Monday, June 22, 2009

Various – Enjoy the Silence

Taking a cue from the Kompakt Pop Ambient compilations, Japanese label Mule Electronic celebrates five years of bliss with its own collection of serene themes. Veterans like Strategy, Jan Jelinek and Thomas Fehlmann, who trumps even his IMPS remix from earlier this year with a wonderful piano-in-a-whirlpool bit, sit next to eagerly ascendant artists. Kuniyuki Takahashi, who records as Koss, takes a regal piano theme and adds slightly unsettled ambient noise to generate something lovely and a little unnerving. Sweden’s Minilogue continue to develop their non-dancefloor side with a lengthy synthpad churner that is treated to hide-and-seek polyrhythms from several sources. Peter M. Kersten’s Lawrence track is a simple and effective balance of a few echoing elements with a thread of playful vibraphone stringing them along. It isn’t as fluid a collection as the Kompakt offerings, but still makes a splendid label overview and bookend to their German counterpart.

Mule Electronic

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