Mystery of the Yeti
The Mystery of the Yeti
TIP Records
Released 1996
Released as a 2CD along with The Infinity Project - Mystical Experiences in 2004
Tracklist
01. The Call / The Journey 15:32
02. Tribal Gathering 14:34
03. The Yeti Revelation / Sacred Communication 12:02
04. Welcome To All Extraterrestrials 14:55
What can I say about this album? A collaboration between The Infinity Project, Hallucinogen & Total Eclipse, who individually have crafted some of the most amazing, intricate, mind expanding psychedelic music. You might think that too many cooks spoil the broth which may often be true. Think of those hip hop "crews" that end up sounding like a bunch of teenagers jockeying for position, competing to be the front man. It sounds amateur, shit & pointless. But when all the cooks are top chefs, then it's different. Take the Wu-Tang Clan, loads of them and each one a genious. It's the same here. Each musician is a genious & they all bring something special to the broth & work it in well with what the others bring.
The result, an hour long journey through the majesty that is our natural world & the intricate reaches of our inner space. Everything has a sci fi feel. When it's ambient when it's goa when it's in the jungle, up a mountain in outer space in your mind!
The Call/The Journey
It starts off cold with the sound of the wind blowing outside & hard dark jabs of sound with a low primal wail like some electronic beast which briefly morphs into a shaman's songs at times. All of a sudden it comes alive with bird song & some tribal chanting. A tribe is celebrating but it's interrupted by more familiar sounds. A Frenchman, a dog, a cow change the chant! Moving on is a new chant sung by children it seems with a nice little melody in the background.
This track takes many different turns throughout, next is very watery like on a shore with tribesmen playing drums in the water, a nice wet beat with lots of shouting. But we pass that into another tribe which we pass & we're into a pack of feral wolves & strange animals flying around our heads. Among these creatures come ethereal voices coming from the darkness that whisper their intent before a storm hits bringing a god's wrath & an almost tuneless melody.
It's an incoherent track, but it's a journey along the river passing many different things. Despite it's incoherence it sets a dark expectant mood. A very nice piece of ambience.
Tribal Gathering
Much more energy right from the start with a tribal beat & nice synths accompanied by a short repetitive melody. The randomness of the journey has passed & I really feel like we are on our way. I get a sense that the music is building & taking me somewhere. Some very subtle flutes come in here & there floating about effortlessly. Sometimes a little louder, sometimes barely noticeable.
A great building track with the changes almost unnoticeable but the effects all to too apparent. It sits well as background music but if you immerse yourself in it you can end up lost. Especially when it calms down, the flutes & the melodies can fly your mind away to cold distant lands. The beats kick in again towards the end but they seem softer & more distant now as my mind has been transported away & I'm in such a state of calm.
The Yeti Revelation/Sacred Communication
The flutes dominate this track even when they are not in. I'm thinking about them, expecting them to come in at any moment & remembering what they sound like. To be honest they are (at least on the 1st listen) probably hidden behind other sounds, the drone, the synths the little stabs of melody but on my millionth listen or whatever this is, the flute fills my head. It's not until about halfway through that an equally engrossing melody tempts you away from the flute & dumps you into a climbing synth & a twisted tribal vocal, deep forest style. The flutes while not completely dispelled from my thoughts have taken a back seat & they allow me to be enthralled by the rest. Still though in the back of my mind I'm waiting for them to come back in & I can hear them in the other sounds, the wails, the melodies the beats all sound like they contain the flutes. True dominance.
A Welcome to All Extra Terrestrials
This has the same cold dark feeling as the opening track but it seems much higher like I'm standing on top of the highest peak of this mountain range. The flutes are
much more prominent but less dominant than their previous incarnation. My mind is very much focused on what is coming next. A trippy vocal welcoming the extra terrestrial life comes out before a weird tripped out beat & alien sounds float about. Another building track, layered & tiered. The longer it goes on the deeper we go & when it changes suddenly like stopping the beat & introducing a long sample I feel like I'm falling deeper still. The crazy, random breakdown feels like a further fall and the re:emergence of the steady beat feels like a steady slide down the inner reaches. Deeper deeper until the flutes at the end flush you out into the open air gasping for breath back at the foot of the mountain marveling at the majesty of m\what has just happened.
A perfect ending to a marvelous journey.
A special mention needs to be given to Raja Ram's flute playing here, on other albums I've been left less than impressed but here, his simple style really added to the journey.
