Full of images and smooth, solid grooves
11/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Uplift Drift, is a cinematic journey that "Lifts you up and takes you higher" Full of images and smooth, solid grooves that transport the listener to a place where you have the freedom to lean back and float or get up and move to the ambient groove.This CD is very good in the audio sense also... Clean tight mixes, an obvious amount of work went into the recordings presented here. Terms like "attention to detail" come to mind. It seems a lot of attention was also paid to the psyco-acoustic realm, where sound images drift in, out and past the listener during their journey. Check this one out on headphones !!The orchestration and rhythms are top notch and totally original. I think Magic Sound Fabric has carved out a signature sound here. Working in a genre where there is precious little "Dub" oriented music that smoothly blends elements of Ambient, Reggae, Experimental Electronic and good old Space Music, I would think this CD is poised for major exposure and acceptance in an otherwise cluttered music industry.The CD features full art work and professional packaging unlike many indie artists. The label, Spiralight, has really pulled out all the stops in quality indie music distribution. I hope to see it grow as well.All in all, Uplift Drift is a valued addition to any CD collection regardless of musical taste, but especially to those of us who enjoy good electronic music!"
Great chilled groove CD
03/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is great for a myriad of occasions - it's the perfect type of background music, but can be in the "spotlight", too. It's ambient in the way that while you're listening, you feel like you should be watching a really cool movie - perfect soundtrack music. But it's also "groove" because you can't help but want to move your body to the beat at many occasions when listening. I have listened to this CD many, many times and honestly am NOT at all tired of it. It's a true "classic" for me because it never gets old - I continue to discover more interesting elements every time I hear it. Highly recommended!"
Jungle Fever Dreams
Mark Eremite | Seoul, South Korea | 02/01/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"In the echelons of chill-out, ambient, sandy-bonfire-ballads, "Uplift Drift" is floating somwhere in the middle. The album was mixed and mastered ably by Cameron Akhunaton, layered with the thick thub-thub of Earth's molten heartbeat, woven tightly into place with delicate amazonian inspirations. I put it on, and my friends occasionally say, "I like this music." But they never ask me who's playing, and sometimes it takes us a while to realize when the music has finally stopped.
Like many trance artists before him, Akhunaton markets his music under a typically cheesy moniker: Magic Sound Fabric. No points lost for the silly name, but I do think it provides a small clue as to why the album fails to make any kind of lasting impression, well-ploted and lovingly arranged though it may be. It's so easy to get lost in the morass of mood music (creating a stand-out chill album is like trying to write a Pulitzer Prize winning romance novel); innovation and studious sobriety are the key. Maybe it's foolish of me to use a word like "sobriety" in connection with music that's often referred to as "trance;" but I think unclouded focus is required if you want to guide others into new and beautiful places. Most music like this simply meanders and wavers like an ambrosially-drunk Naiad sashaying about a fog-shrouded stream.
Akhunaton's "Magic Sound Fabric" isn't exactly magical, although there are times where he gets close. "Fire Within" and "Galaxy Rise" especially pull away from the old rut of New Age fluff. The final track, "Space Traffic Control," is pleasingly gruff. With its dark tribal flutes meshed over distorted astral dubs, you get an idea of what Akhunaton is REALLY capable of, how classy, clever, and creative this music can be. This excellent closing number, ironically, does more to hurt the rest of the album than help it. "If the guy can make music this good, then what's up with the eight songs that came before?" I wondered.
Most of these albums (and the songs on them) are unimpressive because they are so slick and laminated (listen to "Photonic Phonic" or "Octave Surfing" and see if you remember them at all thirty minutes later). There's nothing wrong with creating a record designed for aural ambience, something passive and pelucid, but if you want to create something truly great, there's gotta be some abrasion, some friction, in order for the music to stick. It's a fine goal, but easy, to make music that will put you to sleep; why not also make music that will stay with you, that will invade and infect your dreams?"
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1