STYLE
March 2012
Global psychill journey album.
Tranzworld Express is a transporting experience that whisks the listener away from home on a speeding dream train breezing across musical, cultural and technological borders. The pace is mid-tempo - a comfortable dance groove with a locomotive-like regularity suggestive of casual speed and passing vistas. Western soul sounds and club elements get the party going, but soon the scene has shifted and a Middle Eastern dub beat drives Peacedance further from home. The sense of the exotic is heightened as the album progresses: international instrumentation and diverse voices interwoven among bright recording effects, vocoder snatches and lush strings. "I know everything about nothing!" declares a lively voice at the opening of Virtually Enlightened; multinational hand drums and twanging plucked wires here juxtaposed against subtle sequences and brash brass flourishes. Peter Westheimer clearly enjoys a rich melting pot of music without the encumbrance of genre restrictions. China India (as you might deduce) fuses the colours of these two evocative Asian sources of mystique - bells trees and electronica; er-hu and sitar; expressive tablas and programmed beats; piercing pipes and soft female vocals. The binding factor for the album is the relatively consistent beat - wheels on tracks, hypnotic patterns, express rhythm.

IN DEPTH
Peter Westheimer brings a sense of global responsibility to his music, dealing with such important themes as the planet's growing population, finite resources and climate change challenges; East-West relations and the struggling of peace processes; religious enlightenment, fundamentalism and media control; ecologically friendly transport modes and natural energy sources. These serious concerns thread the music of Tranzworld Express with a dynamic urgency: stirring beats, driving basslines and insistent melodies. The tightly woven multinational instrumentation (Westheimer himself plays a wide range of instruments, ranging from keyboard to sitar, with much in between) highlights a vision of potential global harmony and cooperation. That said - this is by no means merely a gloomy presentation of cerebral ideals - the music is full of emotion: ranging from the blissfully ecstatic through lively, vivacious and inspirational to somewhat threatening and disquieting. The artist's website explains that he sees music as an agent of change - unlike much of today's 'worldbeat' music this is an album with an authenticity born from genuine passion and actual familiarity with many of the locations aurally conjured "inspired by travels through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA in 2009. Its' rhythmic energies and perspectives come from the moving scenery of contemporary communities both rural and urban, and a retracing of family history."

TRACK BY TRACK

CHANGE NOW
The album opens with a flush of multinational warmth - plucked strings, Western and Eastern, fusing together, leading into the traintrack beat that will draw the listener throughout the journey. As lush orchestral bowings flow in layers a female voice whispers, "Change the world" signalling Westheimer's underlying theme. The mood is upbeat, positive and lively - throbbing bassline driving the central section of the track. The melodic motifs are taken up in varying forms by different instruments - Eastern organic, Western electronic - with lush washes and pads behind.

DANCING HEARTS ORCHESTRA
Whilst maintaining the rhythm established by Change Now, this track has more of a Western soul dance floor vibe. Piano stabs, disco guitar chord flicks and deep synth patterns form the backbone whilst a female voice wordlessly soars and further piano melodies dance above. It feels as if we are still not so far from home, hints of the city still glimpsed through the window as the journey gets well under way.

PEACEDANCE
Here the beats shifts from the measured locomotion of the previous two tracks to a lilting dub rhythm - still at similar pace however - danceable and energetic. Opening with phased guitar and a blunt bass - Middle Eastern flavours soon start to appear. Inspired by the struggling peace processes in the Middle East - sonorous wiry scales twang against smooth synthetics; hints of Arab wails and a subtle female moan waft through the dance. A joyous piece of optimism.

CHANCES OF A LIFE
A low heartbeat drum introduces a rich bowed string melody, building rapidly to that now-familiar mid-tempo pace. Vocoder vocals and international chanting entwine upon tone shifting arpeggios and gutsy bassline; "I could have been born anywhere, somewhere, into times of novelty (innovation) or times of fundamentalism." Briefly the intensity dissipates, the heartbeat returning - more strings and we're off again hurtling further and further from home.

