Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (Original Recording)

Might as well post this classic...

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (1978) (ECM New Series, 1988) (320)

1. Pulse - Sections 1-x - Pulse 56:31

This is the original single-track recording, there is a multiple-tracked newer recording here.

Review:

While I usually try to stay on top of newer releases with this site, I'll admit that I often have to simply drop everything in the pile of things that I want to review and go back to hear a familiar sound. I want to pull a well-worn release off the shelf and know that I can put it in and find an hour of bliss. Over the course of the past week, I found myself doing it more than once with Music For 18 Musicians, and while many have already heard his name before and listened to his work, I decided that I would try to review this release, one of my favorite pieces of work by him, if only to expose one more person to its majesty.

Composed in 1976 by Reich, this is a piece that goes down as a classic in my view. Although some of his earlier work with tape manipulations now sounds a bit dated and simply doesn't hold up as well, the beauty of Music For 18 Musicians still sounds as fresh to me now as anything that I've heard lately. This particular release on Nonesuch, recorded in 1996 is actually about 11 minutes longer than the original composition, but that length really only adds to the bliss of the piece. At 14 tracks and almost 67 minutes of music, it's just over an hourlong excursion into what feels like a safer place.

Performed by musicians, just as the title states, it actually might fall into what many would consider 'trance' music. It's highly repetitive, and while it bears no relation to the crap being pedalled as trance music these days, it's nearly as hypnotic as any music you'll find. With vocals, stringed instruments, lots of percussive elements (vibraphone, gamelan, marimba, maracas), pianos, and clarinets, it's one of those pieces of music that you can trace back to as a starting point for not only individual artists, but genres as well. It blends non-western, classical, and even a touch of jazz for something that was original at the time, and still stands solidly on that ground.

With all this praise I'm heaping on this piece, I must warn that if you don't enjoy repetitive music, you probably won't appreciate this release quite as much. While it is repetitive, though, it's far from minimal (although it's grouped into that category often). Unfurling over the course of 11 different parts, as well as phasing pieces that lead into and end the overall composition, it breathes like something real and organic as each instrument and voice take their place with the harmony and again blend back down into the mix. It's constantly moving and shifting, and while there are moments of quieter transition, there are also ones of breathtaking splendor as melodies overlap and change speed while different instruments come into and out of focus. It's like taking several different minimal paintings printed on transparencies and subtely shifting them over one another to create new pieces as you see colors blend into one another and fold into something new each time.

Considering that the piece is one that's performed by actual people, the juxtaposition of the different elements is quite amazing (of course, imagining how you would program something like this electronically also staggers the mind), and as mentioned before, you can hear little bits of everyone from Tortoise to different electronic artists like Vladislav Delay and Gas (Mike Ink) having developed parts from it. While their were groundbreaking pieces both before and after it, it's one of those recordings that will envelope you if you allow it to. So, if you're a fan of modern electronic music or even post rock, you should probably hunt down this release and hear it at least once. If you can, simply stop doing everything else, pop it in the CD player and relax with it on a pair of headphones for the entirety of the release. You'll come to just under 70 minutes later when the CD stops spinning, and chances are you'll want to do it again sometime. I certainly do.

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EDIT: actually, crap! i was just reading that entire review after i posted this and realized my cd is edited! that's the version i've been listening to for years. check out that link above for the full version apparently. i seriously can't understand why they did that, unless that was the length of the orignal lp. anyone know?

EDIT 2: so, according to Aorto and other research, i have the right one and have not been led astray. i'm feeling much better about that. thanks!!!

Steve Reich - Reich: Remixed 2006

A request:

Steve Reich - Reich: Remixed 2006 (Nonesuch Records, 2006) (320)

1. Proverb (Alex Smoke Remix)

2. Drumming (Four Tet Remix)

3. Music For 18 Musicians (Ruohu Ruotsi's Pulse Section Dub Remix)

4. Come Out (Original Mix)

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Volume Summation

So, here's a run down of all these posts:

Volume 01 (320)

Volume 02 (224)

Volume 03 (224)

Volume 04 (320)

Volume 05 (320)

Volume 06 (320)

Volume 07 (320)

Volume 08 (320)

Volume 09 (214avg)

Volume 10 (320)

Volume 11 (320)

Volume 12 (320)

Volume 13 (320)

Volume 14 (192)

Volume 15 (192)

Volume 16 (160)

Volume 17 (320)

Wasted (320)

Sharks Patrol These Waters (320)

Sally's Photographic Memory (320)

Trance Europe Express 1 (320)

Trance Europe Express 2 (320)

Trance Europe Express 3 (320)

Trance Europe Express 4 (320)

Trance Europe Express 5 (128) 

Trance Atlantic (320) 

Trance Atlantic 2 (320)

Trance Pacific Express (320)

TEXtures (Darren Emerson/Alex Patterson)

Berlin Unwrapped (320)

Orbital - Belfast/Wasted - VOLCDJ1 (128)

Orbital/Therapy? - Belfast/Wasted - VOLX1 (320)

Orbital/Therapy? - Belfast/Wasted - VOLCD1 (320)

Many, many thanks to all the blogs (Music Non-Stop, Castles In Space, Illegal Smoking Robot, The Light Of The Night, Everythingonmyipod, Drews Brews) and forums that some of these are from!! More to be updated. And if anyone else has a bit-rate upgrade they'd like to share, I wouldn't say no.

EDIT Jan 6, 2010: Added 320 versions to TEX1, TEX2, & TEX3. Also put Trance Pacific Express to the list, all courtesy of Drew!

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Various - Sharks Patrol These Waters - The Best Of Volume Part 2

Various - Sharks Patrol These Waters - The Best Of Volume Part 2 (2CD) (Volume, BOVCD2, 1995) (320)

1-01 Drugstore - Super Glider

1-02 Love Spit Love - Wake Up

1-03 Paul Weller - Black Sheep Boy

1-04 Boo Radleys, The - Barney (... And Me)

1-05 Sleeper - Pyrotechnician

1-06 Gene - To See The Lights

1-07 Echobelly - Fake

1-08 Blur - Oily Water

1-09 Elastica - S.O.F.T.

1-10 Belly - White Belly

1-11 Breeders, The - Safari

1-12 Garbage - Vow

1-13 Spiritualized - Smiles

1-14 Radiohead - Stupid Car

1-15 Slowdive - Some Velvet Morning

1-16 Ride - Only Now

1-17 Madder Rose - Roland Navigator

1-18 Mark Lanegan - Wheels

1-19 Morphine - Sharks Patrol These Waters

1-20 Tindersticks - Her

1-21 Gallon Drunk - Ruby

2-01a Barry Adamson - Odio - Amor, Odio - Amor

2-01b Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman

2-02 James - Skin Diving 1-3-4

2-03 Saint Etienne - Fake '88

2-04 The The - Lip Tripping

2-05 Throwing Muses - Firepile

2-06 Terrorvision - My House

2-07 Manic Street Preachers - PCP

2-08 Jesus Jones - Machine Drug

2-09 EMF - Believe

2-10 Sugarcubes, The - Hetero Scum

2-11 Therapy? - Innocent X

2-12 Fall, The - Arid Al's Dream

2-13 Pulp - She's Dead

2-14 Suede - My Insatiable One

2-15 Auteurs, The - Bailed Out

2-16 Strangelove - Zoo'd Out

2-17 Afghan Whigs, The - Little Girl Blue

2-18 Cranberries, The - How

2-19 Stereolab - Super Falling Star

2-20 Lush - Tinkerbell

2-21 Teenage Fanclub - Belt

2-22 Mindless Drug Hoover - Fuck Off

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Various - Wasted - The Best Of Volume (Part 1)

