Carbon Based Lifeforms – Derelicts

Lots of surface noise and distortion on my copy.. A real shame. Thankfully I have the FLAC version as well.

@SirRob could you tell me what color you have that makes this noise?

Colorless? or the Red Blue Splatter?

Thanks

This is above average CBL album that stands somewhere around the middle (better than Twentythree, The Path and Stochastic). What I like her is that it sounds good played in one go which is what a CBL album should be. Its immersive and magical though lacks the melodic beauty of the three most renowned CBL releases.

Absolutely incredible album. Many albums, I find myself skipping tracks. This album is best listened to from start to finish. The whole thing is one cohesive unit.
Some comments of two things that immediately come to mind when thinking about this album:
~42° gives me this mental image of being underwater in a 42°C lake or something with time slowed down and the sun shining through.
Loss Aversion almost brings a tear to my eye. It's sad but it's also beautiful.

Something about the cover art and album title influence the way I perceive this album. It's like the nature of the songs occur at or around the place that's pictured. Abandoned, but interesting, fascinating.. memories that may have been made here long ago when it wasn't in a derelict state.. memories of the friendships formed between employees.. and memories made by the families of the employees, long ago... some sad memories, many happy memories and hopeful years... all centered around a place long since abandoned.
It's hard to describe exactly, but it works.

Carbon Based Lifeforms also dropped a new album this year, so I had to check that out. I first discovered them when I was heavily into psy trance and the likes many years ago. Drifting from skazi/astrix, via infected mushroom and OTT, I finally arrived in the hands of Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad. It’s very soothing to listen to CBL, compared to other psy acts. The tone is pleasant, and the tempo is significantly lowered. This release is no exception, filling the space with vast bass lines, soft synth pads and subtle keyboard notes. A dub-like sound without ever becoming too poppy.

As we reach “Clouds”, the atmosphere changes, and I get the sensation of being afloat in the air, flying towards distant sun filled lands. In the following track, a soft voice speaks, and distant chiming metal can be heard in the background. It reminds me of 36’s earlier works, although that doesn’t have the ever-present drones. “Equilibrium” is just that, comforting resting place where all dark thoughts and feelings vanishes at the touch of this wonderful sound. When the beat returns about halfway in the piece, it feels natural, symbiotic and fits the rest perfectly. I wonder how many hours have gone by while the duo has polished this sound to perfection. Even the distorted keyboard notes near the end doesn’t seem out of place.

“780 Days” starts out as a simple wave of drone, laced with a beautiful pattern of four notes being played over and over. During the piece, it gets heavier, but always controlled. Soft padded drums drive the music forward, and as the palette is filled with ethereal variants of those four notes. As time goes by, they are distorted, and accompanied by neighboring notes. About halfway in the song the drums lose a layer of padding, and even a hint of hi-hat can be heard. Near the end, bass notes are becoming appearent, and the song gets a heavy phase before it fades away.

“~42” featured a spoken word section as the song start. Maybe the most “psy” track on the album. It’s simple, but works great as a bridge between the rest. “Rayleigh Scatterers” reminds me of earlier CBL material. With its slow start, before the repeating pattern of bass notes appears. A simple set of keyboard notes plays in a repeating pattern, which disappear for a moment before returning again, underlining their importance in this piece. “Dodecahedron” is perhaps the most heavy number on the album. While it starts out in a familiar CBL fashion, it gets filled with heavy drumming after a few minutes. Towards the end, the drums dissipate, and only the stem of the song remains.

“Loss Aversion” is another piece which makes use of repeating patterns of keyboard notes. As it plays, distant drums can be heard. But after three minutes, it all comes out, and it becomes a fully fledged dub track. To makes things even nicer, a beautiful female voice cries her hymns over the last part of the song.

“Everwave” is the most ambient/drone track, and a fitting closer to the album. As the name states, it’s also by far the longest of them. At nearly 14 and a half minute, the duo has the space and time to put all their remaining feelings in an audial context. A continuous stream of warm drones, only disturbed by some creaking metallic noises.

CBL is once again home at the top of the artists in the eletronic music world. This album is one I can play over and over, and it never gets dull or hollow.

Nice overall but below what these guys have done in the past. As like Solar Field's Ourdom album, I feel both albums are creatively below due to the fact they left Ultimae records... Ultimae did provide artistic direction and truly did add "quality control".... Derelicts is a nice album, easy listening, but most of all mostly the same recipes that CBL has done in the past, reason why it feels a little watered-down, and not as magical, mind-blowing a deep like Hydroponic garden and World of Sleepers. (WoW being the highest masterpiece).

To all people owning this release: I would love to hear from you, what the pressing quality is like. Stunning album and beautiful splatter design on the record.

Among the best in the world of progressive ambient music.

I think this is one of the best CBL albums. It has such a haunting feel to it. Ambient and dreamy. I would have to agree with the previous reviewer: I don't think there is any bad track on this album. I love it all. Definitely a highlight of the year.

Amazing uplifting album.

All tracks are superb

personal fave is NOW

Dodecahedron

~42° - but far too short - stunning ambient acid - A walk to the Arctic circle and back again listening to this...

I could have tweaked that rotary to ~100° though

Buy the CD on sight and all the other older ones :)