Various Artists Analogy Vol 2 Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband   Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Velvet Sky (Emmens & Heij) & Sneak Preview (Ron Boots)')

This album celebrates all things Analogue with some excellent musicians donating previously unavailable music which is then cross faded together to make one immense piece. Rogue Element kicks things off with 'Mellowtronthoughts' It is hardly surprising that the said 'Tron' is the featured instrument mixing with both watery effects and tropical birdsong, so a bit like a cross between 'Epsilon in Malaysian Pale' and 'Aqua' I suppose. We drift into 'Tole Ondulee' by Francois-Pol Cornec' on the back of an exciting sequence which mutates well, keeping the interest high. 4M33s give us 'Sunrise in Cyderia', a rather brooding atmospheric piece. Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij have already created two of the best albums over recent years so it was with a thrill that I listened to their new track 'Velvet Sky'. Sequences are back and what sequences! They are deep, unstoppably powerful, rapid bass heavy and pure heaven! What's more they get even better in response to the swelling underlying pads. The lead line which enters in the fifth minute is, as to be expected, equally impressive. It is the longest track on the album and deservedly so.

Russell Storey cools our fevered brow with some organ tinged cosmic drones. James J Clent donates 'Black Tails' to the project. Gentle guitar licks mix with a lovely sequence and exciting stabbing looped notes. The guitar takes the lead role and it mixes very well indeed with the pulsating backing. Craig Padilla now takes over with 'Improbability Drive'. It's rather different to anything I have heard from him before. Dripping water effects mix with birdsong followed by a rapid early 70s sounding sequence then equally as urgent percussion. The baton is now passed to Kees Aerts. A bass line is augmented by metallic sounding sequence and repeated melody before the first lead line proper breaks forth. It was a very enjoyable track which fitted into the spirit of the album very well. It's all rather bleepy for the start of 'Creation Garden' by Zen Paradox'. A nice steady beat gives a bit more of a conventional structure. Stephen Parsick is very popular amongst our customers so I was eager to hear what he was going to offer us here. I must say that 'Electromagnetic' came as something of a surprise as it combines a heavily processed tribal rhythm with little shimmering drones and subtle melodic motifs. Fascinating stuff! 'Reaching Out' by Create has gorgeous haunting backing with some particularly nice mellotron out of which a series of sequences emerge. A guitar duels with very melodic lead line for 'Dusktreader' by Altres, and all very pleasant it is too. Things then get a little grungy (in the nicest possible sense) as we return to Russel Storey once more for the second part of his 'Cosmic Kiwi'. It contrasts the previous track so well.