Zhong Chi - Easy World 

It all begins with the artwork. Yes, artwork matters! The cover of Zhong Chi's album 'Easy World' depicts a little mermaid child which pretty much sums up the album's motive; to take you in the fairyland where unfulfilled wishes and aspirations might be realised, 'might' being the key word.

The journey begins with an otherworldly composition which welcomes you in this fairy world. I could envision the doors opening ! Not all the tracks grip on the first listen, but as it is with good music, the ones that take time to grow on you are the ones that remain fresh for a very long time. It's a bit like wine. 

Few of the tracks like 'Fairy tale ' and ' I can't hide' are unmistakeably love ballads of a melonchalic lover longing for an idealistic world. The chants of monks towards the latter part of the song 'I can't hide' instantly throws up images of ancient Chinese Monks and Samurais sitting togther for a prayer and a lovelorn lover looking at them with teary eyes.

This is one of those rare albums where the first track to the last one are woven like pearls in a thread , parts of a big whole where sum of the parts turn out to be bigger than , well it's parts. And yet each track stands on its own. It is a bit like watching a movie , just without knowing the plot. 

Some tracks melt in the ear more smoothly than the others and the mind is left to explore emotive imaginary worlds in the images conjured up by the sound. Primarily electronic-based, the songs evoke moods that only an epic movie with imaginary nostalgic tale could. The music is illuminated by the light of Zhong's blissful melodious voice which is sufficient to lit up the melonchalic dark but dreamy sounds . They range from the purely relaxing to the subtly intense, creating dreamlike and evocative musical journeys.

If there's someone whom I could relate this music to , it would be 'Amethystium' ; another brilliant project and one of a kind. Zhong Chi is at her best and if you do not fall in love with her after listening to these melodious and hypnotizing songs, there must be something wrong with you :p 

P.S. I wonder where Zhong Chi has disappeared after recording just one album! We need more music!   - Dev Arbikshe 

Within the Ruins : ''Elite''; A rough review.

Elite by Within the Ruins comes with 11 tracks. The most interesting being the last one; ‘Dreamland’. It is a pretty interesting song as it gives an impression of ingenuity. In contrast to the heavier tracks, both vocally and technically, like ‘feeding frenzy’ and ‘absolute hell’ , this is a pretty good display of their technical prowess along with inviting mix of background vocals which sound more like a radio broadcast in the background making it apt to be included in an ‘OST’ of a horror movie.

The album starts with the intro ‘Terminal’, a pretty standard intro for the likes of this genre. The next track ‘Solace’ is pretty inviting with a mix of good sounds in between the passages of heavy chugging guitars. The band incorporates synth covertly avoiding the possibility of sounding generic in this aspect and maintaining the interest in the songs. Next comes ‘Feeding Frenzy’, maybe not 3:46 seconds of mind blowing moments but enough catchy flashes of brilliance. ‘New Holy War’ grips you from the beginning, one of the outstanding tracks in the album. It definitely sounds fresh. The breakdowns do not sound forced and it matters because more than the use of breakdowns is their timing in a track. Leaving ‘’ The Charm’’ and ‘’The Ataxia II’’ instrumental for you to decide, I’d jump to the track ‘’Elite’’. ‘Elite’ comes off as a strong statement and nothing less could be expected of a band in this genre.  Once you are through with the song you’d know why it is the title of the album. The rest of the songs are pretty standard technical deathcore / djent, call it what you will.

This is not an album that blows your mind out of the water but it is good enough to warrant your attention and few strong tracks to make it worthy of your collection. It still incorporates the virtue of balanced structural arrangement of songs with a touch of finesse resulting in overall delightful listening experience e.g. the beginning of ‘New Holy War’. Rest is up to you to find out.’ ‘Elite’’ would definitely create a space in every fans collection .

Dials (U.K.)

Awhile back I stumbled upon a short ep on bandcamp by 'Dials'. It is a captivating short ep with sounds reminiscent of nature, rains, dark skies and winds. It has an unmistakable stamp of originality . The sounds are ambient but it is that kind of music which makes you forget the world and just dive into the abyss of soundscapes where the waves take you with their flow into nothingness. Despite the overshadowing melodies , the tracks are interspersed with melodic vocals. The fans of 'Boards of Canada', 'Aphex Twin', 'Casino vs Japan' and 'Baths' would be delighted to add this little gem to their collection.

