2350.org - Anthony Rother - Elixir of Life

some quick ambient sequences, followed by a nice mix of beats. rather hypnotic sounding. the track slowly ends with some droney washes, yet the ambient never ceases.

part two -
flawless mix from part one. the drones continue, and a different ambient sequence takes form. the track is minimal sounding, building ever so slowly. the drones fade out with -3:20 left. we are left with a brightly hypnotic synth sequence. the sequence is replaced with the sound of digital water, or psychedelic noise.

part three -
again, a nice mix between the two parts. the track turns darker sounding. the drones are still present. the faint hint of a melody with -2:20 envelops. it is distant, and never fully reaches its potential.

part four -
becomes a spacey dream like state. mellow, with the ability to bring you to a new world. some nice synth sequences bounce in and out of space. electronic sounds take over, and the spacey soundtrack continues in theback ground. has some elements of a more electronic tangerine dream. a beautiful track.

part five -
some quirky bass beats start off with a droned loop in the background.the track becomes a little more delirious around -4:30 (not in a bad way). a rather experimental piece.

part six -
continues the mix. it is a long dark voyage into the deep. slow moving, yet not boring.

part seven -
a playful journey into space, that finally fades out into something deeper in space.

part eight -
less ambience and more electronics. with -2:38, a synth solo gleams into the foreground. the synth line is bright, but soon darkness follows. elements of a droned night cityscape fades into

part nine -
the part takes a new mellow direction. it builds into a beautiful ambient track with some droney washes blending within some somber drifting synths. the track even has some elements of goth.

part ten -
a droned loop paves the way into a drifting underwater world. a track where we are finally at peace. a wonderful piece to finish off our journey.

(review by jackthetab)

The Fax label debut from Anthony who may be familiar to listeners for his work on his own Psi49Net imprint and Elektrolux among others.

Part 1 - An opening drone underpinned by some steady beats for the first couple of minutes, replaced with some metallic strings and a static wash that fades to:

Part 2 - A gradually building sequence that flutters from left to right over the top of which some more slightly darker string sounds are added. The sequence fades out during the last two minutes of the piece and we are left with the static rain. A very atmospheric track. Track 3 takes this theme further building slowly with feint hints of melody in the background. The melodic elements become more prominent as we move into the excellent Part 4.

Part 5 - This could almost have been lifted from directly from Namlook's "Astrogator" with the same spacey wind providing the background to some extremely distorted rubbery percussion type sounds. Uncanny.

The next two tracks are dark, very eerie and minimalistic, but with just enough happening to command your attention. Part 8 returns to the sequence of Part 4 with some excellent beats complementing the overall effect. The remainder of the album again closes out not very spectacularly, but doing just about enough to keep you listening.

Overall this is a very cinematic album, with some nice flourishes, the occasional excellent beats and intriguing melodies in places, but for me the whole thing just kind of drops off towards the last 20 minutes or so and despite forcing myself to repeated listens has me struggling to come back voluntarily.

(review by Richard Hughes)