Cosmic Handshakes` In The Mist could be considered a suite. With each track segueing into the next. Gradually raising, then finally lowering the tempo. Mixing modern dance and ambience in the manner of Mood Hut`s Disco Mantras. Opening with static and collaged TV dialogue. Broadcast babel. Someone being quizzed about their third eye. Then drums find a Funk. One of swamps, yellow moons, and New Orleans voodoo healing chants. Kip Hanrahan taking a trip to Jon Hassell`s Fourth World. A sax blows free and spiritual. Spiralling in John Coltrane ascension. Keys shimmer in Alice Coltrane harp-like glissando. Bells meet beats and tropical vibes on the shores of Arcturus. Echoplex-ed Space Rock solos play out over loops of rhythmic counterpoint. Like Metheny & Reich in Eno & Byrne`s imagined African bush. Eno`s influence is also present on the record`s more Ambient pieces. The treated chimes and arcs of guitar on A Midnight Swim create the same sense of wide open space as the music on the Eno & (Daniel) Lanois-produced Unforgettable Fire. The closing Encounter With The White Desert is beatless Kosmische, that echoes Eno`s Mist / Rhythm.
The second side moves towards a more recognisable dance floor. Upright bass and Gospel handclaps combined in Moodymann grooves. Layered beatdowns of off-centred House. Like Theo Parrish`s Lights Down Low. Or Henrik Schwartz` Leave My Head Alone Brain. Caught in their own reverb. Feeding back. Expanding. Read The Ashes has Coro Delle Lavandie tub-thumping mutate into a DJ Nature-esque mating ritual of near subliminal slapped bass, tongued-flute, and whispered promises.
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