Templar Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Carbon Based Lifeforms - VLA Ultimae Records, 2011 1. VLA "VLA" (which stands for the Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory) is a kind of a cousin of the "Twentythree" album, a full ambient album by the Carbon Based Lifeforms duo, where the Swedish musicians served a deep experience in the field of cosmic, floating music. This release came into existence only in digital form. It is also a continuation and a supplement of the aforementioned album, where one could stumble upon a 10-minute version of the "VLA" track. Here the title track lasts for - surprise, surprise - one hour. His creator (Johanness Hedberg) takes us for an intense, hour-long journey, ruled entirely by ambient, hypnotizing drones. Suddenly the listener is surrounded by the coldness of dark oblivion, mystery, omnipresent uncertainty and cosmic depth, which make up these kind of vibes. The sonic elements presented here have been limited to the necessary minimum, with spare pads as their basis, which elongate and last almost in a never-ending way. Some will consider it an advantage, some a disadvantage. Personally I am somewhere in the middle. I would like for the artist to introduce to this one hour-long story more variety - here we are left with everything being the same from its beginning till the end, which leaves one to think that the artist took the easiest way out. And yes, on one hand, the things being made in the simplest way can be perceived as taking a shortcut on this talented artist's part. On the other hand, we receive an uninterrupted musical thought, which, accordingly to the marketing slogan of this release, constitutes a one hour long soundtrack to your inner excursions. In this field "VLA" does what one expects it to do: it professionally calms down, immerses one in deep thoughts or sleep in a delicate way. It is a natural born chiller, although I have to underline that it does not have to be an advantage. The release is good as an addition to the intriguing "Twentythree" album and a counter-balance for many other, more dynamic and richer in sounds chillout novelties, when we need something extremely calm, although as far as ambient music is concerned CBL did better on their "Twentythree" album. Templar / http://www.psytrance.pl Links: http://www.ultimae.com/en/news/452.html A review of the "Twentythree" album can be found here: http://www.psynews.org/forums/index.php?/topic/62180-carbon-based-lifeforms-twentythree/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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