Morpheus Music
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
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Posts :
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Posted : Nov 11, 2011 17:12:56
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STYLE
Meditative ambient chill.
And Awake sees Ishq return with a fine album of their trademark tropical liquid sparkle. Colourful, vivid and intricate; Ishq establishes a warm sense of the exotic right from the start. Drifting pads with meandering melodic phrases, a childlike voice mouthing "...and awake..." are given a special lustre by means of bright electronic effects. There are many layers to most pieces: interwoven harmonic motifs; secondary melodies; underlying drones; water and nature sounds; glitch flicker and, on the initial tracks, a dreamy digital beat. The tone of the music is always inviting; suggestive of soft sunshine and the wonders of the world: somehow managing to carry the listener from floating on the lapping calm of a clear lagoon to wandering among the curves and curls of moist frondescence right down to marvelling at the veins of a single leaf. Soft flutes, oriental strings and Jacqueline Kersley's wordless vocals along with heaving tides and the cries of seagulls all combine to ensure that the Ishq journey is lush, expansive and truly captivating.
ARTWORK
My promo copy of And Awake came with only the cover image that you can see above left. The amber hues of a dervish dancer in whirling motion blend midway into the sunset colour of an evening ocean contained within the outline of the dancer's outflung skirt. Black background - simple titles.
OVERALL
Ishq has been around for over a decade now; their debut album Orchid was released via Interchill Records back in 2004 (with an expanded two disk version released by Dakini) and the project currently returns once more to Interchill after a series of exploratory projects and self-released titles. The UK's Cornwall based Matt Hiller and Jacqueline Kersley have a unique sound that once heard is easily recognised among the mass of ambient and ambient chill available today. This distinct sonic identity even carries across to the various side projects that have broadened the duo's output over the years: Elve, Ishvara, Indigo Egg ...
The limited edition CD label Virtual has been used as a way to deliver Ishq's more experimental music as well as collaborative recordings. Such albums as Timelapse In Mercury, Fluid Earth, Skyspaces and Lotus can all be found there. The current And Awake delivers eight mid-length tracks of unhurried buoyant beauty that can be explored via the Interchill website or Ishq's own website. Interchill informs us that a follow-up to And Awake is already scheduled for 2012.
TRACKLIST
1. And Awake
2. Diving Into Sun
3. Leaf
4. Mizu
5. Skylike
6. Blue Drop
7. Kong
8. A New Life
  MORPHEUS MUSIC
www.morpheusmusic.co.uk
ELECTRONIC MUSIC MALL
http://www.electronicmusicmall.com |
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