Urawa
"The Most Boring Thousand Years of my Life"

Two things drove me to this release. One, anything John Sellekaers (Olivier Moreau is Urawa's other half) works on, or creates holds some appeal for me. There is just something in his sound, and how it works with others; that let's me believe I'll love *anything* released by Mr. Sellekaers. Two, I had heard the first Urawa release "A Dog Called Demolition" and found the technoid beats and sci-fi nature of the music right in my realm of music taste. All of those tracks are available for download at Metarc Studios webpage for free now. I'd suggest not going there first for an impression of Urawa's latest, as the sound has had an overhaul in a sense.

Now I say overhaul, and do mean a totally new sound is the way Urawa has gone, but this isn't bad. The sound has turned much more minimal, and beatless in nature; but seemingly more active then the "Villa Vertigo" release by Urawa. If you are familiar with the Xingu Hill project, then you might say the sounds present here resemble the 'background' effects used in Xingu Hill songs. Not to say some songs don't have a rhythm of sorts ("Redneck Martians Stole my Baby"), but there is nothing 'standard' here. The sounds used are varied from scratches, deep drones, clicks, varying pitches of feedback and few voice samples for good measure. Even though the sounds may seem very minimal, this album shows that even that can say alot.

Of particular note:
Track 8: "Elvis in the Holy Ghost Corral"
Now what would you expect from a song titled as such? Well whatever it is, forget it cause it is probably not what's here! ;) Ambient, and very spacial in sound. Waves of soft synthlines will wash over you, which create this scene of being within an etheral sea of bottomless depth. At this song's end you'll see a light ahead of you, with twangy guitar sounds filtering through the ambience. Beckoning you onwards towards that beautiful Holy Ghost Corral which is very welcoming in it's appearance.

Track 13: "Redneck Martians Stole my Baby"
A standout track not only because I took a liking to it, but because it is so different from the others on this CD. There are immediate hints at something with a beat in this song. No real drum patterns are used, it's a meshed together collage of glitches, pops and static creating the rhythm here. This song will slowly build upon itself, adding in more effects; then backing up to start the build up again with even more sounds. This track is very intelligent in sound, and quite humorous when one tries and pictures the "redneck martians" that stole the baby in this track.

Approaching this CD with an open mind, and a relaxing environment to listen to it in is my suggestion. The songs presented need room to build (though they aren't long individually). The CD as a whole flows together as one longer song in a sense. There are so many intricate details to be found in Urawa's music, making for a new experience every listen. The song titles also lighten the mood of the music, adding both a humorous aspect and mystery to it at the same time. Well produced and laid out musically, including attractive abstract artwork, I'd say Urawa has a winner here. Maybe it was a boring thousand years for these musicians, but certainly not for us the honored listeners!

Information:
Label: Falling Elevators
Serial: fe03
Title: The Most Boring Thousand Years of my Life CD
Band: Urawa
Site: www.fallingelevators.com

Reviewed by Bry'n
5.21.02