Various - Wasted - The Best Of Volume (Part 1) (2CD) (Volume, BOVCD1, 1995) (320)

1-01 Orb, The - Reefer Spin In The Galaxy

1-02 Cabaret Voltaire - Low Cool (Remix)

1-03 One Dove - Fallen (The Last Monday Morning At Bobby N's Remix)

1-04 Björk - One Day

1-05 Shamen, The - Hyperreal (Remix)

1-06 Pop Will Eat Itself - Bulletproof! (Boilerhouse Mix)

1-07 Grid, The - Cybernetic

1-08 System 7 - Miracle (Orb Mix)

1-09 Underworld - Why Why Why? (Remix)

1-10 Delta Lady - Anything You Want (Volume Vocal Mix)

1-11 Drum Club - One Tribe (Edit)

1-12 Sabres Of Paradise, The - Lick Wid Nit Wit

1-13 Spooky - Aqualung (Dub)

1-14 Orbital - Belfast / Wasted (Vocal Mix)

2-01 © - He Was

2-02 Massive Attack - Karmacoma (Bumper Ball Dub)

2-03 Tricky - You Don't

2-04 Cypress Hill - Lick A Shot (Baka Boys Vocal Up Mix)

2-05 Credit To The Nation - Come Dancing

2-06 Little Axe - 15 To 4

2-07 Sandals - Venice Groove

2-08 Stereo MC's - Elevate My Mind (Live)

2-09 Jah Wobble - Whiskey Priests

2-10 Node - Olivine

2-11 New Order - Confusion (Dimitri Remix)

2-12 Moby - Go (Subliminal Mix)

2-13 LFO - Slow Down Speedy

2-14 Autechre - Lanx 3

2-15 Aphex Twin - En Trange To Exit

2-16 Mindless Drug Hoover - The Reefer Song

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Various - Volume 17

Various - Volume 17 - Fifth Birthday Bumper Bonanza! (2CD) (Volume, 17VCD17, 1996) (320)

1-01 Alabama 3 - Woke Up This Mornin'

1-02 Elastica - Love Like Ours

1-03 Travis - U 16 Girls

1-04 Terrorvision - Conspiracy (Remix)

1-05 Gallon Drunk - All This And More

1-06 dEUS - The Magic Of New Pop Music

1-07 Morphine - Never Live Twice (Live)

1-08 Björk - Possibly Maybe (Lucy Mix)

1-09 Longpigs - On And On (Pass The Snake Mix)

1-10 Rare - Rollercoaster

1-11 Little Axe - What Have You Got?

1-12 Turn-On - Latin Gloop

1-13 System 7 - Big Sky City

1-14 Curve - Test

2-01 Drugstore - Communication Breakdown

2-02 Throwing Muses - Like A Dog

2-03 Elvis Costello - What Do I Do Now?

2-04 Auteurs, The - Unsolved Child Murder (Original Demo Version)

2-05 Catatonia - Mickey (BBC Acoustic Version)

2-06 Cuckoo - More Of Me (And Then Some) (Original Demo Version)

2-07 Fruit - Leather Jacket

2-08 Mel McCrory - Here I Am

2-09 Divine Comedy, The - Through A Long And Sleepless Night (Live Studio Version)

2-10 Cocteau Twins - Touch Upon Touch

2-11 Geneva - Closer To The Stars

2-12 Fiel Garvie - Risk

2-13 Fringe - I'll Keep It In Mind

2-14 Bettie Serveert - Spine (Live Acoustic)

2-15 Bill Janovitz - Red Balloon

2-16 Mindless Drug Hoover - Volume

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Various - Volume 16

Various - Volume 16 - Copulation Explosion! (2CD) (Volume, V16CD, 1996) (160)

1-01 Dubstar - Not So Fast

1-02 Space - Me And You Vs The World

1-03 Bawl - Unfinished

1-04 Candyskins, The - Europe + Japan

1-05 Northern Uproar - Moods (Alternative Electric Version)

1-06 Linoleum - She's Sick

1-07 Cradle - Second Nature (French Version)

1-08 Super Furry Animals - Frisbee (Demo Version)

1-09 Octopus - I Know Who I Am

1-10 Beck - Thunderpeel

1-11 Cure, The - Club America (Roxy Mix)

1-12 Pusherman - Whole

1-13 Baader Meinhof - GSG/29

1-14 Moonshake - Nothing But Time

1-15 Gretschen Hofner - St. Pauli

1-16 Shave, The - Crushed Velvet Panties

1-17 Lush - Half And Half

1-18 Edward Ball - Docklands Blues

1-19 Balloon - The Saw Song

1-20 Vic Chesnutt - Flowers On The Wall

1-21 Afghan Whigs, The - I Want To Go To Sleep

2-01 Labradford - The Window

2-02 Heave - Barberskum

2-03 Pop Group, The - 3.38

2-04 Mark Stewart - Digital Justice (Dub) (Remix)

2-05 Meat Beat Manifesto - Future Worlds (Alternative Version)

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Various - Volume 15

Various - Volume 15 - Technolgy Alert! (2CD) (Volume, 15VCD15, 1996) (192)

1-01 John Came - Springs & Magnets Part 2 (Return To Steam)

1-02 Life's Addiction - Quiet Storm

1-03 Solid - Outside

1-04 Cocteau Twins - Circling Girl

1-05 Baby Bird - Alan Ladd

1-06 LHOOQ - Vanishing

1-07 Shamen, The - MK2A (Tranquility Bass Dub)

1-08 Alabama 3 - Hype Full Of Love

1-09 Ultramarine - Altered Ego

1-10 New Order - Everythings's Gone Green (Advent Remix)

1-11 Joi - Everybody Say Yeah (Spring Heel Jack Remix)

1-12 Jock Scot with Nectarine No. 9, The - Thierry Lacroix

1-13 Scheer - Don't Know Why?

1-14 Flaming Stars, The - Bring Me The Rest Of Alfredo Garcia

1-15 Mick Harvey - Who's 'In', Who's 'Out'

1-16 State Of Grace - Perfect And Wild

1-17 Wannadies, The - Let Go Oh Oh

2-01 Law One - Better Get Ready

2-02 Alien - Sam The Ant Tamer

2-03 Bonjour Monsieur Basie - Ambient Jazz Suite No. 2

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Various - Volume 14

Various - Volume 14 - Reading '95 Special (2CD) (Volume, V14CD, 1996) (192)

1-01 Teenage Fanclub - Festival Of Sun Reading '95

1-02 Ash - Coasting

1-03 Powder - Has Been

1-04 Nilon Bombers - Back Down

1-05 Drugstore - Sugar Sugar

1-06 Electrafixion - Sister Pain

1-07 Cast - Follow Me Down

1-08 Puressence - Half The Way You Were

1-09 Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - This One's For Me

1-10 Longpigs - All Hype

1-11 Coast - Shag Wild

1-12 China Drum - Situation

1-13 Smaller - Biscuit Tin

1-14 Heavy Stereo - Sleep Freak

1-15 Cardigans, The - Our Space

1-16 Stereolab - Theme From Get Carter

1-17 Menswear - Daydreamer (Student Union Mix)

2-01 Little Axe - Out Of The Rain (Remix)

