Various ‎– Butterfly Dawn

This is the tenth album from Liquid Sound Design and the third with Humphrey at the helm after Mana Medicine and Elucidations. So? do I even need to review it? Well, I will suppose that some of you haven?t had the fortune to hear any other LSD releases and so I'll just go ahead and tell you how much I love this
album.

To my ears this is the best of Humph?s compilations to date. It carries the ethnic flavours and warmth of Mana Medicine with more of the creative beat structures and psychedelic moments heard on Elucidations. Still, there's no point comparing only to these forerunners as this album has a musical pedigree that will make it stand its own against any chillout disc out there. If Shpongle and Ott?s Hallucinogen in Dub captured the essence of a gloopy, dripping Otherworld of magic plants and psychedelic visions, Butterfly Dawn takes us to a place much more firmly rooted in our own planet Earth. It is the natural extension of the tribal and ethnic into the electronic.

One key theme is reserve - none of the tracks let fly too early and they all give the impression of having deep maturity. There are hooks and melodies to be found but they aren't flirting with your head from the outset. When they do reveal themselves they carry so much more passion for having withheld themselves. Of course the production is of excellent quality too, as you would
expect from LSD.

The album begins in a very laid back manner with a gently progressing track from Nada - Humphrey Bacchus and Russell (Abacus) Davies. Soft, Indian samplesset the mind at rest as the crisp beats keep the pace.

Then we have Biddu Orchestra?s offering 'Gayatri Mantra' - majestic and continuing the Indian theme. From a man who has sold 36 Million records and had 7 number one hits worldwide, this is very down to Earth and a beautiful piece of music in any context... not even a Kung Fu Fighter in sight!

Then comes one of the highlights on this album for me ? the stunning Raja Mati from Nada. With a child's voice singing a Nepali folk song and the Himalayan instruments to back it up, all passed through the Abacus sonic effects that were the signature of Return to Rama on Elucidations, we have here something
special. Breathe in that mountain air!

I like a bit of Loop Guru from time to time, though I knew that it wasn't Humph's favourite sound. So when I saw that he and Youth had got to work on Climax, I was a little surprised. However, if you didn?t know Loop Guru well, you probably wouldn't have realised this had anything to do with them! Much
more in the vein of East of the River Ganges or Dub Trees with all the Youth signature noises and beats - puts a fat smile on the face.

If you heard Shamanic Tea on Mana Medicine, or the Circuit Breaker album, you will know that Tripswitch has a bag of tricks that can make your head spin. Exiled is an absolutely superb
tune and if, like me, you are a sucker for a catchy hook then the final part of this track will give you the shivers. It's a properly psychedelic tune with plenty of far Eastern and aboriginal flavours. It sneaks along on a very deep bass line and every sound seems well placed, gradually growing to the splendid finale and leaving you wanting more. Epic.

Nada's third tune is also astounding - the most trance-orientated tune on the compilation, leering with Leary and riding on an extremely clever beat structure. Somehow I think the production at the beginning of this track slips a little ( probably due to some of the samples ) but it soon picks up. The vocal samples - Leary and chants - create a very rich atmosphere of something
very beautiful happening all around.

I can't tell you much about J.Viewz, except that he/she/it produces a smooth and warm tune that does indeed get me Into the Mood. Balearic in flavour and sweetly melodic, I can see this getting a lot of playtime on beaches around the world.

Adam Shaikh can always be relied on to deliver the goods - his tune as Drift, 'Arc en Ciel' is one of my favourite chillout tracks as are his outings as Ekko. This tune takes some time to take off, but when it does it will have your hips wriggling in your hammock. Effortless rhythms and melodies deliver big morning smiles all way to the end from this one.

Benji Vaughan needs no introduction as Prometheus, and unsurprisingly this is a deep and trippy number. Some Ninja-Tune styled beats and samples thrown into a ripped and twisted framework make it distinctive on this compilation. It
builds again to a Sweet Toothed vocal climax, but still in keeping with the reserved and withheld feel of the album. I can't say I've heard anything quite like it, but it works for me!

After all these strong tunes, it takes big feet to fill the shoes of ending this compilation. Tripswitch is the man with just those oversized feet. This tune is definitely more about atmosphere and texture than about going to a particular destination, but it is the perfect ending to the best chillout compilation I have come across in ages.

I am sure that most of you will have just skipped over all that bomble-drivel to the punchline - which is: favourite tracks 3,5 and 6 (for today?) no bad tracks, no filler and an ultimately magnificent chillout voyage. I know how much work and emotional energy went into bringing this to release, but it still seems like it just arrived effortlessly to my ears. A well deserved 9/10.

bomble

i love the LSD...label very very good stuff...its as pure as some of Owsleys finest...Buttefly is aptly named it metabolizes the metamorphisis process without a flaw... creepy slow crawling catepillar into soft aural slow-churned butteryfly...i like this cd on sunday mornings with a java'd bev and sativa'd smoke...if you like stuff like sounds from the ground and solar stone you will enjoy this flight as well

Liquid Sound Design (LSD) releases is for me always interesting. Compiled by Humph, he has again selected another list of impressive chilled journeys. I also like the little drawings on the cover art done by Youth. Another great chill out compilation here. A nice choice for your chill out in the sun, in the park or wherever you want to relax. Most tracks have an ethnic touch, without becoming "too much".

I remember the first time I heard this, I was just dazzled how good this is, but now that I've lately after starting to listen to a lot of what I've considerd classics and favourites, this just sounds a bit stale. There are of course some really great tracks, but most of them just don't do it for me anymore. But then again I use to listen to this album pretty much in the morning after staying up all night and to that this album is a really fit, kinda like the title suggests.
The first two Nada tracks (1 & 3) are still in my favourite chillout tracks.