Release : Tom Middleton - Lifetracks Album Sampler
Artist : Tom Middleton
Album : Lifetracks Album Sampler
Genre : Electronic
Source : CDDA
Label : Big Chill
URL :
Date : 10-01-2007
Encoder : lame.exe -V 2 --vbr-new
Quality : 178kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 5
Time : 26:10 min
Size : 33.79 MB
1 Prana 4:44
2 Beginning Of The Middle 5:22
3 Shinkansen (The Odyssey) 8:22
4 Serendipity 4:22
5 Sea Of Glass 3:20
As far as chill out goes, Tom Middleton is a definite break from the norm. This
is an album that strays so far from the remit of ôchill out danceö that it is a
mystery as to why it has been labelled this way in the first place. Instead,
this album is clearly an experiment in MiddletonÆs continuing obsession with
exploring what he calls ôpure emotions in soundö and using the Big Chill
Festival that he helped inspire as his base, æLifetracksÆ is the culmination of
a project lasting nearly a decade and the fruits of his labour are more then a
little provocative.
Yet there are moments when this album does drift into muzak territory. Album
false-starter æPranaÆ is one of those typical low-fi ambient tracks that youÆve
heard a thousand times before and it is to MiddletonÆs credit that he does not
continue in this way as the immediate follow-up æBeginning Of The MiddleÆ which
scores highly for originality and builds into a mighty orchestral crescendo
before the choral driven æShinkansenÆ pushes the album into darker areas. This
is, of course, what makes the album different. In places æLifetracksÆ sounds
like a film score on tracks such as the scenic æSea Of GlassÆ whilst songs such
as æSerendipityÆ hark back to that classic dance piano break that have made so
many dance classics of the nineties.
As æLifetracksÆ goes past the halfway point it is possible to detect traces of
more classic ôchill outö on some of the latter tracks yet this is only fleeting
as time and time again it seems that MiddletonÆs mind is working faster then his
little DJ arms can twiddle knobs. Indeed, tracks such æSt Ives BayÆ sound more
like the Icelandic glacial outfit MuM rather then Nitin Sawney with its mournful
horn and sombre bass. Meanwhile, æMoonbathingÆ features a gliding piano score
over a heartbeat thump sample that sounds like it belongs on a soundtrack to the
next Xbox edition of Halo. The results are stunning in places, yet with its
astral projections, minimalist production and the intense emotion that drips out
of æLifetracksÆ this album can also be more then a little impenetrable.
Overall, youÆd be a fool to buy this if you wanted an easy listen and it is
unlikely that this will become a dance music classic, but there can be no doubt
that this album is gloriously inventive, evocative and showcases a master at the
height of his craft.