The haunting melodies of 'Dials' ,the solo project of Harry Young from U.K., gives rise to feelings of nihilism. The startling aspect about his music is that it disarms you immediately and once your earplugs are on, you become an extension of the music, at least that's the kind of emotions it evokes.  'End of the world' is admittedly a track laden with dark emotions and literally evokes the images of the end of human race. Coincidentally I was living in Goa besides the Arabian Sea when I discovered this music. It instantly felt like I was taken into the depths of the sea. It can make you restless but at the same time the experience could have a cathartic as well as calming effect. 

It is often disappointing to see such ingenious lads not getting the attention they deserve. Not having profile pages across different platforms doesn't help either. There is a page on fb but it is very hard to find as it doesn't show up in the searches. The last fm page has a page for multiple artists by same name further making it annoying to find any information on the whereabouts of the man behind the project and his inspirations.

Thankfully there are few tracks and remixes available on youtube. I will post the link to his fb page and bandcamp page soon. This is one project not to be missed. It is pure music devoid of any ulterior motives. The ep and few remixes are available on bandcamp @name your price option.

P.s. Here are the bandcamp links:

http://dials.bandcamp.com/album/dials-ep

Dials.bandcamp.com

Attack 9 records reissued the album 'Kids Fill the Floor' by Freescha and put it for free d/l for limited time.

This is an attempt at writing a review ; a tribute , a sign of respect and a token of thanks to Freescha for making this album. Freescha : Kids Fill the Floor

The greatest minds weren’t always those which had complex and sophisticated ideas but those who conveyed those ideas to the world in simplest of words making them accessible to one and all.Likewise, there are pieces of art that are great not in themselves but also because of the virtue of their innate quality of being accessible to a layman, interested in art, and to a trained connoisseur alike.When it comes to music it would be generally the audiophiles who would be quick to identify patterns, generic imitations of styles and most importantly spot something which is distinct from the run of the mill production out there.

Freescha’s  ‘Kids Fill the Floor’ is one such album that can delight both audiophiles and ordinary mortals alike. To identify and categorize it through the prism of genre would be a big mistake. This is not just any ordinary album; this is a transcendental piece of art. For me , 'art' means a piece of work which elevates the spirit, creates a world of its own, a source of refuge for those looking for it and a means to inspire while at the same time leaves one with a feeling of being fulfilled. And this album just provides all of this. If, at all, the genre must be mentioned, it should only be for formally attributing the ‘’type’’ of music it is . But once you listen to ‘Kite High’ and ‘Kid Brother’ among other meditative sublime tracks, you would realize immediately that great music cannot be defined by or confined merely into genres. There is something common in such creations, their quality of transporting the listener into another world. Much like the way one feels transported in another century standing inside a 14th century cathedral.

Before the word, comes thought and words would be nothing if they cannot signify any meaning through the images, sounds, fragrances, emotions etc. associated with them. The tunes on this disc are accompanied by equally mesmerizing whispers, humming voices which compliment the music.

‘Kids Fill the floor’ tells a story of its own with barely using any words and they are not required either as the sacredness of the emotion, imagery of landscapes,architecture (subject to your imagination ) is kept intact in thoughts conjured up when the music plays. I am convinced that words do not always express or successfully capture the essence of reality or everything there is in life that we experience.  They lose something the moment they define an emotion, a sound. The essence is not lost here on this album. What is meant to be conveyed is perhaps successfully conveyed. The song titles too seem t be carefully crafted for each song. I would not like to spoil your interpretation of the music from here on. Just listen to it yourself.

Here's the track list :

Track listing

1. "Every Shiney Night" – 4:13
2. "My First Robot" – 2:58
3. "Kite High" – 3:03
4. "Kid Brother" – 5:17
5. "Boyrgurl" – 8:16
6. "Blooms & Blossoms" – 4:10
7. "Peaches Pond" – 2:10
8. "Bumble" – 1:49
9. "Cherry Blue Boo" – 2:38
10. "Henry Hudson" – 6:27
11. "Isotopes" – 1:41
12. "Up the Coast" – 4:46
13. "Whales Wave Goodbye" – 4:02