Various – Astralasia And Friends - The Darkest Voyage

I finally got my hands on this massive collection of music, as well as the 2xLP "sampler," and first of all thanks Keith for the awesome support especially across the Atlantic. As a longtime Astralasia junkie, I really wanted to have this in the collection, and was equally intrigued by how all these different artists would interpret Marc Swordfish's pandemic-isolated-synth-musings. And I have to say, I am quite impressed by how wildly different all these tracks sound, though all fit nicely within the larger realms of psychedelic and ambient music. From harps to harmonicas, slide guitars to synthesizers, full rock arrangements to minimalistic ambient, The Darkest Voyage covers the entire gamut. Swordfish had a hand in all of these tracks, so while they may not sound like Astralasia per se, they all have something from him in them. Very cool concept.

There is truly too much music here to go over in a review (a review that people would actually want to read!), but I want to highlight a few tracks in particular: On CD1, Scott William Urquhart's "12 String Escapade," a haunting, beautiful acoustic piece, and Astralasia's title track, which is nearly 40 minutes long, making it easily the longest track they've ever released. I think it's their most daring work to date, layering harp and acoustic guitar flourishes over dark drones and guitar reverb, for a wild trip through calm and chaos. CDs 3 & 4 are my favorite out of the set though, with Kris Gietkowski's "120 Fahrenheit" being a standout for its more traditional, catchy arrangement. I must not be alone in liking these tracks, as I later learned that both 12 String Escapade and 120 Fahrenheit made it on to the 2xLP release - good decision there guys!

Now that I've finally heard all 6 discs in their entirety and had a chance to reflect, I have to say this is a rather difficult undertaking for the listener, both for the sheer amount of music to digest, and for the darker subject matter and subsequent soundscapes. But there are gems on each disc, and it's absolutely worth the investment of time and energy to make your way through this dark voyage with Swordfish and friends.