Customer Reviews

Future

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not really sure how to describe sonic layers of beauty and do them justice when they walk off-the-beaten path of what one is accustomed to, so I'll try it another way. When I'm sitting in my house all alone, finding the turmoil of the day a little too much or the depression of the day-to-day existence too vivid to struggle out from under, I oftentimes want to forget it and pretend the day away. I simply want some form of escapism to take it all away, some mental form of Calgon to make life seem right again, and that's normally when I turn to music.

Its honestly times like those that made me a music addict and have extended my collection because I know that it can give me what I want legally. With it I can set a mood that allows my mind to wander, and I oftentimes find myself utilizing that function and turning my mind onto something electronic to specifically fit that notion I'm catering. Experiences don't have to be spontaneous, after all, but can instead be tailor-made from the cloth of different stimuli and that's the therapeutic gospel a third of my compact disc collection preaches. Depending on the moment and what I'm feeling, I've adopted many types of music to induce a setting. Electronica, synthpop, ballads; they all join together on the crusade that helps me feel above all the weights in a sometimes dreary world. And that feeling, that wanderlust that allows you to travel a lot farther than the confines of your own back yard, is one of the reasons I like Soma Sonic.

While trip-hop as a whole is a wide range of selections and all of Soma Sonic doesn't have the same effect on me, one song on the album is actually pretty bewitching when my minds demands it. I initially picked up the album because of it, too, noting that I could set "Fallen" on repeat, let the sounds wrap around me like a audio shroud, and that it would allow me to zone my cares away. The voice inside the music is calm and soothing and enticingly female, and the beat moves enough to not be too fast and not be too slow but to set a mood that's just right. I can simply set with my feet up, a drink in my hand and the volume at an optimal level, and that song alone carries me away because it hits on the way I feel and yet it makes things sound all-too-surreal.

Besides that song, there are some other pieces that complete it as a work and that I return to time and again. "Road to Nowhere" is one of those, with the beat that reminds me of desert storms for some reason, and "Bound" is another because I like a lot of the musical layering and, of course, the vocals. "Relapse" is a song that grew on me after a while, with it blending into the blur of the sounds and fitting some of my moods pretty well, and a lot of other songs took up that mantle as well. And then there's the beauty in "Backslide," the oddity in the beat composing "In the Blink of an Eye," and the list goes on and on.

Because of some of the composition of the album, this is actually one of my favorites and is one I try to push on everyone I run across. To put it another way and to give it credit for its impact, this would be one of the first discs I'd replace if all of my music were to suddenly vanish and I was forced to start from ground level. I absolutely fell in love with the way its layered, the substance within its songs, and the way the music simply allows me to feel. If you've never found an album that allows you to enjoy electronic sounds and a voice that soothes you like a ghost floating through your headphones at night, then it's a taste that I'd recommend for you to try out. You simply need a place you can sit, calm at your heels and something warming you from the insides, and it - especially the vocalist Katalin Kiss - will provide the rest of the experience.

For those who need to unwind after a hectic day, surrender your imagination to the images evoked by Future. A flowing blend of rhythm, voice and tone links the tracks giving a seamless, connected feel to the CD. "First Wave" has a smooth melody line, providing a baroque counterpointing of rhythms and melody. "Future" blends voice, strings and electronics providing a feeling of the artists' existential yearning for the future. "Road to Nowhere" brings forth images of a barren prairie with tumbleweeds blowing by. "Relapse" with its background voices and mechanical rhythms gives one a sense of the complexity of modern life. The fast-paced, not-quite-audible voices suggest a million voices converging on the internet. Overall, fantastic background music.

For fans of electronic, ambient or trip-hop music, this is a must have! Absolutely one of my all-time favorite chill-out CDs. Every track here is provocative and nearly flawless(especially "Crazy Moon" and "Falling"). This is music to get lost in late at night or on a lazy Sunday morning. If you're new to this kind of music, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a better album to buy than this. This CD will take you places, I guarantee.

