Search - Sven Vath :: Accident in Paradise

It is Paradise

J. Kennedy | London | 05/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An early release from Sven Vath, this is more ambient than techo. It is a great chillout CD and he succeeds in building a dreamy blissful soundscape where the calling of dolphins are heard as a backdrop to meandering melodies. The inclusion of the title track at the midpoint is out of place and is the only negative aspect of an otherwise beautiful recording. Perfect for summer. Perfect."

?Lost in Paradise

nefariousbaffler | 03/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Point of this kind of music is not for it to go anywhere but rather for you to go somewhere through it. Deeply dubacious, with those melodic strings that bring you back to days gone by. A dose of something and this cd will make you trip lavishly."

One of the best of the Ambient- house genre!

pulseteresa | 10/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Expectations and context often strongly influence whether or not we like something - be it a person, a work of art, or in this case, a CD. For that reason this disc is best thought of as an Ambient-house album. If you expect this CD to be simply Trance Techno (as it was marketed at the time fo its release) I can understand how you might find it disappointing. Ambient-house, however, is a less resrictive genre and is thus more likely to offer greater variety. And variety (along with great songs of course) is a hallmark of a great album. It's one of the reasons that the Beatles albums are so good. So I advise approaching "Accident in Paradise" as an Ambient-house CD.

And it really is one of the best. It's worth buying just for the song "Ritual of Life" alone - with its slow build up of ethnic drone sounds (didgeridoo and tambura), gorgeous silken synthesizer tones, ethnic percussion, and classic techno rhythms - it really takes you on a delightful (please excuse the cliche) trip, in much the same way that the best minimalist music does. The best part of the song is near the end when most of the sounds fade out and then a bell tree and the sound of an airplane herald the return of the of the percussion, louder and more intense than before.

The next song, "Caravan of Emotions" is a piano driven Ambient piece spiced with various synth and found sounds-quite nice.

"L'esperanza"-the song I'd heard that made me want to buy the album to begin with-is built on a slow, simple, beautiful synth string melody, perfectly muted percussion and a kind-of Prog-Rock feel (which much of this album has-in the best way possible).

"Sleeping Invention" is built upon water sounds(my favourite sound effect), a harpsicord playing a classical melody, and what sounds like a sample of some operatic singing. A friend of mine asked, "What's the title of this song-'Beethoven Takes a Bath'"? I think she said this to indicate that she did not like this song, but it's actually a somewhat acurate description(but in a good way).

"Mellow Illusion" has a soundtrack sort of feel to it. It's rhythically oriented but is not generic Techno. It actually reminds me of some of Bill Nelson's instrumentals and also of Larry Fast's Synergy. A pleasant song.

"Merry-Go-Round Somewhere" sounds like its title implies-fairground organ playing circular melodies with the sound of children playing. This leads to the most incongruous song on the album-the title track.

"An Accident in Prardise" is an uptempo Trance piece. It's a much more abrasive song than any other on this disc but is still a good track (again, variety is a good thing). It has a Kraftwerkian feeling of machine-driven motion to it - great to listen to while driving.

"Drifting Like Whales in the Darkness" is a more ambient piece which really does sound like its title implies. Peaceful and dreamy.

"Coda" revisits the sound of "Sleepng Invention", and is a good ending for the album.

The single mix of "L'Esperanza", tacked onto the end of this CD, is my least favourite song on the disc. It's crap and should have been omitted.

I hope this review is as informative as I'd intended it to be and inspires you to give this disc a listen. If you like the early Orb, Future Sound of London, Ultramarine, and Aphex Twin's Ambient-house era songs, you'll probably like this album.

"