Customer Reviews

Scientists in the Trees

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

 

 

This is one of my favorite electro ambient albums. The music challenges you with every turn. One of the few groups of this type of music that seems to have a sense of humour. This music is great for driving, it moves forward, with unexpected turns. There is alot to absorb here, the tracks are dense with dark melody and exotic beats. I put this Cd on repeat and let it go. Excellent work!

A blurb on the back of this CD refers to the music as "aural sculpting meets the beat," but that doesn't quite come close to describing this infectious blend of funky grooves, downtempo luster, and a playfully experimental sensibility. cyberChump (secret identities: Jim Skeel and Mark G.E.) know the value of a body-bouncing bass line and how to blend it with floating melodics for a smooth ride--check out the CD's title track, a fine example of a perfect sonic cocktail. They also know when to darken things up, as with the grim "Helium Device" and "Vulcan's Forge," or to slam the listener with solid drum 'n bass, as in the excellently assaultive "River of Doubt," one of the highlights of this very good CD.

Scientists also slips in plenty of interesting rogue sounds, from a twangy slide guitar to nearly buried jazzy horns making brief-but-effective cameo appearances in the midst of pure electronica. Each track is expertly crafted, with sound-layers existing in perfect symbiosis, and the flow from one track to the next is flawless. Perfect for up-front listening or an unobtrusive ambient experience.
-Hypnogogue

From the opening bleeps, minimalist techno may spring to mind, but jumping to conclusions can be the inappropriate thing to do as this instrumental develops into quite a melodic outing that has a decent beat with drums. "Signals" contain the notations that are just short of being totally melodic and therefore remain within the contemporary regime. It blooms when the speakers are allowed sufficient power to do justice to the bass. A complete change of tempo is to be found on "Pressure Tactic" where slightly distorted sounds flick between the speakers and the drums are recorded with excellent clarity. It is certainly an interesting track as there is a lot to take in on the first listening session, but you're hooked instantly. The gongs announce the arrival of "Helium Device" onto which precisely controlled feedback and lo-fi drums are included. The drums do change into a top-heavy sound with distortion and the haunting melody has a slightly unsettling edge to it. The title track consists of a very powerful bass line, easy listening acoustic guitar sections and strange noises all contributing to a great instrumental. Another brilliant track is "Presidents from Another Planet" with its distinctive modified sound of something vaguely similar to opening a gate along with the rolling bass notes all contributing a very intriguing instrumental that has many musical twist and turns. Described on the sleeve as aural sculpting meets the beats is a very fair account of this marvelous CD by Jim Skeel and Mark G.E. (Brooky)
-Modern Dance

I bought this ablum based on the description and on good reviews I had read elsewhere. However, this album did not live up to the hype. I was expecting melodic, futuristic, ambient music like artist Zero One. However, cyberCHUMP just seems to combine random, noisy and bizzare sounds that gave me a headache! I listened to the CD twice, to see if I would enjoy it more the second time, but I didn't. If you like your ambient music noisy with little or no structure, then this is for you. Otherwise skip this CD.