Chillbase

The long awaited third studio album, from duo Daniel Segerstad & Johannes Hedberg aka Carbon Based Lifeforms is finally here. After having released a couple of mediocre tracks on various compilations and a modestly interesting EP, has it been worth the wait? The question to that answer has to be answered in a positive way, or rather in jubilation.

Slow throbbing basslines, layers of ethereal sonic tapestries accompanied by soft extended female voices creates a very peculiar and original take on the to this date known CBL formula, and genre as a whole for that matter, the production oozes freshness and innovation. The key here is not complexity nor is it intricate layers of sound, but intelligent composition pushing the right buttons at the right time. Genius and simplicity go very often hand in hand. I would like to divide the album into two halfs, the precursive and the elevating part. Let's talk a little about the precursive part. Here the bass is very prominent, there is a lot of nice happy melodies, the overall feel is groovy and energetic, it gives a sense of a dancing universe, or dancing Gaia. This part is preparatory in the sense that it shakes you up, making you receptive and prepared for the transition in to the elevating part. The transition is initialized by 'Init'(T5), where the overall tempo is slowing down, gone are the throbbing basslines and happy melodies, the music heads towards a profoundly more contemplative but yet so much more magnificent and beautiful approach, with elongated ethereal tones and panoramic soundscapes. A very welcome addition are the not so often reoccurring but touching acoustic elements, these bring about a more mature and sophisticated touch. This transition from precursive towards elevating is perfectly executed, there is no risk of the listener being pushed into something new, you are gently swept into this part. It's quite contradictory to call this part elevating since the listener is actually drawn into the internal world, but all of us who are acquainted with psychedelic experiences know that to “go up”, you must first “go down”. So the elevating aspect of the album comes only indirectly.

What the album manages to achieve is putting a receptive listener into a highly psychedelic state of mind. All of you who are acquainted with psychedelic substances know which state of mind I am talking about, and you also know how hard it is to enter this state without the help from a various array of different substances. How the album manages in doing this is because of two main aspects, (i) the music is of course highly psychedelic, but also (ii) the structure of the album as a whole is constructed in a way allowing for this. Most downtempo albums fail in making this cohesive journey, because of the eagerness from the artist to infuse variety in an album by throwing in some devastating element in the middle or towards the end, CBL passes this test flawlessly. It's not that other albums can't accomplish the deed of being extremely psychedelic in their sound, but they often figure you already in a particular state of mind, or rather that the listener will sort of magically enter one. The only album I can think of trying the same goal is Solar Fields - Leaving Home, but that albums is flawed at critical points missing that consistent whole. To conclude what is really unique about this album then, is the feat of making a pristine journey from start to end, taking the listener deeper and deeper into a psychedelic state of mind.

I have always been wondering if music might have some greater or more significant meaning than just self fulfilling pleasure for the listener. This meaning has finally become clear with the release of Interloper. We are climbing a ladder, a ladder towards higher states of consciousness. Daniel and Johannes has given us a great many steps towards that always abditive goal.

Links:

►Carbon Based Lifeforms
►Ultimae