Blood Machine Album "Review"/Opinion

[drvictor]

Originally I wanted to post this review to the store section, but as it is not working at this moment and also would be great to know what others feel about this album, so for John's suggestion I post it here.
-_-

I would like to share my opinion about this album.
To be sure that YOU don't miss this Best ambient album ever.
I heard it on an ambient festival in the car of friends first time when we talked and listened/shared opinions/about various ambient albums.
I was lent this album as I didn't know it, altough I have already heard almost everything from Vir Unis and Steve Roach ( among my friends there are a lot of fans:-)).

I don't even know for how long I haven't heard anything which gave me such an intensive experience for weeks long. I bought the album in 2007 but it didn't gave me
experiences for weeks, but for months! A week does not pass without listening to it, sometimes every day.
There is no chance for not listening to it also if it is played only in the background. If one comes to me, without having ever heard ambient music, begins to move his/her
body like an indian dancing:-)
My enthusiasm seems strange for me as well, it is almost frightening, however I have been still listening to it amazed and shocked.

An interesting thing is that when I first heard it in the car I did not know that it was from 2001.
I only realised it when I looked at the CD and I simply didn't believe my eyes.
From technical point of view and regarding its message, it could be of 2009 without doubt. I can imagine only a little improving on the mix more "inface" sound.

There are many music where the fractalic groove expression comes up but I think this is the album where we can speak about it in its clearest sense.
With the force of Shaman/Indian/Tribal/Voodoo rhytmhs in a modern way with massive use of dsp techniques, masterpiece of delay lines. As a musician I must tell
that the drums themselves create an unbelievable music.
Genial turns of rhythm. Depending in what state you are and which base rhythm draws your attention, the rhythm creates itself so.
Sometimes you can feel one side of the rhythm, sometimes the other side...

The melodies don't want to stick on you however they lead you hand in hand throughout the whole album. The melodies are just on the border of
showing themselves, leaving space also to your own imagination sometimes with massive power, sometimes with floating in beauty.
Serious but they have all the time a positive attitude.

Steve Roach and Vir Unis have been my favourites for a long time, but this album is outstanding among what we have already get used to from them.

If you listen most of the time only to the atmosphere, drone pad genre ambient without any percussion/drums, don't miss this album:
Until this, my favourite was (and my FIRST ambient album ever heard) the ambient expanse track 5 from Steve Roach :-)

If I liked to show to someone what is "ambient music", from ALL genres of ambient I would show definetely THIS album.

dr.Victor/Hungary

[John Koch-Northrup]

Thank you for posting this! Eventually I'll get the reviews working in the store again and I'll copy it there.

We really appreciate the time you took in writing this.

[Chris Russell]

Awesome review! Makes me want to crank it and dig in deep.

Is it true that Blood Machine is out of print?
If so, will it be re released?

[John Koch-Northrup]

Blood Machine was released on Green House Music - which was owned by Brooks Rongstad - better known as Exuviae around here, and Nathan Larson - Bunk Data - and together as the superhero dark ambient duo, Subseason. There was a third owner of Green House as well, James Coplin. Green House went out of business years ago.

John still has copies of Blood Machine in the AtmoWorks store - the original CD pressing:

Steve Roach / Vir Unis - Blood Machine

I have no idea if a rerelease is on the horizon. My gut feeling is probably not, but I guess you never know.

For trivia fun... Nathan has the old Green House website archived... I did the webdesign for it with them and I'm proud of the minimal look. Of course - this was 2001/2002 era stuff... but it's a great way to see the 7 albums they released - all of which were exceptional albums!

http://www.darkwinter.com/greenhousemusic/

[drvictor]

Hi John and Chriss,

I am very glad of that you enjoyed the post! It was fun.

Hope that you can get a copy and enjoy the ride as soon as possible :-)

BTW. Some samples on the site would be great and you would listen of it.
I enjoy even those short samples of other releases in the store..

Best Regards,
Victor

[Mark Mahoney]

Bloodmachine is definitely a wonderful CD. I also like Light Fantastic by Vir Unis and Roach.

[eyes cast down]

Light Fantastic is my favourite groove album ever! Can't say enough about it - maybe we should start a thread on that. LF throbs with light and heat. The grooves are phenomenal - I'd be really interested to hear what John S has to say about working on that project. And the way Steve weaves in acoustic percussion and tambura - brilliant!

[Vir Unis]

Light Fantastic was really a great project to be involved with Steve. What I did for that album is lay down the basic groove bed on every track. I did the submixes of the weaving electronic and percussion grooves as well as the compositional arrangement that came out of that. From there, Steve added his mixing and processing skills as well as the atmospherics, synthesizers, samples, etc. It truly was a great collaboration and is something that I'm proud to have achieved. Much thanks for the kind words on that material as well as reflections on Blood Machine.

eyes cast down said:

Light Fantastic is my favourite groove album ever! Can't say enough about it - maybe we should start a thread on that. LF throbs with light and heat. The grooves are phenomenal - I'd be really interested to hear what John S has to say about working on that project. And the way Steve weaves in acoustic percussion and tambura - brilliant!

[John Koch-Northrup]

There's an AtmoWorks re-release brewing for Blood Machine in 2009... stay tuned.

In the meantime - the original CD pressing from Green House Music is available in the AtmoWorks store at:

http://store.atmoworks.com/index.php?page=catalog.php?search=blood

[Seren]

I think it is a great album too. I think it sits really well with the earlier 'Body Electric' and I listened to both a lot a few years back when travelling long hours for work.

Light Fantastic and Pulse 'n' Atmo highly recommneded too.

[drvictor]

"There's an AtmoWorks re-release brewing for Blood Machine in 2009... stay tuned."

What do you mean? Making another press of the album, or some reworking on the album too ?

Victor

[drvictor]

"Much thanks for the kind words on that material as well as reflections on Blood Machine."


Nice to see you on this thread :-)

Could you give me a few words on this album ? What was the initiale about it? (because it's differs from anything else)
And why it took so long (as I read two year of composing) to achieve ?
Not technically or something, mentally I mean.
How You and Steve co-worked. All tracks composed together ?

If you has already some interview about this, I would happy to read it also.

Thanks in Advance,
Victor

[John Koch-Northrup]

Not much more to say on the re-release of Blood Machine just yet... it's in the planning stages - should be in 2009. :-)