essential recordings (alphabetical by album title)
A-E | F-J | K-O | P-T | U-Z

Parallel Life - Starseeds (1999)

amazon.com review:
i have been searching for what i like to call "perfect music"...i've been looking for years, and have indeed found some excellent music along the way {Sigur Ros, Air, Portishead, Aphex Twin, Cure, Morcheeba...the list does go on for quite a while}...but i think i may have actually found what i've been searching for all these years: enter The Starseeds.

i have heard a little about the Starseeds, but mostly my information came from simple research on Amazon, and other music related sites. well, i made the purchase of the "Parallel Life" release and i am now lost in pure listening heaven. this is music of the most chilled...the most mellow...the most groove induced vibe you will ever hear.

yeah, it's electronic, it's trip-hop, it's downbeat, it's got ambient undertones, and infectious, gliding vocals. it is what i have been searching for: the perfect music.

two people involved here too...master programmer...master vocalist. every song is fantastic! the quality of the production is wonderful, and the musicianship on each individual song is molded out of pure audio-craftsmanship.

i'm tellin you...this album is entitled "Parallel Life" for a reason...these sounds are from our alternate being...our "Parallel Life" one could say.

lush soundscapes, held together by thick grooving bass lines...infectious beats floating upon a sea of ambient tones and waves...space lounge flares and pulses dissolving into infinity...intoxicating vocals floating through time. it is what i have been searching for, all of these years: the "perfect music": enter The Starseeds...

Poison - Jay-Jay Johanson (2000)

amazon.com review:
I LOVE HIM! The emotion that Jay-Jay infuses into his voice when he sings is absolutely marvelous! This is what i would call "rainy-day" music. It's very melancholy, very chill.
"Suffering" is my absolute favorite song. It is also featured on the "Queer As Folk" Season One Soundtrack. To anynne who is on the fence about this artist, get his albums, and you won't regret it!

amazon.com review:
While not quite as flawless as his last release 'Tattoo', this is another exceptionally strong collection of haunting, trip-hop flavored songs from the Swedish crooner. The best songs on the release are his best yet, and show growth in both songwriting and arranging skills.

Jay Jay's voice is his signature, and it's on full display here. Melodic, clear, deep (in texture, not tone), and hypnotic. The spare trip-hop arrangements are the perfect complement, and togetehr you get a unique and beautiful cocktail of thoroughly modern music.

In my view, an artist deserving of much more attention. Do yourself a favor and buy 'Poison' (throw in 'Tattoo' if you're felling adventurous), and then do your friends a favor by passing the word!

Portishead - Portishead (1997)

amazon.com review:
Portishead's 1997 self-titled album is darker and more melancholy than their debut "Dummy". It is also a timeless masterpiece that ranks as one of the best trip-hop albums of all time. From the opening strains of "Cowboys", this CD transports you into a 1940s-style dimly-lit, cigarette smoke-filled Hollywood cabaret where dark-suited gangsters, buxom blonde starlets and trench-coated detectives mingle. This time around, Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons dig deep into film noir moxie to create a collection of songs that capture the decadence and tarnished glamor of that era, while retaining a hip postmodern sensibility. Beth Gibbons is at her best when her voice stretches to a screeching soprano, as on "All Mine", "Only You" and the centerpiece "Humming". Reportedly, Portishead recorded original background music based on film noir movies they admired, and then composed lyrics over them. This gives the album a surreal quality that, when uncovered after numerous spins on the CD changer, truly transcends time and space. Essential listening for a dark, stormy night in your house on the Hollywood Hills, with the fireplace blazing and a bottle of red wine.

amazon.com review:
It is pretty widely said that Portishead's self-titled second album is okay but not as good as Dummy. Let me say that my point of view tends not to be so wide.

If you were a lover of Dummy tracks like "Sour Times" and "Roads", you will be disappointed with this album. But if you dug the styles of tunes like "Wandering Star" and "Pedestal", then you should do yourself a big favor and buy this album if you haven't yet. There's absolutely no way you'll regret it. Because, for me, Portishead's Portishead is one of the greatest albums ever released.

Dummy was filled with creative "songs". You know, song-like structures and things you can listen to out of context of the rest of the album. But what separates this from Dummy is that you won't find "songs". What you'll find is about an hour of beautiful, haunting, mind-altering MUSIC. There's no better fuel for meditation, creativity, conversation or even tripping than "Portishead". This music puts you into another world against your will to have you chewed up and spit out. Listening to this album in its entirety is more of an experience than you'll be able to find in most places. And those who have not had this experience are sad, sad people who stare at the floor when they walk and pass you with an aura of uncoolness.

