[i:Vibes] Ugress

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Ugress - Resound

12:10 - September 26, 2002

by Kevin C

A bit different than some might expect but well worth the review. Bringing forward a variety of genres from Norwegian producer Ugress in this 11 track album

Although summer is just about over, we have more chilled beats from the Norwegian producer Ugress in this fascinating 11 track journey into chillout, downtempo, triphop, hiphop and breaks.

Tracklist:

1. The Spiderman Theme*
2. Queen of Darkness*
3. E-Pipe
4. Reason to Believe
5. Decepticons*
6. Loungemeister
7. Falling*#
8. Autumn Colours
9. Trigger 22
10. Kaleidoscope*
11. Atlantis Coastguard Corruption

#) Bass by Jørn Rathe
*) Text and vocals by Therese Vadem

Release Scandinavia/Italy September 09th 2002, rest of Europe/World TBA
With the recent release of Spiderman the movie, the first track, aptly named Spiderman, comes forward as a very downtempo house track with latin flavours which would remind those of perhaps WMC or those Ibiza afterhours parties at 6am, with the spiderman sound thrown in for a bit of added effect. A truly 70s vibe comes through here and definitely ambience music for the classic listener.

Queen of Darkness comes forward as the second track with a truly eerie vocal accompanyment which strikes me as very Portishead or pre-2000 Garbage material and might as well be included in trip hop sped up slightly. A very haunting sound with a great melody for those rainy days or depressed mornings.

Then we move onto something even more classical sounding, like something from the 60s-70s or so with its electro vibe and almost breakbeat like bassline, but most of all, its the flutes which bring it to an era where most of us weren't born yet! But nonetheless, a great compliment to what is quite obviously an album to bring back the memories for some.

Ugress shows us his diversity and enthusiam by bringing the next track somewhere between ambient, house, trip hop and rap or perhaps its a bit of all 4. Very trippy and an addictive bassline is how i'd describe this as, and although if I saw the genre overlap I might have been discouraged by it, the track is actually very nice with that same Ibiza like afterhours chilljam style sequencing.

Decepticons, what does that remind you of? Can't think of it? Try Transformers. Yep, that cartoon some used to watch when it was still of relative popularity in the 90s, and this track makes use of a bit of a vocal sample related to it and adds a bit of seemingly Asian flair and a bit of dubby basslining. A bit of a different track this one, I think most people may find the female vocals don't match with the track as a whole and the vocals resemble some sort of wailing in the background than actual singing. Guess you'd have to listen to decide yourself.

Yet more hiphop / rap for you here with the Loungemeister. This time, slightly more upbeat than most of the previous tracks and it adds a few scratch sampls in it and vocal stabs, with the trademark Ugress flute like accompanyment. I haven't quite decided on how to place this track, but it would act well as a soundtrack to an 80s TV series or a scene from Reservoir Dogs? Hard to say.. but definitely groovy; is how'd I'd describe it as.

And this next track "Falling" increases the tempo even more to a more disco house level; and might even be able to pass as something Dave Seaman or Sasha would play in their early pre-Renaissance-esque days as a closing track. Flashy bassline and vocals provide the base of this track and some distinct guitar melodies bring up the end of the track. Although the track seems slightly repetitive, the arrangement is definitely of solid quality.

The next song has a very suitable song name, with "Autumn Colours" as its title. Starting off in a near classical melody state, it bounces back into a funky kind of groove with the odd scratching bringing in a bit of change in the production. Very autumn like to me and yet another track which Chris Coco would easily pick up and add to his "Universal Unfolding" style of tracklist. Dubby, chilled and moody, this is one of the strongest tracks on the album in my opinion.

Ever heard Youssou N'Dour? The Senegalese singer who sang with Neneh Cherry in the classic "7 Seconds"? Well the male vocals in this sound distinctly similar to his vocals (although I am not sure if they are or not). Beeps and more beeps fill this track, and add a bit of Italian piazza violin music in the background and some sounds of laughter and you get what I would call an interesting track. Still very downtempo hanging around 100bpm, this track brings in many different elements and is yet another strong contender for one of the top tunes of the CD.

More diversity in genre? Well, its nearing there. Add a bit of blues and you get close to "Kaleidoscope" and when you inject a bit of funk and house and a bit of high-end vocals you definitely come out with "Kaleidoscope". A very funky, bouncy vocal track, this is a nice track to chill to with friends and would be a track you are likely to hear in a Record Store selling vintage vinyl and records.

The final track on this truly interesting album is one titled Atlantis Coastguard. Not as funky and uptempo as some of the others on this album, the track settles in for a chilled backdrop melody, but there is the somewhat recurrent and slightly irritating chime which might drive you a bit mad after listening to it for a few minutes, especially if you happen to have a headache. I think that if the chimes were removed, this would come out as the winner on the CD, and is definitely chilled, downtempo and melodic for those Sunday mornings... that is without the chimes..

Overall, an album which would fill a new category in my record space as it covers a span of genre which does not see that much light these days and is not as recognized as some might have wanted.

Great to chill to! 7/10

http://www.ugress.com (full album can be downloaded in low-fi from their website)