VIRTUALLY ENLIGHTENED
"I know everything about nothing. I am totally light," an oriental voice announces upon a bed of twinkling synthetic arpeggio - weightless for a moment. Soon our train-like beat whisks us forward - hand drumming and programmed grooves in perfect tandem, the electronic arpeggios shifting and morphing, embellished by the hypnotic wires of the East. Virtually Enlightened builds into mesmerising regularity as the track progresses, trance-like and very rhythmically impelling. Brash brass phrases, electric guitar touches and the occasional return of the opening speaker hold the attention and deepen the colour.

iRAN
An electronically altered vocal wail introduces iRan - a dramatic, low chord beckoning the beat to roll in: a clatter of hand percussion, thumping kick and bright hi-hats. Middle-Eastern instrumentation again features here in keeping with the theme: "I ran from Iran. I ran and I ran and I ran." Westheimer's concern for the oppression and tight media control within the country lend this piece a slightly brooding tone - that said the album's over-riding sense of optimism is present here too especially within the cavorting leap of the beat.

KARMA THAN CHAOS
Playing with the words 'Karma makes me calmer!' Westheimer here develops a smooth East-West fusion where sitar phrases dance against reverberating gongs and soft female whispers. Dreamy and blissful, beaten strings and twanging plucks contrast rubbery bass lines and Western drumming. The gradual massing of layered synth pads toward the end of the track lifts the music skyward, fading into heavenly light.

TRANZWORLD EXPRESS
The title track opens with the voice of a station announcer and the clutter of environmental sound whilst a cycling arpeggio gradually builds, surrounded by atmospheric pads. As the arpeggios morph and flow a thudding bass and kick rhythm starts up and the train is on the way. Tranzworld Express has a somewhat more urban electro feel than much of the rest of the album - passing briefly though another station interlude before rolling on - environmentally concerned: clear, clean, fresh and transporting.

CHINA INDIA
Two ancient civilizations steeped in tradition and colour. Westheimer draws on the richness of the sonic histories of these two countries to paint his picture of cultural/political contrasts and shared beauty. The light boom of tablas and the trill of bell trees merge with subdued Western beat material. Chinese er-hu, Indian santoor, keening pipes and a range of other evocative instruments join with plodding bass in what is the most concentrated world beat track of the album so far.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
Opening to the heaving of waves, Renewable Energy soon rings with bright Indian strings then an upward fading marimba sequence and vocoder voice. Almost imperceptibly the marimbas are thickened with complimentary synth patterns - warm layers lifting the mood high. Double bass steps in at the low end, hand drums and rattling percussion take up the beat. The boom of thunder and atmospheric disturbances recall again the theme of this positive composition - "100 percent of the world's energy, for all purposes, could be supplied by wind, water and solar resources." The piece ends with the gentle trickle of water.

GHOSTS OF THE FUTURE
A dark echoing motif sets up a moody tone which is soon developed further by some shadowy synth waves laid down upon a booming Middle Eastern beat. The clatter and thump of Westheimer's, by now familiar, amalgam of percussion patterns takes a prominent role on this final recording - an interlude of resonant tablas, a squelching synthetic bassline and programmed effects broadening the rhythmic appeal - intense and urgent. Peter's website refers to the seriousness behind this composition "Toxic legacies of the future like nuclear waste dumps, extinct species and genocide leave ghosts that fade very slowly." A fitting conclusion to Tranzworld Express - something to think about - an infectious rhythm within which to become absorbed - plenty of international instruments and sparkling effects. The set concludes with a struck metallic bowl - its ringing tones fading away into light.


ARTWORK
To date I have only a downloaded promo copy of the artwork for Tranzworld Express. The front cover depicts a young woodland of muted colours and delicate slender birches as seen by a fleeting railway passenger. Faint reflections haze the view and suddenly the stark visage of a tribal mask looms in the lower right. Drawn to peer at the ghostly face a bird form is discerned, gliding vertically; eyes stare fixedly through arched curves in the wings.

OVERALL
Peter Westheimer delivers the aptly titled Tranzworld Express through Integrity Music Records as his sixth full length album and follow-up to the 2004 release Music Sculptures. Based near Byron Bay, Australia, Westheimer has embarked on supporting his music with multilayered videos of all tracks and performing audiovisual shows live incorporating his interests in video art, renewable energy, biodiversity & rail transport overall highlighting music as an agent of change and joy. A classical background in early life, performance with bands & theatre and recording material for soundtracks, documentaries and multimedia installations (to cover just part of the CV) provides a broad musical foundation upon which to draw. Thus Tranzworld Express has arisen "inspired by travels through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA in 2009." Promotional material explains that "Its' rhythmic energies and perspectives come from the moving scenery of contemporary communities both rural and urban, and a retracing of family history." The music is available for exploration at the Peter Westheimer website where, as well as the audio, verbal explanations of number of the recordings are provided.

