Abakus
That Much Closer to the Sun
Liquid Sound Design
Released - April 2004
Tracklist
1. Ismatik 5:48
2. Shared Light 2:27
3. Night Walker 5:10
4. Circles 6:39
5. Magenta 3:57
6. A Whole New Way of Looking at the Day 3:32
7. Indu 5:22
8. California Sunshine 6:11
9. Lux Boutique 2:29
10. Last Summer Dub 4:42
11. That Much Closer... 4:59
12. Opaque (bonus track) 6:52
This album is a wonderful summer dub album, there are not many albums that really remind me of summer but this is definately one of them. I love playing this on a hot summers day. It reminds me of beer, bikinis, sunshine and holidays :)
The 1st track, Ismatik , has a great atmosphere about it. Lovely colourful sounds are used over a sweet beat. Barely distinguishable vocal sample give the feeling of the next table over in the beer garden. The 2nd track, Shared Light , is a short one but the sounds are absolutely....amazing. Such melody, skillfully arranged around a thin bassline, chilled summer beats and bird sounds. Track 3, Nightwalker, has what sounds to be a movie sample but I'll be damned if I know what movie. Another nice summer melody surrounding a man not giving in to peer pressure to take drugs. Some harder synths make me feel like a motorcycle movie for some reason. The next one, Circles , starts with some of the nicest open beat sounds which continue under the 4/4 for the rest of the track. Long slow synths lead into a soft flute (?) melody briefly. It goes then builds up again to the flute melody but while it's stiff soft seems to have more impact now. Next up is Magenta, It starts quite tech-y with very unnatural computer like sounds which continue throughout. A lot of strange sounds are used in this track and it has a very random feel. Track 6, A Whole New Way of Looking at the Day, however feels much more natural and the flute in this track really float nicely around the guitar cords, beats and half muttered conversation samples. A really nice feel good summer track, just too short. After that we get Indu with some nice simple basslines and beats. It's a little minimal and at times it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere even though it is quite varied throughout. No real atmosphere in the 1st half I'm afraid but it does get a little better towards the end. However it's the weakest on the album for me. Now comes California Sunshine, which is a belter. It starts off with acoustic guitar and vocals by Ranagit Sengupta. The melody played on the strings compliments the electronic melody running parallel very well. Another track that has that pure summer feel. Imagine walking down a tree lined boulevard on a hot summers day with the ocean to one side and a sea breeze through your hair. Nice! The 9th track Lux Boutique, is another short track but the short tracks on this album never feel like filler but more transitional. This one is a really nice blend of weird tech-y sounds and a nice soft melody of chimes which somehow manages to create quite a dark atmosphere, like a summer evening. Track 10, Last Summer Dub, does exactly as the name suggests it will. It's very dubby and it feels very summery. A simple, only slightly varying melody flitters about like a firefly's life. It feels upbeat and always doing the same thing but when it changes it's gotten slower and dying but then is reborn again briefly before the end. The last regular track is That Much Closer... which feels like a closing track to the summer. Think the end of summer, late September when it's not so hot but still comfortable enough to sit out on the grass with a few tinnies and watch the world go by. It's soft, it's dreamy, it's quite melodic and it's just nice.
I bought this in Japan and like many albums I have been treated to a bonus track Opaque. I'm not sure what other versions have this but I think it's just the Japanese version. It's the longest track on the album and it's a damn good one. It is in the same feel as the rest of the album but a little further on, like post summer or something. It is warm but less so than the others... to me it feels like the transition to autumn. The time when you might start wearing a jumper again but no jacket. It has wicked synths and it builds and drops flawlessly. "Take a Stress Pill" it says and to be honest that just sums up the whole album.
Relaxing, this album makes you forget about your troubles and your worries and makes you think about summers past when your best memories come from.
I love it, I've listened to it a lot over the past 2 years and it always makes me feel good and brings a smile to my face :D
An expensive foible!