Aleph Zero Records once again delivers the unexpected with their new compilation Midnight Soul Dive. This time we have a diversified repertoire with new artists standing side by side with stabilished Aleph Zero regulars, which are no others than some of the best downtempo producers like Shulman, Bluetech and Omnimotion.
This night time sonic journey was compiled by DJ Shahar and Shulman, the owners and label managers of Aleph Zero Records, and the results shows their sensibility and unpredictableness.
The cover is great as usual with all Aleph Zero releases, showing sort of a cigarette smoke with a human eye, which made me think about how volatile the human perception is. It was made by Antti at FTHR Productionz.
The mastering sounds awesome, and was made by Yaniv Shulman himself and sounds clean as usual.
Before start making this review I decided to follow the prescription, and listen to this release every night for a week. Sometimes I just pressed play and turned off the lights, some other day I listened while reading a book, once I just kept gazing at the booklet and so on. It grew on me in a relaxing way, now I feel comfortable with the music, like with a good friend, and I'm still getting some parts of the story that are not so explicit. After that every night experience I got connected to the music, and now I feel it's unfair to compare these tracks because they have no pretensions else than be there by my side at night, helping in the relief of the every day's tensions and warming my heart with hope.
Sometimes the transition between tracks is abrupt, like when we suddenly accept the feeling that tells us we must know someone better... Similar thing happens between the first two tracks, some other times it happens very smoothly, even to the point were I don't know what track is playing, or maybe I'm wrong and there was no transition at all, it was still the same track.
This is music to be appreciated drop by drop, like that tasteful coffee which you can't rush to, or you'll miss the smell. There's so much diversity here, sad feelings, dense atmospheres, happy endings, tranquility...
Listening to the music is better than any track description, particularly in a release in which the music really speaks for itself. So chech the samples now:
VA - Midnight Soul Dive E-Flyer
Not convinced yet? OK, read some random comments on some tracks.
Prana (T6) was the first track which I actually believed I got the story within, but once I knew its ending its beginning became something else. At first I didn't like the Krill.minima track (T3), because it has some noises that sound like interference, but now all I can hear is its enchanting flow. Mother Nature (T9) is a sonic walk through a forest, very relaxing. My girlfriend liked the birds (got kissed just by playing this track). Melt by Hibernation (T4) reminds me Bluetech style and it's a deep and meticulous track. One of the most psychedelic tracks here is Plasticine Bird (T7), one of my favorites for sure, a well polished gem rich in details and still simple, amazes me every time. The Rena Jones track (T12) is a good beatless closer, sounds simple, but it's deeper than that. Bohemian Atmosphere (T5) develops slowly until a turning point full of emotion. Omnimotion's Embrace (T8) is one of my favorites here, it has positive atmospheres, unexpected sound effects and an awesome vocal usage. But it seems my real favorite is Elve - Cyantium Flower, which has incredible timbers and is long enough to develop its whole potential. A sweet track which I won't forget. Not to mention it also has birds.
To make a light years trip short, you must check this album. Did I mention it comes with a stick? |
