Customer Reviews

Drawn from Life

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First things first: this is not an "ambient" CD. As Brian Eno himself might say, it's "too busy." At the same time, *Drawn From Life* is as different from all other Eno projects as 1997's *The Drop* was from its predecessors. Eno keeps moving forward, trying new things, and working with the previously almost unknown J. Peter Schwalm is undoubtedly part of that. The result is a something more fluid and organic sounding than *The Drop*. While the mood on certain tracks may recall that of the Jah Wobble collaboration *Spinner*, this CD is warmer and more accessible than that was. I found myself thinking more of Patrick O'Hearn's vision-inducing sound paintings for Peter Baumann's Private Music label, especially *Ancient Dreams* and *Indigo*. There is, however, more musical diversity here than on those, as evidenced by the guest cast: Laurie Anderson (vocals on "Like Pictures II"), Holger Czukay (ex-Can), Nell Catchpole (strings throughout, and some vocals), Leo Abrahams (guitar), etc.

Of course, there are plenty of indications that we are listening to an Eno project: the non-unison handclaps on "Like Pictures II" (probably the clappers were only given instructions but couldn't see or hear one another), the medley of guitar and voice on "Rising Dust," the found voices (of Eno's two daughters Iriel and Darla) and sounds of kitchen activity on "Bloom," and those two mysterious stretches of silence after this track and the follow-up "Two Voices." I suspect that while you are listening intently to find out if something is going on at very low volume and you pay attention to what you are doing, you will discover that you are hearing everything in your surroundings more intensely (intenser?)-the hum of the air conditioner, a bird chirping outside, a neighbor's wind chimes, the sound of breeze-blown leaves outside the window. Try to enhance such listening experiences, and you are having an Eno moment.

The one thing we can count on Brian Eno not to do is let us put him in the kind of musical straitjacket supplied by our expectations and labels; he and his collaborators are always "thinking outside the box." I mention this because I've encountered some negative reaction to this CD. Eno's wiser devotees will recognize his need to transcend all that came before, respect it, and look forward to whatever aural adventure is offered next time around. In the meantime, these tracks can be savored over and over again, the musical equivalent of taking a pause and just experiencing all the fascinating things going on around us on a lazy, breezy summer day. Enjoy!

Most of the Ambient King's music in recent years has been for art installations, and only released in limited quantities. I'm pleased to have a regular "album" to listen to by Eno, and even more pleased it turned out so well. He has collaborated before with Peter Schwalm (on the Japanese "Music For On Myo Ji" release), and Drawn From Life follows along similar lines of the pair's previous work together. On the new songs, the atmospheres they created are magnificently resonant and evocative (sorry for the critic word), moving from rather abstract themes to more direct and personal melodies. With the exception of spoken word participation (Laurie Anderson on "Like Pictures 2," Nell Catchpole on "Intenser") and a vocorder on "Rising Dust," voices play a background role. These are mostly instrumentals, using the familiar synth/keyboard settings Mr. Eno is known for, but also mixing in very tasteful strings and percussion. The overall feeling is like the soundtrack for some Far Eastern documentary about architecture or industry, with a hint of mystery and intrigue thrown in. Perfect for late night contemplative listening.

I say 'cold' because that's the impression I get from Eno's work throughout this masterful recording; it starts with the chilly haze of "From This Moment" and though numerous sounds and tones are used, the overall impression doesn't fade. I have to say that an equal collaboration was the best idea for this album. Brian's work alone here would have ended up as Ambient 5: Frozen in Ice. Schwalm's light fleeting percussion, however, lends a wealth of shapes and textures to the music, giving it an organic edge and a pulse.

While this album is still quiet enough to serve as background wallpaper for reading or working, it's just busy enough to keep your attention if you sit down with a good pair of headphones. It's like a dream of floating in an endless white cloud while various images and sounds come into focus, clear for a moment, then vanish. City streets, Laurie Anderson talking about pictures, kitchen dishes clinking, swirling snow, and the occasional lapse of silence. Eno and Schwalm use no real melodies and only random fragmented words, but nevertheless draw the listener into their own web as convincingly as any fine lyricist I could name.

I just looked over those previous comments and realized they sound a little ridiculous - fanciful, maybe. That's the effect this album has. It's calming, subtle and tends to stimulate the imagination. It doesn't merely blend with the room or the background as most of Eno's other work does, but blends with your own thoughts as well. This is some of the best chill-out music I've ever heard.

