"V/A - Enfold 01"

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Various

Title: Enfold 01

Label: Ultimae Records

Date: December, 2014

 

1. Scann-Tec - Rewind

2. Fingers In the Noise - Sensitive Mind

3. I Awake - Winter Shell

4. Martin Nonstatic - Oak Branches

5. Lars Leonhard - Frost

6. Miktek - Serene

7. Circular - Lunokhod (Winter Mix)

8. Master Margherita & Ermetico - Blue Fish (Winter Mix)

9. Asura - Lumiere Noire

10. Aes Dana - Beneath

 

Celebrating 15 years of relaxing chill music Ultimae released a gift for fans of the label. This freely downloadable compilation is available on their website in 12 or 24 bit format and showcases a who's who of artists. Let's begin with the cover of a flower encased in ice. It was certainly apropos for my area when we got two feet of snow dumped on us. My son hadn't gone to school in a week and the temperature was hovering around -1F. What the f*ck Canada?

 

The album begins chilled with frozen pads and slow percussive beats. And that's where it stays not unlike that flower attempting to escape its ice prison. Cold winds blow on Winter Shell as sunlight reflects off the snow covered landscape, but instead of being dark and depressing, it offers hope. Hope in the knowledge that warmer temps and spring blooms will soon arrive. You can hear the foliage attempting to push forth through cracking ice on Oak Branches. Lunokhod harnesses the spectacle of sunlight gleaming off of icy surfaces with lush pads and smooth female vocals. Blue Fish...hmmmm. It doesn't seem to belong even if it's the Winter Mix, but it's still a mellow enjoyable track. Asura gets things back on the desolate and frozen track with his long ambient soundscapes revealing how vast the Antarctic mountainous desert really is. If aliens took up residence in the frozen wasteland this would be their soundtrack. Aes Dana closes with bubbles trapped in ice just in case you didn't know it was winter.

 

This is a great album that captures the winter atmosphere and is helped along by being mixed. It's one long frozen journey with some great tracks and some that seem like place holders. But put it all together and it works. The sound is top notch and Ultimae's gift succeeds in putting the listener smack dab into the music. A free gift that is greatly appreciated, but...

 

Now I'm f*cking cold.

 

 

 

Free at Ultimae Records Website

 

Mdk