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artist : The KLF
title : Chill Out
year : 1990
genre : Ambient
label : Wax Trax Records
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ripper : rudolph (dh)
rls-date : 30-nov-2000
encoder : fhg radium mp3 codec v1.263
quality : 192kbps/44,100hz
source : Compact Disc
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01 Brownsville Turnaround On The Tex-Mex Border 1:47
02 Pulling Out Of Ricardo And The Dusk Is Falling Fast 1:29
03 Six Hours To Louisiana, Black Coffee Going Cold 3:01
04 Dream Time In Lake Jackson 2:35
05 Madrugada Eterna 7:40
06 Justified And Ancient Seems A Long Time Ago 1:08
07 Elvis On The Radio, Steel Guitar In My Soul 3:02
08 3AM Somewhere Out Of Beaumont 9:24
09 Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard 5:55
10 Trancentral Lost In My Mind 1:16
11 The Lights Of Baton Rouge Pass By 3:34
12 A Melody From A Past Life Keeps Pulling Me Back 1:41
13 Rock Radio Into The Nineties And Beyond 1:26
14 Alone Again With The Dawn Coming Up 0:16
14 tracks (00h 44m 14s)
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So many fingers were pointing toward this one, I had to seek it out
quickly.
I know why now; it's a masterful blend of music, samples and
sounds, creating a 45-minute long Ambient train ride through space
and time.
Chill Out, as I understand, was mixed "live" in the studio, as one
complete piece. Apparently the U.S. distributors felt it necessary
to separate it into 14 "individual" (but unbroken) tracks, giving
them long descriptive titles like "Brownsville Turnaround on the
Tex-Mex Border", "Six Hours to Louisiana, Black Coffee Going Gold"
and "3AM Somewhere Out of Beaumont". (It still strikes me as odd
that a couple of U.K. blokes would construct their mystical,
musical trek across the Southern U.S...) The titles help clarify
certain sections, I suppose, but I'm going to treat it as the
artists intended, as a single (albeit long and multi-faceted) work.
Our excursion begins with quiet cricket and water sounds, beeping,
song and TV samples, then the rumble of the train approaches. The
sounds of its whistle, the clattering of the tracks and the dinging
crossing signals are very evocative of the movement you feel
throughout the peaceful trip. A regularly re-appearing pedal steel
guitar flavors the atmosphere with a languid "SouthWestern-ness".
The sounds of sheep and dogs also add a rural element.
A mutated voice chants, robotic yet aboriginal, overriding a long
drone and the rumble of the train. Passing traffic roars and beeps,
then the mournful pedal steel guitar claims center stage for a bit,
intermixed with strange, synthetic noises which whiz by.
Through sampled vocal snatches, we meet the recurring "preacher"
character, a grizzled extra from an old Western perhaps? He can get
a bit repetious; "Get ready... all the way down the east
coast...come back fat as a rat", but plenty of other sounds mingle
into the mix, including a news report of an auto accident and other
radio/TV clips.
The train rolls on... Elvis sings "In The Ghetto" (with lots of
reverb, steel guitar and railroad track clatter). These sounds fade
and are replaced by wind, wave and bird sounds, which are
overridden by a steady hum and a wordlessly singing female voice.
The guitar begins to strum again, and a familiar sonar blip
appears, as do recurring vocals. A sampled rhythm fades in and out
of the mix, more sheep bleat, children play. (This all might sound
strange in print, but the work flows and evolves wonderfully...
really!)
An aggressively wanky keyboard dominates the scene and the
preacherman returns, really hitting his stride, along with other
samples, sounds and textures. This passage picks up an actual beat
for a while. Other radio/TV samples blend in, including a "Rock
Radio" blurb and Van Halen guitar solo.
Things smooth out for some time with a soft drone, the sonar blip
and seagulls, transposing into a miniature "battle of the bands"
between a Big Band number and the Van Halen riff, both of which
have their moments. The work reaches its most chaotic point here,
the segues back into familiar tones and train sounds, bringing a
sense of closure to the whole journey.
It's a very impressive construction, definitely a standout example
of artistic sound manipulation and a great starting point for
someone new to the genre. Chill Out is a musical means of
transportation. My thumb is up, hitching another ride...
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greetings to sweetbeats, quadrophenia, sour, mindscape, emission
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