanied by soft extended female voices creates a very peculiar and original take on the to this date known CBL formula, and genre as a whole for that matter, the production oozes freshness and innovation. The key here is not complexity nor is it intricate layers of sound, but intelligent composition pushing the right buttons at the right time. Genius and simplicity go very often hand in hand. I would like to divide the album into two halfs, the precursive and the elevating part. Let's talk a little about the precursive part. Here the bass is very prominent, there is a lot of nice happy melodies, the overall feel is groovy and energetic, it gives a sense of a dancing universe, or dancing Gaia. This part is preparatory in the sense that it shakes you up, making you receptive and prepared for the transition in to the elevating part. The transition is initialized by 'Init'(T5), where the overall tempo is slowing down, gone are the throbbing basslines and happy melodies, the music heads towards a profoundly more contemplative but yet so much more magnificent and beautiful approach, with elongated ethereal tones and panoramic soundscapes. A very welcome addition are the not so often reoccurring but touching acoustic elements, these bring about a more mature and sophisticated touch. This transition from precursive towards elevating is perfectly executed, there is no risk of the listener being pushed into something new, you are gently swept into this part. It's quite contradictory to call this part elevating since the listener is actually drawn into the internal world, but all of us who are acquainted with psychedelic experiences know that to “go up”, you must first “go down”. So the elevating aspect of the album comes only indirectly.


What the album manages to achieve is putting a receptive listener into a highly psychedelic state of mind. All of you who are acquainted with psychedelic substances know which state of mind I am talking about, and you also know how hard it is to enter this state without the help from a various array of different substances. How the album manages in doing this is because of two main aspects, (i) the music is of course highly psychedelic, but also (ii) the structure of the album as a whole is constructed in a way allowing for this. Most downtempo albums fail in making this cohesive journey, because of the eagerness from the artist to infuse variety in an album by throwing in some devastating element in the middle or towards the end, CBL passes this test flawlessly. It's not that other albums can't accomplish the deed of being extremely psychedelic in their sound, but they often figure you already in a particular state of mind, or rather that the listener will sort of magically enter one. The only album I can think of trying the same goal is Solar Fields - Leaving Home, but that albums is flawed at critical points missing that consistent whole. To conclude what is really unique about this album then, is the feat of making a pristine journey from start to end, taking the listener deeper and deeper into a psychedelic state of mind.


I have always been wondering if music might have some greater or more significant meaning than just self fulfilling pleasure for the listener. This meaning has finally become clear with the release of Interloper. We are climbing a ladder, a ladder towards higher states of consciousness. Daniel and Johannes has given us a great many steps towards that always abditive goal.

This review was originally written for and published at Chillbase.org Head over to read more reviews, download free releases and more!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

thx!

 

 

yeah good review man..

 

i highly enjoyed the album.. a little more acidic than I thought it might be which is neither a plus or negative. I still think I like the first part of the trilogy the best. I hope soon I find the time to listen to all three in sequence on my nice hi-fi...... probably not though :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah good review man..

 

i highly enjoyed the album.. a little more acidic than I thought it might be which is neither a plus or negative. I still think I like the first part of the trilogy the best. I hope soon I find the time to listen to all three in sequence on my nice hi-fi...... probably not though :(

 

Yeah that would be nice, but if I am not on some "substance" I loose interest even in an 80min album. But on special occasion I think that going through all three albums in a row must be a blast! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How is it that these Ultimae artists can keep getting better? Last year Solar Fields blew us all away with Movements and now CBL comes out with this.... Absolutely sublime from start to finish, with some unparalleled moments of beauty.

 

hm, be careful not to mistake perfection for quality. this album is good and enjoyable, but nowhere near Hydroponic Garden. im not disappointed though. also to me Leaving Home >>> Movements, while i heard the latter first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

hm, be careful not to mistake perfection for quality. this album is good and enjoyable, but nowhere near Hydroponic Garden. im not disappointed though. also to me Leaving Home >>> Movements, while i heard the latter first.

