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V/A - Natural Born Chillers (Aleph Zero 2004) CD
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DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Dec 4, 2004 22:54
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V/A – Natural Born Chillers
Cover: http://217.160.138.169/pic_b/ale1cd003_b.jpg
Artist: Various
Title: Natural Born Chillers
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Aleph Zero Records (Israel)
Cat. #: AlephZ03
Date: 30 November 2004
Track listing:
01. 11’13” Ishq - Alaya
02. 07’10” Anahata - Shakti
03. 11’19” Zen Mechanics – A New Philosophy
04. 08’28” Jirah - Disconnect
05. 09’10” Agalactia – Monochrome Rainbow Pixie
06. 06’31” Cosmic Fools – Be Yourself
07. 05’09” J.Viewz - Estha
08. 06’11” Son Kite – On Air (MIDIval PunditZ Remix)
09. 07’00” Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix)
10. 06’29” Eastern Spirit – Under Water (Part One)
Review:
Complete enjoyment for ears and mind…
Though this is only the third release by the Israeli chill label Aleph Zero, Yaniv Shulman & Shahar Bar-Itzhak have already gained massive respect and admiration throughout the world wide trance community for the two outstanding album releases by Shulman and Bluetech. I’m proud to own both, and I consider them highly valuable parts of my chill-out collection… With such a high quality level, my expectation for this, the first Aleph Zero compilation, were high… Let’s find out if they were met…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Ishq – Alaya
Alright – prepare to chill out… And I mean reeeeeally chill out! Frozen really! Ishq is the ambient collective from Cornwall (U.K.) headed by Matt Hillier, and after the critically acclaimed and re-released album Orchid, here’s another quality tune… This is active meditation – virtually beatless, soothing ambient… The sound of the elements: Wind & water… Birds in the background… Subtle choir work… - All ingredients in a very nice, very mellow, breathtaking journey of a track…
#02: Anahata – Shakti
This compilation is a continuous mix, so we slip seamlessly into the next track by Anahata known from some of the old R.T.T.S. Ambient Meditation compilations… We dig a little deeper now, adding more percussion, electro bits and hints of dub… But definitely still downtempo… Check out the characteristic reverb effect used throughout the track… Nice little track!
#03: Zen Mechanics – A New Philosophy
“You start thinking as a new person, and a new philosophy grows inside. You don’t just watch the earth; you start thinking about its problems...” Next up is Zen Mechanics a.k.a. Wouter Thomassen delivering a lengthy track with long organic, floating pads & deep tribal/ritual influences… Subtle synths and dubby beats… I like how this track constantly evolves, yet it maintains its overall spacey feeling… Sweet!
#04: Jirah - Disconnect
Jirah released his melodic full-on debut album last year on USTA, but here we’re treated to a more mellow side of his production skills… Nice guitar-action, electro-dub, subtle percussion and distinct ethnic influences… This is high quality downtempo psy-electronica…
#05: Agalactia – Monochrome Rainbow Pixie
Remember the Agalactia track from the Psychedelic Sparks compilation that was conceived as a result of a track contest @ psynews.org a couple of years back? I haven’t heard anything from Philip Khripkov since then, but he sure hasn’t lost his touch… This track is a palette of dub, electro, chill, electronica, ethnic beats, etc… The pace has quickened and we’re exposed to loads of different genres here, though the focus is still on downtempo… That’s one hell of a flute… And those Irish influences towards the end are very uplifting – it has me smiling! ;o)
#06: Cosmic Fools – Be Yourself
“A wizard is never late. He arrives precisely when he means to.” AFAIK this is the debut for Cosmic Fools… I have no idea who’s behind that moniker, but what I do know is that is one hell of a debut… The first part of the track is something as rare as darkish, yet uplifting downtempo… I really like the soft, gentle melodies on top a very deep, groovy foundation… The female singing is also a nice touch – and even the LOTR samples are pretty cool. Nice track for sure – and remember to “be yourself, let your conscious lead you and follow your heart…”
#07: J.Viewz – Estha
J.Viewz is the alter-ego of Jonathan Dagan from critically acclaimed Israeli downbeat sensation Violet Vision… Everything I’ve heard that he’s been involved in was great and so is this… More string-action here, flute, thick Eastern influences and female, ethnic vocals… Nice – though way too short!
#08: Son Kite – On Air (MIDIval PunditZ Remix)
Son Kite’s On Air is on of my fav’e progressive tunes from 2004 – and this mix by US breaks-n-ambient duo MIDIval PunditZ was included on the single released prior to the album… I immediately fell in love with the remix back then, and kudos to Aleph Zero for including it on this compilation… It fits perfectly! This is nice blend of all kinds of stuff… Dubby breaks, Oriental chanting, Raja flute, sitar, mellow tribal percussion… With the added-value nostalgic Son Kite groove intact! Very nice track!
#09: Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix)
To my knowledge Turkish ney master Mr. Tekbilek is pretty well-know in the Arab world-music scene and has had tracks featured on well-known ambient compilations like Buddha Bar and Back To Mine… And now, here’s a Shulman remix – and what a track! This is ambient world music with thick, thick Eastern influences and an overall phat ethnic groove… Reminds me of Asura or Kaya Project at times… Very good! According to Shulman, the instrument played here is some kind of Turkish wind instrument similar to the Indian shenhai… Amazing track!
