Mandrake: Shake Your Space Traveller

mad-syst.jpg (9k) Mandrake: Shake Your Space Traveller
(involve - 2001)

Downtempo grooves (of thoroughly modern stylings) meet with bright, quite-musical synthsounds from New Zealand.

Mandrake urges you to Shake Your Space Traveller (whatever that means!) with 17 tracks of lush electronic tunes. These spaces are neither dark nor cold, but do indeed glimmer.

Subtle musicality meanders through opening number, Slow Cut; spunky-yet-subdued e-beats churn beneath, occasionally sparking with tropicana flavorings. Crispy sweetness and gentle trills mark Theme of the Eternal Champion Level 1 as an especially lovely piece. Wavering streams of coppertones cross the spacy expanse of Pedra Cruz (Night) with tiny electronic pips keeping time like stars.

More-abstract realms are delved into while Silver Noise (0:45) flutters and rings, but only briefly. Rock-steady beats are topped with electro-loungey vibes when Shake Your Space Traveller shimmers and chimes prettily. Bass-n-bleeps form a hypnotic pattern through Blue Flotations (sic) woven through with various warbling synth leads.

Lightly spattering rhythmics are spaciously applied behind the twinkling/drifting layers of keyboarding in Cold Boy including light harpsichord-ish passages. Nimbly-fingered notes sparkle with glassy resonance in beatless Theme of the Eternal Champion Level 3. A soft musical gift? Becca, Here's Your Present (5:27) underlays dreamy synth sweeps and notes with a faintly effervescent fizz... gorgeous stuff!

Lightly mechanical accompaniment clicks along to pleasant chord progressions and cymbals of Theme of the Eternal Champion Level 2. Warm and bouncy R.A.D. spirals out twirling streamers and peppy handclaps. E-piano loops and hazy waves stir around Pedra Cruz (Day), powered by loosely energized beats.

At the root of Mandrake's sweet sounds is a tasty pairing of loosely-structured tunefulness and snappy beatronics. Shake Your Space Traveller rates an appreciable 8.5 for light-but-not-limp e-listening.

A new release from the involve label; see also label-head aspen's music from passing cars and this month's interview).

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This review posted May 31, 2001

AmbiEntrance © 2001-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).