Shulman - Random Thoughts

PKS, Mar 05, 2006

One of my absolute favourite artists, Israeli Shulman (Yaniv Shulman & Omri Harpaz), is out with their third album on Aleph Zero Records. Something I have really been looking forward to! This duo has shown better and better skills when it comes to the psychedelic side of chill out, ambient and downtempo music. This time we get some kind of compilation, where they have collected various tracks they have released on compilations, remixes and a few new unreleased tracks. With other words, the album title Random Thoughts fits it perfectly well.

Variation is something we get a lot of in this album. It starts off with my favourite track on this album. A deep, floating psychedelic ambient track with beautiful ethnic vocals. One of my all time favourite Shulman tracks for sure. This one is also previously unreleased. Track 2 is a nice collboration with Bluetech who has released his albums on Aleph Zero. Nice track, with typical Bluetech elements and deep Shulman ingredients. Track 3 is another unreleased track by Shulman. Slow, easy listening, with some ballearic vibes perfect for summer relaxation. Track 4 is originally a trance track done by Sub6, with vocals by Michele Adamson. Here in a Shulman remix. This track was also released on a Sub6 cd single. I didn’t really like the original, but Shulman brings it up to a high level of psychedelic chill. Still, there are some ingredients from the original that I could live without here. Track 5 is originally by another master duo in psychedelic electronic music, Entheogenic. Here we get a Shulman remix, also released on the remix album released on Chillcode Records last year. Deep, mystic, psychedelic and relaxing track. Fantastic!

Track 6 is a Shulman remix of a classic by two masters at arabic world music and jazz, Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Steve Shehan. This track is also released on the Natural Born Chillers compilation on Aleph Zero in 2004. Nice tribal vibes mixed with electronic music. Track 7 is a nice little surprise. Here they have tried out the jazzy side of lounge chill out. This one reminds me of Flexitones and Hi fi companions. I get some kind of 60-70’s jazz feeling by it. Interesting mix of jazz and electronic music. Perfect for an eclectic dj set. Track 8 is another favourite on this album. Totally floating track with really beautiful female vocals. A track that shows that Shulman can work really well with singers too. The last track we get here brings us into totally chilled ambient. Deep, mystic and floating vibes, which reminds me a little bit of Ishq. Nice finish on the album.

Personally, I have got several of these tracks on other compilations etc, but we also get several new unreleased masterpieces here. Pure, high quality chill from beginning to end. An album of random thoughts, showing several sides of chilled electronic music, ranging from deep psychedelic sounds to happy, jazzy vibes for your coffee break. Recommended!

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