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Blue Planet Corporation - A Blueprint For Survival - 20-Nov-09 07:00 AM
Not sure about this one. I took delivery of it last night and had a quick listen. I love Blue Planet as much as any other electronic cd I own, but this is just a double cd of outdated, uptempo goa / slightly harder (as Denis09 said). The songs are all (apart from Crystal, which imho is by far the best song on here) obviously from an earlier, less sophisticated period than Blue Planet and so this is a disappointment for me. If I actually had them in 1993/1994 it would be amazing - I remember the first time I heard Overbloody Flood on a dance floor at a Flying Rhino party, and still enjoy the memory, but now the song just feels outdated... too fast and too simple.

If you still think Live Fast, Die Young by X-Dream is awesome (from the same period), youll like this. But I dont think this material has aged as well as, say, Union Jacks album (which hasnt aged perfectly anyway). I guess though its nice to finally be able to pay money for another Blue Planet Corporation release. 3/5

Aloof Proof - Expo One - Limited Exposition 1994 - 31-May-04 09:22 AM
I would love to have heard this when it came out, but reviewing it nearly 10 years later after finding it on ebay, this sounds like another classic ambient cd from the mid nineties.

Starting off with a very gentle and warm analogue sound that becomes mournful by the time the horn notes arrive, The Search is a great 12min starting point, with only a few scary sounds that dont really point to The Virus with its screeching industrial sounds over washing synths. If you can resist the temptation to press the next button, it manages to sink into the background too, and although it will make you jump out of bed if you were asleep and you cant have a conversation to it, it certainly has its place. Imagine taking the more unlistenable parts of Irritant by X-Dream and removing the pounding techno beats and youll understand. It grows on you :)

by the time you get into songs 3 and 4 which are more mellow and soundtrack-ish you realise this is a very good album indeed. I wouldnt call it dark ambient but it is certainly sad and yearning - say like Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid but with more artificial, warm sounds.

In any case, its beautiful, and its a tragedy that this is now so hard to find...

Locust - Weathered Well - 26-Mar-03 06:27 AM
Excellent experiment into ambient with frequent beats. The production is terrific, the songwriting is mostly inspired, and lulled but menacing atmosphere of this cd is very strong.

The hypnotic nature of the slower songs is so powerful that even when the cd gets more frenetic, you dont mind or notice much. This cultured sound is brilliant for anyone who wants to explore into mid-90s ambient that isnt as sluggish as, say, Biosphere (who I also recommend), but still isnt meant for the dancefloor. 5/5

UnionJack* - There Will Be No Armageddon - 26-Mar-03 06:18 AM
There are a couple of songs here that have not dated well at all, but the majority are astounding reminders of how much we all enjoyed the mid-90s ambient techno scene. There is a lot of depth to this release, the techno is anything but mindless, the sub-bass and 3D effects will have you running to save your speakers.

Its almost a poignant sound, gentle and textured which makes it a rare treasure indeed among its contemporaries. Its a dreadful shame the original version of the all-time classic Two Full Moons and a Trout isnt included, but Water Drums, Lollipop Man, There will be no armageddon and Toucan make up for the loss. 5/5 for the beautiful sound and historical significance.

Blue Planet Corporation - Blue Planet - 26-Mar-03 06:10 AM
Some of this is genius, most obviously Alidade, and some of it is filler material, but generally a very safe morning trance cd to buy, its very stylish music, and very likeable. A shame some of his early stuff like Over Bloody Flood didnt get onto the cd, but perhaps it wouldnt have fitted in so well with this semi-relaxed, semi-goa collection. I like it. 4/5

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