Are You Shpongled?

Shpongle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 11, 2008)
• Original Release Date: February 4, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Twisted Music
• ASIN: B00000I3V3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,119 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

After making the epic ...And The Day Turned To Night track for the Eclipse album follows a whole album of this incredibly creative project - SHPONGLE - welcome to the weird world of Shpongle, where organic harmonies and melodies blend with the most cutting edge digital effects and modern production to bring you the kind of sonic sensations that will leave you seriously Shpongled! This surely is one of the albums of all time, groundbreaking, perimeter pushing edge of reality stuff that has made it an international classic. With the shelf life of a Californian Redwood these hyper-futuristic fusions may well be held in time forever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant... Simply brilliant, July 7, 2001

By 

MTJones (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are You Shpongled? (Audio CD)

Normally, I review CDs with a great deal of depth and heavy description, but for Shpongle, I just want to repeat the word "brilliant" until I hit the word limit. It's the sentiment I've had ever since I purchased the album... Gosh, was it really one year ago? It seems unbelievable that I've listened to this album as many times as I have, yet I love it as much as (if not more than) any other disc in my collection.

The reason for that is that Are You Shpongled? is simply so unique. Simon Posford and Raja Ram reportedly wrote this album while high (most likely on marijuana, considering some of the album art), and it shows. This is something that took the ultimate, mind-freeing experience to write.

Are You Shpongled? packs the CD with over 77 minutes of mind-bending, trippy ethnoambient experimentation. It covers everything from smooth dub to wicked drum 'n' bass to mellow jazz to spaced-out lounge to energetic trance, sometimes within the course of a single track. There is NO genre that typifies this sound, since it borrows a little from everything.

That may at first suggest that the album is jarring and disjointed, but that is hardly true. In fact, Are You Shpongled? should win an award for its seamless and unbelievably smooth flow. Somehow, Posford and Ram manage to work rhythmic and stylistic shifts that take place over such long stretches of time (without being boring) that they seem not to happen. Any producer in the world could stand to learn something from this duo.

I personally feel that the album hits its peak toward the end, but then, all that means is that the last three tracks deserve six stars instead of five. ;) It builds to a slow peak and then cools off quickly, especially with the 20-minute "...And the Day Turned to Night" wrapping things up. This track was written to reflect Posford's emotions while watching an eclipse, and it recreates that powerful experience vividly.

I tried this album purely on a recommendation, since the sound files seemed only moderately interesting. I have never been so thankful that some random force (whatever it was - fate, chance, whatever) prodded me in the right direction and made me get this album. It's just a milestone for music in general, and it deserves that amount of recognition.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Total Eclipse, June 30, 2000

By 

Mark Goldsworthy "markyg" (Austin, tx USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are You Shpongled? (Audio CD)

This is one of the few. Similar to Banco to Gaia but more psytrance this is the work of a true genius. Wonderful textured layers, lush beats and samples woven into an amazing fluidity which sends you off to that other place.

Shpongle falls develops so deliciously. I love the huge dark drones mixed with a beat that changes rhythm at least twice. The flute is beautiful ( which btw is used to brilliant effect on the last track), the layering is top notch. You won't have heard these sounds before. This all heads towards the climax which is ethereal beyond belief. An absolute classic.

And then of course the day turned to night. Well, this is my favorite. Twenty minutes of a completly evolving drum and bass styled beat layered with flute, samples, drones and other devices which I have no idea about...sounds like atmospheric bliss. And then come those lush cords. Oh my do they sound good. The timing on this track is spot on giving it a superb ending where you don't quite know where it's going to go.

The first and the last tracks provide such wonderful bookends to this fantastic collection of music. I can only hope we see much more of Shpongle.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A landmark CD. Must-buy for any fans of psytrance., April 6, 1999

By 

serotonin (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are You Shpongled? (Audio CD)

Simon Posford and Raja Ram have collaborated to record music that goes beyond the boundary of notes.. each song has its own ambience and personality. Extreme aural pleasure results from listening to this album.. the flutes were beautiful and inspiring. The synths were perfect.. just perfect. Shpongle Falls evolves from ambient into a kind of jazzy riff... the whole song is incredible. Instead of using single notes. Posford uses hundreds of bleeps. The result is mind-blowing. Behind Closed Eyelids was another one of my favorites. It is a more mainstream song than the rest of this album, but I like it either way. It has good chord progression that remains the same throughout the 12-minute song without getting boring. Posford created some amazing breakbeats for this one. Divine Moments of Truth (DMT.. heh) was the best off this album. It was quite different from the rest of the songs.. it sounded more tribal and ethnic. It was filled with very groovy Native-American chants throughout. The dub voice is just too cool... dmtdmtdodomtlsdodmtlsdodmtdivinemomentsoftruthdivinemomentsoftruth ...And The Day Turned to Night is an epic journey, a good finish to such a great album. Overall I recommend this to anyone with an open mind. It is a MUST for anyone even remotely interested in psytrance or other forms of non-mainstream electronica.