s w e e t b e a t s
may.26.2002 - #internal release
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artist : Lusine ICL
album : Coalition 2000
year : 2001
label : U-Cover
genre : Electronic
catalogue : U-COVER006CD
url : www.u-cover.com
quality : CD 192k HQ True Stereo
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Night 1.
01.Night One 05:02
Night 2.
02.Sem 3 07:30
03.Lazydayz 10:12
04.Out-Takes 04:34
05.Plastic 06:55
06.Deadend 07:40
07.b308 07:51
08.Feedme 10:12
08 tracks | 60:01 mins | 82,4 MB
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A live cd release of Lusine ICL. Jeff McIlwain aka Lusine ICL. has
created a very personal style over the years, working with melody
and rhythm but also leaving some space for more explosive sounds
and beats. This is his second release on u-cover. Coalition 2000 is
also vinyl-released on INC.US. U-cover cd limited on 855.
reviews for Lusine ICL - Coalition 2000
as the time passes, the boundaries between two jeff mcilwain's
projects (l'usine and lusine icl) start to fade. this is even more
obvious, considering recent "surface" ep on isophlux that lends one
of its tracks to this album ("deadend"). as opposed to initially
traditional idm flavor of early l'usine, lusine icl toyed with more
diverse styles - from minimal melodic techno, to deep ambient
soundscapes. in this respect "pseudo steady state" was such a
revelation, a milestone release for many (an impact which,
considering the cd's limited nature, is quite impressive).
with "coalition 2000" (available both as a cd and vinyl release
through inc.us) u-cover stays within the boundaries of strictly
limited releases, uniquely packaged, featuring excellent artwork.
as far as I can tell, the material on the cd is supposed to be a
live cd release, and together with new tracks, contains three old
ones, featured on "pseudo steady state" - "sem 3," "lazydayz," and
"feedme" (as well as aforementioned track off "surface"). it seems
like each of those tracks were altered in some way, which, I
suppose, should be attributed to the live nature of the album.
overall this album is a continuation of themes brought up on
"pseudo steady state" - at times it is playing with long stretches
of minimal atmospheric textures, little acoustic bleeps and noises
that later develop a fluid melody with familiar organic textures
and light, melodic atmosphere. the whole albums seems to be one
well-composed track, and even the old tracks are altered to the
point where they blend seamlessly in this wonderful acoustic
electronica mix. this release is certainly a complement to "pseudo
steady state" (or is it the other way around?), and should be
strongly recommended to anyone that appreciated the latter.
(anton) - Seven - september 2001
In a musical landscape divided between 80s retro enthusiasts and a
group of artists, labels, and even journalists frantically trying
to come up with the next forward-thinking paradigm now that
"glitch" has turned out to be less than the all-encompassing
musical ideology it was originally proclaimed to be, very few
records come out that hint at being able to create an impact that
will last them after the current fads (both mainstream and
avantgarde) withers away. 'Coalition 2000', a collection of
material originating in two live shows done in Antwerp (Belgium) in
October 2000, quite possibly may be such a record. To be sure, it
features a few (admittedly delightful) instances of late 80s
electronic disco getting deconstructed, and one could indeed argue
that many tracks borrow rather heavily from the "glitch" paradigm.
Looking at the overall picture, however, the amalgam of styles and
ideas as a whole comes off not as some kind of obligatory
cross-over festival, but rather as a powerful, focused artistic
statement. This statement may not be independent of the time in
which it was created, but it most certainly does more than express
knowledge of what's fashionable. What retro contributes to this
album is a heavy use of purely electronic sounds, most of which
you've probably heard before. To these sometimes rather sterile
synth pads "glitch" then adds the realization that manipulated
white noise and accidental sounds can impart an organic feel that's
difficult, if not impossible, to create with "pure" electronics.
This is, of course, not a new combination: As early as 1974,
Japan's Richard Barbieri, for instance, was modulating elements of
his synthesizer pads with various forms of noise to give them a
more random feel. It is, however, a technique that still is
effective and one that has been evolving steadily since then,
adding ever greater amounts of noise and randomness to the pure and
clean waveforms produced by analogue and digital oscillators.
Technicalities aside, the tracks on 'Coalition 2000' are also
unashamedly musical. This, too, isn't unique - viz the output of,
say, Four Tet, Arovane (the superb 'Atol Scrap' album), or The
Third Eye Foundation. "Being musical", however, is not something
you can fake: You either are or you aren't. L'Usine ICL has shown,
on this release, that he can be. Whatever issues marred his
previous offerings (excessively anal Warp-ish tinkering), they're
absent on this release, making 'Coalition 2000' one of the finest
and most musical releases of 2001 yet. Seeing as it is a limited
edition, you would be well advised to go out and get it right now.
If you miss it, you can only hope L'Usine's next "proper" offering
will again be this good.
(Matthijs de Jonge) - KindaMuzik - september 2001
Jeff McIlwain returns on U-Cover as Lusine icl with this fitting
follow-up to last year's brilliant release 'A Pseudo Steady State'.
The superb and groundbreaking innovation of 'A Pseudo Steady State'
caught many off guard, exhibiting a fantastic display of
professional-sounding electronic compositions carefully presented
as a seamless album of futuristic and timeless musical works. This
time around, we are treated to a collection of live arrangements
further exemplifying McIlwain's abilities to create inventive and
ultramodern works of aural art within a live setting. The music on
'Coalition 2000' builds precisely, at times developing 10-minute
songs out of a single initial sound or pattern. The entire album
flows as if it were a single track, utilizing lengthy phases of
atmospheric soundscapes to merge the more familiar tracks like
'Sem3', 'Lazydayz', and 'Feedme', and giving them subtle variances
to reflect their live setting. While listening to 'Coalition 2000',
the listener is given the feel of witnessing these songs unfold in
real time, as if the composer were building them solely for the
listener alone as a reward for focused interest in his work. Each
piece of music is carefully exposed, paralleling the original
tracks at times, but ultimately emerging from a slightly different
dimension. Miniature pieces of sound in an otherwise moment of
silence will foreshadow a song's peak, at times several minutes
beforehand, effectively adding to the true fluidity of the album's
flow. 'Coalition 2000' is a refreshing, inventive, clean-sounding
electronic record that will have even the most adamant purist
lending an ear to this outstanding release. Jeff McIlwain continues
to expand on his already insightful music writing talents, again
composing another stimulating collection of songs that are years
ahead of many current offerings in this genre.
(synctank) - Purist Online Magazine - november 2001
--u-cover.com
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s w e e t b e a t s
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greetings to klangwerk, mgc, sour, dh, diss & sfe
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