#10: Eastern Spirit – Under Water (Part One)
Last up is Eastern Spirit which also is an up-and-coming act… We’re doing aquatic acrobatics here and the sound of the wet element is indeed present here… As the first track, this is soothing, relaxing, and beautiful ambient… The flute, the deep groove and the long floating pads create a very harmonic platform and underlines the closing statements of a dynamic, stunning journey…
Aleph Zero has done it again… Released the third consecutive masterpiece… That’s a pretty damn good statistic, and there is no doubt in my mind that this compilation will enjoy immediate success throughout the world wide chill-out community – it really deserves it! I will not hesitate to call this compilation essential for any fan of intelligent, soothing, downtempo journey-music and I’m thrilled to give this my highest recommendation… Go get it!
Favourites: 1, 3, 4, 5(!), 6, 8(!), 9(!), 10
DeathPosture
External links:
Aleph Zero Records: http://www.aleph-zero.info/NBCeflyer.htm (e-flyer)
Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/ale/ale1cd003.html
Saiko Sounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=4473
Chaos Unlimited: http://www.chaosunlimited.co.uk/cgi-bin/product.asp?LR=ALEPHCD03
Amboworld: http://www.amboworld.com/cgi-bin/product.asp?LR=ALEPHCD03
Trance Shop: http://www.trance-shop.com/de/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4222
Ultimae: http://www.ultimae.com/imports/index.html?skeud=128
Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detail.jsp?showDetail=66158
  On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
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O:Kay
Started Topics :
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Posted : Dec 4, 2004 23:07
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nice compilation that great sound |
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Sputer
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
315
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2709
Posted : Dec 4, 2004 23:32
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Quote:
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On 2004-12-04 22:54, DeathPosture wrote:
#09: Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix)
To my knowledge Turkish ney master Mr. Tekbilek is pretty well-know in the Arab world-music scene and has had tracks featured on well-known ambient compilations like Buddha Bar and Back To Mine… And now, here’s a Shulman remix – and what a track! This is ambient world music with thick, thick Eastern influences and an overall phat ethnic groove… Reminds me of Asura or Kaya Project at times… Very good! According to Shulman, the instrument played here is some kind of Turkish wind instrument similar to the Indian shenhai… Amazing track!
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ohhhh this one i need to get fassssssssst !
just by the sample i can say its the beautiful thing i ever heard
..."Be yourself, let your conscience guide you...
Follow your heart, not the people around you"... |
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Trip-
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
101
Posts :
3239
Posted : Dec 5, 2004 11:58
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A very sweet review mate...
and thank you for the good words 
Crackling universes dive into their own neverending crackle...
AgalactiA |
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arash
Started Topics :
2
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41
Posted : Dec 5, 2004 14:18
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Trip, you are involved with this cd?? |
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Trip-
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
101
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3239
Posted : Dec 5, 2004 14:27
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my signature gives out a big hint...
Crackling universes dive into their own neverending crackle...
AgalactiA |
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arash
Started Topics :
2
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41
Posted : Dec 5, 2004 14:58
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Well, I don't know think it's a masterpiece like the two previous releases, but it sure is a really nice album.. I love the ishq intro and the follow up by Anahata.. Who are these Anahata, I think this track is too brilliant.. An album by these guy(s) would be very much anticipated.. overall this album contains a lot of beautiful music and my favourites are almost all.. |
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Hodi
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Dec 5, 2004 20:33
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the name of this compilation is very nice
u can find "Anything U Want" using the search... |
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sherlockalien
IsraTrance Junior Member
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22
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Posted : Dec 8, 2004 16:33
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arrived yesterday in the post, I was so happy
there are no bad tracks, but 3 of them were not outstanding...
my preliminary coments:
01: Ishq – Alaya - With ishq playing, there's no mistake.. great tripping slow track.. perfect beginning
02: Anahata – Shakti - nice
03: Zen Mechanics – A New Philosophy - slow progressing, but nearer to the end is very very very good
04: Jirah - Disconnect - nice
05: Agalactia – Monochrome Rainbow Pixie - has me smiling as well =)
06: Cosmic Fools – Be Yourself - smiling continues.. and beautiful vocals
07: J.Viewz – Estha - j-viewz kicks ass.. very good touch of mid eastern stuff
08: Son Kite – On Air (MIDIval PunditZ Remix) - totally impressed me.. I would never expect such an amazing track.. Great remix, a lot changed from the original (which I also like a lot).. Bassline, etc etc.. great! Maybe the best in the cd? nahh, I couldnt decide hehe
09: Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix) - omar faruk, the guy is amazing.. and shulman's electronic touch is perfect... the only little part where I think shulman should not have touched so much was during omar's percussion solo, where he trips out too much, and should have left it more like original..
