Search - Material :: Hallucination Engine

Name says it all - music to fly to

Vadim Grigorash | Moscow, Russia | 01/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If the hypocrites and central scrutinizers of the world weren't so narrow-minded, they would have banned this album as an illicit drug on the date of release. It flows, simmers, grooves and soars inextinguishably in a virtually seamless fusion of a dozen of ancient and modern styles with a nod to eternity. Powerful and mesmerizing enough to make a Sufi twirl. Highly recommended, even if some find it a bit recycled or repetitive after Laswell's one-too-many subsequent offerings, or too muzaky to rank on par with 'serious jazz'. Stuff of a quality rarely achieved by today's 'ethno/world' crowd.For the proverbial desert island collection, I'd put it right next to Mark Hollis, Secrets of the Beehive, Joe's Garage, Hunky-Dory, Glyph, Remain in Light, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, Dreams of Reason Produce Monsters, Grassy Knoll's Positive, Beginning to Melt, Crimson's Beat and One Hand, Portishead, Mind Bomb, What Means Solid Traveler, Jimi Hendrix and an early 70s funk and soul compilation.If you're a Laswell novice, here's some hard-picked (the guy is notoriously prolific) highlights:Unless you're not a Knitting Factory/NY downtown gang buff, avoid other Materials except Seven Souls and Memory Serves.On a lighter side, go for Laswell's solo outing Silent Recoil, Sacred System exploits, the Dub Chamber series or Laswell/Wobble collaborations Radioaxiom and Heaven and Earth.For a darker and more disturbing experience, try Blind Light's Absence of Time (with Laswell and Palomino Anton Fier), Equations of Eternity, Veve or Ashes' Corpus (with Laswell, Bernocchi and Almamegretta's Reeno - here's what I call a power trio).For total anesthesia, put on any of the first two Death Cube K albums (omitting the noise tracks). For the truly adventurous only, but chances are they'll blow your mind to smithereens.Getting back to Hallucination Engine, definitely give it a try. Even if you end up hating it, it's worth the effort. How many things can you get these days that are not trite, especially if we are talking a piece of plastic worth under $20?"

Thank God CD's are more durable than vinyl

C. Woodman | Perth, Western Australia | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While my review may not be as eloquent as the others on this page, the sentiments are the same. This recording will take you to a hundred different places every time you listen to it, be it night time or day. I have found myself raving about this album to others like some crazy fanatic - but then you just have to get it to see what I mean."

Incomparable . . . A Great Record!

George Schaefer | 02/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To this day I have attempted to find a record in this genre that is so well laid out from start to finish. Laswell and a seemingly endless cast of collaborators have constructed a nearly flawless record, blending hip-hop beats, jazzy horns, eastern percussion, dubbed bass, and tranced-out effects for an around-the-world and perhaps around-the-universe affair on one CD.Even amongst Laswell's and Material's other offerings, one doesn't find a record that does so much while maintaining its cohesiveness. The only divergence is the spoken word track featuring William S. Burroughs who offers "Words of Advice" - it's funky, funny, and true.I guess the reason I haven't been able to find a record in this "genre" is because this particular recording defies the concept of genre. As a studio wizard, Laswell proves his range by going on to produce records from musical giants including Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom) and Miles Davis (Panthalassa) posthumously. This is probably the record that earned him that right."