a r t i s t : Manual
t i t l e : Bajamar
d a t e : May 2006
l a b e l : Darla
c a t : DRL172
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Electronic
r l s. d a t e : Jun/2006
t r a c k s : 05
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 60,7 MB
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How timely, just as the sun starts to roll in and thick rays
are gradually cracking over the grey towerblock-lined vistas
of Manchester, Manual gives us a soundtrack to the impending
summer. The followup to his album 'The North Shore' (which I
still reckon is his best to date), 'Bajamar' once more takes
us beach-side, this time influenced by a summer in California,
cocktail in hand with the sun slowly sinking into the sea. It
is described in the press release as Manual's most 'minimal'
album to date - but I think minimal is the wrong word to use
here, from the very beginning we are treated to dense textures
and layered melodies, maybe comparable to Gas remixing the
Cocteau Twins if that could ever happen, and bringing to mind
the warmer tracks on Aphex Twin's seminal Selected Ambient
Works volume 2. Pretty shards of guitar and synths are washed
into a soup of noise and sound, and the result is captivating.
Those who find ambient music nothing more than a background to
something else should listen carefully as hidden beneath
Manual's fuzzy ambience are tiny stories of love, regret and
tearful reunion. Magic.
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01-Bajamar [01:51]
02-Celebration [10:53]
03-Reminiscence [10:28]
04-September Swell [15:07]
05-La Torche [04:51]
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43:10 min