Carbon Based Lifeforms – Interloper

Stand out track: "M". Lovely synths with a dreamy voice.

The coloured vinyls are very limited and look amazing but mixing with the splattered would give me a headache - not sure how many black vinyl copies are in worldwide circulation - Heard there are some colour problems with the coloured vinyl. If anyone owns both black and coloured I'd be interested to know the difference in audio if there is any - But from personal experience with playing hundreds of coloured vinyls as someone I remember used to say - always bet on black :)

Note .... all my three vinyl albums on Blood Music are poor vinyl quality pops surface noise and clicks. So please be aware before purchase am sending mine back

This album is pure magic psybient sound!!! All the tunes are truly magical, but for me the most amazing is supersede, this tune is just perfect.

Whoever says this album has no depth need to turn their hearing aids up before they listen to music. The depth of this album is immense. Simply because they scrapped another album in 2009 doesn't mean they rushed this one, or that they didn't just expound on the better ideas found in 2009. So one should be careful with allegations when the truth isn't understood. They obviously take this seriously if they tossed a whole album of work to expand on more impressive ideas. Well done CBL. Another beautiful outing.

Sheer brilliance.

I particularly like Supersede, Central Plain, and the final three tracks, M, 20 Minutes, and Polyrytmi. As with all CBL material (and in my opinion, of course), the tracks are pure genius and total bliss.

However, as my original review (which I felt compelled to change) stated, I wish the acid element remained a bit higher in this release (I say "remained" because their previous two albums were super-saturated with 303 work, whereas here, it's pretty minimal). But that minor complaint aside, this album is glory, inspiration, profundity, and exhilaration all rolled into one. Just amazing.

Peace!

Why I love music.

This is not intended to be a CD review. It is intended to be the meeting of ideas in the hope of explaining my love of music. I heartily recommend Interloper to anyone into what I call emotional, intelligent chill music - a fantastic piece of Scandinavian Electronica. This is their third album and it has had a profound effect on me. I cannot stop playing it and marvelling at its gorgeous craftsmanship. I started to think about why it was affecting me so profoundly. Here are thoughts:

I recently watched a podcast on the site www.ted.com. Their tagline is "Ideas worth spreading". Talks are given by leaders in many disciplines. This particular talk was by David Byrne of Talking Heads. It mooted the idea that historically, music is written with an idea of the venue in which it will be played. There were examples of long lush choral music making the most of reverberant cathedrals, Mozart piano pieces in halls and theatres, through to the Beatles (and Talking Heads) playing in small cramped clubs. For me, the logic held up. Music is written with the ultimate venue in mind. This got me to thinking. Where is music played now predominantly? I may be wrong but it I think it is on headphones. I think the iPod generation has shifted the venue to our heads. We are an audience of one in a head sized auditorium.

Another podcast I watched concerned experience vs memory. Once we have experienced anything and regardless of whether it was a good or bad experience, all we are left with to reference it after is the memory of the event. An experience may be mainly good with a bad ending, the ending is what is remembered, that becomes a bad memory. The reverse is also true. So, memories are a powerful thing. They shape the way we approach the future, for the future is only a series of anticipated memories.

So to Interloper. My first listening to this was on headphones. I listened to to it subsequently on my hi-fi, in my car and even had the opportunity to see Carbon Based Lifeforms perform it at a London cafe no bigger than my flat. None of these other "venues" seemed to suit the music as much as the headphones. There was an intrinsic subtlety and intimacy to the music that was lost elsewhere - even live. I don't know if the group had intentionally written it for headphones - but I think that must have been in their minds at the time for that it where it shines.

My first listening was a revalation. Here was a fantastic album, beautifully crafted and full of emotion. My memory was a good one, a fantastic one. Every time I played it thereafter, referencing that memory, I enjoyed it even more and more. That first good memory was reinforced many fold. It will be forever a good memory, just like the first time I rode a bike, saw Star Wars, held my children in my arms after their birth or purchased my Roland JD800.

Why did I need to write this? I could easily have written a track by track review and left you none the wiser as to whether you would like the album, as it would have been purely subjective. I think I wanted to relate my good experience. Music has the capacity to excite me, satisfy me and leave me with such good memories. I can access those memories anytime, in any situation and they can brighten my day. And THAT is why I love music.

As Mauratius said, the talent is there, but not the depth. That is, the album is much more relaxed, down to Earth and warm-hearted. We don't get much mystery and suspense of minor music keys and CBL went sober, no ACID in there. What about the forests?!

Artists are like cheese. They start with some hard music, but get all soft and tender over time. Maybe it's midlife crisis or they get children and need to play them something that they can sleep to.

Carbon Based Lifeforms recently stated that there was a album finished and ready to be released in early 2009. This would have made sense seeing how Hydroponic Garden and World of Sleepers were released in 2003 and 2006. The 2009 album, got scrapped, for reasons unknown to me. So i'm left with the impression that Interloper was rushed to be released within a year here in 2010. For me, its obvious in the sound. These tracks are not dripping with life like on previous albums. The talent is there, but not the depth. Do I dislike Interloper? Certainly not! I actually adore it, and its one of my favorites from 2010... However, I don't think its fit to compare with the previously mentioned albums. The quality is just not there this time around. Several of the tracks are extremely similar to some of their older work. The melodies and themes are not as original this time. Interloper is above average music, but below average music for Carbon Based Lifeforms standards.

Beautiful! As for me their best album since Hydroponic Garden. Their experiments with voice and guitars made me think of Infected Mushroom's second side on Converting Vegetarians. The melodies and dynamics are reminiscent of their fist album, although more fluid and delicate.

Another point worth mentioning is that tracks are very different from each other, which is quite unusual in the Ultimae family where the albums tend to flow like one piece most of the time. I find it very refreshing.

One word....A Masterpiece !

When it comes to creating originally deep, dark, and exceptionally beautiful blend of Ambient and Downtempo, Carbon Based Lifeforms surpasses everyone. The melancholically deep-rooted sounds simply blow brains out. It's really hard to pick a favorite tune out, as the entire album is wholly amazing.

An awe-inspiring album that will NEVER, EVER grow old.