The eclectic beat (changing from pure trip-hop in Undenied to an indie garage flavor in Half Day Closing) keeps you moving through its swaying motion into its abyss of uniquely layered melodies and sounds (oddly distorted guitars, a heart-rumbling bass, morbid pianos, and effects lifted straight from old noir flicks and 50's sci-fi vibes) with the great icing of Beth Gibbons vocals that you'll swear is a ghost living inside of your head.

Now, that being said, this album is definitely not for everyone. Impatient people and shallow listeners will not be able to properly absorb all of the textures and oddities of this masterpiece. Some who listen at face value may find it to be repetitive (although it isn't in the least bit repetitive, definitely less repetitive than the often compared Tricky). It is imperative to listen to this album with both a relaxed and open mind.

Also, as a little side-note, if you're a fan of the filmmaker David Lynch, you'll probably dig this album a lot. I don't know why. It's just one of those truths.

Pre-Millenium Tension - Tricky (1996)

amazon.com review:
This CD confirms for me that the 90s was probably the greatest decade for music in terms of freshness, creativity and inventivness. The triphop scene especially. Dark demonic trippy rythmes and beats coupled with soft creamy singing against raspy grainy vocals which sound like he's been gargling gravel. Although I have to say I think Tricky blew his load on this CD. Nothing he did after quite matched up. This is a gem and should be in your collection.

amazon.com review:
From a diehard fan's point of view, I shun every reviewer who has given this album a poor review. Its not pop or mainstream music. It's an artistic album with a lot of experimental beats and rhythms to it. Never has anything sounded like this before. I thought Tricky couldn't top Maxinquaye's surreal mystique and inventive beats. I was wrong. This is a 180 degree turn but it's exactly perfect for Tricky to explore new territory. Maxinquaye is more of a dream album. Pre-Millenium is more like an apocalyptic nightmare vision.

Pre-Millenium is more angst driven than all his other albums. Its an album of self-discovery. Much of the lyrics is about Tricky's life struggle and what he is feeling. And he's venting out his rage. Lyrically, its the most brilliant and creative. Almost to the point of insanity. You'll hear roaring drums at the start with the eruption of the first track, "Vent." The screaching of guitars in this is unbelievably incredible. This flows right into "Christiansands," an r&b flavor track that's closer to pop than the rest of the tracks. Many consider this to be Tricky's best song on here. Its a great song to listen to at a party but it seems a little out of place and should have been on Maxinquaye instead of this. The strength of the cd comes later with "Bad Dream, My Evil Is Strong, Lyrics Of Fury and Piano." These songs sound very industrial and heavy. I especially love, "Lyrics Of Fury." Martina raps the entire song over almost nothing but a single drum beat. The song is played in almost all his live shows with a lot of fury and passion behind it. I always push repeat on this track and on the track "Bad Dream," my two favorites on the album. Many people complain about rubbish and don't understand the true art behind Pre-Millenium Tension. If it's too intelligent for you I can understand but don't bash it because it's not mainstream or pop.

It's as innovative and revolutionary as comtemporary music can get. I rank this among Nirvana's Nevermind and Radiohead's Ok Computer albums. It's that good.

Roseland NYC - Portishead (1998)

amazon.com review:
Anyone who thinks Portishead is all about electronics and sampling should check this one out quick! 'Roseland' proves once and for all that they are even better live. Enhanced by orchestral strings (and even horns) on many tracks, some of these tracks are 'expanded' beyond the recorded versions. For those who've heard the original a few too many times, the strange, almost bluesy treatment of 'Sour Times' will be a treat. Also includes great versions of 'Humming' and 'Roads'. If you're a fan, don't pass this by. Now, if only they'd put out a new record....

amazon.com review:
One of the best live recordings I have ever heard, this album is as beautiful and uniquely melodic as it is soulful. Beth Gibbons tugs at heart strings, and her performance is legendary. If Portishead never records again, I believe it would be a travesty. Modern music has been bastardized, making stars out of gimmicks whilst failing to relate to the human condition at even its fundamental levels. With Portishead, the themes of love, loss, regret, loneliness and obsession are treated with an honest and appropriate delicacy; and the wall of sound that serves as its backdrop is like nothing you've heard before. There isn't a trace of superficiality here, and the live recording serves only to enhance the nakedness of its themes. Technically speaking, this isn't your standard 4 piece perfromance, this is a comprehensive array of instrumentation.

