Vate - Motor

Album: Motor
Artist: Vate
Label: Independent (http://www.jamendo.com/en/)
Genre: Electronica / Chillout
Download Torrent (its the only way)

Review:

Ok, hats off to this guy(s) His music is bloody fantastic. I am seriously impressed with this album. Its hard to categorize it into a specific genre but we will try... i can best describe it as ambient-electronica, Ambient house or downtempo electronica ... but its a lot more.

This is not a new release by a long shot, and i suppose im a little late to rant and rave about this one, but if you have any love for chill out or something akin to Orb this will be one of your favorite albums i promise you. This album rivals a lot of current commercial albums and owns most of them too!

This is a keeper album ;) Turn up the volume on your headphones and Let me know what you think

VA - netBloc Vol. 5: The threat at Goliath's feet...

Album: netBloc Vol. 5: The threat at Goliath's feet...
Artist: Various Artists
Label: http://blocsonic.com/
Genre: Various
Release Date: May 2007
Download @ 320kbs
Download @ 192Kbs
Download FLAC (200MB)

Review:

Let me start off by saying that this is a fantastic release. This is a various artists album containing music from all over earth. It contains almost everything from Rock to Portishead style trip hop. Some (funny) Punk, funky hip-hop and Jazz. However it doesn't contain anything that is too obscure or "way out". Its a well selected compilation that will satisfy most contemporary music lovers.

netBloc have gathered up some of the best music the netlabel community have to offer and created a various artists compilation that covers a lot of genres. The album is a well presented package, giving you all the CD covers and CD artwork (on their website). They even provide you with a 35-page booklet filled with info.

This album does indeed hold the power to illustrate that free music does not imply bad music.

It comes very highly recommended ... 10 kudos to you guys@Blocsonic ;)

Floating Mind - SOS [MonoKraK 6]

Album: SOS
Artist: Floating Mind
Label: http://www.monokrak.net
Genre: Ambient
Release Date: May 2007
Download

Review:

Its been a while since i have heard such "pure" ambient. The kind of ambient where you really need to turn up the volume before you actually hear "all" of it. Melodies are replaced with rhythmic pulses of sound reminiscent of the likes of Steve Roach and Biosphere. Audio waves sweep into your ears and fill your head with images of water, space, air, and well ... all the images that ambient should stir up. The last two tracks are a little more experimental in a sense, using white noise and drones to cover the majority of the track, but faintly filling in the spaces with traces of melodies and harmonies.

If you are an Brian Eno, Biosphere or Steve Roach fan definitely download this and let me know if you agree? Maybe its just me.

This is ambient of very high standard, I know i label a lot of the net-releases as such, but really ... Its hard to imagine that this is free music. The music is good for times of concentration. Reading, relaxing, painting or possibly even sleeping should fit in perfectly with this.

So next time you head out to the record store for an ambient release. Get this first!

Sublinear - Pinned Beneath the Boiling Sky [plague009]

Album: Pinned Beneath the Boiling Sky
Artist: Sublinear
Label: N/A (?)
Genre: Trip Hop / Downtempo
Release Date: 9 May 2007
Download

Review:

Some funky downtempo trip-hop beats, loads of heavy pads and strings and more atmosphere than you can shake a stick at! Thats all included in this one release from Sublinear.

The album reminds me of some Cinematic Orchestra style tracks with trip-hop beats filling in the missing bits. Its really a fantastic album. It might be a little slow for some but if you are into your Trip-hop, downtempo or (slow but funky) break beats, we have a winner!

The use of orchestral themes and instruments really set the stage for a stunning album rivaling some of the best commercial released music today. Its once again a audio painting painted on a canvas of sine waves ;)

Get it and share it with all!

Yet again ...

Hey everyone,

Its been a while since i have posted anything on here. Believe me its not that the music has been bad, its just that i havent had time to listen to anything and even if i have, i just havent had time to write about it.

I'm still looking for anyone who is willing to help out with writing the reviews. I have had a few emails, but we were unable to come to an agreement on accessing the blog. So anyone that is interested please email me ...

I have been listening to some non free music and currently i am blown away by BT's This Binary Universe. I think its a mind blowing album. You can download some of the music video's and a BT interview at the stage6 website. Remember that BT is NOT a "free to share" artists and I hope that if you get your hands on a copy of the album and you enjoy it, that you actually go out and buy the album. You will get a DVD with all the music videos on it and the album was produced in 5.1 surround sound. Its extraordinary and worth every part of the $17.95 that it will cost you...

But thats it from me for today ... hopefully i will update this space soon, so keep your eyes open ;)

Humdrum - Frutti di Mare [onmp063]

Album: Frutti di Mare
Artist: Humdrum
Label: http://www.on-mix.com
Genre: Acid Jazz / Dub / Downtempo / Lounge
Release Date: May 2007
Download

Review:
Another album with a smashing first track, but will this one live up to the first impression? I am happy to say that indeed it does live up to its initial promise and in some cases even exceed those expectations by bringing us funky and very entertaining music.

the album covers a couple of emotions and feelings but always retain a sense of direction, never letting you fall asleep. Its a damn interesting album thats staying in my "keep" folder (all the others get backed up onto DVD and archived).

Artists like Four tet, nightmares on wax and even a bit of kruder & Dorfmeister come to mind when i listen to this, so if either of those are your cup of tea this is a must download album.

Humdrum's usage of Brazilian rhythms and downtempo acid jazz vibes create an essential lounge album thats a must have for all lounge and chillout fans out there.

Tom Larson - Dancing in the Night [Kreislauf 014]

Album: Dancing in the Night
Artist: Tom Larson
Label: http://kreislauf.org/
Genre: Ambient Techno / Minimalist
Release Date: 1 May 2007 (Mayday)
Download

Review:
A blissful mixture of ambient, minimal & techno. Really something that you can enjoy on your day off or a lazy afternoon where you don't want something that will put you to sleep, but still be very mellow.

Its a great mix of Detroit style minimal techno and ambient techno.

At the 25 minute mark the mix just becomes magical, a fantastic concoction of melancholy and relaxed vibes. To top things off, the album does pick up pace at the end giving you a more dance floor friendly mix. Overall it is a dance floor friendly mix, perfect for warming up those summer night outdoor dance floors.

This is a superb selection of tracks and overall definitely worth the download. If you are into dance music with a mellow edge ... need I say more?

There is a track list on the website, I am sure you'll want it.

Album: Acroplane Vol 1
Artist: Various Artists
Label: www.acroplane.org
Genre: Acid Jazz / IDM / Ambient / Downtempo / Various
Release Date: N/A
Download CD1
Download CD2

Review:

First of all let me say that this is a fantastic album. Seldom do you get an album with such a high quality of music and I mean both audio and artistic quality.

The main line of the music is break beats, sometimes with an Acid Jazz flavor and sometimes a little more abstract (ala IDM) sound. The majority of the tracks are laid back and chilled with only a few tracks that have harsh sounds and have a more moderately paced tempo. I must admit i did find one or two of them out of place, but this is a showcase album after all and variety should be expected.

The track "class of '98: old, fat, broken" is haunting with a super thick ambience that will almost drive you to tears with emotion. It really hit a note with me, so to speak.

The second CD can be a little abstract if you are not in the right frame of mind. But i urge you to download and listen to the first CD at least. Let me know what you think of the Ken & Ryu track ;)

And remember ... Share the good music with everyone you know.