Intermittent Memories

This, ladies and gents, is seriously out there. The press release reads “Pete Pan has hand selected a group of MAYANASA transmissions from some of the earth’s top space pilots… These tracks are meant to be used for instant reentrance into your NOW from any part of space; they are also encoded as a set for ease of travel, both in take off and reentry.”

What this means is anybody’s guess. What’s significant is that it’s been a while since any sort of album had such an unashamedly out-there modus operandi as this. Albums have, quite correctly,concentrated on putting the artists at the forefront. They haven’t claimed to be interstellar transmissions suitable for astral travel (or whatever it’s supposed to be about.) And with the claim being so matter-of-fact out-there, you can’t even process it through your rational bullshit detector. In this sense, it’s one of the most ingenious marketing ploys in the history of music.

The vibe is, as you might expect, spacey ambient. Ishq’s Sundive is epic Ishq at his best, (val)Liam takes care of the glisteningly reflective, and Bodhisattva 13:20 probably wins in the most-out-there stakes.

The artist really holding this album up, however, is Androcell. His Opium Swirl is among his best works yet: sublimely unfolding and otherworldly, there’s a genuine sense of something higher being communicated through music here. Then Androcell remixes Solar Fields’ Airsong, and we all smile and nod in the warming presence of one of the finest pieces of music every to have been spawned by this scene.

The flow is interesting: ambient picks up to a mid-CD peak with Open System’s Atlantis, a very enjoyable slomo 4-4 track that’s drenched in psychedelic atmosphere. From there on out, it’s more reflective, deeper, finely-tuned stuff that gets more transparent-ambient as it goes.

Intermittent Memories isn’t essential – as chances are, a lot of this will sound like retrodden boards of downtempo. In other words, it lacks that spark of individuality that a handful of recent chill releases have displayed. That said, if you like your chill spacey and polished, then look no further.