Search - Ott :: Skylon

Mature, enjoyable work

Photoleif | colorado, usa | 06/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"a far cry from ott's early works, largely quite mature, relaxed and appealing. i can't give it a solid five-star unlike, for instance, shpongle - nothing lasts, which is an experience not soon forgotten. skylon has numerous great songs, but i'd be surprised if everyone adores everything. let's call it a 4-star to remind most that you'll hear some stuff you love, and a few you won't really listen to many times.



song-by-song:



from trunch to stormness: two songs in one, with an intro that gives way to a dubby downbeat exploration. i'm not particularly enamored, but some may find it appealing in a sway-while-stoned sense.



the queen of all everything: a luscious, garden-of-eden, sexy, make love kind of tune. trust me: put it on repeat and get with your favorite other.



rogue bagel: sounds like a second first tune of the disc. sets a precedent for the indian influence you'll spot elsewhere. a bit like his earlier smoked glass and chrome but not as sensual. great flute solo.



daisies and rubies: back to dub. nice lyrics with a bit of a mysterious feel, like walking into a head shop that's stranger than the strangest one you've ever visited ;-)



signals from bob: dub with a bit of a bigger, orchestrated sound. in total, tells an interesting story. if you're not sick of the fairly standard-sounding dub by now, you'll be digging this.



382 seaside: wanted something diferent? well here ya go. pretty much a standard rock breakbeat underlies incomprehensible lyrics and... what? slide guitar you ask? haha. yes it's all here in a quirky package.



roflcopter: back to delicious dub infused with some indian spices, random electronic critters and samples. it's fun for a few listens. i wish it had a bit more change in the way that shpongle provides ample variance to keep you engaged.



a shower of sparks: reprises the beautiful lyrics, random samples and appealing melodies characteristic of about half of the album. if you like shpongle's flute melodies, you will appreciate the interlude here. light and airy, beautiful tune. entirely enjoyable.



overall: nice addition to things electronic. what disappoints me about ott's work is it's spotty -- he takes risks and i appreciate that -- but i tend to find about half the release really appealing and half of it collects dust. i try harder with some of the 'off' tunes and a few make it into regular circulation."

Headphone Commute Review

Headphone Commute | 04/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ott's second album begins with an ambient interlude saturated with ethnic sounds. But at about a third into a 12-minute track, the bass drops into a pleasant reggae-infused dub that always gets me bopping my head. But who is this Ott, with only one other previous solo release on Twisted Records? Why, he's the producer behind Hallucinogen's In Dub, of course. He also worked with Shpongle, The Orb and Brian Eno. With a huge list of collaborations and studio work, Ott is at the top when it comes to quality production. And Skylon is no exception. Dropping the above mentioned names should give you an idea of psychedelic ambient sound that dominates the album. And so my dry and nostalgic longing for psychill is instantly rejuvenated. Skylon prominently stands among my all time favorites by Simon Postford and Ron Rothfield (Raja Ram, 1200 Mics), downtempo tracks by Infected Mushroom, as well as earlier works by Shulman. And you too, without a doubt, will recognize the staple pitch-shifted vocal manipulation, time stretched flanged beats, and lead arpeggios fed through low-pass filters. All of the above works very well within the super dubbed out, delay-heavy, world-music-infused tracks. Definitely grab this for above mentioned names, as well as Younger Brother, Phutureprimitive, Tripswitch and Bluetech. Favorite tracks: The Queen Of All Everything, Roflcopter and an absolutely beautiful A Shower Of Sparks."

Good not quite excellent

A. B. Powell | 11/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you love electronic psy chill you will know sphongle and OTT.

I love his previous work and purchased Skylon as soon as it came out.

It is good very very good unfortunately not in the league of leavitating turtles, Hallucinogen in dub and Blumenkraft.

I would still say go out and Buy you will love it but felt a little disjointed as compared to his previous works. I.e. all his previous albums I tend to listen 2 from beginning 2 end to form a journey wheras skylon I have a few favorite tracks that I mix in with other music.





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