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Cell - "Phonic Peace" [Indica Music] - 5/2005
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BrettFromTibet
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : May 30, 2005 18:51
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Artist & Album: Cell - "Phonic Peace"
Label: Indica Music, Italy -- http://www.indicamusic.com
Released: May, 2005
Reviewed by: BrettFromTibet
There is something uncommonly delicate and magical about the way Cell shapes sound. The moment I heard my first track from this French artist on a compilation –– it rose right to the top of the disc as the crème de la crème. His released singles have shown mastery of several styles including: ambient, tribal, lounge and psy-chill –– giving me very high expectations for this artist.
His debut album, "Phonic Peace", is actually better than I anticipated. This CD, released by Indica Music in Rome, is beautiful inside and out. The digipak cover shows a stick of burning incense with swirling smoke trails and pages of an ancient manuscript, accurately capturing the mood of the music. The sounds inside are a smooth blend of electronic and ethnic instruments which are all masterfully edited, treated, and woven into a tapestry of sheer ambient elegance.
Much more sophisticated than just "samples pasted-over ambient beats", "Phonic Peace" goes so far as to set a new reference standard for ethnic ambient production. The sound design and musical artistry are as finely detailed as the stitching found in the most expensive rugs from the Orient.
We hear electronic notes embellishing gracefully on acoustic instrument scales, creating a flavor of "intergalactic ethno fusion" that is more successful than anything previous. A progression of sitar notes are finished off perfectly by synth licks that swirl around the sound-picture like tendrils of sonic incense smoke. Tibetan singing bowls are accompanied in perfect harmony by synthesizers that sound even purer. Chimes and bells tinkle over a soft mix of electronic melodies, real flutes and hypnotic vocals. Everything is polished over with a coat of mirror-smooth, classy, psychedelic gloss.
"Phonic Peace" takes us on a holographic carpet ride from North Africa to Tibet via the Middle East and India. The mystic moods and sensual atmospheres that are evoked during this journey feel even richer than the ones on French ambient classics such as Saffi Brothers’ "Mystic Cigarettes" or Toires’s "Qued".
The mastering on this disc is absolutely perfect. It comes out of the speakers so crystalline clear, warm, and vast -- it feels easier for me to ‘‘disappear inside’’ than any other music in my collection. I highly recommend listening to this during a sophisticated chill-out session, yoga, or meditation.
Cell’s music does more than just give me great pleasure when I listen to it. There is a rare quality to this album that is both other-worldly and soothing; it actually liberates me on a spiritual level. I feel deeply inspired, comforted and completely unafraid of life whenever this is playing on my headphones or Hi-Fi. It’s as if these sounds are a glimpse into an ethereal paradise that I am eventually destined for. Just listen deeply enough, and you too will experience this glorious state of "Phonic Peace."
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Dance N Dust
Dance N Dust
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Posted : May 30, 2005 19:13
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i love cell music
very good trax u have and nice album too
good luck alex,, keep it up..(:
 out now:
Aumrec – Before The Beginning ,EP
V/a Beat Wins , Compiled by DJ Asherun
Embargaa - Slova . EP
www.myspace.com/dancendustrecords |
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cell
Cell
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170
Posted : May 30, 2005 19:15
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As I said to you, Brett, Massive Thanks for your words!
Asher, thanks, too!
Take care,
Ambiently Yours
Alex
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P_Mac
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : May 30, 2005 19:25
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Lauryn
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : May 30, 2005 20:11
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I would go so far as to say this cd is one of my favorite releases of 2005 (so far)...Zaz and Magic Karma especially are simply amazing tracks...no words to describe...
Right now I'm listening to this cd once, maybe even twice a day. Everyone deserves to do themselves a favor and add a copy of this cd to their collection. Cell is for sure one of the best psy-chill artists out there today.
~gOa ist nicht nur musik sondern auch eine lebenseinstellung~
http://www.peakrec.com/
http://www.myspace.com/djlauryn |
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-Abatwa-
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : May 30, 2005 22:37
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Definetly one of the best chill releases of 2005. Absolutely beautiful...A must for chillers.
`Bottomless wonders spring from simple rules, which are repeated without end` Mandelbrot |
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X-static
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Posted : May 31, 2005 00:14
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I absolutly agree that this is something more then just ambient music! Its like some medicine for your mind and soul! Very hypnotic and spiritual!
Thanx to Cell and Indica Music!
Respect! |
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kops
Started Topics :
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2
Posted : May 31, 2005 04:10
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In Sensitiv' Garden at 3:25 female sings the same words that in Igneous Sauria's - Adaptor. Anybody knows if its taken from some other song? |
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Blue Night
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 8, 2005 11:59
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brilliant cell 
I am the darkness that is the light and the stillness that is the dancing :) |
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Josko
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Posted : Jun 10, 2005 20:41
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Thanks guys for the support and thanks brettfromtibet for the nice review.