The thing I have not liked about a lot of Eno's recent output was the lack of an essential ingredient that makes his top drawer records so great: The organic. The records that you can hear (feel) the people on, that are not simply the well crafted output of machinery running in the background. "Nerve Net" and "Spinner" are wonderful examples of the organic coming through.

"Drawn From Life" sounds, figurative and literally like The onE went back and listened to some of his older records. On "Drawn From Life," he has a living, breathing drummer. I hope there is further collaboration with J. Peter Schwalm, because the results are excellent.

About the tracks...

"From This Moment" is a very "Discreet"-like introduction that segues beautifully into "Persis," which sounds like a track that should have been on "Spinner."

"Like Pictures Part #1" sounds like we came in toward the end of... something. Barely distinguishable voices in the background segue into "Like Pictures Part #2." Starting with mildly treated drums, backwards tape loops, handclaps, and a violin surface, stretching the time to somewhere between Middle-Eastern and a One-Drop.

And Laurie Anderson, telling us, "Some things are just pictures. They're scenes before your eyes. Don't look now. I'm right behind you." As an aside, I wish Brian and Laurie would stop, er, Pussyfooting around and make an entire record together.

"Night Traffic" and "Rising Dust" are mid-tempo and dark, and would fit nicely with Bill Frisell's "Blues Dream." "Rising Dust" has some way cool background drum loops, beautiful piano, and heavily processed vocals (the phrasing makes me think it's Laurie again). Whoever it is, you can't understand a single word (well, I can't). "Rising Dust" almost fades out completely before segueing into "Intenser." This track includes another processed vocal, this time very understandable.

"More Dust" fades up, and in a way to suggest that we've arrived in the middle of something again. There is an odd sense of closure on this track, having "Night Traffic" through "More Dust" sounding like the soundtrack to a short film that may or may not exist.

"Bloom" takes a page from the Jethro Tull / Pink Floyd School of Culinary Arts. The track includes a very detailed, but slightly buried in the mix "field" recording of The onE and a Younger onE in the kitchen getting something to eat (breakfast?). I get the impression the field recording sort of moves through a day in the life. All of the instrumentation is *very* analog. with headphones on, you can hear the electronics misbehaving, etc. "Bloom" closes with a request for pineapple, and about two and a half minutes of silence.

At first listen, "Two Voices" and "Bloom (Instrumental)" sit very much like encores. There are two very processed vocals on "Two Voices," and by using headphones at low volume, the vocals are surprisingly understandable. It becomes apparent that "Two Voices" is a companion to "Bloom." There is almost four minutes of silence tacked to the end of "Two Voices," Before the instrumental version of "Bloom."

While there are 11 tracks on this disc, arguably, you are listening to four multi-part works. In the case of "Bloom" through "Bloom (Instrumental)" The two sections of silence are two of the most important parts of the record. Good thing Eno didn't give them separate track numbers, because most people would have programmed them out, discarding an important part of the work: Negative space.

This disc works very well in a variety of listening contexts. It is great on the big speakers at moderate volume, it works very well at low volume, even on a pair of 4 Ohm A/C Delcos. Under headphones, it qualifies as the best sounding record I've heard, from anyone, since "Spinner." You can work to it, and you can nod off to it. This is truly environmental music.

Long time listeners of The onE should be very happy. If you are new to Eno's work, this is a very good place to start.

*shannon's only listened to this album once all the way through*

i'm still in awe as i listen to the album a second time through. i just snagged myself a copy of this album on account of a friend's recommendation. my jaw is on the floor...and my ears have been tweaked to their liking...the music seeps in and feeds my craving for something different within the context of ambient music. eno and schwalm create some of the most luxurious soundscapes...painting a tranquil image, blossoming within the listener's mind. simultaneously, eno and schwalm create eerie underlying tones, which add to the complexities surrounding the music. the functionality of the music pours out as the listener is taken on a far away journey to the depths of reality...soothing the soul and calming the mind. some tracks to watch out for: "intenser," "persis," "like pictures #2," "bloom"...well, i find that i really can't pick specific favorites, as the entire album is something to be devoured whole! place this in your cd changer...press play...let eno and schwalm take you into their world...and savor each note as it unfolds during the course of the album!

