Customer Reviews

Earth 4

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

got the promo of bukem's "earth 4" today. in short, the disc is a mix of jazzed out, chill, airy, hip-hoppy and house tracks. the absolute gems of the disc are tracks 3 (beltran's "aztec girl") and track 11 (lacarno's "axis").

"aztec girl" is the track of summer 2000 to me. chilling. driving. inspired. all you tweakers out there be forwarned: there isn't a sampled note in the track. all live instumentation, the interplay between voice, acoustic guitar, live piano, synth, drums and rhodes piano stabs is scary at times. these dudes go off.

"axis" fusses an intro breakbeat with the house 4/4. dual funky bass lines, electronic squeals, soaring synths, with jazzy undertones. a nice ending to pretty funky disc.

Don't let LTJ Bukem's name on the album fool you -- this is not drum n bass. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even classify it as electronic music. Most of the instruments used in the songs are real instruments (guitar, piano, live drums, and even a rainstick) and there is little synth work. I think some of the basslines are digital though. This is latin-jazz sounding stuff, suitable for chill. While it has the dub and downbeat sensibilities that have made artists such as Thievery Corporation and Kruder + Dorfmeister big names in the lounge biz, this cd has a less restricted, more live sound that reflects tall palm trees and deserted beaches better than sweaty lounges.

This CD, the fourth in the revered Earth series, is a compilation of tracks from Good Looking Records, original and unmixed. It starts off with the amazing "The Bloc" by Flying Fish (probably the best track on the album) and moves on towards the brilliant casino-esque "The Setup" by K-Scope. Some synth action is brought forth on the drifting "Extensions Of Life" and "Timefields". I loved "Seven Miles High", which brings a new perspective on vocal samples. The vibe gets much more live on Big Bud's heavily atmospheric "Blueberry Muffins" and then the album slows down and closes. This is an album of highs and lows, starting off with some very good tracks, but getting kind of tired towards the end of the album. The vibe is always there from beginning to end, however, and it works a lot more fluent and better than most record label compilations. That said, this album is quite accomplished, both in atmosphere and track value, and should definetly be checked out.

I bought this expecting something breakbeaty but was pleasantly suprised to find some top class, instrument led house music. I've not heard vol. 2 & 3 ( vol. 1 was a bit unimpressive) so buying this was a bit of a punt but I'm glad I did.
It's the sort of feel I get from stuff from guidance records, but more live. For those that're wondering that's a complement.
Good stuff.

Hmmm...while I adore the Earth series, indeed consider it the best music series ever, it isn't exactly flawless. Volumes 1 and 3 are amazing - very cool, sophisticated and chilled - 5 star material. By comparison, vol 2 is decidedly mediocre - the songs are just strange basses and drums without all the cruisy jazz harmonies that your typical Bukem fan demands.Thankfully, Earth 4 retains the all-important jazz factor(though not quite as strongly as some might hope), and the whole album definitely has it's own unique character and flavour, which is of course what defines each Earth volume from the others. Vol 4's flavour is a "Latin-Jazz-dance one" - but the "dance" bit is where it trips up slightly. The problem is that the whole album is fairly tedious, and this is mostly because of the heavily overused straight 4/4 house beat. It wouldn't be a problem at all if the there was lots of interesting stuff happening on the harmony/melody side of things, but, as fate would have it, there isn't. If you've listened to the RealPlayer clips, then no doubt your initial impression, like mine, was to be quite blown away. What you don't know (until now) is that the whole of each song REALLY does sound like that 30 sec clip repeated over and over for 6-8 minutes. In particular, the 2 tracks by Artemis, first have you thinking "Hey, this is funky! This could be a great song!" ....and over the course of the remaining 7 mins, the track progresses absolutely nowhere. I may have been quite harsh on old Earth 4, but it's only because I've come to associate GL records with excellent electronic music. Earth 4, all for it's repetitiveness, is a funky album, and I don't regret buying it. It has a seriously cool flavour to it, which alone should at least justify your considering buying this. And if you're a big Earth addict like me, then you should take the plunge and grab it now. Oh yeah, and when you get it, take time to marvel at the AWESOME work of genius that is the box set in which the disc is contained!

Another good LTJ Bukem Earth series album. Not quiet as good as Volume 2 of the series, but it adds to the overall series with a few good tracks o nthe album.

This is lounge music a la Theivery Corporation - its a must for anyone into downtempo lounge. If you just wanna hang out and chill, this is IT. The tracks are smooth and mellow. Its not gonna make you get up and dance, but its fantastic background music at your next hip party or just when you're just hanging out with some friends.

Hey, I'll admit it, I'm an EARTH junkie. And when i saw this album, i just had to get it. I didn't even realize it was volume 4 of the earth series until I was perusing amazon (no, i'm not an idiot, the beautiful case is very different from Vol's 1,2, and 3, and LTJ's name is nowhwere on the case anywhere).

I also didn't think this was an earth series album because it is quite a departure. a great departure. While i love vol's 1 and 2, 3 is pretty weak (the reviewer who said 1 and 3 were good, while 2 lagged, just got them confused. i'm sure.) This is a great album - a nice infusion of Latin jazz that perks up the sometimes cold drum'n'bass backbeat. get it. you will love it.

YES!! It's about TIME! Each song in hear is just soooo awesome! I never thought I would ever hear anything like this, especially from the fellas at good looking! This cd is absolutely CLASSICAL!! Here you've got some madly funked up, artisicly tripped out tunes. plug this in and it'll take you all the way and beyond!

I'd say "the bloc" and "the setup" are really the only songs that are deeply rooted in hip-hopish drum & bass. Both just extroadinary and very exotic in a rather indirect fashion. wow! extremely artistic!!

John Beltran leads me to the absolute gem called "aztec girl". All the stuff in hear is live, maybe enhanced by electronic instruments, who knows and who cares? this song is just so beautiful. "Seven miles high" is an easy going dance tune. peaceful yet really grooving.

Both of Makotos songs are bright jazzed up tunes drenched in wet funk. "Extensions of life" and "peace of mind" are both very alive.

Taylas track "timefields ", a dancey tripped out soother.

Love Big Buds "blueberry muffins" deeply rooted in brazillian/latin music. this song can take you far away to your own cool rainforest get-away. It's sure to score!

Artemis just TORE IT UP!! His songs are just so AWESOME! Theres the funky disco-like stepper "brazilian sunrise". very alive with so much going on in this song. "astral sunset" is still yet active track that puts you in the perfect trance.

Lacarno & burns "axis" is perfect for a glorious finale. Alive, hopeful, and naturaly optimistic. Leaves you feeling real good you purchased this excellent cd.

All I can say is BUY! BUY! BUY! deeply exotic! Being hispanic I know what i'm talkin' about. If you've ever heard the Deep Forest series you'll absolutely love this album! This motivates me to get anything and everything from good looking! Quality music! 10 STARS!!!!!!!!!!!

I was disappointed by the "Designer Drum & Bass" music on "LTJ Bukem presents Earth 4" - mainly because I used to listen to some very alike music in the late 70's and early 80's when "Funk Jazz" was going strong - a lot of this "Earth" music reminds me of a brazilian group called "Azymuth" (remember "Jazz Carnical"?): same kind of singing, bass lines, and guitar and keyboard effects. At first listening I even thought that it was a remake of some of Azymuth's old tracks, which would be fine if there were any new fresh elements to spice it up a bit. But with these missing, the "Earth" music just flows by without living any deeper impression.