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