PROMO BLURB
The Tranzworld Express is an imaginary train of the future seamlessly crossing borders, 'expressing' the rhythms, melodies, harmonies and politics of changing cultures. This album with its' eleven track music menu was inspired by travels through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA in 2009. Its' rhythmic energies and perspectives come from the moving scenery of contemporary communities both rural and urban, and a retracing of family history.

Zero Cult - Vacuum

STYLE
December 2011
Ambient chillout and blissful downtempo.
Vacuum is a delicate and sensitive album of lush, evocative electronica where languid beats and dream-like soundscapes support subtle melodies. These softly unfolding themes heave with hypnotic beauty, yet always retain plenty of complementary shade and dignity. Most tracks have extended, unhurried introductions where Zero Cult's ambient atmospheres can fully spread like multi-coloured mists before the rhythmic material sets everything in motion. There are also plenty of beatless interludes where the percussion falls away completely and sometimes the whole melodic framework too, leaving the listener gliding upon faint air currents ready, anticipating the second coming. Overall, Vacuum has a fine balance of light and shadow, delivering attractive compositions that feed the attention whilst neatly avoiding the clichés of the psychill mainstream.


IN DEPTH
Vacuum opens gradually with a hypnotic interplay of misty pads and lustrous echoing effects; sonic winds curl around ascending tones and a gentle rhythmic structure slowly coalesces: vibes, synth arps, bass pulse and, about three minutes in, a ponderous programmed groove. This track - Muse - establishes what the album is all about: saturated colour; serene harmonies and breezy beats. Heartworks sees the trance elements of Zero Cult's sound solidify around a bubbling bassline and measured beat, but this denser sound quickly evaporates as the next track once again takes on a more weightless approach. The album has at its centre the gorgeous Second Breath, this is a wonderfully transportational piece that revolves around a mesmerising motif that carefully evolves and repeats with a tender, insistent intensity. 8 Hertz introduces a more mechanistic tone arising out of dark drones and reverberating voice samples: here a sparse, thumping kick and grumbling bass line give the track a slightly sinister edge. For the most part this is a purely instrumental album, however, just before the end there is a track that casts a different spell: a soporific, meandering piece of hazy euphoria where an unusual female vocal hangs in the air, haunting the synthetics with a wistful song from New Zealand's Aviatrix.


ARTWORK
The cover artwork for Vacuum features a hi-key design where a complex tangle of synthetic grey-white thorns lies upon a smooth, pale, infinite plane. Like some hollow, plastic urchin or structure of artificial cactus spines this jagged, monochrome formation is in stark contrast to the curving, fluid music within. I don't yet have a physical copy of this album and so can't comment on other artwork except to say that I have had a number of Cosmic Leaf releases over the years and the graphic quality is of a consistently high standard.

OVERALL
Israel's Emil Ilyayev returns here with his sixth album of downtempo trance and follow-up to the 2010 release: Clouds Garden. Once more on Cosmic Leaf Records, Zero Cult delivers a maturing sound that luxuriates deep within the reverie of ambient chillout. The ten tracks here include two versions of the deliriously laid back Second Breath: an original mix and a second vocal radio edit featuring Aviatrix with the distinctive voice of Kerensa Stephens. Dying Dolphin has an accompanying video aimed at raising awareness of the plight of these endangered mammals. The footage displays some of the horrors of the 30 000 or so dolphins slaughtered around the world each year. You can further learn of Vacuum at the Cosmic Leaf website or you might like to visit the official Zero Cult pages at Myspace and Facebook.


ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
Vacuum is an album of almost two years of creation, it reflects my emotional experience
within that time. I advise listening to the album as one complete whole, then you'll get the fullest pleasure from listening to the music.

