Candyflip Records, first foray into ambient and downtempo comes to you with a concept that shines through from the title, Mountain High, right down to the flow of the rhythms and melodies. Label man Alex_Candy has put together a cadre of amazing sounds from established and relatively unknown artists. The first three tracks - from Solar Fields, Vibrasphere, and Indignus - swirl around the beginning and preparation of a long trip. The mood of these tracks is slower and begin slightly scattered, but show the formation of intent, the planning of a major excursion. The next three tracks from Triac, J Views, and Kick Bong - set the pace of the journey. They have a determined and steady pace, keeping time to an orchestrated movement up the mountain. One of the more notable moments in this part of this trip is Untracked from J Views, which begins as a straight ahead groove with an extremely deep and concerted bass line which fuel the rhythmic aboriginal-esque chants. At the breakdown, the rhythm shifts into a slow shuffle with highly tweaked-out drums. Nada ratchets up the pace and the tempo in the third leg of the journey with the track Numbers, which will be the favorite amongst chillout DJs. This is a beautiful and driving track with a bass and drum section that implores your entire body to move. Cell follows with an equally midtempo tribal trance jam that pits psychedelia against acoustic drums. Then comes the big surprise of the album : a track from Introcrycle. This track has a midtempo bass line and rhyrhm, but soon enter high-tone percussion in doubletime creating an absolutely frenetic pace. It feels as though the summit has just come into sight, where the mind races but the body stays with its determined pace, both held together with a rhythmic line from the flute. The next track from J Views, holds with the pace, but near the end shows the eventual breakdown, resetting the pace much slower just before reaching the top. Leading into the final and most emotional track in the album from Aes Dana. This track begins with the emotional uncertainty of reaching the peak. Two minutes into the track, the final destination is clear and the pace quickens, the final momentum towards the highest point. Aes Dana's kick drums pound like the beating heart flooded with the adrenaline gained from accomplishment and conquering the task. Indeed, we've seen our fair share of dubious compilations that proffer deep concepts but lack follow-through in the execution. Mountain High begins and ends as a true journey and its tracks overflow with raw emotion.
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