10: Eastern Spirit – Under Water (Part One) - nice, but did not stand out as the other ones.. but good for a finish, to calm you down a little hehe
Im sooo happy with having bought it.. I recommend to all.. and cover art is great (made by androcell)! Congrats shulman and all the artists involved |
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PKS
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
75
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490
Posted : Dec 17, 2004 10:28
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Aleph Zero Records in Israel run by Shahar and Shulman, has proved to be a high quality chill label, with their first two releases by Bluetech and Shulman. Now they are out with the first compilation with some of their favourite acts from around the world.
Natural Born Chillers (Aleph Zero Records) 2004 (AlephZ03)
1. Ishq – Alaya
2. Anahata – Shakti
3. Zen Mechanics – A New Philosophy
4. Jirah – Disconnect
5. Agalactia – Monochrome Rainbow Pixie
6. Cosmic Fools – Be Yourself
7. J. Viewz – Estha
8. Son Kite – On Air (Midival Punditz Remix)
9. Omar Faruk Tekbilek & Steve Shehan – Ya Bouy (Shulman Remix)
10. Eastern Spirit – Under Water (Part One)
First out is a new track by a pioneer in the ambient scene, Ishq (Matt Hillier) from the UK. He has been making music since the early nineties, and released music on Kinetix Records. In 2001 he released a very strong album (Orchid) on Interchill and Dakini Records. Here we get another floating masterpiece. Deep and totally relaxing, with some beautiful vocals. Fantastic as always from this guy. Track 2 is by a new artist called Anahata. This one goes a little bit more experimental, with some weird beats and melodies. Still relaxing and with a bit melancholic vibe. Track 3 is by Zen Mechanics (Wouter Thomassen) who has released some strong full on tracks too. Here we get a pretty tribal track. The tribal drums goes in a relaxed tempo, and we get some beautiful floating sound scapes. You also get some guitar sounds in a quite different way. After a while we get some fat dubby beats too. Perfect for the chill out area. Track 4 is by Jirah (Tim McCall) from the United States. He has released some really refreshing full on music on various labels too. Nice to hear a chilled track by him. Here we get eastern vibes, dubby beats and psychedelic sounds, all going in a pleasant chilled tempo. One of my favourite tracks on this compilation. Track 5 is by Agalactia (Philip Khripkov). This one starts with some beautiful flute and continues into a dubby soundscape, with a lot of Ott inspirations. Also som Irish, happy melodies. Nice one.
Track 6 is by another new artist called Cosmic Fools. This one has a funky guitar. This reminds me a little bit of chilled psychedelic rock from the seventies, but in a kind of new electronic, modern version. We also get some female pop vocals in there, which I find a bit cheesy, but might fit in the right moment. Track 7 is by the talented j.views (Jonathan Dagan), which is one half of Violet Vision… He gives us a very Indian sounding track, with female Indian vocals, sitar and a relaxed down tempo beats. Nice track, but pretty easy digestible. Then we get the On Air track by Swedish Son Kite, which has been played all over the world in several different versions this year. Here we get a remix by someone called Midival Punditz. The vocals you find the original is there, but it is added some sitar and chilled dubby beats instead of the progressive trance drift. Track 9 is originally made by the very respected Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Steve Shehan, but here we get a great remix done by Shulman. Intense, happy, Arabic vibes. The last track is by an artist called Eastern Spirit. This one slows down and goes more floating. A nice finish on the compilation.
This album has some really nice tracks. I missed a bit more of the usual talented chill out producers, but the new artists they have picked for this compilation sure seem to have something going on. Aleph Zero is becoming one of my favourite labels these days.
PK (shivapks@hotmail.com)
For more reviews, check out:
http://www.trance.net
CHILL TRIBE
CTRCD01 QUALITY RELAXATION
CTRCD02 RELAXED JOURNEYS
CTRCD03 EAR PLEASURE
CTRCD04 WOMBATMUSIC - Shameful Silence
CTRCD05 POLYPLOID - Grow Your Own
CTRCD06 IAN ION - Gringo Locomotion
CTRCD07 SUNKINGS - Before We Die |
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woutski
Zen Mechanics
Started Topics :
5
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275
Posted : Dec 17, 2004 20:48
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Nice reviews ppl...much appreciated  |
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scraper
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Dec 17, 2004 20:54
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woutski, your track is my fav on the comp! please keep doing ambient
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SiENiS
Sienis
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47
Posted : Dec 18, 2004 14:20
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Agalactia ROOOOOOLS!!! heheheheh
looking foreward to hear MORE Dr.Phil ;D |
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Wizack Twizack
Wizack Twizack
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239
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3486
Posted : Dec 18, 2004 17:10
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wow.. thats a phat tracklist.. nice to see Agalactia.. great work buddy
waiting...
Boom! |
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The Green Channel
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Dec 18, 2004 22:11
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All Alpha-Zero releases have been of the highest standard, and this compilation is no exception, but the highlight of this compilation is Shulman’s remix, that guy is just getting better and better. I had goose pomes the first time I heard the track. Overall a really enjoyable compilation.
"Love is a way of life"
(Gaia, Love, Nature, Shamanism (.2A.y.0a.hu.1a.sc.2a.), Terence McKenna) |
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