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Global Underground, Electric Calm V.2

Author: Clare Woodcock
Monday, July 21, 2003
Release Date: UK & World 25th August 2003 / USA 2nd September

After a rapturous response to last year's low-key release of Electric Calm, Global Underground are once again revisiting the world of chill.

"An Electric Calm album should control a space of time and sound. It should flow through genre, meter and mood, heightening and lowering your anaesthetized senses. Yet it should never awake them, only aid them to remain in their dream-like state, happy in their own remote existence" explains the people behind the album, the Forth's Andrew Archer and John Elliott.

"Certain sounds have the ability to invade your mind and control it. These songs, and the intricate way in which they have been blended, are specifically designed to gently encompass your mind and console it. Welcome to your Electric Relaxation."

V.2 was conceived as a sequel to Electric Calm, but has now been born as an album with it's own personality, and it's own incarnation of tranquil, electronic music. Imagine V.1 as a retrospective definition of Quad Communications, and V.2 as a neoteric projection of the music to come from Global Underground, the label - well, in a tranquil sense.

As important to the album as the tracks themselves, is the manner in which they are blended together to form the metaphorical 'musical journey'. Again, entrusted to this task was the ever-present 'Forth'. When asked how the process of mixing the two albums differed the most, the reply was to point out the level of 'Electric Calming' that had taken place to create this.

Each track has been carefully cut, edited, layered, and essentially 'Calmed', so that the resulting flow of the album, could never hope to have been created with a mere two decks and one mixer. Often this is an aspect to a mix album that is either hidden or denied yet in this case, the use of computers has been fully embraced and totally abused.

Again, the music represents the finest in down tempo, chilled and ambient sounds, "Call it Ambient, Call it Chill-out, Call it what you will". But as I mentioned, it is certainly from a different strain than its predecessor. Trafik, Pako and Frederick and Bluefish all return with their own immedicable style of jaw dropping ambience, but this time there is some new artists to listen to.

Trafik make a few appearances, but none more interesting than the introduction of alternative maxi-sonic rockers 'P.B.A.S.' into the fold, the result is a piece of serene indie chill out, that glides it's way through a hybridist mix of guitars and arpeggios.

Bluefish return with just the one- track on the album, in the shape of the blissful Mellow, Mellow. A beatsy track, strung with metallic guitar flutterings, soaring string lines and shuffling rhythms. Where as, the Dutch pairing of Pako and Frederick, grace us with some wonderfully chilled, almost beat-less wonders, in the shape of 'Pin Tan Alley' and 'Make Me'.

Then into the calmic pot enters the ethnic rumblings of Lo-Step's breathtaking 'Roots', first heard in its breaks incarnation back on Dave Seaman's 'Melbourne' Global Underground. Lo-Step's Luke Chable is fast becoming a widely revered producer and here we can clearly see why, turning out an ambient mix here of immense proportions.

For the second time we hear the musings of Avatar, on Global Underground with their 'Glitter Love', but this time on Electric Calm. Recently employing very Eno revering 'Soundscape Experimentation' that has ignited a sound that represents Avatar's current 'kaleidoscopic' status. There is no better place to hear this than on Glitter Love.

Add to this, new tracks from Spanner, with their dark, ethereal style, and vocal chill-out masterpieces to soothe the soul from Twisted Air and J-Punch, then the blueprint to V.2 is complete.

Now, imagine this album as a carefully developed soundtrack to a story that you haven't yet been told, and know nothing about. Let each track develop the atmosphere in your head and ask yo
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