Note:- We have put up the price of this CD as several people were buying a number of copies and selling them on at much higher prices. A large cut of our sales goes directly to the artist, which is how it should be. Better to buy from us and support the artist (and our shop ;) than people trying to make a quick buck.
I am not too sure why I have never heard people talking about SolarQuest when the topic of chillout comes around in these forums. They are undoubtedly masterful at making the stuff and rival many of the better known acts. Funnily enough, that's almost exactly what I said when I first did a review of Makyo for this site, and now he seems to be one of the most popular choices for chillout ... so maybe it's SolarQuest's turn next! Anyway ... what to expect ...? This is warm, subtle and smooth chillout. Hints of psychedelic sounds thrown in and perhaps one of the closest sounding productions to Makyo without being Makyo of course. SolarQuest is in fact primarily George Saunders, though there are other artists involved playing the plethora of 'real' instruments used in the tracks. This is by no means his first release, but in my opinion this is the one to go for if you don't know the SolarQuest sound. One other point that is worth a mention is that all the SolarQuest recordings are made using power generated from the Greenpeace portable solar generator 'Sparky'. The music that is produced is of the 'organic' sound with plenty of atmospheric natural noising, thoroughly chilled and with a mixture of beat and beatless tracks. I think that the album only comes as a double cd, which is great because you get the superb Orgship in the bag too. This I believe was an earlier release (1994 maybe), but the pair together form a fabulous ambient journey. Orgisms:
There is not really much point dwelling on the tracks one at a time as they are soft-mixed together (still extractable for dj-ing purposes, but without any silences), and it is the overall effect that is so pleasant. Certain tracks do stand out however - notably Anchors in the Mist which has a divine flute swirling and wafting the ears downstream. Absolutely blissful. The flute is back in Switch off your Mind and don't I just love it - this time with a snare beat and plenty of weirdness. In fact the general intensity of the Orgisms cd builds as the tracks go on with more beat structure until the wonderful Ceremonial which just launches the imagination onto another plane. This is the proper length for a chillout track in my mind, and you may still be sorry when the cd comes to a stop.
Orgship:
If Orgisms was chilled then Orgship is even more so! This is one of the most relaxing discs I have, some really gentle beats but mostly soft drifting sounds and instrumentation. It is really beautiful stuff - not overproduced and not too busy... just about right for me to keep me from being bored but not interfere too much with my thoughts. Liquid Sky is magnificent - very much like a Dakini tune with a perfect flow towards an emotional power that gets me right here [bomble reaches for his chest]. The Open Path is also a splendid trippy little number and the joy just builds! Save the whale keeps things tasty, but I think that the Requiem for a Lily might have been better left out - it doesn't add much for me. Then again, it leads into Flying Spirals which, just as the final track in Orgisms, provides the soul with a magic carpet for some serious interior voyaging. The combination of the two discs (hopefully at ordinary album price if you have an honest supplier) makes this album a real treasure. It won't infiltrate your every waking moment like Shpongle can ... but I doubt you'll regret buying it if you can find a copy. Lovely. Review by 'Bomble' on www.psynews.org
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