Search - The Egg, Jaziac Sunflowers, The Eff Word :: Frosty

Early chill out fare

Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 01/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Originally part of the Waveform catalog, as conceived by the musical vision of producer Forest, this is a disc that sounds as fresh today as when it was released. Taken from numerous masters to create a chill disc, this CD was leading the way for the ensuing plethora of chill out compilations. The brainchild of Forest, he used his internet show entitled "Musical Starstreams" to promote his various compilations and groups that specialized in chill out electronic music. The music featured on this disc is of the dub variety mostly with a slow groove to capture your mood. The soulful vocal stylings that are sampled are laid back in the jazzy Sade mode made popular in years(decades?) past. This is most evident on Mr. Electric Triangle's "Falling." There is some music that is slightly more upbeat like Howie B's "Birth" but really the groove never gets going more than a snails pace. This is one of those discs where you want to just hear the whole thing to get the full impact. The songs have a continuity and a flow that must be credited to the production assembly. The cinematic dream quality is fully appreciated when listened to in it's entirety. A particularly beautiful song that is full of spatial overtones is "Take Me To A Distant Bass" that has a bumping bass line that resonates throughout as the vibes(vibraphone sounds) echo like a drop of water in a pond that expands in growing concentric circles with jazzy horn samples. There is a live track entitled "So You Say" that is pretty close to smooth jazz/acid jazz but still fits into the chill factor in spite of it's funky side. This is music for a starry winter night where the chill is counterpoint to a cozy fireplace blazing while the incense burns and delights the senses. Great mood music that stimulates and soothes the savage within. Recommended for chill out fans."

A Retrospective

J. Whalley | London | 05/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many of these tracks were originally released under the 2 KOOL label in the UK, and are now nearly 10 years old which is scary - but they still sound so good. Any compilation that includes the classic tracks from Jaziac Sunflowers, Beach Flea , Howie B etc is a definite must have.... Wall of Sound's early compilations including the Give em enough dope series are also worth checking out. A reminder then, of the buzzing , leftfield music scene of London in the mid 90's, and in the words of DJ Gilles Peterson, 'Here are some more crazy 1995 sounds out of London""

Excellent chillout fare

Jillianne C. Schaffer | Columbus, OH | 03/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Very few chillout compliations sound anything more than cut and paste track collections, but this one, even though it's not mixed has such impeccable flow. From the catchy opening, it hooks you and keeps things interesting, but it's still mellow and chilled out. Hmm, what more can I say. If you haven't ordered it yet, I don't know what you're waiting for."