DJ Solitare - Music Reviews
Digital Mystery Tour
Twisted Records
twscd17The recent release on Twisted Records of Digital Mystery Tour (once again showing that, as Alexander Shulgin has written, “DMT is everywhere”) is a welcome addition to anyone’s ambient collection. Spearheaded by Total Eclipse’s Stephane Holweck, DMT is a collaborative project featuring a variety of artists, including Loic van Pouke of Total Eclipse, Florien Seriot and Guillaume Thevenin of Toires, Michio Baba from Tokyo and - unannounced on the promotional material - Miyuki Kasahara, Steph’s long-term companion and now wife.
Steph may well be one of the most important yet unsung heroes in electronic music. There is no doubt that he is highly respected in the scene. A founding member of Juno Reactor and Total Eclipse, he has perhaps been more overshadowed by those groups’ respective high-profile DJs, Mike Maguire and Serge Souque. When we were both living in Tokyo a few years back, I was surprised by how little an artist of Steph’s stature was being booked even though he delivered the goods with tremendous energy. As a trance DJ he has impeccable taste with a killer repertoire (he knocked my socks off many a time), and as an ambient DJ he has a delightful “freestyle” approach that is as synchronistic as it is evocative. This project will hopefully help him receive the praise that he clearly deserves.
The first track produced by the project that would become DMT, “The Blooming,” has been previously released on Twisted’s own Backroom Beats compilation as well as on a Solstice Music ambient compilation. This track, co-produced with Michi (a great musician and charming guy too), was for 2 years my ambient “secret weapon,” one I played at every ambient gig. I was naturally looking forward to more collaborations between Steph and Michi, and the two have outdone themselves. The album’s opening track,“010 Seti 101,” and its neighbour “Chilam Balam” were both “created through the web,” the data sent back and forth over the net while the two musicians worked their magic in their own studios. It is amazing to consider that the unified stories they weave were accomplished at such great geographical distances - a true symbol of the power of technological music.
The two tracks written with the folks from Toires reveal these musicians’ leaning towards more organic sounds. “Smokemon” definitely inspires images of the middle East, with its drum rhythms and mournful melodies, and “’Saute Mouton’ Syndrome” sounds quite like a chapter out of “Mystery of the Yeti” - a flute weaves lightly while an acoustic guitar pattern is brilliantly (towards the end) synchronized with a wrenching synth guitar sequence. Great one!
The two tracks produced with Loic are also awesome. “Nadeshiko’s Dream” has lovely pulsing harmonies, bubbling sounds, sweeping strings, and a rubbery bass, occasionally punctuated with what sounds like a rattlesnake’s rattle; it oscillates quite successfully between being dramatic and funky. “Mass” also starts off spacy but comes in with strongly accented hats and a funky bass in that lower-mid range typical of Total Eclipse melodies.
One of my favourite tracks is “Run Time,” co-written with Miyuki. Bubbly, funky, eerie, spacey, … this one has it all. Slightly similar in mood to Doof’s “Baleshwar Baksheesh” from Twisted’s Eclipse comp, the track features an Eastern melody to rival that of the famous Total Eclipse track “Nakano Ghost” (also from “Eclipse”), building beautifully before taking quite the exotic twist near the end.
Although some might feel that a CD clocking in at just under 60 minutes is a bit short, as far as musical value goes, this one is definitely all killer, no filler. Production is first rate, and the packaging features beautiful inlays painted by Miyuki. A must-buy for anyone into ambient. Stay tuned to digital-mystery-tour.com for information on their planned over-the-net concert.
© by Mark Ainley 2001
