Really rather good...
Ana Davis | 02/26/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"nåid (pronounced NOYD), aka martin landqvist, is a swedish electronic musician / producer best known for his dance remixes of songs by the cardigans, kent, and other artists. his debut is his attempt to return to his family's musical and ancestral roots; even the name under which he records, a kind of ancient tribal drum, is a nod to ancient ways of life. although evocative of that past, the music on this album is firmly rooted in the present. simply described, bone flutes and various primitive percussion instruments mesh and intertwine with modern-day production techniques and sounds to create dance beats. icelandic folk singers hanne juul's and moa brynnel's respective quietly commanding tones and ghostly, symphonic yelps lend extra seasoning to this haunting collection of wintry songs. this is ambient trance, but most of the tracks here are quite danceable and thankfully free of the overbearing, unimaginative 'thump-thump-thump' bass one hears in so much of the music that falls in the trance / house genres. all the songs here are excellent, and i hate to single any of them out, but standouts include 'cherdi,' a slowly pulsating heartbeat of a dance song, sweetened with the wistful call of a harmonica; 'somewhere below,' and nåid's stunning take on 'visur vatnsenda rosu', an old icelandic folk-song.as a good example of nåid's best work (he put out a new album last year entitled 'waking up'. in my opinion, it's not as good as this one) it definitely stands out. well worth the time it might take you to find it."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1