2350.org - New Composers - Advanced Indigo

as the title and artwork may suggest, advanced indigo may provide its listeners to an enhanced spectral listening environment. i was quite shocked when i slipped this in based on my previous experiences on the Fax label with the saint petersburg crew on the smart and the planetarium albums. on one hand, wistful emotions that linger from elements of track 7, "Miraculous Provisions," reminds me of another album that was recorded and produced earlier in the year in the same russian city by the group Syntetika on the album "Time & Space." st. petersburgh seems an interesting place to visit one day. yes, the other hand, even on to the next track, "Electric People," right away, i am brought to an earlier time in music. the portamento synth is enough to say some 1994 Fila Brazillia and it's getting better from here. much of this album seems to reflect a, shall i say, trip-hop revival of sorts which seems to have shown its face in a handful of different guises since 2002, at least from my collection standpoint.

our opener, "Phantom Ships and Strange Voices." immediately does what Fax says as we are swept away by the wet and sweeping, "...fresh Ethno Chill sound(s)." i swear though, some elements of the first minute takes me back to a 1993 release In/Flux by dj shadow on his own spiritual quest through time and space. this song is a good vantage ponit for the album considering its depth. everything leaks through here. those moments we may remember from PW38 and PW44, the smooth trip beats, the firm spoken words (unfamiliar to me, but none the less intriguing) that melt away, native instrumentation reflecting the "Russian soul," it's a complete journey into reflection. beauty.

so we're talking soul? well, that's where "Invisible Assailants" really takes control with that 'human computer.' it makes me feel like i'm at a tripped out live Funk and Roll event jamming with love. to mention it again, i heard Fila going in this direction hard in "Luck be a Weirdo Tonight." what may be different here is that as Fax says we have, "A fresh combination of oriental instrumentation combined with chill-out beats that bear no dogma." another point of what happend in the mid to late 1990's. dogma would be a good word. part of might keep us 'unbound' are the subtle and not so subtle nuances tied together by the general warmth.

"No superficial "cut'n'click" hunting." yes, another good point. let's visit "Levitation Flight," shall we? while we are still with our slippery ethno-chill, we have some nice modern sounding slaps and stabs, that are worked as a before mentioned nuance, to enhance and not overwhelm. i won't forget to mention the possibly 'dogmatic' string/synth line, which refrains from becomming overwhelming as the aspects of this album are infused, not added.

kudos to Fax and its New Composers for this. a must for any fax collector, and the appeal of this album should not have a problem reaching a large audience, a spectrum. the etymology of indigo would suggest 'from indos' or india, as seen in some of the instrumentation placed here, but i see a deep reddish blue and beyond that. an "ambient" style of music that was discovered around the same time Fax was founded, is being brought to light in the true spirt of what it was and is trying to crystallize, emotion, in some familiar and new ways.

(review by myopically)