Search - Woob :: Woob 1194

Best ambient ever....?

skytwo | Boston | 01/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was pleased to see that this album had a perfect five-star rating. I can't think of any other album in the genre that deserves the same. If you know your stuff, then you know that this is perhaps the most highly-regarded album of its kind ever. And there's a very good reason for that. Paul Frankland has created one of the most consistently appealing ambient albums in existence. However, this isn't just shoe-gazing mellowness. 'On Earth' and 'odonna' each have their share of driving beats and brilliant samples. In addition to the Middle Eastern tinged-sounds, Frankland has some of the strangest, yet most haunting, selection of vocal samples in the business, ranging from 'The Abyss' to 'Star Trek' to 'Mississippi Burning.' Oh, and that show 'Quantum Leap.' Strange, to be certain, but effective.The album is also a great introduction to ambient, ambient dub, etc. If you're curious, but afraid to just choose something, you can't go wrong with this. Several acquaintances of mine who swore up and down that they weren't interested in electronic music have added this album to their collections after hearing juts a few minutes of it. Best of all, it's aging incredibly well. That seems to be a pretty tall order for most electronic outfits, but this still sounds fresh next to current releases. And I say that after playing it fairly regularly for the last five years.An absolute must. No, really."

Quality ambience.

portis@roadrunner.nf.net | St. John's, NF, Canada | 07/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1194 by Woob is definately one of the finest ambient releases of the 90's. Do not fear the opening 32 minute track named 'On Earth', because it's an artist like Woob who knows how to pass the time away seemlessly with smart vocal samples and complimentary percussion. The track 'Wuub' floats purposely forward with a slow lazy beat and calming female vocal sample. However, the pure gem on this release is the glorious 'Odonna', where soft synth ambience starts the track and is taken over by engaging dialog from a film long forgotten. Then a glorious choir style vocal sweep (you have to hear it to appreciate it) floats on until the track subsides. Fantastic track from a fantastic release."

Woob 1194

Ireneusz J. Wojcik | San Diego, CA | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got my copy for $80 on ebay. I thought to myself, "whatever," people are probably exaggerating, like they usually are. I put the CD in (shuffle mode, "Wuub" came first), went about my business, music started, beat kicked in, and I stopped. Seemed that everything stopped. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing -- no music, no movie has ever had such an impact on me. I believe I just stood there with my mouth open, a chill run through me, I looked at my arms and saw I was covered in goose bumps. This CD is something else. It is out of this world. There is a spooky quality to it, but it does not mean that it is devilish. Just something eerie, something weird and beautiful at the same time, something extremely powerful. I half expected a UFO to be flying outside my window. In fact I think I actually looked out for one. And to think that it is from 1994. I have plenty of Ambient CDs by some of the leading artists of today -- none of them come even close to Woob 1194. It's as if it was recorded on another planet by some advanced, higher intelligence and then thrown on Earth to confuse all those that listen to it. It is more than ambient, more than trip-hop, more than chill -- it is all of it plus some unexplained subconscious 'something' that will put your senses through such a spin that you will have a new outlook on music. On top of it all -- I now want a pet Penguin."