This album is a classic, pure and simple. And while trip-hop has evolved itself into near oblivion, we are left with a live album that does not merely define a lost genre, it transcends it. It is a standalone effort that defies classification. It is, quite simply, what it is - a great listen. a must have.

Something Wrong - Bang Gang (2003)

online review:
Bang Gang’s 'Something Wrong' is an album that will captivate you from the very first time you hear the opening track 'Inside'!!!

triphoppin.net review:
Bardi Johansson (aka Bang Gang) creates some of the most beautiful electronic downbeat pop/trip-hop/retro pop, ever... EVER. Iceland is the birthplace of many a great artist (Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mum, Emiliana Torrini, Lo-Fi, Anja Garbarek, etc.) but Bardi's music.... wow. Indescribably beautiful, depressing, happy.... thesaurus of emotion! Excellent, unique music.

online article:
He plants himself firmly in Iceland's indie camp, but Johannsson’s indie leanings don’t mean his music is inaccessible. On the contrary, his new album Something Wrong is full of simple, striking melodies and hypnotic electronic beats, made doubly approachable by the presence of a number of come-hither female sirens.

Sounds Of The Satellites - Laika (1997)

amazon.com review:
This is one of the few records that lives up to the promise of electronic music. Some of the tracks are very complex, but they always remain musical. Laika uses a mixture of new technology like drum loops, and old technology (fender rhodes organ, electric bass) and the result is a very organic album. The songs really breathe in a way that few 'electronica' pieces do. Good lyrics also.

triphoppin.net review:
Absolutely brilliant. Nothing Laika (prounounced LIE-kah, not LAY-kah) does will ever disappoint. This is probably their most popular album, and most cohesive. It is trip-hop without the hip-hop influence, it is pop without the predictable formula. It is absolutely perfect experimental music. Catchy, groovy, gorgeous, and downright weird. Odd time signatures, warbling synthesizer arpeggios, trippy while meaningful lyrics. As original as Portishead, but in a world of their own. Highly underrated record by an EXTREMELY underrated band.

Sprinkler - Amstrong (1999)

amazon.com review:
Good god, is Amstrong brilliant. Their music is ambient, dark, brooding, extremely trippy and EXCELLENTLY arranged. It is repetitive electronica, but not in the way that it grates on your nerves. It's HYPNOTIC.

Amstrong has released three records and ALL are perfect. This album paved the way for the next wave of trip-hop artists with grit and ambience. A milestone release, and a must-have.

Sweep Of Days - Blue Foundation (2004)

triphoppin.net review:
Second album from Danish trip-hop legends. Blue Foundation's first album was filled with lots of abstract beat production, abstract vocals, and insanely creative arrangements. The six-piece takes everything a step further with Sweep Of Days, incorporating tons of pop elements with their trademark abstract musical production. Some tracks are of the dub/reggae vibe, which is never a bad thing. Blue Foundation is one of the only trip-hop groups who create extremely catchy vocal hooks, on top of truly abstract arrangements. Oh, and did I mention the amazing talent of the turntablist in the group? He's right up there with DJ Q-Bert, and that's saying a LOT.

Take Me With You - Dreamfield (2002?)

cdbaby.com review:
Now how do I describe the truly wonderful music on this CD without resorting to the usual cliches like "spellbinding", "bewitching, beguiling, etc. etc."? Okay how about this? The music Dreamfield makes on this CD is like a long, sensuous veil of evening emerging from the dusk enrapturing the listener in tones that subvert & question reality with enigmatic musicality. Sounds a tad corny eh? Hmmmmmmmm. Well okay then try this. The music Dreamfield makes on this CD seems to color a shadowy world of emotions, moments and people through their opaque yet tuneful trance structures. Alright I didn't get that one either:) Let's just say this CD ROCKS(!) and leave it at that okay? Chris

triphoppin.net review:
I don't have the official Dreamfield singles (Take Me With You and Christopher's Dream). No, I have a full-length album's worth of songs that I (yes, I admit it) downloaded from a P2P file-sharing network. But you know what? I am happy I did, because it's one of my all-time favorite albums. Kicking off with "Marianne" (a classic Dreamfield song), the CD just flows.... so gorgeously. Constantly harmonized/layered female vocals, BIG BIG beats..... good god. Musical perfection. Sad thing is, they broke up.... but Poppy (singer) has a new band called Hush Collector, even though it's not really trip-hop, it's great to hear that voice again. If you can find the full-length Dreamfield record (possibly called Take Me With You, like the single), online or anywhere else, definitely grab it when you can. You won't regret it.

