Audiophonik - a review


by 3D Addict





AUDIOPHONIK - music for the scene generation

Few weeks before TP'99 I received the Audiophonik CD from Darkness/Imphobia. This was a nice surprise as I was already planning on buying this CD. Darkness asked me to write a review if I liked the cd, which I do, so here it is :)

As with all Imphobia CD productions the design is of great quality. PL does his work very well, one must say that. Looking through the CD booklet, I can't help commenting on the great idea of having every featured musician have it's own page with personal info, projects and comments sections. It's always interesting to know what your favorite musicians are up to, how old they are or what to expect from them in the future. Ok, now all this is great but let's dive into the essence of this production - the 12 audio tracks. To give you a better idea of what this CD is about, I have chosen to comment on the tracks which I like the most. Here they are:

[ flow by MOBY aka Frederic Motte ]

After listening to this track for a few minutes, I was asking myself if this was the Moby I knew of from the demos scene. Indeed it was, but as Moby explains in the CD booklet, "Flow" is an experimental tune and surely very different from his usual style. At first I didn't like it much, but after listening to it some more, it got better. Actually it gets better for each time I listen to it, and now "Flow" is one of my favorite tracks on the CD. The tune is very electronic in sound, no guitars here, and quite original in style, I would say.

[ the giving tree by SIREN aka Alexander Brandon ]

I must say that, I LOVE Siren UNREAL game music! I like his early mods(94-96) as well but it seems to me that he really developed as a musician while writing game music. I could hear it right away that this was his track. I'm though not too sure how the singing fits in here, but hey, I'm not a musician..

[ overture by JOGEIR aka Jogeir Liljedahl ]

Well.. back in the days when Amiga ruled the scene, music disks (and slideshows for that matter) were very popular. Jesterday, Crystal Symphonies, Legalize it or Dizzy Tunes were so kewl! "Overture" is a real oldie(released on Dizzy Tunes), but an unforgettable tune. As with most of Jogeir's music this tune is very melodic, gentle, moving and full of mood and variety. If you are a Jogeir fan I can highly recommend Jogeir's first CD "The Wanderer", which is available from Bjorn Lynnes site - www.lynnemusic.com



[ little monkey by Lizardking aka Gustaf Grefberg ]

This immediately reminds me of Lizardkings new style. The one from Fashion 8. I like it a lot.

[ third millenium by LLUVIA aka Anne Haessig ]

"Third millenium" reminds me of the early works of Steve Hillage(Fire, 777, Cyber War soundtrack) which I love. If you are not familiar with the early System 7 albums, I would describe it as an ambient-cyber-trance kind of music. "Third millenium" is rhythmic, not powerful but with pretty high BPM rate, which gives you a dreamy like cyber floating experience.(sort of)

[ ephemeral wanderer by C.C.CATCH aka Kenny Chou ]

This is a nice, relaxing, easy going and sort of laid back track. In style it reminds a bit of Robert Miles. "Ephemeral wanderer" was also my favorite track after I listened to Audiophonik for the first time.

[ space deliria by DR.AWESOME aka Bjorn Lynne ]

What can I say... A BLAST FROM THE PAST!! would be most appropriate, as this version of Space Deliria simply ROCKS in every meaning of this word! If you loved the original Space Deliria released on Amiga 500, and later got blasted by the improved Space Deliria from hoBbiTs & SpACesHipS, you will love this one! It's absolutely incredible!

A final word. Audiophonik is a compilation of modern scene music. Some of the best musicians and scene legends have been asked to participate in this project, providing over 70 minutes of top demoscene sound. Since there are only few of similar projects around, they are all one of a kind, including this one. Scener or not, Audiophonik can be recommended to anyone who likes electronic music.



For the full track listing of the Audiophonik CD and purchase info go to www.imphobia.org or email Darkness/Imphobia






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