LABEL'S THOUGHTS
Release Info:
Zero Cult is back with his new 6th ambient chill album, Vacuum.One of the most selling and high feedbacked cosmicleaf artists.His wonderful trance influenced soundscapes that creates, combined with the mysterious downtempo melodies and rhythms, promising a great sound pleasure for the downtempo listeners.
Label Info:
Cosmicleaf is one of a new wave of labels from the global progressive and psy-trance underground that is reinventing dance music for the ambient zone beyond just stripping away the fast tempos. The global talent such labels are attracting is inspiring. Cosmicleaf releases have both darkness and light, familar genre sounds and strange new sounds, a mindset open to genuine variety and which understands "beautiful" is something profound, not cheesy or trite.
The ambient spaces between electro, trance, rock and world fusion are fertile ones, and the richness here suggests a group of artists diving headlong into them with passion, open minds and impressive programming skills.

Kamil Kowalczyk - Aurora

STYLE
June 2011
Minimal spacedrone, ambient abstract.
Aurora is made up of two longform recordings; dark, isolationist and spacey. The first of these beatless compositions fades in gradually as a single undulating thread of tone. Almost imperceptibly, additional elements trickle into the mix, percussive clicks and mechanical blip-click patterns thickening the sound. This relatively high pitch ambience alters little for almost eleven minutes before the central drone is joined by a deeper note an octave or two lower. Around the twenty two minute mark a second notable drop in pitch occurs. Gossamer electronic flutters dance faintly through the shadows and other distant sounds appear to hang deep within the music on the edge of hearing. Track two likewise fades out of nothingness to morph and evolve in ponderous, pulsing sparcity. Low beds of shifting tone writhe uneasily: clean and glassy here on 'plasma' as opposed to the more matt textured sound of 'model II'. The dominant texture-drones undulate in subtle rhythmic form, layered with surges and infusions of higher sound; pattered in places establishing partial cadence; atmospheric in others suggestive of faint nebulous colour.

ARTWORK
Artwork for Aurora is as minimal as the music: black and white graphics presented in a standard jewel case. The two-tone front cover image centres on the circling dots and blots of what appears to be a spiral galaxy. A second, more intense whorl is contained within two horizontal lines on the rear cover. Here beneath a repetition of the main title are track titles and brief website, email and writing/production details. The insert is a single sheet: the flip side repeating the letterboxed galaxy design with only the two track titles above.

OVERALL
Of Polish origin, writer/musician Kamil Kowalczyk currently resides in Scotland. An early interest in unusual audio and experimental synthetic sound led Kamil to begin recording his own music in 2002 resulting in a series of albums, six released in mp3 format on US Zenapolae net label. More recently he has begun taking on live performances and has established his own record label Prototyp Produktions Ltd. Aurora is Kamil's debut CD album on his own label, containing two long tracks, “model II” and “plasma” at thirty two minutes eleven seconds and twenty five minutes eight seconds respectively. Promotional material explains: "The main concept for album was conspiracy theory about Aurora – a top secret, ultra fast US Military aircraft, also called TR-3B, which has very advanced technology, and special engine driving by plasma… I have used almost exclusively Virsyn Tera for most sounds, which I create from scratch on this stunning synth."
You can hear the music at Kamil's record label website Prototyp Produktions Ltd.as well as purchase the CD.

ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
A debut CD album from sound artist/composer Kamil Kowalczyk. It contains two long tracks, “model II” and “plasma”. The main concept for album was conspiracy theory about Aurora – a top secret, ultra fast US Military aircraft, also called TR-3B, which has very advanced technology, and special engine driving by plasma…

Dan Pound - Medusazoa

STYLE
March 2011
Smooth, oceanic ambient electronica.
Medusazoa is an album of warm, fluid, mostly beatless synth environments. Drifting pads and velvety drones waft and mass around emergent pulse formations and rhythmic digital fragments. Liquid clicks and flecks trickle against synthetic vibrations or burble alongside repeating motifs; lazy scale patterns meander upward, downward; peculiar disturbances rustle and murmur and there are occasional sussurant flushes of turbulence. A downtempo beat arises midway through the title track, lazy and uncluttered; beguiling watery purring sounds cycling around. Some tracks centre mostly on the ponderous heave of layered drones, the flutter and flicker of rhythmic ephemera deep within. Others have subtle melodic elements: hypnotically repeating motifs; sparse piano phrases, electric guitar touches; these buoyant centres of regularity suspended in sequential tides or wandering afloat through ambient densities.

