Ghosts Of The Earth - Gus Till - Review

Artist : Gus Till
Title : Ghosts Of The Earth
Label : Interchill Records
Release : Sep 30 2014
Genre : Downtempo, Psychedelic, Ethnic, Jazz, Trance
Rating :

There are those artists for whom I will gladly hand over money without listening to a single preview online. Pre-ordering is like a satisfying injection of good-will and amplified anticipation. Carbon Based Lifeforms, ISHQ and OTT to name a few. Australian artist Gus Till is another. 

Gus recently released his latest full length album titled "Ghosts Of The Earth" which has found a welcome home in one of my favorite labels - Interchill Records. The Interchill team were gobsmacked when they got their first opportunity to taste it and I think you, happy listeners,  will be too.

 

Till has traveled the world time and again delivering a feverish blend of trance, dub and downtempo world music in a producer/dj career that has spanned some 20 plus years. From his early years in Australian bands that flirted with chart success through to his work in legendary trance duos Slinky Wizard and Zen Lemonade, he has now arrived at perhaps his finest musical offering thus far. This is a exceptional album from an artist at the top of his game that will capture your imagination from the moment it begins. 

While the music media are busy squabbling over the latest Aphex Twin it's albums like Ghosts were the true joys of electronic music are to be found in 2014. Jazz, Tribal rhythms, lounges grooves and psychedelic progressive ideas bubble over in a musical adventure like none other.

The album is also defined by the inclusion of processed world vocals and computer speech which does get a little repetitive on the track "Segue: Backwards Into The Future" but it's a rather short tune anyway so it doesn't distract too much from the main event.

Refusing to take shelter under any one genre has given Till freedom to move and find more expression than on any previous work. He thankfully avoids falling victim to current trends in saturated basslines and  instead explores his own path of refreshing electronic psychedelia.

Each song contains songs within songs that carry so many ideas one almost needs a further set of ears to keep up. It's mesmerizing stuff that gets better with each listen. 

British prog rock and trance legend Steve Hillage ( Gong/System7 ) lends a healthy dose of his trippy guitar riffs which work beautifully well. There is also room for collaborations with  Saxophonist Chika Asamoto and Australian percussionist/trance innovator  Rip Van Hippy ( Remember his "When Bernie Was A Tree" album ? What a frantic adventure that was ! ). Working with long time friends allows the players to capitalize on their strengths, invoking a landscape of surreal dreams. 

The album offers a rare and welcome amount of diversity and maturity for a release you will find on all the usual psychedelic ambient web stores. Till should feel justifiably proud of this album and the stellar musicianship displayed throughout. Precisely mixed and textually varied, it echoes the aspirations of a musician who appears to have found a level of technicality that has been long searched for. Hopefully it will gather many new listeners around his campfire. One of the best albums you will hear this year.