Search - Echostar :: Sola

Ever wonder what happend to Bowery Electric?

Bryen Mackey | Phoenix , az Usa | 07/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since the release of "Beat" i have been a huge Bowery Electric fan. Soon Arrived "Vertigo"("Beat" Remixes), and last but not least "Lushlife". After so many years of wondering what was coming next, my question is finally answered.From out of nowhere , and without warning Comes EchoStar. A project of former Bowery Electric singer Martha S. It Feels like "lushlife" Part 2 . You may even hear some beats familiar to you . The first track is not my favorite. Everything else on this cd is wonderful. Martha's hushed vocals streaming over electronic Smears of emotion. Buy It"

Solo sola

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/29/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"By definition, chillout electronica isn't meant to make you dance or vibrate in your seat. It's supposed to make you melt into a relaxed little puddle. When it does that, Echostar's "Sola" succeeds as a pretty, ethereal little album, but sometimes it chills itself right into a coma.



"You float like a butterfly/and sting like a bee/talk like a dreamer/caught up in a dream," intones Martha Schwendener in the opening of "Sola." What follows is a mix of poppy downtempo electronica, sometimes with little waves of sonic grit running just under the surface, sometimes with sparkling electronic glimmers (as in "Run").



Schwendener spices things up with a handful of textured experimental tracks, and a few trippy, crystalline little ditties that go nowhere. The songs can sputters like a dying lawnmower to a vaguely hip-hoppish beat, have an eastern flavor, or glide by as smoothly and softly as a summer evening.



"Sola" takes awhile to sink in. At first listen, it sounds rather generic, and almost too chilled out for its own good. But further listens reveal that it's actually a rather pretty, unique little chillout album. Schwendener doesn't break any new ground, but at least she adds a bit of sparkle to well-worn paths.



The first few songs are extremely generic chillout, and it's difficult to even remember what they sound like once they're over. But at "Near Lightning," things start to perk up. By "Tedesco" we've got a sinister undertone to a simple dancebeat, and rich soundscapes that overwhelm the blips and bleeps. Simple, but somehow very sweet and pure.



Schwendener doesn't have much of a knack for songwriting, that must be admitted. What you can hear is rather generic. But her vocals make up for that -- slow, soft, and distinctly sensuous in an airy way. At times her vocals seem almost like a part of the instrumentation, weaving in and out of the electronica.



"Sola" has some flaws, such as the weak beginning and average songwriting. But Echostar's debut album is a remarkably pretty album, despite its weak spots."

Freeway Freefall

Philip L | San Diego CA | 03/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bear masterfully down upon the varied and undulating freeway as my Mini carries me from L.A. to San Diego in the last golden sunlight of the day. I release my grip as the CD player absorbes Echostar into its dark interior. I am instantly, but gently pulled into a meandering current of sound, spreading, perpetually crossing and counter crossing, adding fresh urban-born tones to the incessant, almost imperceptible sound of some powerful cosmic energy source, massive, yet moving with liquid grace and speed.
The delicate and breathy voice of Martha S., like spun silver , becomes interwoven among the compelling exquisite fabric of rhythms, sometimes overgrown and lost within the flow, then rising nobly from some hidden place, gliding deftly over the vast landscape of diverse musical contours.
My normally tedious drive southward becomes a colorful freefall down a swirling vortex of sound, on the borders of a dream.
This CD is a glittering gem."