Royal Astronomy

?-Ziq | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: March 1, 2003
• Release Date: November 6, 2007
• Label: CAROLINE ASTRALWERKS - CAT
• Copyright: (C) 1999 Virgin Records Ltd This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 1999 Virgin Records Ltd
• Total Length: 58:35
• Genres:
• ASIN: B000XQVAJQ
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,706 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What the hell happened with Mike?, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Royal Astronomy (Audio CD)

I'm a fan of µ-ziq's first two albums ("Tango n'Vectif", "Bluff Limbo"), and I'm completely alienated from his new recordings. They miss the power, threat and distortion of his innovative early output. This album almost sounds like mainstream-pop and is boring all the way. Stay away from this trash and check out Mike's fascinating early tracks.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always the Fear, January 31, 2004

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Astronomy (Audio CD)

U-ziq possesses me from time to time, forcing me to return to certain albums and marvel at the way they fell from the musical forge. Its never really a particular purpose that brings me back to each electronic byproduct, nor is there really ever something to call "method" within that madness. Sometimes it's simply bits and pieces of the proposal itself that make me want the whole. When it comes to Royal Astronomy in particular, it's sometimes the layering that makes me think that a certain song is amazing, and other times its simply the choices that were utilized when furthering that audio dynamo. Whether it's the pinging that draws me in or the use of instrumentation that sounds like classical music played through someone's dreams on acid, its always a good fix.

Royal Astronomy has a little of everything within it, and I found the album amazingly done when it comes down to the dynamic it possesses. There are different types of music mixed into the mold, building better tempos and meters by merging blends of "something old" and "something new" until it makes something beautiful. That causes the mediums to be different as well, and the hints of shading and the musical textures used to shift moods depending on what type of moody lighting is used is delightful.

What first introduced me to the album was the video for "The Fear," a lovely sounding track that's like beauty beginning in the middle of a forming sea of storms, and its always stayed with me as my favorite track on the album. It begins with a beautiful number, a female voice reaching out from within it, and then it becomes a swell of motion and noise that reaches out to take over. I've always liked that approach to music, too, the calm in the midst of a sea of sounds, with it grasping onto me and tugging me into the beauty of the thing defined within. I also like the approach taken here and the instrumentation used, with quite a few classical sounds mixing into the electronic fold and blending seamlessly into the sometimes-bizarre surroundings. Because of that, I liked the strangely epic yet oddly tempoed "Scaling," the way "Slice" builds itself up while dipping into an electronic swirl of textures, and the way "Gruber's Mandolin" shouts its presence.

Besides those pieces, there are the more electronic sounds incorporated into the mix; with "The Hwicci Song" taking advantage of a little song of static and a beat mingling as one, "Carpet Muncher" building around some of the noise fibers I've become accustomed to from U-ziq as they ride the electronica rollercoaster ride, and "World of Leather" also playing a little building game within that sound-oriented vortex. Then there are the almost hip-hop sounds found here as well, the haunting ballads mixing and mingling in songs like "Goodbye, Goodbye," and a few other fashions forming the work as a whole.

While this album has been met with a few stiff lips, its actually something I can return to time and again because it has so many components within it. The mixes of melody and madness, the tempos within the tempests; these are done in ways that are rewarding to hear.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Those darn tracks!, January 29, 2000

By 

Jan Micallef (St Julians - MALTA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Astronomy (Audio CD)

This album is excellent, except that it is spoilt by let's say two tracks. The good stuff is a mingling of orchestration and melody with techno (my all-time favorite is Goodbye, Goodbye), while the bad tracks (like The Motorbike Track) seem to be derived from some new commercial drum'n'bass or techno album, ideal for 12 year olds. What a pity!