2-02 Dub War - Original Murder

2-03 White Zombie - Electric Head Pt.2 (The Esctasy) (Remix)

2-04 Monster Magnet - Dopes To Infinity (Live)

2-05 Babes In Toyland - Handsome & Gretel (Live)

2-06 Deus - Morticiachair (Live)

2-07 Gene - Sleep Well Tonight (Live)

2-08 Heather Nova - My Fidelity (Live)

2-09 Scarce - Imagining It

2-10 Buffalo Tom - Never Noticed

2-11 Scarfo - Eyesore

2-12 Echobelly - Natural Animal

2-13 Peepshow - Delirious

2-14 These Animal Men - False Identification (Live)

2-15 Prolapse - Move To Limit Slabs

2-16 Delicatessen - Classic Adventure

2-17 Skunk Anansie - I Can Dream

2-18 Mudhoney - You Give Me The Creeps

2-19 Guided By Voices - Snuff Movie (She's Gone)

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Various - Volume 13

Various - Volume 13 - The Lucky Issue (Volume, V13CD, 1995) (320)

01 Krispy 3 - Listen Up

02 Whiteout - Polyesther Blues

03 Boo Radleys, The - Reaching Out From Here (Martin Carr Demo)

04 Animals That Swim - East Street O'Neill

05 Juliana Hatfield - Waves

06 Elcka - Games We Play

07 Interact - Just Because

08 Throwing Muses - Hillbilly

09 Kaliphz - Sex, Horror & Violence

10 Luscious Jackson - Daddy

11 Tribute To Nothing - Look At Yourself

12 Flying Medallions, The - Vanity Fair

13 Nova Mob - No Promise Have I Made

14 Done Lying Down - Bolus

15 Rosa Mota - Frost Bitten

16 Edwyn Collins - In A Nutshell

17 Tindersticks - Tiny Tears

18 Radiohead - Nice Dream (Demo)

19 Velo Deluxe - Jesus Let Me In

20 Reverberation - It's All Over

21 Heather Nova - Maybe An Angel (Acoustic Version)

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Various - Volume 12

Various - Volume 12 - Winter Sports Special (Volume, V12CD12, 1994) (320)

01 Node - Olivine

02 Spiritualized - Good Times (Pure Phase)

03 Goya Dress - Foetus

04 Garbage - Vow

05 Prolapse - Visa For Violet And Van

06 Shriek - Girl Meets Girl

07 Pet Lamb - Son Of John Doe

08 Moby - What Love?

09 G Love And Special Sauce - Tomorrow Night (Live)

10 Massive Attack - Karma Coma (Bumper Ball Dub)

11 E.A.R. - Space Theme (Tribute To John Cage In C, A, G, E)

12 Laika - Lower Than Stars

13 Ride - Only Now (US Remix)

14 Catatonia - Dream On

15 Love Spit Love - Wake Up (Acoustic Version)

16 Novocaine - Pond Life

17 Flinch - Days

18 Nitzer Ebb - In Decline

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Various - Volume 11

Various - Volume 11 - Reading Special (Volume, V11CD, 1994) (320)

01 Drugstore - Super Glider

02 Primal Scream - Jailbird (Live)

03 Sleeper - Pyrotechnician (I Think I Love You)

04 Senser - Eject (Live)

05 Blaggers ITA - Dairy Thief

06 Terrorvision - If I Was You

07 Cypress Hill - Lick A Shot (Remix)

08 Collapsed Lung - Dis MX (The Volumatic Mix)

09 Jale - Stepping Out

10 dEUS - Violins And Happy Endings

11 Wedding Present, The - Spangle

12 Scrawl - Good Under Presssure

13 Helmet - Lord Of This World

14 Dig - Curious George Blues

15 Manic Street Preachers - PCP (Live)

16 Kitchens Of Distinction - Remember Me?

17 Salad - Man With A Box

18 Shed Seven - Missing Out

19 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (April 22)

20 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (April 25)

21 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (April 27)

22 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (April 30/ May 2)

23 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (May 4/ May 11)

24 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (May 20/ May 22)

25 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (May 26)

26 Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (June 6/ June 7)

27a Henry Rollins - Verbal Diary (June 12)

27b Mindless Drug Hoover - Untitled

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Various - Volume 10

Various - Volume 10 (Volume, 10V10CD, 1994) (256)

01 AR Kane - Deep Blue Breath (London Mix)

02 Disco Inferno - Second Language (Demo)

03 Scarce - Naked Freak Shadow

04 Gene - To See The Lights

05 High Llamas - Might As Well Be Dumbo

06 Pulp - Joyriders

07 Tiny Monroe - Cream Bun

08 Echobelly - Fake

09 Gigolo Aunts - They Don't Know

10 Lush - Tinkerbell

11 Tricky - You Don't

12 Credit To The Nation - Come Dancing

13 Loop Guru - La Boheme

14 Trans-Global Underground - Khan

15 Transcendental Love Machine - Revolvalution

16 Insides - Tikky

17 Oracle - The Sweetest Place

18 Peter Perrett's The One - Daughter

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Various - Volume 09

Various - Volume 09 (Volume, 9V9CD, 1994) (200avg)

01 Mark Lanegan - Wheels

02 Morphine - Sharks Patrol These Waters

03 That Dog - One Summer Night

04 Buffalo Tom - Soda Jerk (Live)

05 Paul Weller - Black Sheep Boy

06 Madder Rose - Roland Navigator

07 Sonic Youth - Doctor's Order (Thurston Vocal)

08 Wagon Christ - Gas Fish

09 Pressure Of Speech - Emile

10 Spooky - Aqualung Dub (Remix)

11 Divine Comedy, The - Life's What You Make It

12 Cranberries, The - How (Live)

13 Tindersticks - Her (New Version)

14 Kristin Hersh - Close Your Eyes (Demo)

15 Jah Wobble - Whisky Priests

16 Fun-Da-Mental - New World Order

17 Rub Ultra - Suspend

18 Blessed Ethel - Daisy

19 Compulsion - Top Of The World

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Various - Volume 08

Various - Volume 08 (Volume, 8V8CD, 1993) (320)

01 Autechre - Lanx 3

02 Curve - Low And Behold

03 Underworld - Why Why Why? (Remix)

04 Wonder Stuff, The - Swell (Mad Remix)

05 B12 - Scriptures

06 Butthole Surfers - Who Was In My Room Last Night? (Tate Or Tot Mix)

07 Higher Intelligence Agency - Delta (Live At Oscillate)

08 Juno Reactor - Laughing Gas (Ambivalent Remix)

09 James - Skin Diving 1-3-4 (Remix)

10 Global Communication - Sublime Creation (Original Version)

11 Sun Electric - Love 2 Love

12 Fall, The - War

13 Afghan Whigs, The - Little Girl Blue

14 Submarine - Pollen

15 Elastica - S.O.F.T.

16 Come - City Of Fun

17 Sultans Of Ping FC - Curse (Monitor Mix)

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Various - Volume 07

Various - Volume 07 (Volume, 7VCD7, 1993) (192)

