The Afterlife Lounge
V. Lara | Houston, Texas | 09/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In my opinion, this is less of a full blown follow up to "Speck of Gold", than it is a collection of loose, unreleased tracks and collaborations. However, that does not mean that it is in any way less impressive than the last two previous Afterlife outings. If anything, you can definitely hear how producer Steve Miller (Afterlife) has refined his style and how his sound has grown, drawing from different influences.
The album starts off with "Let It Go", an Afterlife track featuring Cathy Battistessa on vocals, followed by "Lovedub". "Home", which features fellow dj/producer Chris Coco, and "China Flowers" round out the Afterlife tracks. "Breakfast at Benirras", "Souk Rok", and "Sleazebag" are the Kid Stone tracks, they retain that familiar warmth, but they have a different sound than the other songs, at least in my opinion they do.
Also featured here is a Lux (Steve Miller & James Bright) track, Jello, not on the "Northern Lights" album, as well as a track by No Logo (Steve Miller and Pete Gooding), Bacalao. From my perspective, Jello does'nt really sound like anything on the "Northern Lights" album, and Bacalao is definitely different than "Is Anybody Out There" , a No Logo track featured on Cafe Mambo 06, but both tracks are amazing none the less.
"The Alkemyst" and "S'Estanol" are the two Dos Hombres tracks which feature the talent of Phil Mison along with Steve Miller. Both tracks are outstanding, you can really hear the influence from both producers. Last but certainly not least are the two remixes featured on this album, an afterlife remix of a coldcut track, and the rwk remix of "let it go". "Return to Margin" the track remixed by Afterlife is definitely a nice addition to the album, Steve Miller adds his signature and makes the song his own like no one else knows how. "Let It Go" the track remixed by the production team of RKW, in not drastically different from the original, it features a mellow house-styled approach to the song that is accompanied with breaks, beats, and loops.
Overall this is definitely a solid album, it really shows the various talents of Steve Miller and his various collaborators. Also be sure to check out Metropolitan Lounge by Afterlife, the "best of" compilation was only released in Japan, but it is a perfect companion to this album.
Additionally, for more recent audio tracks and information on Steve Miller's current projects, you can visit the subatomick uk website."
This is a superb "lounge" cd.
Thomas Gabuzda | Montco PA, usa | 12/27/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The term "lounge" is a little vague... this release is at times jazzy, DJ, techno, Latin and dance oriented. There are 5 or 6 tracks that I flat out love, mostly featuring Cathy Battistessa (who performs often in Ibiza) and her voice is impossibly poignant and sensual. Happily she is also a very fine singer and is mixed beautifully on these tracks. The tracks "Go Easy", "Shine" and "Let it Go" are simply great whether for club or home. I hope this collaboration creates more though it will be tough to surpass these tracks."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1