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Music reviews
Review by PKS
Graham Wood is back! This time on Surreal Audio in Finland...
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Now it’s time for one of the biggest surprises in the psytrance scene 2003! Graham Wood got well known in the trance scene all over the world when he, R. Rothfield (Raja Ram) and Simon Posford joined together in 1995 and formed the band The Infinity Project (TIP). After releasing Stimuli on Perfecto Fluoro and Feeling Weird on TIP Records in 1995, and then Mystical Experiences, they had set a quality mark not many others where even near at that time. After these wonderful releases, these guys split and started projects like Shpongle, Mystery Of the Yeti etc, but we didn’t hear much more from this mystic guy named Graham Wood, other than a few chill out tracks on various compilations by a project he called Excess Head. Then suddenly summer 2003 we started hearing rumours that this guy was going to release a new album, and when he suddenly was on the line up for Samothraki Dance Festival 2003 in Greece, I got really curious. I went down to Greece, and this guy got the honour of opening the festival at the main stage with a dj set! I was there and listened to his entire performance. And what a refreshing show! Very different from most psytrance etc. coming out these days, and only tracks that I have never heard before. Now, a few months later, his new project called Blowfish is out with an album on a label in Finland (Surreal Audio). He does this together with a guy named Tony Stapleton.
Blowfish "Puffed Up" Surreal Audio Recordings 2003 (SURR004CD)
1. Intro
2. Cycles
3. Jetive Compound
4. Liquid Eyes
5. Grey Tone
6. Movin
7. Scope
8. Fat Controller
9. Stoned
10. Not The End
11. Trumpetfishology
Surreal Audio sure has released some real quality lately, like the Kiwa album released last year and other projects with Kris Kylven among others involved, and now Graham Wood... First out is a little, deep, chilled ambient intro lasting for just about a minute. Then it goes over in track 2, which starts with a floating beautiful sound, which gets me right into the Infinity Project feeling. Then some stumpy, groovy rhythms start rolling. Small psychedelic sounds jumps in and out, and the beautiful floating sound comes in now and then. Suddenly we get a break with a funky voice sample, before we jump further into drifting sounds. Pretty housy music, which reminds me of the latest projects by Saiko-Pod. Nice, funny track. Track 3 is much darker, with a really deep bass line, and metallic sounds. Less variation too, but with several scary sounds. About as dark as it can get. Track 4 starts with a voice sample, before it goes back to Saiko-Pod influenced trance again. This one is also pretty deep and dark, but with more variation of sounds. I really like this one. After a while we get some totally far out psychedelic sounds that reminds me a lot of The Infinity Project. Track 5 starts with some psychedelic TIP sounds, before some stumpy, groovy rhythms start banging. This one is full of cool sounds and small melodies. Great track, that sounds a lot like old times, but with a new touch… One of my favourite trance tracks on this album.
Track 6 is a totally experimental track, with a really slow down tempo rhythm. Is it trance, house or synth? I don’t know, but it’s weird! A lot of funny sounds and funky voice samples. Track 7 goes the experimental down tempo direction too, but with heavier rhythms and even weirder sounds. Definitely the funniest electronic track I have heard in a long time. So funny to dance to!! I remember we just started laughing and having pure fun while listening to this music at Samothraki… The sounds are just bubbling out of the speakers! Track 8 is an experimental chill out track, with some really funky vibes and spaced out sounds. I just love it when these sounds pop out of my Blue Room mini pod speakers! Track 9 starts with some smoked out voice samples of a conversation. Very chilled track, with an absolutely stoned vibe as the track title says… Dubby rhythms, trumpet sounds and weird psychedelic ingredients. Track 10 is about as beautiful as it can get. Some really nice, relaxing, floating sounds, chilling rhythms and a touch of Arabic inspired violins etc. They finish this album with an ambient track that goes the same style as the Mystical Experiences album, especially in the beginning! A totally mystic, Indian, floating vibe. As relaxing as it can get. A great finish for a great album! You also get a little hidden track at the end here, if you wait for a few minutes. This one is a very slow, relaxing ambient track.
If you enjoyed Graham Wood at Samothraki, you will love this. He played most of these tracks in his set. A varied album, where you get the dancing trancey part on the first half of the album, and the more experimental part with a chilled end on the second half of the album. Good to see a talented artist coming back with new fresh stuff like this. Recommended!
PK (shivapks@hotmail.com)
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konstantin jagoulis
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17.07.2004 12:17
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shit... - i lost his addi!!!
does anybody have his grahams email?
pleas send him mine, if you would be so kind.
info@carisma-project.de
thanx...
kosta
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Darc Angelo
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02.01.2004 16:10
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first of all... why isn't this released by TIP World? Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter much, maybe it's a clear sign of Graham Wood that he's put off his past as former member of TIP, and I guess the feeling is confirmed by this album. The intro sounds almost like an outro from TIP - The Answer. Since Mystical Experiences is one of my most cherrished albums of all time my heart missed a beat: could this be Mystical Experiences part 2? Answer with the 2nd track: no, it's not. This is further confirmed by track 3, 4, 5... Actually, Graham continued the tenency of today's artists of making goatrance a much less distinct genre and render it almost mixable with "normal" club-oriented electronic music. What a shame!! What botheres me most is that there is no "lead" in the tracks, you only have floating synth sounds in the background, leaving the soundstage feel a bit "empty". The down-tempo tracks of the other half are more interesting but still... we're talking about Graham Wood here, for Pete's sake!! Guess this is confirmation that it's not because someone made some excellent stuff in the past that he'll still be making excellent stuff today. But I think that Graham kinda sensed this by releasing it under an "unpretensious" name and label. I don't know, maybe people who are newer to the scene and don't know his previous work will like it, I for one do not... I mean, it's not bad but it's not very good either... 6/10
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