Children of the Blue Ray- 13 Moons is the second release on US based label Heart’s Eye Records and shows that there is life in the US chillout scene. This very eclectic chillout compilation is mixed by Nathan Vogel aka Mindstorm and is mixed very well to create a smooth but varied journey through many different styles including Downtempo, Dub, Ambient, Trip Hop, Breaks and IDM. With such a mix of styles, not everything in this journey is going to please and there is bound to be a few bumps along the way. For me the main bumps were at the beginning. Phasephour’s The Land (T1) and Cybervixen’s Krystal Water (T3) both have vocals a little too cheesy for my taste. The former sounds like it belongs in a movie about the Irish Highlands and the latter sounds more like a pop song over a rave era ambient track. The rest of the tracks are between decent and great, the decent tracks are nice, with cool beats, subtle melodies that seem to come from everywhere and lots of small psychedelic sounds that give them a trippy atmosphere that is great fro relaxing. The great tracks, though, are worth the money alone, they are top draw tracks with lots of drive, lush ambience, bass, beats and atmosphere. Each track has something different to offer so let me tell you a little about each standout.
Lauge’s Winter Look is a dreamy track with a great sci-fi sample that fits perfectly. It is not too long, perfectly weighted so that it doesn’t dominate but creates a lush spacey feel that gets under your skin like a dream. Helios’ Dreamtime (T4) is a funky ambient track with a strange mechanical feel. I am put in mind of an alien robot club in the backroom as machines dance awkwardly as others lay out on the floor. IMIX’s Bottom of the Dirt (chill mix) (T5) has rising synths throughout that make me feel like I am rising through the Earth from the centre to the surface. When the beats kick in I rise above the trees and into the clouds. Mr. Rogers’ DMT Factor (T8) really sounds like listening to funky hip hop (not rap) on psychedelics. It is very danceable chillout with driving bass and great melodies. I usually hate long samples and drug samples, but this is long and about drugs and yet I still love it after many listens. Irina Mikhailova & Kenji Williams’ Deep Step (T11) may be an old track but it is heavenly. Irina Mikhailova’s vocals are beautifully haunting which fits very well with the wind like drones and gentle chiming melodies. |
