Phoenix [Import]

System 7 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: A-Wave UK
• ASIN: B0010M6ILC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,213 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hinotori

2. Space Bird

3. Scramble

4. Masato Eternity

5. Song for the Phoenix

6. Strange Beings

7. Chihiro 61298

8. Makimura - Space Pilot

9. Wolf-Head

10. [CD-Rom Track]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relaxation with a beat!, November 30, 2009

By 

Oannes (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phoenix (Audio CD)

I wasn't sure what I thought about this album at first, but after a few listens it REALLY grows on you.

If you like your Trance with soul and thought, this could be a great place to start. Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy are both master craftspeople who bring to this genre an intelligence and taste for the unique, that I believe is truly inspiring. A great album for late night Science Fiction reading session.

This has excellent sound quality throughout and a wonderful example of cross-cultural collaboration with all the fine Japanese artists involved. Flawless guitar work by Hillage and wonderful synth beats and sounds by Giraudy, a great find, an even better experience!

4.0 out of 5 stars System 7's true musical abilities, November 30, 2011

By 

System7forlife - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phoenix (MP3 Download)

Though some listeners might be more interested in System 7's most recent album Phoenix Rising released in October 2011, their earlier album Phoenix released in 2008 gives listeners a look into System 7's true musical abilities. This album is not going to be the one you listen to when you are trying to study for a test or have tea with your grandmother, rather it is the type of you listen to when you are being a Saturday night.

System 7 desires, according to their website, to incorporate electronic guitar into their music. Phoenix does just that. Numerous songs incorporate the use of traditional electronic guitar along with synthesized guitar sounds paired with other electronic noises. The band members Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy are formerly of the band Gong. Hillage was a pioneer of the use of guitars in psychedelic rock. While in the band Gong, Hillage was "renowned for his soaring, searing guitar contributions". The two formed System 7 after hearing the band Orb play one of their Hillage's guitar pieces from the 1970s. Hillage's experience with electronic guiatar is shown throughout the album. System 7 is one of the only techno groups to incorporate electronic guitar into their development of techno and ambient music. The group tries hard to maintain this presence in Phoenix whic ties the knot between the use of ambient techno music and electronic guitar.

Though electronic guitar is one of the group's major themes, it is neither overbearing nor underwhelming in the album. The electronic guitar is clandestinely woven into each piece. It is not until 7:00 in the first song "Chihiro 61298" that the first guitar rift is heard. The ambient sounds around the guitar make the listener unaware a guitar has come into the song. Though the following song "Wolfhead" has a heavier electronic techno theme, the following song in the album "Makimura-Space Pilot" opens with thick guitar licks that make the listener imagine they are at a rock concert. These guitar licks continue throughout the song and are coupled with rich ambient techno sounds. The healthy mixture of techno electronic sounds along with guitar sounds is further shown in the song "Scramble" that begins with ambient and techno music. Thrown throughout the song are guitar riffs most notably around 5:30 where it sounds like the rift of Jimi Hendrix. Other songs like "Strange Beings" or "Hinotori" exemplify the diversity of System 7 and have more trance like elements to them. The album has a healthy mixture of upbeat ambient music along with heavier techno oriented pieces.

This album is not for the faint of ears. It is intense and full of life but it is not overwhelming. As noted earlier this is not an album you want to give to your grandmother unless your grandmother is an avid clubber with a hidden passion for STS9 on the side. The best way to describe this album is if STS9 and The Orb collaborated on an album this would be the product. Listeners enjoy varying songs and the variety of sounds and this album has just that.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a lot going on...., March 30, 2011

By 

EtherealCereal (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phoenix (Audio CD)

When it comes to Systme 7, some of their albums are take it or leave it. I really enjoyed 'The Power of Seven' as it devaited from the standard four beat techno-trance fare. There are only a few songs on here that deviate from that. Given the talent of Steve H. and the amount of time Miquette G. has had over the past twenty years or so to

develop her abilities, they are capable of so much more than this. 'Hinotori' is wonderful, but I found myself wanting after about the third track with the same beat.