REVIEWS
MEGALON'S REVIEWS (#3)
The Shamen - Axis Mutatis (on One Little
Indian /Epic) ---- U.S. release
The latest album from The Shamen goes in a dreamier and less dance-oriented direction
with a combination of ethereal electropop songs and ambient-ish instrumental cuts. Many of
the songs sound sort of like a cross between Erasure and Jon & Vangelis, with a dash
of Thomas Dolby also tossed in there. The trademark Shamen sound is still in evidence of
course, most notably on the two singles which start off the album "Destination
Eschaton" and "Transamazonia". It's the 12" single remixes of these
thst you'll want for any real dancefloor action, but for dreamy pop moods the "Axis
Mutatis" album works extremely well, and should hit the spot like a fluffy musical
marshmallow from space.....
_1 ) Destination Eschaton
_2 ) Transamazonia
_3 ) Conquistador
_4 ) MK2A
_5 ) Neptune
_6 ) Prince Of Popocatapetl
_7 ) Heal
_8 ) Persephone's Quest
_9 ) Moment
10 ) Axis Mundi
11 ) Eschaton Omega
12 ) Agua Azul
13 ) S2 Translation
Test Dept. - Totality (on KK) ---- Belgian
release
If you're familiar with the older material of the U.K.'s Test Dept., then before
listening to this album you should prepare yourself for something completely
different....! Known as one of the leading purveyors of the metal-bashing percussive style
of industrial music, with fierce tribal wardrum-like rhythms and almost gothic droning
noises, they are back on the scene with a new streamlined funky dance album (really!)
which also has some more atmospheric moments. They've dabbled with dance strategies before
but this time it's a full-blown house and trip hop workout, with touches of world music
and jazz and a pinch of industrial. They take a fairly minimal approach to it all, but it
works quite well once you get used to it. So, keep an open mind and enjoy!
_1 ) Once The Red Dust Passes...(Pt. 1)
_2 ) Chillo (Sunrise)
_3 ) Hole
_4 ) Gripper (A Lifetime Of Knowledge)
_5 ) Genius
_6 ) Timebomb
_7 ) Woza Moya Woza (Come Spirit Come)
_8 ) The Point
_9 ) Gamma Ray
10 ) Rol Ihlahla (Stirring Up Trouble)
11 ) Chillo (Sunset)
12 ) Al'rabih (The Spring)
13 ) Zazen
14 ) Once The Red Dust Passes...(Pt. 2)
Various - Carry On Harthouse [Best of....]:
(on Harthouse) ---- U.S. release
An introduction to the hard-trance sound of Harthouse Records -- usually dominated by
solid stomping beats, often quite minimal in nature, sometimes very melodic and sometimes
more strange and atonal in sound....in a catchy kind of way(!). This album makes for a
fairly representative collection, although since they've released so much at this point -
including quite a few other compilations - that it would be hard to call this the
definitive 'best of' album. (Note: A number of the same cuts also appear on the highly
recommended double CD compilation "Axis Of Vision" from Harthouse.) Compiled by
Kris Needs (of Secret Knowledge), this is basically his selection of favorite tracks from
the label and includes his own remix of "Soul Hunter" by Pulse, which is
actually one of the highlights of the album. Other highlights include "Blue
Lotus" by The Essence Of Nature, and Cybordelics' "Adventures Of Dama".
_1 ) Synthetic Progress - Acid Future
_2 ) The Essence Of Nature - Blue Lotus
_3 ) Aurin - Morphia
_4 ) Frankfurt-Tokyo Connection - Luminescent Avatar
_5 ) Hardfloor - Funalogue
_6 ) Pulse - Mikado
_7 ) Cybordelics - Adventures Of Dama
_8 ) Futurhythm - My Life In The House Of Ghost
_9 ) Pulse - Soul Hunter (Secret Knowledge Remix)
Various - Dark Hearts 2 (on Harthouse) ----
U.S. release
This is volume two in Harthouse's series of ambient-oriented compilations -- although
the term 'ambient' is not really sufficient to describe the wide range of music included
here.... While it does have the 'cerebral' aspect of the ambient style, it's quite a bit
busier and more upbeat than one might expect through much of the album, with elements of
Detroit techno, house, mutant jazz and trip hop in steady supply. All in all this is a
good sampling of the lighter side of this label, nicely quirky and unusual at some points
and with some snappy grooves too. Highlights include "Chamber Of Dreams" by
Claude Young, "Cyax" by Alter Ego, and Hardfloor's "Pepper Penalty".
_1 ) Claude Young - Chamber Of Dreams
_2 ) Braincell - Robot Jazz Brainbag Band
_3 ) Morganistic - Time To Track
_4 ) Hardfloor - Pepper Penalty
_5 ) Alter Ego - Cyax
_6 ) Neil Landstrumm - Black Whispers
_7 ) Frank De Wulf - Drums In A Grips
_8 ) BCJ - Boulderdash
_9 ) Jiri.Ceiver - Cochlea Implan
10 ) Thor Inc. - Here Comes The Sun
Various - Swarm Of Drones (on
Sombient/Asphodel) ---- U.S. release
The second part of a planned trilogy, this double CD set is the sequel to "The
Throne Of Drones", again in a very sombre ambient style called 'sombient' which would
also be tagged 'isolationist' by many people. The atmosphere here is generally dark and
mysterious throughout but in a pleasantly calm way (on most cuts), like a fog creeping
across your entire body and mind.... The first disk maintains a more relaxed and even
approach while the second disk is more varied with some darker and more experimental
tracks on it. The dark qualities within the music are definitely enhanced by actually
listening to it in the dark, and it's effective at both loud and quiet volumes! This would
make a good soundtrack for use with mind machines, or for general spacing out, as long as
you program out the more dynamic tracks when you're playing the CD (CD #2 in particular)
for this purpose. {Note: the indexing on CD #2 is unusual - it starts at track 11 - and
may confuse some CD players!} Highlights include "Flat Earth" by Vidna Obmana,
"Calming Sorrow" from Insect Funeral, "Slow Fall Inward" by Lull, and
Jeff Greinke's "Below".
CD 1:
_1 ) Rhythm & Noise - Looms
_2 ) Michel Redolfi - Palm Canyon
_3 ) Robert Rich - Buoyant On Motionless Deluge
_4 ) dj Cheb i Sabbah - Hamam
_5 ) Steve Roach - Shard 1
_6 ) Vidna Obmana - Flat Earth
_7 ) Insect Funeral - Calming Sorrow
_8 ) Robert Fripp - 2000 II
_9 ) Janis Mattox - Soli Deo Gloria
10 ) Aloof Proof - The Ghost Ship
CD 2:
11 ) Ned Bouhalassa - Move 1 (Drone Mix)
12 ) Jeff Greinke - Below
13 ) X-Ray - Annul
14 ) Lull - Slow Fall Inward
15 ) KK Null /James Plotkin - Drowning In Aurora
16 ) Iso Ambient Orchestra - Melisma
17 ) Naut Humon - Deliquesce
18 ) Gregory Lenczycki - Variable State Optical Amplifier
19 ) Xopher Davidson - Lapsed Transfer
20 ) Maryanne Amacher - Sound Characters (#2)
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