By Christian Cortes (SoundScrybe) <\/br>
\nDiving back into the open waters of ritual medicine music that have come to define Liquid Bloom\u2019s iconic blend of ceremonial instrumentation and exotic sound design, world electronica producer Amani Friend\u2019s latest release “ReGen: Lucid Remixes” transforms Liquid Bloom\u2019s signature downtempo flavors into a sprawling world of rippling textures, fluid rhythms and four-on-the-floor beats.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
A dramatic departure from the original Re:Generations album, as well as the soothing and atmospheric ReGen: AtYyA Remixes released in the summer of 2017, Lucid Remixes explores a much wider range of kinetic intensities and energy levels, with contributions from eleven of Amani\u2019s most talented producer contemporaries.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Juxtaposing dance floor rhythms with emotive instrumental melodies and vocal samples, the collection speaks to the shifting landscapes of world music in its fusion of classical and tribal sounds with hyper-modern tech elements. Not only do the tracks blend each artist\u2019s identity with Liquid Bloom\u2019s shamanic roots, but in bringing these divergent sounds together, the collection offers up the rare opportunity for reflection, expression and ecstatic movement in a singular open environment.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
This alluring union is most evident in Hedflux\u2019s raw and hypnotic \u201cRoots of the Earth\u201d remix and Kaminanda\u2019s luminous, mid-tempo twist on the soothing instrumentals of \u201cSacred Blessing.\u201d Pairing the standout vocal elements of the original tracks with powerful synthetic energetics, each track transports us to a polarized emotional space inspired by two distinctly different approaches to beat-centric music and rhythm.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Yet, staying true to the meditative tones of the original Liquid Bloom tracks, Lucid Remixes also offers up a diverse selection of soothing and contemplative tracks that invite us into a realm primed for interior exploration. Contributions from downtempo projects like Yaima, Numatik, Erothyme and Momentology hold up this end of the release and help preserve a large segment of the distinctly organic and beatless recordings that lie at the heart of Liquid Bloom\u2019s overarching sonic identity.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Of course, with Amani\u2019s widely recognized project Desert Dwellers remaining a distinct part of his musical career, psychedelic influences arguably remain the driving force behind the Lucid Remixes. Tribone\u2019s high-energy revision of \u201cResonant Migration\u201d marries dark, churning beats with the rapturous sounds of Australian vocal sorceress Deya Dova, while on the other end of the psychedelic bass spectrum, French psydub-duo Land Switcher weaves a delicate, pulsating web of textures and liquid rhythms in their surrealistic \u201cFire Gathering\u201d remix\u2014perhaps the most scintillating and unearthly track in the release.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Bookending the array of beat-driven tracks making up the first half of the album, Nanosphere\u2019s intoxicating opening dub remix of \u201cEmerging Heart\u201d plays homage to the downbeat tones of Re:Generations opposite Suduaya\u2019s growly, tribal bass reimagining of \u201cFire Gathering.\u201d Interestingly, it is these more energetic but unintrusive tracks that invite the listener in from the silence and act as the transition point into the uplifting second half of the collection, perhaps revealing some of the methodology that inspired Amani\u2019s diverse selection of remixers.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Ultimately, ReGen: Lucid Remixes proves a resounding success on multiple fronts in its offering of music tailored to a full spectrum of emotional states and energetic levels. Far more than a mere collection of remixes, the album showcases extensive planning and communication on behalf of Amani and his collaborators, and proves a remarkable stepping stone in the growth of the Liquid Bloom project.
\n<\/br><\/p>\n
Still to come in this journey is another complete remix album, this time from the mind of deep tribal house producer Mose. Release date TBA (spring 2018)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Christian Cortes (SoundScrybe) Diving back into the open waters of ritual medicine music that have come to define Liquid Bloom\u2019s iconic blend of ceremonial instrumentation and exotic sound design, world electronica producer Amani Friend\u2019s latest release “ReGen: Lucid Remixes” transforms Liquid Bloom\u2019s signature downtempo flavors into a sprawling world of rippling textures, fluid rhythms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=496"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":502,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions\/502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liquidbloom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}