Sleepy music from a pioneering DJ.
Room40
Buoy, the latest from DJ Olive,is a strong departure from the blunted beats and urban soundscapes for which he is most well known. Following closely on the heels of his participation in another Room40 release, the Melatonin compilation that was centered around themes of sleep, Buoy provides a single 60+ minute track of sleepy alpha wave drones and dream state murmurs. This is womb music: syrupy liquid sounds humming and surrounding everything with a warm, fluid bath. There are faint noises from the outside world that occassionally trickle in, but the vast majority of Buoy is an isolated and insulated swirl that feels as smooth as it does effortless. Unlike the compositions for which Olive coined the term, "illbient," this piece is clearly centered around a comforting ambience that hints at both solace and protection. It's interesting in that respect that the disc is all drone and pulse and electronic tone, but it never sounds dark. A similar set of ingredients in Olive's hands many years ago might have given way to something a little more unsettling or disquiet, but Buoy remains calm and unthreatening. While his instructions on the inside of the CD case suggest playing the disc as quietly as possible, a dark room, a thick blanket, and the headphones turned up to ten would be my recommendation.
Buoy, the latest from DJ Olive,is a strong departure from the blunted beats and urban soundscapes for which he is most well known. Following closely on the heels of his participation in another Room40 release, the Melatonin compilation that was centered around themes of sleep, Buoy provides a single 60+ minute track of sleepy alpha wave drones and dream state murmurs. This is womb music: syrupy liquid sounds humming and surrounding everything with a warm, fluid bath. There are faint noises from the outside world that occassionally trickle in, but the vast majority of Buoy is an isolated and insulated swirl that feels as smooth as it does effortless. Unlike the compositions for which Olive coined the term, "illbient," this piece is clearly centered around a comforting ambience that hints at both solace and protection. It's interesting in that respect that the disc is all drone and pulse and electronic tone, but it never sounds dark. A similar set of ingredients in Olive's hands many years ago might have given way to something a little more unsettling or disquiet, but Buoy remains calm and unthreatening. While his instructions on the inside of the CD case suggest playing the disc as quietly as possible, a dark room, a thick blanket, and the headphones turned up to ten would be my recommendation. samples:
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