01 Teenage Fanclub - Belt

02 Radiohead - Stupid Car (Tinnitus Mix)

03 Verve - South Pacific (Live)

04 Sebadoh - Whitey Peach (Live)

05 Stereo MCs - Elevate My Mind (Live)

06 Sub Sub - Valium Jazz

07 Little Axe - 15 To 4

08 Bang Bang Machine - Life's A Gas

09 Marc Almond - Incestuous Love (Amours Incestueuses)

10 Slowdive - Some Velvet Morning

11 Seefeel - Come Alive (Remix)

12 Heroines, The - The Kiss

13 Boo Radleys, The - Barney

14 Redd Kross - Any Hour Every Day

15 Sabres Of Paradise - Lick Wid Nit Wit

16 Delta Lady - Anything You Want

17 Eat Static - Nucleus Trance

18 Jesus Jones - Machine Drug (Remix)

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Various - Volume 06

Various - Volume 06 (Volume, 6VCD6, 1993) (320)

01 Spiritualized - Smiles (Live)

02 © - He Was

03 Ultra Vivid Scene - Cut Throat (Remix)

04 Senseless Things - Keepsake (Original Demo Version)

05 That Petrol Emotion - Catch A Fire (Mix 1)

06 Björk - One Day

07 Saint Etienne - Fake '88

08 The The - Lip Tripping

09 Gallon Drunk - Keep Moving On (Re-Recorded Version)

10 American Music Club - Love Connection NYC (Solo Bedroom Demo)

11 Belly - White Belly (Solo Demo Version)

12 Killdozer - Working Hard Or Hardly Working

13 One Dove - Fallen (The Last Monday Morning At Bobby N's Remix)

14 Drum Club, The - One Tribe (Remix)

15 Sheep On Drugs - 15 Minutes Of Fame (Remix)

16 Fluke - Spacey (Original Version)

17 Unmen - Also With You

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Various - Volume 05

Various - Volume 05 (Volume, V5CD, 1992) (224)

01 Orb, The - O.O.B.E. (Live)

02 Grid, The - Cybernetic

03 Happy Mondays - Monkey In The Family (Dub Mix)

04 Fuel - Wildfire

05 Bettie Serveert - Brain-Tag (Original Version)

06 Macbeth - Help Me Lift You Up

07 Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman

08 Cabaret Voltaire - Low Cool (Remix)

09 Sandals - Venice Groove

10 Consolidated - Guerillas In The Mist (Russian Hill Mix)

11 Jesus Lizard, The - Whirl (Original Version)

12 L7 - Deathwish (Live)

13 Hyperhead - Easy Slide (Remix)

14 Red House Painters - Uncle Joe

15 Wedding Present, The - Signal

16 Auteurs, The - Bailed Out (Cello Mix)

17 Morrissey - Tomorrow (Steve Peck Mix)

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Various - Volume 04

Various - Volume 04 (Volume, V4CD, 1992) (320)

1 Suede - My Insatiable One (New Piano Version)

2 Butterfly Child - We, The Inspired

3 Swallow - Lovesleep (Vocal Version)

4 Ultramarine - Saratoga (Remix)

5 Bim Sherman - Keep On Movin'

6 Flower Sermon - Shine

7 Strangelove - Zoo'd Out

8 Throwing Muses - Firepile (Remix)

9 Pavement - Greenlander

10 Fall, The - Arid Al's Dream

11 Babes In Toyland - Sometimes

12 Spectrum - Soul Kiss

13 Dub Syndicate - Ravi Shankar (Live)

14 Stereolab - Super Falling Star (Moog Mix)

15 Little Annie - Everything & More

16 Meat Beat Manifesto - Drop

17 Pop Will Eat Itself - Bulletproof (Adrian Sherwood Remix)

18 Aphex Twin, The - En Trange To Exit

19 Steroid Maximus - Volgarity

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Various - Volume 03

Various - Volume 03 (Volume, V3CD, 1992) (224)

01 Daisy Chainsaw - I Feel Insane (Live)

02 Therapy? - Innocent X (Remix)

03 Depth Charge - Daughters Of Darkness

04 Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, The - California Uber Alles

05 Levitation - Cloud Shine

06 Charlatans, The - Over Rising (Instrumental)

07 Psychotropic Vibration - Jesus Timeshare Experience

08 Breeders, The - Safari (Remix)

09 Honey Tongue - Let's Sail Away (Remix)

10 Terrorvision - My House (Dirkhill Road Mix)

11 Public Image Limited - Criminal (Remix)

12 Sweet Jesus - Sisterfy

13 Orbital - Belfast / Wasted (Wasted Vocal Mix)

14 Moby - Go (Subliminal Mix)

15 Natural Life - Find Our Direction (Remix)

16 LFO - Slow Down Speedy

17 Sheep On Drugs - Motorbike (Remix)

18 Interference - Overload (Live)

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Various - Volume 02

Various - Volume 02 (Volume, V02CD, 1991) (224)

01 Barry Adamson - Odio-Amor, Odio-Amor

02 Lush - Tiny Smiles

03 Blue Aeroplanes, The - Aeroplane Blues (LA Mix)

04 MC 900 Ft Jesus - Killer Inside Me (Meat Beat Manifestation Version 2)

05 New Fast Automatic Daffodils - All Over My Face (Scam Mix)

06 Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole (Alternative Version)

07 Whipped Cream - Mr Green

08 Spirea X - Signed DC (Acoustic Version)

09 Blur - Oily Water

10 Sugarcubes, The - Hetero Scum

11 Definition Of Sound - When A Lion Awakes (Full Length Version)

12 Celestial Tribes - Gold (Remix)

13 System 7 - Miracle (Orb Remix)

14 Bomb The Bass - Liquid Metal (Remix)

15 EMF - I Believe (Inframental Foetus Remix)

16 Pulp - She's Dead

17 No Man - Kiss Me Stupid

18 Curve - Already Yours (Basement Mix)

19 Gallon Drunk - Ruby (New Version)

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Various - Volume 01

Various - Volume 01 (Volume, V1CD, 1991) (320)

01 Meat Beat Manifesto - Love Mad

02 Papa Sprain - Flying To Vegas (Remix)

03 Nitzer Ebb - Come Alive (Remix)

04 Kitchens Of Distinction - Innocence

05 Throwing Muses - Red Shoes (Version)

06 Darkside, The - Guitar Voodoo (Live)

07 Dr Phibes & T.H.O.W.E - Sugarblast (Edit)

08 Popguns, The - Going Under (Remix)

09 Orb, The - Reefer Spin In The Galaxy

10 New Order - Confusion (Remix)

11 Shamen, The - Hyperreal (Remix)

12 Fortran 5 - XX21 (Remix)

13 My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Leather Sex (Remix)

14 Consolidated - The Sexual Politics Of Meat (Edit)

15 Wolfgang Press, The - Sucker (Version)

16 Daisy Chainsaw - Upmanship Down

17 L. Kage - Another Story From Raintown

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Various - Berlin Unwrapped

Various - Berlin Unwrapped (5x12") (Volume, WRAPLP1, 1996) (320)

A1 Ocean Club - Die Sonne

A2 Chris Zippel - Raven

A3 Ford Prefect - Pure Fiction

B1 TR727 - Blaze II

B2 Thomas Fehlmann - Hermosa Beach

C1 Josh Wink - Breath

C2 Blake Baxter - Inside And Out

D1 Clubheroes - Da Lost Temptation

D2 Cal-Q-Lator - Misunderstood

E1 Paul van Dyk - Seven Ways

E2 Effective Force - Back And To The Left

F1 Holy Language - Fireplace

F2 3 Phase - Early Sun

G1 Ellen Allien - Lick It

G2 Amorph - La Ragoux

H1 Marc De Clark - Acid Train

H2 Jumble - Sunset Glow

I1 General Magic & Pita - Thaw Fridge

I2 Hoenerloh - Third Exit Of Straker House

I3 Deep Space Network - Snow Bunker

J1 Sun Electric - Flat And Endless

J2 Time Unlimited - Men From Wadodem

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Various - TEXtures (Mixed by Darren Emerson & Alex Patterson)

