The Flashbulb – Arboreal

I’ve only heard the tip of the iceberg as far as artists put in the IDM genre go. Kettel, Secede, Wisp, Venetain Snares and that’s pretty much it (I know, no Aphex Twin, but I will try something very soon). The Flashbulb is not new to me, I have Reunion, which was a decent album, but pretty forgettable. I decided to give his new album a listen to see what else he has to offer.

The opening track is a very beautiful piece, one of the best on the album. It sets a good mood for the journey you’re about to begin. The second track is also excellent. I especially like the vocals, they blend in perfectly. As the album goes on it gets a bit more aggressive. The tracks are not really harsh or anything, but we drift away from the melancholic pieces from the beginning. And then starting with the seventh track we go back to the calmness the album began with.

The second part of the album is pretty standard chillout, nothing innovative or that I haven’t heard before, but it sounds just beautiful. I especially like the piano and guitar throughout the album, great to hear instruments in this kind of music. The second to last song titled Skeletons has a guitar section that took me by surprise, but it was an interesting moment. I am not too fond of the vocals on this one though, they are not necessarily bad but there is something annoying about them.

Overall I am really surprised with how good this album came out to be. It has very few weak points and overall it’s a very good and relaxing release. It’s also very listenable. The first time I gave it a listen I played it three times in a row and I could do it many times more. I guess it’s more ambient than what he used to make, but he should keep on the path he’s on now. While waiting for a next album I will probably give his older releases a try and let you know what I thought of them.

Final grade: 4.2

Pros: Piano and guitar use, atmosphere

Cons: Some vocals can be annoying

Tracklist:
1. Prayer
2. Izel
3. Out Of There
4. This Way (Live Edit)
5. Subconcious
6. Gaia
7. Times A Billion
8. Smile
9. Metamorph
10. Impulse
11. Dark Dub
12. Biocircuit
13. Raining Dub (Special Breaks Edit)



Label: Alphabasic
Country: United States
Released: 8 Jun 2010
Genre: Ambient, IDM, Chillout

Links:
Discogs
Official

Fourth week of October update.

I want to thank everyone for your visits! I really appreciate it, without you I would stop writing.

New Easily Embarrassed album is out now! You can buy it here. I'm finished with my review of the new Liquid Stranger album. I will post it soon. There is no releases coming up this week that caught my attention, but the following week should be much more exciting.

Because of the lack of news this week I'll go a month back in time to the release of Imaginary Friends by Ultimae. Those of you who get their newsletter must have heard about it, but for some it might be news. According to Ultimae it features "a melange of styles, different facets of ambient electronica infused with neo-classical moods, acoustic sensibilities, epic melodies and impressionistic textures and tempos for a vibrant and overall warm feel". Sounds impressive. I'm not sure what to expect from this release, but I thought I would mention it here since Ultimae hasn't released a single bad album (or compilation) so far.

A new psychedelic chillout review website by Trwolfe is up. He has one review so far, a nice collection of links and a very useful artist list. Check it out at http://psyreviews.trwolfe.com/.

With the month of October coming to an end I made the October compilation of my YouTube videos. You can see it here or on my channel. A few IDM tracks again, I'm really getting into that genre now. Also featuring a track from Liquid Strangers new album.

Artist Profile: Sebastian James Taylor

For those who don't recognize him by his real name he is also known as Digitalis, Shakta, Kaya Project, Hibernation and also for his collaboration work, most notably as Angel Tears with Lior Miller and Momi Ochion. If you still don't know who am I talking about then you're missing out. Seb Taylor is one of the most versatile electronic music artists, often compared to Simon Posford, but unfortunately not as well known His music styles range from pure goa trance through chillout with world music influences to IDM.

Taylor started out in the early 90s producing goa trance under the alias Digitalis. Sometimes described as breakbeat goa or psybreaks his work as Digitalis is pretty unique stuff, often being pure breakbeat. He's still producing under this alias with the last EP released in 2008. In 1996 he started his pure goa project for which he is probably best known, Shakta. With tracks like Silicon Trip or Lepton Head Part III he guaranteed himself a place in the goa trance history. His sound with this alias is pretty hard and heavy sounding goa. Around the same time he also released as Somaton, also goa, but in a little lighter melodic form. It never gained as much popularity as Shakta.

But even though he is an amazing psytrance/goa producer what impressed me the most are his chillout productions. He is one of the core members of Angel Tears which started out in 1998. Wonderful chillout, with calming melodies, amazing flute playing and hypnotizing vocals. Lots of indian, arabic and african influence here. Some tracks have a bit faster beat, but overall Angel Tears offers very calming, meditative music. We hear a lot of authentic instruments like indian sitars, arabic violins, tibetan flutes etc. After Angel Tears, Kaya Project followed. Pretty similar by definition, but with a more natural, "dry" sound. It's hard to explain what makes Kaya Project unique, but just give the latest album a listen and you'll know what I mean. Really passionate music. Just when you would think Seb Taylor can't do any more styles he released an IDM album as Hibernaion. Well maybe not pure IDM, but very different from his other chillout output. You can hear some influences from the days of Angel Tears, but it's something completely new. Let's hope that's not the last he has to offer as Hibernation.

In the sixteen years of producing he released 13 albums, 9 solo and 4 with Angel Tears, and numerous EPs. Everything I heard so far is just amazing music and he keeps on evolving. And what's most important he hasn't gone commercial. We can hear passion in his music and as long as he is passionate about what he does we can only wait for another masterpiece.

Solo Albums:
Somaton - Future Memories (1997)
Shakta - Silicon Trip (1997)
Digitalis - The Third State (1998)
Shakta - Enlightened Ape (1999)

Shakta - Feed The Flame (2004)
Kaya Project - Walking Through (2004)
Kaya Project - Elixir (2005)
Kaya Project - And So It Goes (2008)
Hibernation - Some Things Never Change (2008)

Collaboration Albums:

Angel Tears - Angel Tears (1998)

Angel Tears - Angel Tears Vol. 2 (2000)

Angel Tears - Angel Tears Vol. 3 (2002)

Angel Tears - Angel Tears Vol. 4 - Vision (2005)

For his complete discography go to Discogs. He has many more aliases and collaborations with only a few tracks for compilations or one or two EPs. I only covered the most notable projects.

Links:

Discogs

MySpace

Kaya Project - Official