 

I do think Leaving Home is indeed better than Movements (but I would comfortably recommend both). However, I think Interloper is as good as Hydroponic Garden. The CBL boys are still doing things in style. Hopefully they will keep it up.

 

Certainly Interloper is the best downtempo psytrance release so far this year.

 

Recommended.

 

 

Pedro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Possibly my most favorite album of the year! I would say Interloper is definitely on par with their previous two albums, if not better imo.

 

M blows my mind away. Best track of the album for me. Right Where It Ends is also an awesome track. Well, they're all awesome tracks but these certainly hit the spot for me.

 

I really hope these guys keep it up. I would gladly pay an arm and a leg to see them live.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

After listening to Asura's 360, I have to say I find it more entrancing than CBL's Interloper. Same goes for Electrypnose's Sweet Sadness. Still, a number 3 spot on my ambient psy trance list for 2010 (year to date) still makes for a positive recommendation from myself.

 

 

 

Pedro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Holy damn, this hit my sweet spot. What a brilliant brilliant album from CBL yet again. If i get around to do it I will write a more detailed review the coming days. I got this in the same package as solar fields' altered and asura's 360, and I have to say that this is my favourite out of those 3 until now, although all 3 releases do not stand far apart in regards to quality. God I love Ultimae.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

any new thoughts?

 

This remains for me a brilliant album after so many listens. A real keeper.

My favourite tracks change on each listen and it doesn't seem to get stale.

I love this album, easily as good as World Of Sleepers (if not better) and just a fraction away as being as good as Hyroponic Garden (although very different).

Great stuff all round, how I love CBL.

CBL does not disappoint :ph34r:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This remains for me a brilliant album after so many listens. A real keeper.

My favourite tracks change on each listen and it doesn't seem to get stale.

I love this album, easily as good as World Of Sleepers (if not better) and just a fraction away as being as good as Hyroponic Garden (although very different).

Great stuff all round, how I love CBL.

CBL does not disappoint :ph34r:

 

my problem with it is it seems so defined. i havent listened to it for a great while now, and my fear is that i will not hear anything new in it in spite of that. so lets hope im wrong :). on another note... im sooooo happy Sama is sooo lovely!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm still soooooooo much in love with this album, I can't stress it enough. It has really become an evergreen for me an tracks like supersede, euphotic and m have become all-time favorites. I think that the strength in this album doesn't lie in it's complexity, it's just a beautifully crafted piece of sonic architecture, very honest in it's emotions and very straight forward. I might even be inclined to say that for me, this is better than Hydroponic Garden.. Incredibly deep psychill that just celebrates life in all it's aspects. Masterwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Sweet and predictable music. For those who love it, this is the stuff they love. But it's a shame it sounds so conventional and tame, compared to their previous work. The melodies are lovely, but not revolutionary, I didn't get willies, not even once.

 

I think THE CBL masterpiece is World of Sleepers. It has the right kind of not-sissy melancholy, quirkyness, downtempo, uptempo, uptempo that sounds like downtempo, stunning melodies and fascinating themes. But Interloper... Makes me want to study microbiology and find out and destroy the mysterious virus that lately makes composers all mellowed out.

 

You may think my soul is deep, dark and twisted and can't fully appreciate sweet sounds. But otherwise I really like some New Age music. Interloper just doesn't hit the right neurons.

 

OK, the M track is my favorite, must say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

What a great album.

 

I'm not going to get into the discussion as to whether this is better than WOS or HG because that's a losing battle. This is a perfect example of the sum being greater than even the great parts. It's dreamy, smooth, uplifting, positive, gentle, melancholy and ideal for headphone listening under the stars. I could've done without M (sounds like they played all the sounds at one time) and Right Where It Ends should've been placed farther down the track list. But this is worth your time and a great downtempo album.

 

Mdk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...