|
Anyone who is familiar with Waveform Records
knows that Forest, who programs the Musical Starstreams show,
does one great job when it comes to finding the hidden talent
scattered around the world and presenting them to us on these
Waveform compilations and in his Starstream radio shows. Waveform
has several artists who record exclusively for the label but Waveform
really shines with each of its wonderul compilation CD's that they
have released over the years which introduce us to artists that we
might never hear about otherwise. One AD, Two AD, Three
AD and Slumberland are prime examples of the unity that
can be had even with a diverse group of artists and now Voodoo Roux
joins this distinguished list of releases.
Voodoo Roux (subtitled "it's in the sauce")
is a new compilation from Waveform. It is comprised of 9
tracks of electronica from Tosca, deep-dive-corp., Omnimotion,
Trance Groove, X.I. S., Potlatch, eer,
mk-ultra and Journeyman.
Tosca presents us with Annanas.g-corporation.dub,
an Austrian production, who's selection is a subtle and suggestive
electronic movement featuring rhythmic motion brought to us by the
writing and production team of Richard Dortmeister and Rupert
Huber.
deep-dive-corp's "Imagination" from
Germany, has more of a beat and a jazzy feel, with vocals and a
surprise Aramaic break. This reflects the current trend in the
exploration of Aramaic rifts. Again, electronica, well produced and
written by Peter Musebrink and DJ Turn.
Omnimotion, by writer and producer Stefan Lundaahl, a
Swedish contribution, gives us "Underdub",
featuring the vocals of Linda Martio. This is another
sexy, sultry electronica work and is enhanced by the vocal work and a
rhythmic beat provided by sound effects. With its lush production and
its deep bass lines one is reminded of swimming underwater with the
muted light filtrating down to where we are in the depths. The sound
is laid back and guides us downward into the darkness below.
Trance Groove, a German 7 piece performance group, provides a
live performance called "Paris". The
track is memorable for both the music and the vocals of Nicole Meyer.
Trance Groove presents us with a sleek, rhythmic feel to this track
yet still remains jazzy and laid back. The horns offer us
a traditional jazz feel to the whole atomosphere of the song which
would be just at home in a smoky jazz bar late at night. A very
enjoyable and memorable presentation.
X.I.S. (Xploring Inner Space) is another German offering in "Sun
Walker" written and produced by Thorsten Janert
and Holger Buchholz. This has more rock, some light
vocals and a bubble backdrop to a hard rock rhythm.
Potlatch is from Seoul, Korea, and their track is entitled "Vacuum
Conversation". Written and produced by Jun Kim
and DJ S-min, this track has a mysterious flavor, darker
vocals, rock beat and some well mixed synth sounds that glide above
the beat that holds the piece together. This was the sophomore
effort of Potlatch and is heard here on this compilation for
the very first time.
eer is a group from Paris, and their contribution to this
collection is "Hand Car". Rhythmic as a
train, almost trance like in its appeal as the beat holds the other
aspects together and allows eer to work their magic with the
synths and the sound effects. Soft electronica that is pleasant as it
leads you through the various movements of the piece.
MK-ultra's "lll" is written and
produced by Jeff/Mk-ultra and comes to us from Canada.
This is a piece that is best described as psycho-tronic in flavor
allowing the BPM to move the listener into a trancelike state.
Good solid beat with some nice improv on the keyboards and synths.
The final track by Journeyman called "3001 (matrix II)
is a U.K. contribution by Frankland/Waterton. This is electronica
with hip-hop dubbing, featuring vocal samples taken from the movie
Tron which adds to the listeners enjoyment of this composition and
creates the perfect sci fi feel to the whole track. At times it
reminds you of space music but on steroids and with a pulsing
beat. While a little out of step with the other tunes on this
CD it makes for a great ending to a well thought out compilation.
Waveform presents us with yet another collection of some hard
to find, new, international, original material that makes a fine
addition to their already great and ever growing library of
outstanding music.
Reviewed by Margaret Foster for
Ambient Visions |