online review:
The many hours invested as a reviewer becomes at once worthwhile when you find that hidden paradise hidden in the mp3 desert. And here I am swimming in the waters of the oasis once more. Oh yes... Dreamfield's 'Christopher's Dream' is an excellent track. It's beautiful, oddly moving and amazingly original. I can't think of a single band that I've heard that sounds remotely like this...As I sit here listening I have the urge to close my eyes and let these waves of ambience overwhelm me. There's so much room to breathe - a perfect example of understatement...And when the song's chorus kicks in... well, that's just audio perfection. I'm definitely in love.

Tattoo - Jay-Jay Johanson (1998)

amazon.com review:
Tattoo is an excellent album. Jay-Jay Johanson's style, between jazz and trip-hop, is totaly new and addictive. Johanson pays much attention to beat, creating wonderful effects for the ear. If you like ambient techno or trip-hop such as Björk or Portishead, you're going to adore Tattoo.

There Is Enough For Everyone- Starseeds (2001)

triphoppin.net review:
Continuing on the absolute musical perfection that was 1999's "Parallel Life", The Starseeds get a little more edgy on this impossible-to-find sophomore album. If you don't own everything by this band, you are truly missing out on musical perfection.

Things You Should Leave Alone - Puracane (2000)

amazon.com review:
think this album shows the best of modern techno sounds, good songwriting, synthesized textures, and very nice vocals. Deep, strong, soaring. Unlike the usual techno where you set up a groove and jam with it, songs on this album have a lot of dynamic, and one song sounds different from another. After a few listens I was rewarded by finding I like nearly every song.

David Biegel seems to be the production brains behind it, and I suspect he plays most of the instruments and writes a lot of the songs. He's been around awhile; he was half of the band "Bugs" which produced one album "Infinite Syndrome". Lately he seems to have moved to production, for example working with Natalie Imbruglia on the song "Troubled by the Way" from the soundtrack to 1999's Go.

Ali Rogers makes a nice complement with her vocals. I find her voice beautifully expressive and vulnerable, sometimes soft and sometimes with an edge. She sang with "Barbie Complex", on their one album "No Brain No Pain". Ali's voice is also used as an instrument through electronic modification and echo.

Both are talented, and I would love it if they would get together for another album. Since this album didn't really go anywhere commercially, I suspect that is unlikely.

Comparisons to other bands in the reviews are bound to fail, as Puracane and those mentioned in comparison all have their unique sounds, but they are in the same ballpark. There isn't another band that sounds quite like these guys.

amazon.com review:
it's too bad that this album and music like it does not get more attention, or maybe those of us who enjoy it like it that way. i must admit that upon first listen i thought puracane was just another faceless 'trip hop' wannabee, soon headed for the used bin. further listens have really proven me wrong. this cd runs the gamut from sweet to bitter to sad to manic, each accompanied by a rich and textured soundscape created not only by sequencers and electronics, but live instruments like a piano. these guys have an excellent sense of melody and practice subtlety in key and mood changes like pros. AND just to prove that they have excellent taste, they throw in a beautiful, albeit faithful cover of Jane's Addiction's 'summertime rolls'. i can also promise that the bjork comparisons will completely leave your mind after just a few listens. Her voice and the way she sings remind me of Sarah 'what's her name' from Dubstar. This music occupies a rare place in 'trip hop' music, between the poppy, commercial stuff like Olive and the esoteric, experimental stuff like Laika and Tricky's latest stuff. Furthermore, it's an excellent buy here on amazon, as i too have seen it in stores for ... bucks (that's how much i paid). Other surprise favorites in the same vein: Baby Fox 'a normal family', Soma Sonic 'future'.

