Various - Quality Relaxation

Overall.. takes a turn, it makes sense. I’m really glad it isn’t the ,,normal” start slow, finish strong sets. This is more of an adventure as it is a quality relaxation. The compilation itself is also perfect for DJ’s and people who likes to have an album filled with remarkable chilled tracks. I would like to check out one of I’ve had this release for one month before I wrote this review just to be really sure about my feelings towards it. And I must say that it was a vice decision. At first listen I couldn’t really see anything special about it except good line-up and a lot of unreleased tracks. But after experiencing it in multiple levels of mood and fantasy, I feel now that this is a release that I can give all of my recommendations on. All the tracks are beautiful and relaxing, there are no bad tracks on it at all. One might feel that the order of the tracks are wrong, but once you listen to it well and try to feel the emotion changes happening each time PKSPKS’s chill sets with mixing and such because I know his taste and choices will secure me a pleasant trip. Also a very nice detail about the release is the booklet with a picture of an ice glacier. PKS has done the booklet in a very personal and nice way adding his own comments to each track and the cover art is simple yet beautiful since it reflex this release in a sensible way. This is not just a great compilation, it’s a quality compilation. I’m not a nationalistic person, but right now, I’m very proud to be Norwegian. Recommended!

Total Score: 7.82 / 10

First releasation from Chill Tribe - a fantastic start for a label. You just have to take a look on its back cover, and you can tell seeing the tracklist that it will be a very good compilation. What's more, all of the tracks are previously unreleased, which is a very good point for me!
First, the succeeded French duo, Entheogenic opens the compilation in a very gentle and mellow way.
With Elysium we turn into an ethnic feeling. Mysterious and dark overture, then, a great vocal in it. Nice.
We get the Ultimae-style ambient with the third track in Carbon Based Lifeforms' remix. Shulman, founder of Aleph Zero Records, is no stranger for an ambient-fan, neither CBL. With this two names you won't be surprised.
After that, a new genre again. It is none else than Ishq, basic person in ambient music. En Soph, in my opinion, is the greatest track in Quality Relaxation. Starts with nature voices, birds' songs, and after a several minutes, it starts to float and to fly, who knows where... Very beautiful work.
Jaïa continues with a storming and trancey track, what maybe I found a bit weaker, but wouldn't call it bad.
Cell comes after him. I don't really think I have to tell any words about Alexandre Scheffer. A cool psychedelic track with some pulsating trance beats.
PhasePhour isn't a very basic name in ambient scene, but has a pretty good album from 2004, and also provides good job now.
Dub Connection by Elysium and Space Cat is an average part of the disc: there's nothing wrong with it, but isn't very special either.
Altitudes is a collaboration of Blue Planet Corporation and Jaïa. With this two names it's obvious you won't hear any bad songs.
Blue Planet Corporation closes the disc with light trip-hop.

I'm sure I haven't met such a colorful album like this one. Quality Relaxation gives you a very wide range of ambient music in order to proof that how variated this style is. In a way, it is a big good point to a CD.
But in other way, maybe you won't enjoy it. If you like compilations on which tracks are harmonisated with each other, then this is not the best choice. All of the tracks are great - but some could miss the connection between them.

All in all, I think this a very good compilation with good jobs and amazing artwork.

From our beautiful country neighbour Norway comes the debut release from Chill Tribe Records, a label dedicated to chillout music and who's run by the diligent reviewer, DJ and promoter Per Kristian Slagsvold (a.k.a. PKS). The debut release comes with a 8 page booklet who carries an outstanding design directed by Marmelade, and all this together with ten musical deliveries from well-established wide geographical spreaded artists. Worth to mention is the swedish representation on track three, where Daniel and Johannes from the Gothenburg-based project Carbon Based Lifeforms remixes one of the best tracks in my opinion from the second album by Shulman, In Search Of A Meaningful Moment (Aleph Zero, 2003).

It's easy to observe and to conclude that PKS has ears to sense quality, and this is an incredibly impressive debut release from this norwegian label who has Oslo has its homebase. The music is not just only first class, it's all being delivered together with the previously mentioned eight-paged booklet - now that is something I really find as a huge positive detail who just have to be mentioned! If there's anything who deserves a soft-booty comment, it might be the development of the tracklist on the CD, but despite that the total journey might turn out a bit clumsy here and there the music is always of top notch quality.

Thumbs up for PKS' work and for Chill Tribe Records first vibration on the record market! I'm already looking forward for the forthcoming releases!

Luxurious chill…

Chill Tribe Records is a newly established label based in Oslo, Norway. It’s the brainchild of the well-known trance/chill reviewer, music-collector and party-organiser PKS (Per Kristian Slagsvold). A guy that does everything to the fullest: He’s got one of the most extensive collections of trance/chill music I’ve ever seen in my life – he’s one a walking, talking review-machine – and he organises parties with bigger and bigger names in Norway… A productive guy for sure! And daaaaaaaamn – what a track list he’s flashing on this debut release! I mean - it’s one living legend after another… From trance pioneers to chillage royalty – does it get much better? I think not, and I’ve been excited about this ever since the tracklist was announced…

This is without a doubt one of the most impressive track-lists I’ve seen on a label’s debut release… You can really tell that PKS’ many years of musical digging has paid off – he knew exactly where to look and he’s managed to put together one hell of an impressive chill-out compilation… The big names did what they were hired to do – delivered outstanding chill tunes… This quality level here is close to perfection – there isn’t a single bad or mediocre track here, and despite the order of tracks I wouldn’t want this any other way…

Another big fat plus in my cool-book is the very cool cover art + the extensive booklet that holds information on all tracks… That’s the way to do it Chill Tribe! This is already a benchmark compilation and this disc has found its well-deserved place on my CD shelf right besides my Ultimae, Interchill and Aleph Zero CDs… Any fan of soothing, relaxing ambient, chill and downbeat must check this out… Really! I will not hesitate to give this my highest recommendations… Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 3(!), 5(!!), 6(!), 7, 8(!), 9, 10