Twisted Records recently released the latest chapter ( Eclipse 2012 - Following the Eye of God ) of the Eclipse compilation series of psychedelic electronica so I thought to celebrate this momentous event I would put together a mix that includes tracks from the series. The first Eclipse compilation "A Journey Of Permanence & Impermanence" was released way back in 1998 ( 12 years ago already ...sheeesh ! ). It was a ground breaking release as far as psychedelic ambient dub and chillout goes and was met with much critical acclaim. Simon Posford featured heavily on the album as part of Shpongle and a number of other side projects. You can hear a number of the tracks in the Simon Posford mix I did for PsyAmb 18 a few years back which has been one of the most downloaded mixes here at the PsyAmb site.
The Eclipse series is the brainchild of Australian Danielle Buntman whose concept was to create a compilation series that could celebrate the full lunar eclipse moments around the globe as a memory of the events and sounds that we experience and share in. There are four compilations so far which include
- Eclipse - A Journey Of Permanence & Impermanence - 1998
- Caribbean Eclipse - 1999
- Cornwall Eclipse - Shepherds Warning - 2001
- Eclipse 2012 - Following the Eye of God - 2012
A number of artists feature across several releases such as 100th Monkey, Woob and Atmos so it's nice to see that many musicians continue to support the series with each release. It's also interesting to listen to all the four records together and get a snap-shot of just how much psychedelic ambient sound has changed in the past 12 years. The latest album includes some rather heavy bass which I guess comes from the influence of genres like dubstep and breaks.
Another feature of the new album is that it is the first double CD on the series with the first CD containing more dance music in the form of progressive trance from acts like Flowjob, System 7 and Freq. The second CD contains the majority of the psychill and there are some real amazing tracks to be enjoyed there. I was especially pleased to hear the track from GUS ( Gus Till ) as it might hint at something we can expect from his new album which is to be release on Twisted Records some time soon. On Gus Till website it mentions that his new album is "...a fine collection of tribal down-tempo with hefty doses of his own brand of psychedelia". Yeah !! That sounds awesome !!
Another one that impressed me was trance DJ and producer James Munro with his track "Swoon". Wow ! What a tune. I never realised Mr Munro could make such superb slower tracks. He did team up with Dick Trever on one of the earlier Eclipse albums as the duo Bumbling Loons and had a really first-class track ( Luna Solaire ) but I think this might be the first time I've heard him solo doing a chilled tune. I would be cool if he could do a full album in that style.
For those of you not interested in the progressive trance stuff you can always download separate tracks from the second CD via Beatport, iTunes and the like. I actually opted for both CDs as the first CD isn't too full on and all the track are really, really marvelous. It's good to see they didn't create a standard psytrance-psychill double CD as that would have been a bit cheesy I think.
One of the best albums of the year for sure.
Track / Artist
- 01. Spirals - Nomads of Dub
- 02. Nakano Ghost - Total Eclipse
- 03. Purple Pygmies - Walter Ego
- 04. Shadow Hunters - Pan Electric
- 05. Fly - Western Rebel Alliance
- 06. Eclipse Dub - 100th Monkey
- 07. Giant Stroke - Woob
- 08. Moonchild - 100th Monkey & Angele
- 09. 3 Orange Lights - Atmos
- 10. Moment Of Eclipse - Gus
- 11. Seeing Things - Desert Dwellers
- 12. Crystalline (Younger Brother RMX) - Younger Brother
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