Though not now available, I listened to the audio clips of this disc and immediatley knew I had to have it.
I see that "Falling" is available as a download however. You can be sure that if you like that track you'll like the rest of the disc with it's predominantly somber yet relaxing ambiance.

The masterful blend of electronic soundscapes take
the listener for an enjoyable audio journey and I find this disc in my player more often than any others in my collection.

I especially like the tracks w/ the ethereal vocals
and the tracks Falling & Future alone are worth the price
of the disc.
Future is by far my personal favorite.
The ominous tone and the refrain '....see what the Future brings' paints a Blade Runner-esque picture and a subtle but effective use of turntable scratching (at least that's what it sounds like) is just too cool for words.

I sure hope Soma Sonic is soon to release their next effort.
If it's anything like this it will be a "must buy" for me.

Diverse electronic stew of tracks may be dating already, but is still a worthy entry into any Portishead, Massive Attack, even early Aphex lackey's collection for the impressive combination of alot of the better old school references. Working within the tried and tired standard trip-hop/electro engineering, to the album's credit the songs, though predictable and sometimes routine, manage to take the exploited genre on quite an eclectic trip with an impressive palette of downtempo ditties, and a few refreshingly upbeat ones, even if they do sometimes drag a bit. I guess the best way to classify something of this nature is to either label it an amazing mediocrity or a mediocre amazement, like most all the grey area of that vast music ocean, barring our cruel subjection inciting countless, usually fruitless debates. This is an album that falls under the must-own-for-fans-of-the-genre/stick-to-other-premier-artists-of-the-field-if-you-are-just-starting type decisions, and a pretty good case is made for Soma's debut.

It's not often that you end up listening to a disk continuously for 4 years, but Future is on my ipod, in my car and on my home hifi, and I continue to find it the most satisfying electronica album I have.
Deceptive in it's intitial simplicity, Future is deeper and darker and more complex than almost any other trip-hop out there.
If you don't have this album in your collection... well, that's what's missing in your life.

Mellow and chill with an erotic groove, like melting an ice queen. The sort of record you can leave on repeat and not be distracted while you paint, smoke, or makeout. Has a mood similar to Mojave 3, though more electronic and driving. "Bound" is the high point for me, one of the sexiest songs of the past decade.

Movie buffs should note how the main guitar lick in "Road to Nowhere" is inspired/sampled straight from William Olvis' score to John Dahl's 1993 noir film "Red Rock West" starring Nicholas Cage and Lara Flynn Boyle.

I heard this CD at a listening bar while looking around. The sound was captivating and I had to have the CD. I can truly say that if you like Portishead (which I adore very much) you will like this CD.

Intention is often more valuable than expense. The debut album by Soma Sonic is basically an independent, low-budget electronic album. Let me say that not a penny was wasted. While a major label act like Massive Attack or Olive can offord to bring in a live orchestra, a minimally funded group like Soma Sonic is left to it's own inventions. 'Future'is one inventive album. I'm not going to do it the injustice of putting a label on it except to say that it is mellow. It borrows from drum and bass, dub, hip-hop, jazz, ambient and pop without fully taking on any of them. The result is an extremely cohesive, yet wildly divergent album. Fans of trip-hop will love it. Even though only about five of the tracks employ vocals, every track has a distinct personality and melodic sense. 'Relapse' is David Lynch crossed with Portishead. A gorgeous rainy-day guitar line atop that tried and true brushed cymbal, lazy beat. The only track keeping this album from five stars is the last track. A remix of 'Backslide' that isn't so much bad, it just doesn't fit on the album.
Recommended If You Like : Portishead, Mazzy Star, David Lynch Soundtracks, Olive.

This is one of my favorite albums. I heard them on a radioshow called 'Musical Starstreams' and knew immediately that I had to have the album. The melodies are beautiful, and the simple female voice that comes out of the ambience captures your soul. Tracks 2 and 3 are by far the most amazing tracks on the album. The rest of the tracks are also incredible, and I recommend this album to any music lover that is in tune with themselves, and the reality they live in. Buy it for the experience.