This Illusion Sound - Pomegranate (2000)

online review:
'Cross-genre collaborations are by no means restricted within one artistic field, so it's no surprise that every once in a while musicians create a sound collage that is an aural interpretation of a film or dance piece. Glasgow's Pomegranate began in '99 when its mastermind Stef McGlinchey composed a piece of music as an accompaniment to a performance in which Vanessa Rigg was performer, singer and viola player. The combination worked and led to This Illusion Sound, an intensely quiet affair that creeps into the room like cool autumnal air. An apt comparison would be some of the blue-hued scenes from Robert Lepage's film Le Confessionnal, with its atmospheric soundtrack, and so it is with Pomegranate's dark wanderings. McGlinchey's production and mixing is masterful, often bearing in mind a theatre or installation setting. Equally, Vanessa Rigg's vocals are not excessively sensuous or imitative of what is expected from female vocals in the ambient/trip-hop genre. She sounds like the sadder, more pensive version of Shirley Simms or Claudia Gonson - both vocalists for Magnetic Fields. Instrumental experimentation is also sophisticated, as in "Blue Days Fade," which has a gamelan-like melody and muddy percussion sound. To add to the eerie quality, "Come 2 Me" has a simple piano piece that is given a grainy sound quality. In the short piece called "And-Money," a cello is used minimally but with remarkable finesse. Pomegranate are a promising duo, and with their continuing interest in doing sound for dance or installation pieces, chances of further venturing into experimental territory are great.

This Utopia - Spylab (2001)

amazon.com review:
"This Utopia" is exquisite. The debut CD from Spylab is a collaboration between Kenny Inglis and Jon Gillies with singer/songwriter Sophie Bancroft. The result is a smooth funky fusion of jazz, electronica, and trippy dance beats. Bancroft co-wrote five of the songs (This Utopia, Celluloid Hypnotic, Loveless, Breathe Easy, In The Shade) on which she also appears as vocalist. Her breathy cool low key voice blends well with Inglis and Gillies lush layered musical style. The instrumental tracks are just as strong and satisfying.

I imagine this is the soundtrack for a dream in which Angelo Badalamenti meets William Orbit and Morcheeba at an anniversary party for the Swans. The music floats effortlessly and hooks you in with simultaneously elusive and infectious arrangements. Vocal sampling and dubbing are used wisely and with effective restraint. Hopefully, experimentation like this is something to look forward to on future releases. There are no duds here.

Trickle - Olive (2000)

amazon.com review:
I greet complaints that it is pop-infused and catchy with this comment: so what? If Olive is a little less out there than some of the other trip-hop/electronica groups, a little more normal and down-to-earth, maybe they have the power to make the genre more accessible to listeners. I still enjoy the adventurous ones, like Sneaker Pimps, but I don't think staying somewhat conventional is any reason to diminish Olive's excellent sophomore effort. Sneaker Pimps may be more adventurous, but their sophomore effort fell short of thier debut. Olive reprises well, building on the success of their debut to create a high-quality album.

amazon.com review:
As a (self declared) electronic music junkie, I instantly loved Olive's first album "Extra Virgin" because it's not just beats, you've got real melodies and real music with an almost club worthy rhythm. If you like any of Everything But the Girl's recent work, you will love Olive. This group isn't quite as deep into electronic percussion; Olive manages to bring out an array of musical and vocal melodies that are almost emotional, like that giddy sensation you have in anticipation of a first date, or that horrible knot in your stomach the day after a break-up. I know, that sounds a bit over the edge, but that's about how powerful Olive's combination of music, lyrics and vocals are. Just dim the lights, sit back and listen.

Olive's music is not plagued by the endless sequencer loop syndrome - instead they manage to blend real melodies, bass and rhythm into music while using the tools of a less sophisticated electronic genre. Add that to lyrics that actually speak of love, life and emotions delivered by a smooth sultry voice, and we're describing a CD I have not gotten tired of since the day I got it.

"Tickle" is musically, emotionally and technically a step forward from their first album. They have made a small and subtle move away from the electronic thing, by allowing the melodies to carry the music a bit more than in their first album; but there is just enough rhythm to keep the "house music" side of me at peace. This album has a few more ballads than the previous one, and you will not be disappointed by the variety of tempos and styles, from just shy of Drum & Bass to melodic groove. The production of this album is a real winner: the dynamics in this CD work seamlessly with the music in the creation of the experience, from gentle to forceful and back. I could go on, but I would be rambling. You get my drift: I am very pleased with my new CD. If you're thinking of buying this one and don't have Olive's first album, you should consider getting it.