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Amorphous Androgynous - The Isness - 16-Feb-05 07:12 AM
It amuses me how consistently, and with startling similarity history repeats itself. When Miles Davis released 'Bitches Brew' in 1970, people dismissed it as incoherent noise; a complete sell-out to commercialism and the youth market. Today, however it is widely regarded as one of the most influential, inventive and important recordings in jazz history.

When avid fans of any artist encounter a radical change in their musical output, it's bound to be a confronting experience. The unfortunate thing is that many brilliant works of art are overlooked in the process, simply due to expectations; when fans become so enamoured with an artist's work, there is a certain restrictive element to the relationship. Any change in musical direction will often meet with disapproval, as if striving to develop and evolve artistically is somehow a betrayal.

The Isness is indeed a bold departure from the densely electronic, layered and looped sounds of albums gone before. Whilst there are still spacious, cinematic and surreal aspects to the proceedings, there are also much broader influences, ranging from Indian classical music, to Pink Floyd and The Beatles. The fusion of genres and instruments, not to mention the overtones of love, peace and happiness are steeped firmly in the '70's. However, to categorize this as a psychedelic rock album would be simplifying things.

Ironically, a lot of the elements of the post 'Dead Cities' FSOL are as present as ever here. Even with the addition of vocals, the album still flows with a certain cerebral, otherworldly atmosphere. The key difference is, instead of the instrumentation consisting entirely of samples and electronics, the majority of the album is either acoustic or electric. On the track Divinity, for example, there is trumpet, sitar, acoustic and electric guitars, tabla, violin, cello... In total, 15 musicians, plus a choir.

Ultimately, The Isness is a phenomenal achievement, and I find it unfortunate that it was received with mixed feelings. I can only hope that in 30 years time, people begin to rediscover and appreciate this album; devoid of preconceptions and expectations. It truly is a timeless, beautiful, and beguiling work of art.

Solar Stone* - Seven Cities - 10-Nov-03 03:40 AM
This is by far one of the more enduring releases on the Hooj imprint, with a brilliant selection of remixes to boot. Even though I've moved away from the commercial trance sound recently (as did Hooj), I can still listen to Solar Stone's Atlantis mix and appreciate its beauty and merrit, and instantly understand why so many have fallen in love with it.

Similarly, the Streetlife Originals' Solaris Heights mix is beautiful and beguilling in it's own way, taking the piece somewhere totally different, yet keeping its essence.

I must agree that the Armin Van Buuren remix was arguably an insult to the original piece; tired and predictable; taking only the essential elements, yet leaving out what made it work so well in the first place. There are a plethora of remixes floating around at the moment, many released by Hooj in a last ditch effort to raise some revenue, but everything that was ever needed is right here on this CD.

An all time classic.

Hooj Choons - 20-Sep-03 12:51 AM
It appears that Hooj is no more - after ongoing finaincial difficulties, the label has finally closed down. Hooj.com will continue to trade, and all back-catalogue releases currently available will remain so for the time being.

Hooj has done more for the dance / electronic music industry than any other label, DJ or artist. They will be sorely missed.

E'voke - Runaway - 23-Aug-03 11:33 PM
A seminal release from the short-lived combination of Barry Leng and Duncan Hannant. As with the other E'voke success story 'Arms Of Loren', their original mixes are uninspired and commercial. The mix that pulls this out of the 50c bin at your local pawn proker is brought to us by Biff and Memphis (Richard Stannard and Matthew Rowe).

Taking the core melody from Klatsch's 'God Save The Queer', the duo take us on a near 10 minute journey through ambience, breaks and progressive beats, haunting vocals and some of the finest melodic progressions you'll ever hear on a commercial release. With all the money-making cover versions going around at the moment, it's easy to forget that it is possible to use someone else's idea to good effect, with integrity and artistic merrit.

An all time classic.

Sasha & Maria* - Be As One - 17-Aug-03 06:18 AM
Yet another brilliant Sasha venture, this time featuring Maria Nayler on vocal duties. Whilst she doesn't have an incredibly broad range, and has been brought down on occasion by the musical elements of her pieces (Robert Miles - 'One And One'), I feel that she compliments Sasha's lush score here to perfection. True to form, Sasha paces the peaks of the track nicely, and allows it to evolve and develop. 13:20 is modest for the amount of inspiration here.

The only downside to the CD release is that 'Heart Of Imagination' (also known as BT Qat) has been edited from the original 11 minute version. As per Sasha and BT's other collaborations, the B side stands up to, and almost runs the risk of outdoing the A. Excellent progressive release all round.

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