Stay tuned for Cell live act at Glastonbury, Glade & Sonica2005:) and for upcoming compilation ''vajra'' on Indica Music.
Take care and chilled smiles from Italy..
____________________________
www.myspace.com/giorgiogatti |
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Morpheus Music
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jun 18, 2005 19:52
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STYLE
Ethno-ambience and expansive electronica. Cell has produced here a deep rich synthetic/acoustic mix that melds such diverse elements as finger cymbals, Indian female vocals, global percussion, careful arpeggios and downtempo beats with masterful artistry. Dillrabar, sitar shenai and other emotive sounds from 'Deepest India' are employed in perfect balance with programmed structures and patterns familiar to the trance scene. The album opens with some moody abstract floatation where percussive loops flutter in and distant voices drift on the breeze, thereafter most pieces are laidback with the same balance of traditional samples and modern technology.
MOOD
Phonic Peace sets up a sense of the sacred, feeling almost processional in places as shady candle-lit aural artifacts are carried by, held aloft by reverential hands. Indeed, Cell has taken great care with the ethnic samples and performances to place then in appropriate settings, allowing them to shine and glimmer. The frequent downtempo loops add to the sense of veneration where voices ghostly and distant with reverb haunt sonic arches and halls. Most of the global sounds are of Indian origin, with a few from further east, such as on Phonic Peace For Tibet.
ARTWORK
Phonic Peace is exhibited in a warm digipak lit with soft shades of tangerine and orange. An incense stick sends a curl of smoke over a backdrop of archaic scripture setting the tone for the musical content within. Inside we have another swirl of scented smoke, a track listing and various credits and thanks. A row of small photo-images and another soft-focus backdrop of assembled manuscripts completes the inner sleeve. A smooth package to match the smooth production quality of the audio.
OVERALL
Tracks interfade creating a flowing whole where the mood is consistently Asian but always evolving with new shades and fresh nuances. Classical male Indian singers and chimes interlace cutting edge programming and production. Crystalline arps and crisp beats accompany lush flutes and tablas - electronic drones and pulsing basslines lurking beneath. Cell presents a softer side on Phonic Peace than you may have heard on a number of previous compilations and this is very welcome. The final track 'Orange' is one of my favourites where flickering d'n'b loops creep imperceptibly in over a bed of chilled melodic electronics and the semi-classical voice of Meena; building in intensity hurried tablas keep pace all the while until the concluding dissipation when the lazy pace of the opening returns once more.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
The gap is closing between global ambient trance and other worldbeat music and Cell comfortably straddles the boundary. Phonic Peace will doubtless draw downtempo chillout listeners from both genres - those inclined toward the club and lounge scene and those enjoying ethnic fusion music like Deep Forest and Ikarus.
www.morpheusmusic.co.uk
MORPHEUS MUSIC
www.morpheusmusic.co.uk
ELECTRONIC MUSIC MALL
http://www.electronicmusicmall.com |
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Nathan
IsraTrance Senior Member
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Posted : Jun 19, 2005 00:55
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GR8 album 
-=The Meaning Of Life Is To Give Life A Meaning= |
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Acidhive
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jun 19, 2005 03:31
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I'll be passing on this one, and it makes me sad actually. There really could've been some quality here. It's just that there's an ethnic overload on this album which I can't take. It even sounds forced in some of the tracks IMO. And Cell can be so great, if only he did more stuff like 'Audio Deepest Night' or 'Father' then this album could've been something really special. Now it sounds like a lot of other stuff out there. And the chanting isn't even sung realtime or anything, it's all sample-based. Boo!! No, passing this one. This guy can do better.
"Subconscious unravels at the point of death, and all time it has known erupts into a moment. As death extinguishes us, so we become it."
[Esoteric: Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum] |
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fullom
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 19, 2005 14:15
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Wicked love it !
(`*•.¸(`*•.¸ ¸.•*´)¸.•*´)
FULL-OM PSYCHEDELIC TRANCE
(¸.•*´(¸.•*´ `*•.¸)`*•.¸) |
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Fingax
Cosmic Station
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Posted : Jun 21, 2005 23:12
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I tyed to buy these cd here in shops in london. sold out. i went ther last wekkend. sold out.. they said next week maby...
I must say that Mr Cell with his Rotative Explicit Moments just found my ecensse hehe Im in love with that track. i found it a masterpiece.. so simple....
I need to get these album soon.
Incredibly coincidence is that i found a post here in isratrance forum were Cell give a link to one his late livesets and i couldn't find there the track im talking..
and i also must found a "explicit" way to understood the message in the end of the track.
Anyway..
All the best to this album. im shure it will be huge success
Bom |
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