Androcell – Entheomythic

I think Androcell has a particular talent for creating music that is both spacey and immersing. I find there to be enough variety in the songs, with enough unity, to satisfy many listens. Particularly because you can dive as deep as you want into the music and still always find something mysterious. Mature artists tell stories through sonic soundscapes; and this is cross-genre too, I'm talking about pure talent that animates all kinds of talent. This album is definitely a 10/10.

Entheomythic provides the same psy-dub experience any Androcell fan has to come to expect: mellow, dubby music flavored with his usual dose of rhythm and psychedelica. Tyler did not try to invent the wheel here, but create one more (and apparently last) such album before moving on to other endeavors. This album does set a new benchmark.

Most notably, Smith is in his best behind the knobs: the sound is so lush and organic u can almost touch the air as it resonates with it (Desert Nomad). Nothing screeches out of place, from high to low its crispy sharp and clean. A multitude of layers engulf u from every direction, creating a very immersive stimulating experience. Tyler took the time to bind all the tracks with a continuous mix, something which should really become a standard in chillout releases.

With Distant System and Vital Signs, Tyler has shown a more mature, big-picture-painting ability. Story-telling, if u will. While not as distinct as those of the above, Entheomythic builds-ups towards the third quarter of the album, pushing-up the BPM and increasing the complexity of the music. This atmospheric turn pulls the album away from the roll-us-another comfort zone and drives it through a bit of a turmoil. Personally, I didn't enjoy this part of the album.

Entheomythic may not be Androcell's best work or his most memorable one. It feels over-laiden at times, while his single tracks, such as Seahorse Dreams or Purple aura (pisces mix), just to name a few, seem to achieve more with less. In any case, it's hard not to appreciate the effort put into it and the amazing quality of sound. At least a couple of the tracks can be ur new favorites.

I really like this album, contrary to the former Spiral Empire by Distant System project.

The sound is full, lush, organic, thick, phat, heavy, sneaky, sometimes funky and always very dubby. It's hell of a nutritious ear candy. I'd say it's music from a smoker to smokers :)

What immediately arrests my attention... is the fact, that this space is... uhm, I mean, that this music is very similar to Shpongle. So far I've counted two samples that Shpongle used. One's from Star Shpongled Banner and one from Divine moments of truth.
It all sounds like Slackbaba and Shpongle collaborating.

If you think if there are any great hits like Fungus Garden, Gnome Dosed or Process of Unfolding, then I may disappoint you. Nothing as distinct as that. But the quality of tracks seems to be evened out, they're also similar to each other. They shouldn't disturb you by sudden change of style or quality from whatever you're doing. Tracks 5, 6, 7 are a bit weaker or simplier IMO, but the quality goes up again soon in slower tempo.

The album cover is not bad. A young, hot naked sorceress would earn more drool drops from salivating men, but would also get lost in myriads of such album covers. (like Entheogenic's Dialogue of the Speakers) An old saggy sorceress is more serious and less cheesy.

No, I don't feel disappointed. I'd prefer this year's Androcell to this year's new Tripswitch, Kick Bong or Prometheus.

And despite of all, the track (8) Full Sail IS outstanding.

Best Androcell release to date! This is a masterpiece!
Tyler Smith For the win !

That's right. Androcell is back after the last few years of working with Distant System. There are many reasons why this is the best Androcell album yet. The first Androcell album never quite got to me, but Efflorescence impressed me with its super-organic sound and deep, dubby, funky beats. Androcell's 3rd - Entheomythic goes right back into that 'sound', but it's dirtyer, deeper and way more polished. You hear very familiar sounds, but it's just taken ten steps further. I'm very happy with artists that are comfortable with their own sound and are willing to go back and push it in new directions.

An album is always good when you play it, go do something else, and then stop whatever you're doing to somehow check to see if you're hearing what you're hearing. That happened 5 times with this album, tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9. I feel that 'dub' is the best way to label this album, although the tempos vary greatly, making it very dynamic and versatile. Contender for downtempo album of the year.