Various - TEXtures (Mixed by Darren Emerson & Alex Patterson) (2CD) (Volume, TXTRCD1, 1996) (260avg, 180avg)

Darren Emerson Mix

1-01 Bytesize Nuns - Codpiece (Trouser Torpedo Mix)

1-02 Moby - Move (Volume Remix)

1-03 Speedy J - The Fun Equations

1-04 Pulse - Cariño (Silencio)

1-05 Moody Boyz - Glitch

1-06 Pluto - Rockerfella

1-07 System 7 - Desir (Butterfly Remix)

1-08 Resistance D - Unknown

1-09 Air Liquide - Chromoplastic

1-10 Holy Language feat Dr Motte - Energy

1-11 Acid Junkies - Figment Of One's Imagination

1-12 Joey Beltram - Judgement

1-13 CJ Bolland - Random

1-14 Eddie 'Flashin" Fowlkes - Track 4

1-15 Alaska - Unreleased Project 1

1-16 Nüw Idol - Ancient Memory

Alex Paterson Mix

2-01 Aphex Twin - Analogue Bubblebath 3

2-02 Biosphere - The Third Planet

2-03 Spooky & Billie Ray Martin - Persuasion (Exclusive Remix)

2-04 Black Dog, The - Xeper! (Remix)

2-05 Material - Praying Mantra (Orb Remix)

2-06 FFWD - Lucky Saddle

2-07 Microglobe - Trust (Suspicious Mindgear Mix)

2-08 Scanner - Safety

2-09 Autocreation - Justice Loop

2-10 Mouse On Mars - Maus Mobil

2-11 Skylab vs Deluxe - Twister

2-12 A Guy Called Gerald - When You Touch Me

2-13 Deadstock - Octarine

2-14 Richard Kirk - Oneski

2-15 Coldcut - Nominal Aphasia

2-16 DJ Crystl - Crystlized

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Various - Trance Atlantic 2

Various - Trance Atlantic 2 (2CD) (Volume, TACD2, 1995) (320)

1-01 Jamie Myerson - Heartsong

1-02 K. Hand - Music By Numbers

1-03 Josh Wink - Just A Track

1-04 Queen Mecca - Stepping Stone

1-05 Wamdue Kids - People

1-06 Kosmic Messenger - Concrete

1-07 Blake Baxter - Pursuit Of Happiness

1-08 Frankie Bones - Crystal Clear (Minimal Techno Mix)

1-09 DJ ESP - Ab Fab!

1-10 Lenny Dee & Outlander, The - Emotional Response

1-11 Freddie Fresh - Epitath

2-01 Roy Davis Jr - I Have Just Begun!

2-02 Darkside - The Swarm

2-03 Paul Johnson - TA

2-04 Boo Williams - Jaggin' Off

2-05 Single Cell Orchestra - Threefold

2-06 Serotonin Project - Majestic Ruins

2-07 Sound Patrol - Move

2-08 Felix Da Housecat - Vapornoize!

2-09 Green Velvet - Help Me

2-10 Mike Dunn - Make Ya Wanna Halla

2-11 Dubtribe - Moonbeam Reigns Supreme

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Various - Trance Atlantic

Various - Trance Atlantic (2CD) (Volume, TACD1, 1995) (320)

1-01 Space Time Continuum - 101 South Of Heaven

1-02 God Within - Conjure Bass Bass (While The Double Agents Lurk)

1-03 Im.mortal Music - Slam Dance

1-04 Yennek - Dancing Tides

1-05 Aux 88 - Phatom Power

1-06 Dan Curtin - Round Trip

1-07 Mark Gage - Rex Me Fecu

1-08 Damon Wild - Red Moon

1-09 Joey Beltram - Back Porch

1-10 Storm - Acts Of Worship

1-11 Mike Dearborn - Atmosphere 16

1-12 DJ Skull - Flicker

2-01 Meat Beat Manifesto - Simulacra Part 1

2-02 Himadri - Trace

2-03 Plastikman - Hump

2-04 Hawke - I Have Her

2-05 Nev - Chewy Soulmate, Someday

2-06 Black Balls - Clap Ya Hands (Remix Acid)

2-07 Infiniti - Martians At Work

2-08 Born Under A Rhyming Planet - Blop

2-09 Thomas Barnett - Let There Be Light

2-10 Eddie 'Flashin'' Fowlkes - Lodge Freeway

2-11 Mazdaratti - Pulverized

2-12 Genesis P-Orridge* & Psychic TV - Mindfeeled

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Various - Trance Europe Express 5

Various - Trance Europe Express 5 (2CD) (Volume, TEEXCD5, 1997) (128)

1-01 Glamorous Hooligan - Breakin' Knees (Revenge Of The 23 Stone Bodypopper)

1-02 Ian Pooley - Picture Palace

1-03 Orlando Voorn - Solar System

1-04 Andrea Parker - Unconnected

1-05 DJ Trace - The Beacon

1-06 Buckfunk 3000 - The Return Of Alphonzo

1-07 Advent, The - City Limits

1-08 Random Logic - Katafolko

1-09 As One - Doctrine To Dance

1-10 Cristian Vogel - Doke

1-11 Future 3 - Vasa K (Remix)

2-01 B.Low - Where Are You Coming From

2-02 Zulutronic - Zulupetic

2-03 Outcast - Peach Taxi

2-04 Marshall Jefferson And Lumpheads, The - A New State Of Being

2-05 Carl Cox - The Other Side

2-06 Slam - Soul Power

2-07 Russ Gabriel - Rare Is The Groove

2-08 Killer Loop - Genre

2-09 Slab - Rabbit's Moon (Squelch Mix)

2-10 Doctor Rockit - Take Off

2-11 Stasis - But Not Quite

2-12 Neil Landstrumm - Eavesdropper

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Various - Trance Europe Express 4

Various - Trance Europe Express 4 (2CD) (Volume, TEEXCD4, 1995) (320)

1-01 Deadstock - Octarine

1-02 Fluke - Synth Bit

1-03 Bytesize Nuns - Codpiece (Trouser Torpedo Mix)

1-04 Vulva - Haunted House

1-05 Rue East - Viper

1-06 Solcyc - Ky9

1-07 LFO - Helen

1-08 Coldcut - Nominal Aphasia

1-09 DJ Crystl - Crystlized

1-10 Chemical Brothers, The - Life Is Sweet (Delik 1)

1-11 Rootless - Return To Savannah

1-12 Depth Charge - Sex, Sluts & Heaven

2-01 Node - Alternator

2-02 A Guy Called Gerald - When You Touch Me

2-03 Hex - Homunculus

2-04 Redagain P - 2 Live

2-05 Acid Junkies - Figment Of One's Imagination

2-06 Miss Djax - Groovy Bitch

2-07 Skylab vs. Deluxe - Twister

2-08 Future Perfect - Got It Goin' On

2-09 Lava Lava - Chaka

2-10 Move D - Makes You Move

2-11 Alaska - Unreleased Project 1

2-12 Underworld - Dark Hard

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Various - Trance Europe Express 3

Various - Trance Europe Express 3 (2CD) (Volume, TEEXCD3, 1994) (320)