IN DEPTH
The title track opens with a luminous, repeating synthtic chime motif echoing upon an undulating low drone. Soon the melodic repetition drops off and an ambient bed opens out as if the listener has strayed into deeper water. Here a variation on the previous motif begins to well up with more of a piano sound, evolving and meandering until a second evaporation. Now a distinctly different liquid environment emerges that is more suggestive of surface water or at least of the presence of trapped air: laps and splashes rippling about a sybilant purring noise that recurrs in organic pairings establishing a loose rhythm. Drfiting piano notes once more provide intriguing melody, deep single tones and lazy higher runs. At around this mid point of the twelve minutes fifty three seconds of Medusazoa a serene beat fades in, simple hihats, programmed snare and lazy kick building around the nodding measure of the pulsing purr. For a while now this dreamy rhythmic pool of lilting piano melody floats in blissful reverie until the beat ebbs away at around the nine and a half minute mark. The purring remains a while upon a much more distant memory of percussion, reverberating piano phrases thinning out upon a low drone echoing the introduction until stillness. A very relaxing composition, highly evocative of the underwater environment Dan is summoning up and the delicate life forms upon which this album concentrates.

Gear List
Synthesiser.com analog modular system; Nord lead 2; Korg R3; Yamaha AN200, Korg Electribe; Dave Smith's Evolver; Roland XP-10, Fender Stratocaster, various effects, processors and sound shaping equipment..


ARTWORK
Medusazoa arrives in a jewel case with a single sheet insert. Artwork is all of saturated blue hues with soft-edged jellyfish forms hanging transparent in mid-distance. The front cover features a beautifully orange lit specimen, curling streamers and slender tentacles arcing in a graceful curve below. On the rear cover a number of the creatures form a loose cluster; some luminous and distinct, others vague, transparent. Track titles are here with times alongside, also website details and an email address. Within, the insert flip side presents an almost circular aspect with geometrical horseshoe shaped organs pinkly lit. A concise gear list sits here at the left foot. Behind the disc itself a veined close-up image, highlighting the inconsistent densities of these intriguing lifeforms.

OVERALL
US based Dan Pound has a discography as long as your arm and a musical resume to match. Having classical training for piano, guitar and double bass, Dan is an experienced composer for orchestra. He also has degrees in recording engineering and electronic music technology and currently specializes in producing music for film and multi-media. Dan works from his own studio and releases his music via his own recently established label Pound Sounds. This latest release, Medusazoa presents seven mid-length tracks ranging from the four minute six second Living Fossil to the fourteen minute plus Tentacles. Promotional material explains that this music was "made to accompany the fluid movements and colorful bio-luminescence of the jellyfish, flowing and drifting with the currents". Sound samples can be found on the Dan Pound website as well as a further description of the music.

ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
My personal feelings about this album are simply that this is exactly where I need to be right now musically and creatively. I finally feel like I have come into my own as an artist. No compromises or expectations. Just pure expression.
This is exactly the kind of music that I would listen to, even if it was not my own.

LABEL'S THOUGHTS
Get ready for your own liquid space aquarium music environment.
Based and built from analog modular synth drones, patches & effects, this is pure underwater dream zone music.
Made to accompany the fluid movements and colorful bio-luminescence of the jellyfish, flowing and drifting with the currents, the blend of sounds are surprisingly organic in their textures, and mix well with crustacean-like effects and poly-sequential, fractal rhythms & pulses.
Expansive, slow moving, aquarium-like environments are penetrated and felt deeply here.

Instruments used:
Synthesizer dot com modular system, Nord lead 2, Yamaha AN200, Korg Electribe, Dave Smith?s Evolver, Roland XP-10, Korg R-3, Fender Stratocaster, various effects, processors and sound shaping equipment.

Tracks:
1. Liquid Body 12:38
2. Under Her Spell 5:09
3. Living Fossil 4:06
4. Medusazoa 12:53
5. Tentacles 14:02
6. Bioluminescence 9:56
7. Currents 12:35

Inspired by the movements of fluidity and bio-luminescent colors of the jellyfish, this is an all out analog excursion of ambient liquid space.
Get ready for deep liquid space immersion with Medusazoa.

