em:t records has created a name for itself by releasing a steady flow of quirky, interesting ambient/downtempo disks. They’ve managed to maintain a high level of quality with their releases, by taking interesting music and packaging it with great photography and design.

em:t’s recent gaudi:test 1105 Continuum is no exception. The cd brings together Gaudi’s electronic soundscapes and grooves with the organic sounds of Antonio Testa.

The music ranges from drone-based, pure abstract pieces like Prologue-Helictite Labrynth to the ambient space grooves of tracks like Dub Hypnosis. A reference point for comparison would be the organic electronica of Robert Rich.

Highlights of gaudi:test 1105 Continuum include Night Watch, which alternates between murky ambient sections and dub grooves; Micro-Evolution, which features sequenced synth bass underlying all sorts of madness, and is the most propulsive track on the CD; and Bass Instinct, which layers sampled effects over a hypnotic middle-eastern beat.

gaudi:test 1105 Continuum is an interesting collection of ambient and downtempo music, and continues em:t’s streak of great releases.

Tracks:

• Prologue – Helictite Labyrinth
• Deimos’ Prophecy
• Night Watch
• Dawn Cliffs: Il Risveglio Delle Pietre
• Micro-Evolution
• Interlude
• Dub Hypnosis
• Bass Instinct
• Space-Mind Continuum
• No Escape
• Epilogue – After the plunge