Search - Fluxion :: Spaces

On second thoughts...

Rupert Morris | Vancouver, BC Canada | 04/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was initially going to give Fluxion's album Spaces a negative review. I'm a big fan of Vibrant Forms 2, and expected more of the same, and thus was disappointed. Upon first listen, Spaces was beatless droning, lacking the life and tempo and gorgeously rich techno aesthetic of Vibrant Forms. I lacked the patience to give it a fair listen. "Lame." Skip. "Lame." Skip. "Lame." Skip.



I was sitting down, listening to it one night on my stereo, and decided to write a negative review for Amazon, to inform others of this album's shortcomings. Track 4 was playing, and I quite liked it actually. It was very spatial and came forth from my speakers and hovered in the middle of the room with its open vastness, like some sort of sound-hologram. Echoes and reverb established boundaries far beyond my four walls. Well, I thought, the album sucks except for track four, which by all accounts is pretty freaking sweet, come to think about it. (Edit: This has since become my favorite track on the album).



As I continued typing and thinking, I happened across track 9, which is very effervescent and rich whilst simultaneously echoey, just the sort of thing I like about Fluxion's work. It also, thankfully, goes on for some time, thus getting a chance to establish its atmosphere thoroughly. So I guess the album sucks, except for tracks 4 and 9, which are damned good.



Then of course, there's what is probably the most accessible track on the album, track 11, which is much more structured with percussion. It is cool, relaxed and techno-like, similar to VF2. It drops all the right sounds in all the right places. Very fresh.



As you can tell, pretty soon I realized that in fact the whole album is pretty much excellent. You just have to be in the right frame of mind when you listen to it. It also helps to hear it on a good stereo or headphones; if I heard this album on a boombox, I'd scratch my head in wonderment at the thought of people enjoying this "music."



I've now had Spaces for four days, heard the album approximately 8 times and I am loving it. As much as Vibrant Forms 2. There are tracks I do not like, namely two tracks (2 & 7) which do not appeal to me because they sound low-res. They sound like very, very low bitrate realaudio being steamed over the net. I hate that sound quality; I shudder upon hearing it, as i love my audio to be crisp and high resolution.

Also, track 8 is farty, and so short-lived it does not have time to establish any real sense of atmosphere, so I can't say I like it either. But that leaves 8 tracks I like a lot.



Once you get over the fact that this is not VF3, I think you'll love this album too."

Nice variety. not lengthy enough to establish a mood

aimbyent | Pacific Grove, CA United States | 04/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My only take on this CD is the shortness of most of the tracks. This doesn't allow for establishing a mood. Just about the time I get into the sounds, the piece is over. Fluxion could have easily spanned 2 CDs with the rich and unique sounds used here. I would have preferred less number of tracks in favor of lengthier ones. Nonetheless 5stars for uniqueness and conveyance of mood."

Texture and ambience - 4.5 Stars

Steward Willons | Illinois | 07/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On "Spaces", Fluxion takes his already minimal dub techno into extreme abstraction. The album consists mainly of ambient textures (the sort that form the background of great dub techno tracks) with beats buried far below the murky depths. Sometimes the beats aren't even there and the music becomes an ambient wash with vaguely rhythmic elements, but nothing so pronounced that you could do much other than groove gently with it. In short, it's an awesome album for listening, but Fluxion fans who enjoyed the "Vibrant Forms" albums may be disappointed in this new direction.



These tracks are all about texture. With very little rhythmic content and almost no melody, it's all about the mood and the enveloping atmosphere created by reverb soaked environmental sounds - and a healthy does of lightly filtered white noise. That doesn't mean it all sounds the same though. The first few tracks are evocative of a wintry field with no trees to stop the wind for miles. Wind and snow blow past the listener, left absolutely isolated, as if to suggest an alien world devoid of any other life. Then we have tracks like "Unechoic Room", which takes the formula and relocates it underwater with an entirely different style of reverb and echo. I imagine that if I went exploring for deep sea life on a Discovery Channel show, this is what I would hear.



Maybe you'll hear something completely different. The best part is, this music is so non-explicit, that the listener is free to find a wealth of meaning, unique to their ears. The real point is, it puts strong images in your head, which makes this very minimal music a rich, rewarding experience.



That said, if you don't really like ambient music, this is probably not for you. One of the reasons I find this music so effective is that I happen to like stuff like this a lot. It's far removed from this Basic Channel-esque "Vibrant Forms" albums, almost to the point that it could be a different artist altogether. If you've heard Fluxion's "Bipolar Defect", you have a good idea of what to expect. Listen to "Aviation", the next to last track and that's essentially what you'll find on "Spaces."



I found "Spaces" to be a rich sonic experience, and a relaxing one at that. I can't recommend this to all Fluxion fans since it's very different. At the same time, it's such great music that I would think anyone who enjoys the more ambient side of dub techno could find something here that they like. I highly recommend it to fans of electronic abstraction, but I also recommend checking out some samples online, as they will give you a good idea of what to expect."