1-01 Air Liquide - Chromoplastic

1-02 808 State - Mondonet

1-03 Banco De Gaia - Kincajou

1-04 Luke Slater's 7th Plain - Pearl

1-05 Pulse - Cariño (Silencio)

1-06 Joey Beltram - Judgement

1-07 Sun Electric - Whoshe

1-08 Holy Language - Energy

1-09 Resistance D - Unknown

1-10 Kinesthesia - Lave Trader

1-11 µ-Ziq - Roy Castle

1-12 Caustic Window - Cunt

2-01 Mouse On Mars - Maus Mobil

2-02 Ultramarine - Before

2-03 Coco Steel And Lovebomb - San Fran

2-04 William Orbit - Barbarik

2-05 Inner Space - Araqua

2-06 Link - Avatar

2-07 Nüw Idol - Ancient Memory

2-08 Grid, The - Big Foot

2-09 Alter Ego - Sex And Gender

2-10 Biosphere - The Third Planet

2-11 Infinity (Juan Atkins) - I-94

2-12 Eddie 'Flashin'' Fowlkes - Track 4

2-13 Emergency Broadcast Network - 3:78

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Various - Trance Europe Express 2

Various - Trance Europe Express 2 (2CD) (Volume, TEEXCD2, 1994) (320)

1-01 Microglobe - Trust (Suspicious Mindgear Mix)

1-02 Speedy J - The Fun Equations

1-03 Paul van Dyk - Today

1-04 Analogical - Camillo

1-05 Irresistible Force, The - Lotus Position

1-06 A Positive Life - Pleidean Communication

1-07 Salt Tank - Dreams

1-08 Dave Angel - Life's Little Pleasures

1-09 Eat Static - Element 115

1-10 Megalon - Symbols

1-11 Pressure Of Speech - Aphelion (Orbital Remix)

1-12 Secret Knowledge - Afterworld

2-01 FFWD - Lucky Saddle

2-02 Scanner - Safety

2-03 New London School Of Electronics - The Frenchman

2-04 Richard H. Kirk - Oneski

2-05 Pentatonik - Real

2-06 Pluto - Rockefeller

2-07 Human Beings - Orbit

2-08 Escape - Escape To Mars

2-09 Autocreation - Justice Loop

2-10 Hardfloor - Reverberate Opinion

2-11 Ambush, The - Sun (Remix)

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Various - Trance Europe Express

Various - Trance Europe Express 1 (2CD) (Volume, TEEXCD1, 1993) (320)

1-01 Orbital - Semi-Detached

1-02 Bandulu - Gravity Pull (Remix)

1-03 Readymade - Face The Day

1-04 System 7 - Desir (Butterfly Remix)

1-05 Spooky & Billie Ray Martin - Persuasion (Exclusive Remix)

1-06 Material - Praying Mantra (Orb Remix)

1-07 Black Dog, The - Xeper (Remix)

1-08 Scubadevils - Celestial Symphony (Original Mix)

1-09 030 - Midnight In Europe

1-10 Cosmic Baby - Space Track (Remix)

1-11 Total Eclipse - Black Hole

1-12 CJ Bolland - Random

2-01 MLO - Colour Of The Sun

2-02 Source - It's A Kind Of Magic

2-03 Aphex Twin - Analogue Bubblebath 3

2-04 Orb, The - Majestic (Millwall Mix)

2-05 Moody Boyz - Glitch

2-06 Moby - Move (Volume Remix)

2-07 DiY - Washed Over By Mastemah

2-08 Drum Club, The - Follow The Sun (Remix)

2-09 Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Dust (Original Recording)

2-10 Barbarella - The Mission

2-11 Sabres Of Paradise - Inter/Lergen/Ten/Ko

2-12 Trance Induction - N

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Various - Sally's Photographic Memory

So, it's sorta funny. I've been meaning to get these Volume releases up here for the past week, and one of my favorite blogs is posting them as well, which is great because these are killer releases. But I still want to put them up here as I'd like to have it as an archive. If anyone has a better bitrate version of any of these that they'd like to contribute, that'd be sweet. Here goes...

Various - Sally's Photographic Memory (2CD) (Volume, SALCD001, 1997) (320)

1-01 Kirsty Hawkshaw - Orange

1-02 Higher Intelligence Agency, The - Airglow

1-03 System 7 - Sirens

1-04 Drum Club - The Light That Burns

1-05 Spooky - Little Bullet

1-06 Slab - Fade In To You

1-07 Pressure Of Speech - Elone

1-08 Orbital - The Girl With The Sun In Her Head

1-09 A Positive Life - Warehouse 5am

1-10 Krumble - Ry Baby

2-01 Cranium HF - Summer Rain

2-02 God's Holy Men - Fdm

2-03 Fire Escape - Barmy, Bananas

2-04 Mellowtrons, The - I Want You

2-05 Meat Beat Manifesto - Lucid Dream

2-06 Banco De Gaia - China

2-07 Secret Knowledge - Dracula

2-08 Reload - Event Horizon

2-09 Schematix - Salbutamol

2-10 Ultramarine - Source

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Orbital / Therapy? - Belfast/Wasted

Orbital - Belfast/Wasted - The Best Of Volume EP (Promo EP) (Volume, VOLCDJ1, 1995) (128)

1. Belfast/Wasted (Wasted Vocal Mix) (Radio 'Oral' Fade)

Orbital / Therapy? - Belfast/Wasted - The Best Of Volume EP (12") (Volume, VOLX1, 1995) (1995) (320)

A. Orbital - Belfast/Wasted (Wasted Vocal Mix)

B. Therapy? - Innocent X (Remix)

Orbital / Therapy? - Belfast/Wasted - The Best Of Volume EP (Volume, VOLCD1, 1995) (320)

1. Orbital - Belfast/Wasted (Wasted Vocal Mix)

2. Therapy? - Innocent X (Remix)

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Things I'm lining up...

So, I'm putting together a bunch of stuff for here, such as:

Volume compilations and related.

Waveform Records/Beyond Records/Planet Dog

Excursions In Ambience/Feed Your Heads

Ambient 1-4

Slabco Records

Kranky Records

Touch Records

Dragon's Eye

12k

Casino vs Japan

To Rococo Rot

Metamatics/Norken/Nacht Plank

Electric Birds/Deluxe Records

Schematic Records

B-sides radio sets

There's gonna be more, I'm just putting down what I want to get out there.

Kids For Tomorrow - The Deployer EP

Kids For Tomorrow - The Deployer EP (Part2 Records, 2007) (320)

This also has Gel-Sol, along with William Mempa. It is a netlabel release that you can get for free from the website or from the links below. You should check it as it's a wildly fun ride.

Also, KFT have a new album coming out next month (Jan 2010) which I'm rather stoked for. I believe it's going to also be on Upstairs Records. Stay tuned, or check with the source.

Review from here:

kids for tomorrow - the deployer ep

I found some free music while trawling the web the other night and must say it completely blew me away!

Its an EP titled 'the deployer ep' and its by 'kids for tomorrow'.

Tracklisting is:

01. Esto Perpetua

02. Only You Can Prevent Florist Fires

03. Flasc

04. Back to Helix

05. Holy Shit! (Great Balls of Fire)

To sum it up I would say its like BOC incorporating some early FSOL sounds with sprinklings of ORBesque samples. It flows wonderfully from start to finish and takes you on journeys through relaxation, paranoia, humour and bliss.

My first hearing was one of those moments when you feel as though you have just re-discovered music (or music has just re-discovered you!).

