Customer Reviews

Surrounded

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dave Tipper has programmed and produced an ambient classic with "Surrounded". This is a disc that is loaded with melody, rhythm and beats - and is a new benchmark in electronic music.

The track "Just As The Sun Went Down" is classic early a.m. music, and is the highlight of this incredible set. The bass notes are perfect, the melodies are sweet and hushed, and you can't help but feel chilled while listening. This song is gorgeous.
"Rotundus Maximus" features a brilliant orchestral movement and an ethereal chorus. "California Rolls" adds some killer acoustic guitar sounds to a warm electro undercurrent, creating a sound that is more sensual than anything you've heard in ages. And "Illabye" makes clever use of bells over a deep, subtle beat that lulls the listener into a contemplative state of mind.

"Surrounded" is as good as it gets when it comes to this type of music. All of the songs are well played, and the production is impeccable. This is incrdible music to just sit back and listen to, and captures all that is good with electronica today.

NOTE: "Surrounded" is recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound - If your equipment is state of the art, the experience of listening to this disc is unbelievable!

It's 2:09 am and I'm listening to Surrounded on my iPod (ripped from the CD I purchased at Amazon.com of course). In my humble opinion, there hasn't been another down-tempo album (non-compilation) in recent memory that sounded this consistently good. It's not just mindless down-beat, you will find texture and substance. Entertainment Weekly recently gave this album a positive review. I recommend you give this album a listen. Prepare to be chilled out.

I am a new fan of Tipper, I have yet to hear his more dance oriented music, but Surrounded is one of the most amazing albums I have heard--on a production stand-point and a musical stand-point. The high end of this album especially is wonderful, with constant panning of tiny blips and nu-skooly sounds. One of the most dimensional albums I have heard as well. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates any good electronic music--it will blow your mind.

Hands down, this is one of my favorite albums of all time, and has been since the day I was introduced to it. I first listened to this in badly encoded mp3's in stereo about a year or two ago, and even then I could appreciate the lush bass, pads, and sound design Dave Tipper consistently formed through the album. Finally being able to hear it on DVD-A has been just mind blowing. It's not even comparable, hands down. Not only is the 24-bit audio crucial for an extraordinary amount of almost inaudible details engineered into the mix, but the 5.1 surround sound will latch into your skull and not let go. This is truly a work of art.

Tipper doesn't resolve himself to thinking about genres whatsoever it seems like, each track has a deep chill sound that is uniquely his. This downtempo, electronic, almost idm sound is a refreshing addition to the scene, and the album truly is a masterpiece. Sounds on the album range from warm and organic to cold and synthetic, carefully balancing a breathing human element with that cold electronic sound that the entire whole of our ancestors could not have even conceived of. Listening to this album is refreshing in a way that stereo cannot entirely convey especially if you're used to headphones or earbuds, and Tipper's compositions have unexpected rhythms, melodies, and sounds even the most casual of listener will be dragged off by. I often find myself turning on this album while I get things done since it's gentle enough to not be distracting while maintaining a complexity that keeps the mind churning.

Very highly recommended. "Adrift For Days" is my favorite track in stereo because it is so extraordinarily lush, but "The Glasshouse" and "Just As The Sun Went Down" definitely highlight the album in 5.1 and 24-bit due to the extreme detail and originality of the compositions.

Oh, for the record, you should probably turn off the TV the first few times you listen to this album, or else you'll miss the details that lie in every crevice of the sound. No offense to Dave, but I find the visuals to be distracting to the unspeakable atmosphere each song creates.

Similar recommendations in stereo: Telefon Tel Aviv, edIT - "Crying Over Pros For No Reason", Prefuse 73, Trentemöller, Apparat, Bassnectar, Four Tet, Murcof, Proem, Radiohead - "Kid A", Rothko

"Surrounded" is a wonderful array of chill out and ambient music that has depth and maturity. It shows that Dave Tipper really knows how to put together some damn good music! Not at all bland or recycled, Tipper produces music fit for that perfect wintery soundtrack, not to mention for the bedroom as well. Beats don't meander or bore you like on most ambient CDs, instead they captivate you at first play and draw you into a world of mysticism and at times danger. Comparisons to Boards of Canada, Mouse on Mars and Telephon Tel Aviv would be appropriate, and rightfully so--Tipper's music gives you that same warm, sensual feeling--just a little more tolerable.

The various tracks that adorn this disk comprise a heart felt story from start to finish. If you appreciate artistic expression for the originality it can express, then there is absolutely no need to compare this to Boards of Canada, Willy Nelson, or J.S. Bach. This is high art.

So, I expected a breaks album. I like breaks, and someone told me this album was good, so I picked it up.

This is ambient; it reminds me of Boards of Canada. It's amazing. Really, really good stuff. I listen to it in the car, and it makes excellent driving music, almost thematic driving between different neighborhoods with this on.

Phenomenal. Hopefully a ton of people buy this, so Tipper has cash on hand to sit around and produce more amazing stuff.

I normally write long reviews, but all I have to say here is that if you want a great 5.1 DVD Audio album to show off your system, you must buy this. Period!
This is by far one of the best DVD-A disks that I have heard.

i've never really been a fan of down tempo or electronic music. I listened to some here and there but nothing really captivated me as much as this cd did! I recieved this cd from a friend and I must say it is my world now! I love it! It's great for any emotion. I luv how it tells a story and California Rolls--great! There are some tracks that seems nicely eroticlike!

This CD is my favorite new purchase. It is a new style for Tipper, and it is fabulous. Ambient perfection.