STYLE
March 2011
Downtempo psychill, lush electronica and acoustic performance. Inspirational Power opens with a gentle, beatless melodic piece built around a cycling, sequential pattern; distant male vocals hang wordlessly in the bright Autumn air; warm atmospherics; tranquil harmony. Chronos appears to be revelling in the beauty of digital sound on these tracks: gradual developments and expansive interludes in no rush to a final destination; beats that seem to inhabit the music rather than dominate; attractive melodic phrases and the intertwined twinkle of arpeggiators. There is a distinct sense of a musical journey to the album as the earlier restfulness develops into more climactic pieces with heavier grooves around the midway mark. Finally the music ascends spaceward via the synthetic sci-fi tones and philosophical musings of Optimistic Future and the meandering, ethereal, beat free concluder Forgiveness.


MOOD
The shifting mood here is often one of deep serenity and unhurried reverie. The intricacies of the beats are frequently offset by drifting ambient progressions and mesmerising evolving repetitions. There are spacey sections in places where the electronics take on a more sinewy, sharper-edged nature. Occasional global elements introduce touches of earthy exotica; most prominent on the folk remix of Sky Path: here flamenco style acoustic guitars juxtapose tribal drumming and Indian vocals before the track breaks wide open with an Irish reel played on distinctive uilleann pipes. There is even a progressive section with flute improvisation and a brief but distinct nineteen seventies vibe that arises during Deus Ex Machina.

ARTWORK
A jewel case presentation, Inspirational Power is fronted by a sharp graphic image of running figures upon interconnected cogs. Bold, black, dynamic - stare long enough and the whole things aches to move - set against a sleek icy grey ground that reflects the man machine in the foreground. The rear cover tracklist includes writing, production and collaborative credits laid out over greys and gears familiar from the flip side. Within, the double page spread of the insert is a rich presentation of photographs and text. There are performance shots highlighting the acoustic/electronic blend of Chronos' music with colourful instruments displayed and engrossed players at work. As well as the usual contact and technical details there is an interesting paragraph of background information on the artist.

OVERALL
Russian musician and sound designer Nick Klimenko delivers his third album as Chronos. Having collaborated back in 2009 with Catalizer on the Ajana release Quid est Veritas? he now follows up his debut solo of 2007 Steps to the Greater Knowledge. For Inspirational Power Chronos has turned to the Beats & Pieces label. There are ten tracks in all here that rise out of restful introspection gradually into dynamic downtempo psychedelia and global chill before floating right off through the stratosphere into infinite space. This album reveals Chronos to be a multifaceted project with both carefully crafted studio work and live performance aspects in evidence. The depth and colour of sound benefits from Nick's work developing virtual instruments and sound libraries as well as his collaborative relationships that give rise to some engrossing instrumentation threaded through the electronica.


WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Inspirational Power is one of those electronic albums that transcends the usual genre limitations; promotional material rightly claims that "it explores the paths between ambient, chillout, ethnic music and psychedelic hypnotic trance vibrations." Fans of colourful, deeply chilled psytrance will enjoy this release, so too will those with an interest in global dance music. The Beats & Pieces website holds listening material if you'd like to see for yourself.

Various Artists - Summer 2010 Collection

STYLE
Contemporary electronic chillout. The Summer 2010 Collection from Cymbidium is a warm album of lustrous synthetic glitch and electro-beat both vocal and instrumental. There are pieces here with something of a modern lounge vibe; others that have a fractured, experimental feel; moments where the electro-pop of the nineteen eighties is called to mind; slick jazzy montage sounds and relaxing, soulful female vocals. Sensuous, muted sax juxtaposes dappled light textures and tinkling metallics on Sleep Mode, the opener from Saine; an effected beatbox groove contrasts the dreamy male voice singing on MC Hossni and DJ God Wind's track Traveling. Kaneel's Loquace ranges from dreamy wobbling arpeggios against flickering clicky percussion to an intense zappy tremolo sound collage. Cut and paste sampled speech, languid piano and static texture, crunchy programmed rhythms and serene melody - this collection doesn't stand still for too long.


ARTWORK
Summer 2010 Collection features the cover artwork that you can see to the above left. A vibrant female portrait in shades of saturated orange where photographic elements blend with hand drawn line art and graphic enhancements. Since this is a digital release this crisp design by Oliver Cartwright is the only visual content.

