Something doesn't work here. Naming this kind of release "Dream Wide Awake" is by far unsuitable. First track has nice and sweet melancholic feel, but the rest is so pathetic and without a life, that i gave up listening after just 5-6 tracks. Really, don't waste your time & money on this unless you're melancholic enough to give a shit about whether your life will continue for a day more or it maybe won't. Dreaming awake is very serious and tough issue, and i can hardly link any person who make this kind of music to this ability. Conscious dreaming requires an enormous amount of energy and purpose, this music simply lacks.

I couldn’t be happier when I first heard about this album, the promo text by Aleph-Zero is a 110% true. Bluetech, Shulman and now Omnimotion, innovation seems to be Aleph-Zero’s motto. “Stefan Lundaahl” from Sweden with his second solo release “Dream Wide Awake” has chosen a varied and very acoustical path to our senses, Smelting elements from various styles we are presented with a mixed bag of downtempo goodies. Fasten your seatbelts and let’s jet set into 5th gear.

“Nothingness”, quite a paradoxical title for a track whose tranquil nature takes me away to an early morning sunrise along marine drive, adding to the wonder is the gritty flute sounds, it’s all just so perfect to set the groove for your day. “look at the skies, look at these trees, its so beautiful” The next track “Being” with its playful symphonic sounds and soothing vocal bits along with the emotional violin instantly put a big smile on my face. “Days Of silence” deserves much more then a standing applause, mellow guitar and violins layered over triphop beats with the deep and hypnotic voice of Aleah from the Binah fame to guide our senses, a formula that cannot go wrong,

Track 4 indicates its time to board the dub train, ensure you have window seats to enjoy the scenery along the way. “Dream Wide Awake” is the only track from the album I didn’t quite enjoy; I guess it’s the gloomy vocals that play foul for me. “Une Autre Vie” and “Elves of Athoria” combine Rastafarian elements with summer Corsica vibes in the most elegant way possible, two really great laidback dub tracks. The same would go for “Dubber” which has a much deeper and pure Rasta feel with abstract beats and flute sounds.

“Cozy Life” and “Japan” are tracks that I simply cant get enough of. Even though the vocals have a very pop feel, the tracks are standing example on how chillout artists can incorporate vocals without making them sound cheesy, the spacey guitar work on both tracks are astounding. A special mention would be the bass on Cosy Life, it’s a groove that get listeners hooked instantly. Stefan surprises me once again with “Purple Sky” featuring Hip Hop MC “Adam Perski “ and turntablism yet maintaining the chillout feel, if your complaining about the rap bit go hear the lyrics carefully, at least they compliment the music and make some sense as compared to random gangsta bling bling.

Nearing the end we have “Electronic Love” that forays into glitchy and IDM sounds with random opera style singing bits that sound great, another display of creativity that’s not bound by any genre restrictions. “Open My Heart” takes us back on the dub train, but I wonder why it wasn’t placed along with the other dubby tracks. “Ton Image” closes the album on a very acoustic note with blissful vocals in some language that sounds like French or Italian to me. I actually went to check if there’s something wrong with my CD player when this track got over. I couldn’t believe the journey ended so fast, 72 minutes over in a jiffy!!! Wow!

Well, good things always come to an end but what remains is the feeling. It’s obvious that Stefan has worked really hard on his second album, the production is really top notch and the mastering by Yaniv Shulman just adds to the sonic magic. The album is perfect for any downbeat electronic music enthusiast and I am sure this will make waves even outside the psychillout circles. As opposed to mass opinion I say leave the headphones behind and put this on a big sound system *winks*.

On a final note when it comes to Aleph-Zero one cannot miss to mention the artwork. The beautiful pastel and organic colours on the album cover are so soothing and beautiful. This release is a concept one has to grasp, the music, the artwork, the album and track title all combine to form a cohesive bond. Stop reading and get that credit card out.