Eno does it again with this great set of marvelous pieces - each of which will become relentlessy, and indelibly, imprinted on the listener's mind. Anybody familiar with Eno will welcome the return to "song-like" structures found here and be overjoyed that Eno seems to have mainly cleansed himself from any vestige of his previous oeuvre, the appalling "Drop" (or "The Drop" - in musical inspiration).

"Drawn from Life" is no "Drop". Not even close. The additional percussion by Peter Schwalm adds majesty, depth and originality to the eerily Enoesque musical proceedings. Hearing Laurie Anderson on "Like Pictures" harkens this listener back to the heady days of the New Wave. But I found the latter tracks ('Rising Dust', 'More Dust', 'Intenser', 'Bloom') to contain enclaves where one can nestle into somewhat familiar, and more comfortable, musical pleasures. Some consider Eno's work to be "cold"; indeed, the chords struck here do not warm the heartstrings like some sappy musical score, or one of Yanni's innumerable, insufferably "uplifting" works. A more apt description for "Drawn from Life" is . . . detached. The soaring atmospherics of this CD somehow manage to create a quiet observation post for the mind. "More Dust" for one example, uses simple repeated cymbal brushes, stretched out bass lines, multiplying synthesizers, and something sounding like a whistle - to create a kind of lurching "presence" that makes you look around the room for a friendly ghost. Who's there? Oh -- it's YOU who's there. You've detached from yourself. Like any of the best of Eno's prior works, "Drawn from Life" will initially demand your complete attention. After awhile, once you've become acquainted with its nuances, you'll find it's nice to have this CD playing in the background as a reminder . But in the foreground, eyes closed, between the ears, this music is breathtaking and transporting. This is Eno's best work since the '80's (maybe even since his collaboration with Byrne on "Bush of Ghosts"). A wonderful return to form. Vive Monsieur ENO!

My background is in fine art and ambient music. I've been following Eno's progression since I was about 14 (20 years ago). I state these things so you know loosely where I'm coming from.

This CD is a solid progression, creating a cross-breed of organic and manufactured environments.

The piece with a child asking questions at breakfast pulls me slightly from the flow, but not enough to disturb the effect of overwhelming peace that this CD provides me.

This CD is more musical than On Land, and more dense than Music For Airports (ever denser . . . a line among a few spoken by Brian on the album, seems to be describing something in much the way I might end up describing this work)

If you are a frequent listener of his Ambient works, I think you'll love this work.

- Drumoon

This album goes where Eno has been unwilling to go since, oh, "Music for Films" and his earlier rock career -- into the dangerous realm of the pretentious and dramatic. It isn't ambient any more ... it's music to actually listen to, for its sharp peaks and valleys, tensions and resolutions. Eno has always brought a remarkable mind to his music ... but here, for the first time in a long time, it feels reunited with a heart. I like it a lot.

I'm not sure why anyone would even bring up The Drop here. Eno hasn't produced anything truly great since Nerve Net. Sure, a few good ones, but none others that I would consider to be a landmark. Of course, I tend to like the less-ambient side of Eno, but I do collect anything with his name on it.

That being said, this is an amazing disk. I don't even know how to describe the music, but it is compelling enough to draw me in to hyper-attention mode. Being a recording artist myself, and partially adept at mixing and producing, I am amazed at the number of textures he manages to superimpose, without things getting muddy.

I might actually subtract half a star for the slow-down in the last few tracks. But that is sort of an expected Eno album trait, isn't it?

Having lost the plot sometime in the early nineties (in his solo work if not as a producer / co-writer) Eno is back to his best on this release. Working with German writer J. Peter Schwalm (also known as 'slop shop' on his own 'Poets Club Records' label Eno delivers some original and lush soundscapes. Intricate beats form the foundation of each track with unexpected, yet thoroughly intriguing harmonies and melodies adding the atmosphere. There is plenty of live instrumentation on the album - string sections, guitar and percussion. The sound in many places is reminiscent of Faultline's 'Closer colder' album on the LEAF label. Stand out tracks include 'Like Pictures part 2' which includes sampled speech from Laurie Anderson and 'More Dust' (perhaps a reference to the highly rated 'Dust and Glass' album by FARFIELD?). Eno had lost ground in recent years to other ambient artists such as Biosphere and Faultline. He has certainly regained his rightful place at the top of the ambient tree with this release and has stretched the genre in a new direction. Well worth buying!