OVERALL
Helsinki based independent recording company Cymbidium Records delivers a sharp compilation of electronic downtempo fleshing out an already well established discography (the label having been in action since 2005). The ten tracks here feature artists from Finland and beyond, some that have released albums of their own via Cymbidium as well as some less well established acts. The music has been chosen for inclusion by Costi, supervised by Saine and delivers a constantly changing eclectic chilled landscape with influences ranging from IDM, ambient groove and experimental electronica to urban abstract, jazz and funk. The album is a digital release and can be sampled in full both at Morpheus Music as well as at the Cymbidium website.

STYLE
Deeply chilled ambient electronic soundscapes. This latest compilation from the excellent Aleph Zero label pulls together some of the most cutting edge sounds in the world of drifting, glitch infested downtempo currently advancing over the horizon. The music ranges from intensely beautiful and dreamy to somewhat disconcerting and alien. Ovnimoon contribute a gorgeous track called Cajita De Sorpresas where buoyant hazy pads support a lustrous, fluid lead against an insectile, intricate beat. An interesting collaboration from Omnimotion and I Awake entitled Rebooting Daisy maintains the blissful, hypnotic floatational approach with a slightly dislocated groove lumbering aside sensuous female vocal layers and some delicately sparse melodic touches. Vataff Project's Owl is an example of the more disconcerting nature of darkness - a scratchy percussive track with a sequence of uneasy drones and sci-fi mechanisms. The album winds down with Shulman's One Step Closer; here remixed by Eitan Reiter and DJ Shahar. Maintaining the spacey vibe of the previous piece, this broad composition introduces a reverberating sax that luxuriates in the groove driven expanse before dropping away into a beatless pool of shifting synthetic currents. The concluding track is from Minilogue Feat. Inid Imman: a ponderous, gently thudding form with guitar manipulations and ample surface damage - light whispers and minimal melody - mesmerising light-headeness - heartbeat pump - fade to black.

MOOD
Dark Room Beats is an album full of brooding low-light atmosphere where periodic surges of warmth course through the night shadows and luminous colours twinkle and glow. The name is well chosen - this is certainly one for enjoying with a good sound system in a darkened room - or maybe for creating your own relaxing, dusky mindscape elsewhere during your day. Full of feeling, with an unhurried approach and ample room given over to building up mood and ambience.

ARTWORK
In keeping with the theme, artwork for Dark Room Beats is resolutely black across every panel. The front cover holds a simple image of a glowing lamp, yellow-orange and warm upon an infinite darkness. Flipping over, a tracklist is on the rear, set alongside a duplicate of the lamp. Turning to the insert, this opens out into three panels with a second tracklist on the outer first, simple logo on the central. Inside there is a section given over to thanks, a second with a more graphic representation of the familiar lamp form, contact details below, the third section presents an expanded tracklist, this time with writing credits and some additional performance information.

OVERALL
Aleph Zero compilations are always something of a delight. This one took three years of meticulous work to "design the room's sonic surroundings". The label is clearly intent on setting the standard for others to follow with this collection, Shahar and Shulman having selected thirteen pieces of visionary ambient glitch-chill that are of amazing quality and gratifying consonance. A number of Aleph Zero favourites are of course here: Shulman, Hibernation, Omnimotion, Vataff Project and Krusseldorf. Label head DJ Shahar brings his talent to bear in sharing with Eitan Reiter to remix the Shulman track One Step Closer. Other artists include Altair, Phasephour, Ovnimoon, I Awake, Good Rester, Alexander Daf, Aligning Minds and Minilogue Feat. Inid Imman. Robert Rich provides another highlight with Moth Wings: a lush, coruscating piece of sonic chiaroscuro featuring a meandering, sonorous flute.
Promotional material suggests "Come relaxed and open minded, turn off the lights, and let us take you somewhere else without ever leaving your room." Why not explore the eflier and see if you'd like to take up the invitation.


WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Dark Room Beats will appeal to downtempo fans that enjoy the more ambient side of the genre. This is a high quality release that the more discerning listener will appreciate. Aleph Zero and Ultimae seem to excel in this type of lush, glitchy chillout.