It might have been something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed coupled with listening to it with head phones - LOUDLY - but I seriously doubt it after several more listens in the meantime.

Do your ears a favour and get this!

Check it (email me)

Check it (label).

Various - Upstairs Recordings Remixed

Various - Upstairs Recordings Remixed (Upstairs Recordings 2008) (320)

This is has two Gel-Sol related tracks. A remix of "Cool Sweet Awesome Yay", and a Gel-Sol remix of a track by another electronic act. A lot of the rest of the songs fall into the downtempo category, which mostly bores me. A few songs are okay, but there's a couple on here (I don't remember which at this moment... track 3 for sure) that I have to immediately skip, because of the annoyance factor. So, check it out if you're so inclined.

Tracklist:

01 Solus - Session 5 (Monta Remix)

02 E.D. Swankz - Gamefazed (Ancient Astronauts Remix)

03 Telefuzz - Sayshell (Hexes & Ohs Remix)

04 Gel-Sol - Cool Sweet Awesome Yay (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

05 Bussetti - Itch (The Verbrilli Sound Remix)

06 Hexes & Ohs - Alive Until Saturday Night (Solus Re-Focus Mix)

07 The Verbrilli Sound - Moonlight Swim (Kinetic Kid Remix)

08 The Verbrilli Sound - Interstellar Spy Story (Chris J Remix)

09 The Hermit - Find Someone Who Actually Loves You (Gel-Sol Remix)

10 Telefuzz - Sayshell (Sound Capsule Remix)

11 The Verbrilli Sound - Interstellar Spy Story (Solus Remix)

12 Laura B - Ice Cold Water (Telefuzz Remix)

13 The Verbrilli Sound - Parisonic (Bonus Track)

Review from here:

This album features 12 tracks (+1 bonus track) by various artists remixing Upstairs Recordings artists and Upstairs Recordings artists remixing fellow artists from other labels. Up.Remixed is full of the deep and dreamy sounds trademarked by West coast electronica. Track after track after track, this album comes highly recommended.

Reuppage here by request.

302 Acid - Ailanthus Altissima

302 Acid - Ailanthus Altissima (With Video) (Hackshop Records, 2003) (320)

This was the first album by 302 Acid. Gel-Sol wasn't in the band yet at this point.

Review from here:

302 Acid has been in a constant state of evolution since its inception, late in 2001. There is a conscious effort to utilize the current digital technologies while maintaining an equal balance of real-time analog creation. The results of this endeavor are an intense live multimedia experience and the debut e.p. Ailanthus Altissima, available on Hackshop Records.

In keeping with their independent roots, the Washington D.C. based quartet chooses to record and mix almost all of the music themselves, mirroring the same techniques used when performing live. For Ailanthus Altissima, arrangements are stripped down to raw drum and bass grooves, accompanied and punctuated by digital found-sound bursts and ambient layers, and often mutated through real-time processing until the line between these core elements is unrecognizable. Visual information is layered into a collage which breathes and pulsates, entwined around the musical arrangements.

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302 Acid - 302 Acid 0005

302 Acid - 302 Acid 0005 (Even Calls) (Em-t 2005) (320)

Gel-Sol was also in the band 302 Acid for a few years and made this one great album with him in it.

Review from here:

After a long hiatus, em:t appears to be ramping up its release schedule, once again delighting us with its signature style of elegant electronics. The latest addition the em:t roster is 302 Acid, a threesome from Washington, D.C., whose premier release on em:t is a soundtrack to the dark undercurrents of the American psyche. Composed of Doug Kallmeyer, Justin Mader and Andew Reichel (who previously released a record on em:t as gel-sol), 302 Acid is the end result of the threesome's fascination with all the various bends and warps of the outer genres of modern music.

Fabricated of equal parts hardcore, prog, punk, classical and experimental electronics, Even Calls is a collision of these styles as a modern noir soundtrack, a cracked teacup ride through back alley art spaces and basement tattoo parlors. "Quest" hops and skips as a syncopated drum kit tries to rein in a series of wild keyboards that are spitting caustic melodies throughout a cavernous cistern. "AIBOC" moans with wind moving through the strings of a warped cello, a dead instrument that is borne across an empty field on the back of a percussionist and DJ who provide an elegy for the haunted instrument with a duet of drums and vinyl scratches.

"Six" begins with celestial echo of the warped cello's death song, a radio signal re-transmission of the stringed instrument, before breaking into a rhythmic downtempo piece. "I believe in magic," a voice whispers deep in the cascading space tones and crackling percussion of "Push Button," a spectral voice that explicits haunts this track but seems to embody the whole thematic structure of the record with its confession. "Mortariggus" wanders into dark ambient drone territory, unspooling as a series of vibrant vibrations filled with slippery darkness while "Nocturnum" is composed of fading bell tones, a dying signal that doesn't start very loud and decays gracefully into silence.

Even Calls is an easy record to put on the stereo; you just set the repeat to infinite and forget where it starts and ends. Your room just fills up after awhile, the shadows moving and dancing in time with the beats. Even Calls caters to the nocturnal crowd, to the lurkers after midnight who need a soundtrack to accompany their nefarious activities. This one gets played a lot in my office after the sun goes down. It makes the space less cold, less empty. Very nice.

Another review from here:

Not resting on their laurels, em:t is back with its first release for 2005 and presents a full album of the artists Doug Kallmeyer, Justin Mader and Andrew Reichel of 302 Acid. As always, em:t explores the boundaries of musical creativeness and style and this is certainly the case with the 0005 album. 302 Acid features highly complex sculptures of beeps, clicks, cuts, samples, electronics, soundscapes that together explore imaginative dark & psychedelic atmospheres. The opus comes in 12 tracks but we found the album to be more a full listening experience than just take a few tracks for a separate listen. The overal sound reminds a little of early Future Sound of London complexity and psychedelica transformed to the new millenium with clicks, buts and bleeps. The "Push Button" track is one of the heights of the album where a dark melancholic melody & beats are woven in somewhat old-skool ambient textures. Or take another amazing creature: "Road Trip to Tokyo". Dark synths, rough electronics, squirling noises & dubby beats set the mood while here and there funny Japanese vocal samples create a nice contrast. While bleepy soundscapes, hip french vocal samples on "BD Williams" take you further on the album, "Quest" again pulls all registers open for dark and hard rumbling bass & broken beats, atmospheric melancholic synths and that wonderfull mixture of early ambient sounds with today's hi-tech electronics. Finally after this very involving listening experience, Acid302 slows down with Nocturnum, a minimalistic ambient track with little bells and soft keys almost as if to say goodbye on this album.

The new em:t 302 acid album is intense and pushes the experimental envelope a little higher than the average em:t album already does. The album is not something you'll want to listen to as background music. To discover the full potential of its complexity, you will want to opt for about 60 minutes of concentration. Happy discovery!

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Gel-Sol - IZ

Gel-Sol - IZ (Psychonavigation-Upstairs 2008) (320)

This is the most recent solo work from Gel-Sol and is my favorite. I couldn't count how many times I've listened to this before falling asleep. It is truly gorgeous and has the highest recommendations.

