seven

despite the fact that most of the material on this compilation was recorded before and during 1998, this cd turned out to be remarkably good and fresh-sounding.

nature has been always famous for its work in the idm genre, and this compilation puts together musicians that despite their differences still can be characterized as idm.

overall, the tracks seem to work really well together, ranging from 80s minimalism of d'arcangelo to twisted drum&bass of 2 be freak.

pretty much every track on the compilation stands on its own, only stylistically similar to other artists. phoenecia delivers intriguing playful and solid track with crunchy background grooves and deep basslines; softer atonal dissonant touches gently applied to the track remind of skam material.

dark almost ambient beginning of a credible eye witness track explodes into powerful drum'n'bass sequences. more idm groove is added by mat101 - elongated strings, cut-up and slightly twisted percussion, adding an edge to this wonderfully dense and flowing track with slight analog retro feel.

passarani track fits perfectly into the harmony build up by its predecessors - it is not as mysterious and epic as the material I have heard before; this track is minimal and quite simple, it carries itself with elegancy and perfect balance between gorgeous synthlines that mesmerize and soothe and persistent background percussion, with occasional rough edge that reminds of other passarani's work.

crunchy barbwire of high-pitched keys and broken metallic toys pierced by atonal analog pulses - this is indeed d'arcangelo, and anyone familiar with the band would immediately recognize this track.

I could swear that 2 be freak was a mislabeled somatic responses track - crushing breakbeats, dark mysterious strings, solid abrasive background with persistent twisted drum&bass drive rolling over smooth melodic waves. "vanille fraiseus" with its intense dark atmosphere immediately captured my attention and still remains the best track on this compilation.

as a contrast to the above, somatic responses track appears to be quite "muddied," lacking force and direction that later somatic responses material is famous for. however, the band attempts, and quite successfully, to move into the idm direction at the second part of the song, toying with soft keys on top of quirky electronics that becomes quite repetitive towards the end.

deep atmospheric beginning of amptek's track explodes into sharp staccato of drum&bass rhythms. completely mechanized corroded pulses, long ambient pauses and punchy bouncy percussion backed by atmospheric swells are a little too "inhuman" in general, but this track has a few wonderfully orchestrated organic passages.

naïve and full of 80s splendor together with appeal of modern minimal idm, vendor refill is charming and elegant. persistent breaking rhythms, warm melodic keys and soft low-fi strings backed by slow basslines build a peculiar harmony. pure idm bliss continues with sensuous strings and soft keys of dynamic wave, disturbed by hard percussion pulses. concluding m.s.b. starts with minimal textures that by the end of the track break out into gorgeous harmony of ethereal chorus and minimal simple percussion mixed with clean strings.

interestingly enough, some of the full-length albums of the artists on this compilation proved to be rather weak, but blended with diversity of the others, they create a pleasant and powerful mix that I enjoy every time I listen to the compilation.