Review from here:

Seattle-based electronic producer Andrew Reichel (aka Gel-Sol) has cultivated something of a reputation for ‘widescreen’ downtempo / ambient soundscapes, with his 2004 debut album under the production moniker on Em:t ‘1104’ calling to mind The Orb’s surreal sample-laden psychedelic flights of fancy circa ‘Adventures In The Ultraworld.’ A scant twelve months on the heels of last year’s ‘Unifactor’, this third album ‘IZ’, a joint release between the Dublin-based Psychonavigation label and Canadian imprint Upstairs sees Reichel constructing a nine-part ‘all ambient adventure’ for his niece Izabella, who was born last year. From the very outset here, the familiar melodic aesthetic heard on previous Gel-Sol albums is firmly in place in, with the opening title track introducing the lush, almost orchestrally-arranged fusion of rich ambient synth pads and flowing melodic elements, the resulting blend sitting somewhere between Pete Namlook’s similarly cosmic and beatless mid-nineties output and Tangerine Dream-style prog.

Curiously though for an album dedicated to an infant relative, while the overriding mood tends towards uplifting and optimistic territory, there’s still a trace of underlying tension and uncertainty, with the sampled sound of distant police sirens and what sounds like a homeless man creating an effective counterpoint to the bleak-sounding string swells that roll throughout ‘Mourningwok.’ It’s these vaguely unsettling undercurrents that also add an unexpectedly dark and poignant edge, such as the dark subterranean bass tones and disembodied hypnotherapy samples that float through the ominous ‘Raneboze’, and maintain the levels of intrigue whilst preventing proceedings from drifting completely away into a blissful ambient / chillout waft.

Another review from here:

IZ begins with the calm inhalation of artificial intelligence.Gel-Sol lets the sunset simmer in the pan as a warm wash of synth caresses our ears and bundles us up for our journey. This is one of those albums that makes me believe that the machine playing the CD is actually a sentient being, and we are privy to its personal dreamscape. The machine, in this case, is pretty pleased about life! Think M83’s Dead Cities, Red Seas, Lost Ghosts meets Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey (minus the menace), and you have a pretty good idea of what Gel-Sol's third album sounds like.

The opening track "IZ" bathes itself in fuzzy ocean waves and a warm pelt of synthetic chords. An oboe soars high aloft like an albatross on the solar wind. As we drift above the planet, we get a few echoey vocal acknowledgements from the host computer courteously admitting us to its subconscious. These voices are probably from obscure films, originally, but we've never seen them, so the illusion is maintained. Onward to "Mourning Wok"! We pass by a pair of alien species speaking in an indecipherable tongue on their back porch before we slide down a lugubrious river of lush, chordal melodies. IZ is heady and full of cinematic flourishes. If you've ever heard Front Line Assembly and wished they would just get off the speed and take some downers, then this album is for you.

Third track "As Far As Eye Can See" would be the hit single if they played ambient space drone on the radio. For this irresistible song, Gel-Sol ups the vibrancy by stealthily adding a muffled, bubbly bass beat along with a texture of flitting, atmospheric rhythms to get us moving at a delightful little trot. This is the only song on the record with any discernible "beat" but you’re not going to be compelled to dance unless you are a stardust-eating, ballerina panda bear, so watch the animals dance instead. On top of this pleasant, motoric rhythm a guitar hooked up to a Tesla coil does a call-and-response with a large crowd of samurai on the main deck of our dream space station (one of my favourite moments). Gel-Sol's use of samples and overlapping melodies makes for some easily-achieved synaesthesia. He manipulates his sound layers quite fluidly, and wow, I am enjoying this record!

The overall sound is a polished, psychedelic ambience, much akin to a beat-less Boards of Canada or Boom Bip. But, where those bands go "glitch," Gel-Sol goes "shimmer," especially through the middle third of IZ. Our computer friend gets to a point where it’s between sleep and waking, and it begins to breathe through its giant, metal bellows, and exhale through thousands of 16-bit vents. As if in response, a lady (Computer Gaia? Big Brother’s sister?) gets on the dream P.A. with a fairly brain-washing tone and encourages the dreaming computer that its family loves it when it dreams. At first I was really turned off by this voice, as it felt like an interruption, but I eventually forgot she was talking at all. I drifted back into the flow of slow-motion respiration, letting the voice convince me that I was safe, until I was back inside the lunar bio-dome, arms folded over my knees as I stared out the window at Earth, wondering if I'd ever return. The album is an hour in length, but I could have listened to several hours more. Once the final resolving melody, the softly spoken words of love and wash of rain faded away, I pressed play again.

There are many drone and atmospheric records that are lovely, but few really sound as major key as IZ. Certainly, Stars of the Lid are a reference point. This music is so optimistic, it could be a soundtrack to the planet that the Flaming Lips are actually from! Tropical rainstorms, submarine pings, droids singing amidst the spray of the ocean, shape-shifting birds chasing swarms of nano-bots, a metropolis from Blade Runner being bombed in the distance, and an orchestra expressed as the sigh of one string wafting its way through a galaxy - some dudes just know how to use their keyboards. In another's hands, this sound bank would reek of cheese and saccharine novice. Gel-Sol has crafted a wonderful album of songs fit for you and your computer while you both sleep peacefully, side by side, leaving our wanton civilization behind.

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Gel-Sol - Unifactor

Gel-Sol - Unifactor (Upstairs Recordings 2007) (320)

This is an fantastic follow-up to his great debut. Highly recommended!

Review from here:

Gel-Sol is an American producer, an ambient/experimental/organic sounds author of sorts. In a previous life, he has released solo work on the em:t label including 1104 and appeared on other compilations. He also collaborates with fellow em:t artists like the audio-visual collaboration of the 302 Acid project. Now, after a relocation to the Seattle area we find Gel-Sol developing his unique sound on Upstairs Recordings, a logical choice to help write his new story.

Like any good novel, the story must begin with a foreword to inform the reader of the mind journey to come. It must entice the reader and set the tone for what is about to be learned. On Unifactor, Gel-Sol begins and applies an ear-opening start with “Open Her.” This track is like flipping the first page and instantly seeing a new world. “Open Her” is layered with experimentation of soft, rolling synths. It transmits the audio waves of our human technological milestones captured by another unearthly civilization. It is a first hand glimpse into our crude world from an alien’s perspective. The ‘gel’ forms from the individual ’sol’ particles on “Brontosaur Yu” as we hear a more cohesive mixture of sounds. This second track carries the previous flow but coalesces into a well-driven beat. Definitely worth a listen. More experimentation is delivered on “Propulsion.” Here, we are pushed into the mind of a supercomputer that is performing sophisticated musical calculations. This ambient sounding track rides into a more downtempo sound with “On A Clear Night You Can See The Answer.” With the birth of this track there is no doubt he has made contact. It is a playful, well produced creation with numerous layers. Although there are many sounds to focus on here, it’s a crisp production that melds beautifully. We are equally pleased with “Cool Sweet Awesome Yay!”. We leave the atmosphere of the planet and find ourselves in the gravity-free zone. No gravity definitely increases the difficulty of listening to this track due to the overwhelming desire to groove on the dance floor. On “Cool Sweet” the sound of Gel-Sol has evolved and is a smashing gem. It follows Upstairs motto of music to evolve to and will without a doubt increase the intelligence of the species. Unifactor continues to bring a higher understanding of music production in the 21st century. Throughout the remainder, we find more of the same electronic experience from another world and we find the stars shining bright on “Mother Never Known” and “Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy.”

Gel-Sol contributes an interesting diversity with Unifactor to the roster at Upstairs Recordings. His sound is so unique but fits perfectly into the flight plan at his new label. We can only hope that this new partnership will continue to travel the universe and bring peace to help soothe the souls of all human kind.

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