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first 700 copies incl. poster

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a mixture of dark ambient soundscapes, hypnotic drum patterns, an impressive stylistic range, emotional minimalism and timbral sophistication. harsh sound-structures unfold a new chapter for smooth atmospheric noise. they are gonna play with your cells in your brain!

all music recorded, produced, arranged & performed by starfish pool. samples by chantal yzermans recorded in new york state. synthesizers on 'fall' by jonah lybaert & chantal yzermans.

re:mote induction. www.remoteinduction.com
illusions of move - chapter blue is the first chapter in a planned series of 5 12" releases planned by starfish pool. this first part comes to us through hymen, the first 700 copies coming with a poster which goes with the art of the cover stamps. savage starts the release with a manic beat - full force technoised manner that has us going. voices cry out from the background while bass swirls in an approaching, squelching loop and beats are rapid and tinny. the layering of the sound is somewhat dizzying and overwhelming. fall, which follows, starts simpler, a voice issues instructions in the next room. sounds sneak in, slight loops of background sound. that seems to be a short track which leads to the more extended passing by. beats pattern up the backgrounds while swirls offer a foreground atmosphere - with intermediary layers providing texture. after 4 minutes we can start to hear voices growing beneath the regularity. a half heard dialogue unfolds, intriguing, with sections legible and others not. melody emerges from the constant drive, associating with the words - with the effect in some ways reminding me of certain tracks by godspeed you black emperor. the second side of illusions of move brings us driven. an echoing rise, with a bleeping cycle, the rise an initial sigh. 1.30 in and a regular hihat percussion track is added - a constant, while the sigh continues to form melodic lead. a crunchier bass loops and comes forward, bringing a thumping rhythm with it. by which point driven is pretty upbeat, but smooth and mellow with that. conclusion leading to a slow strip downwards. while blue excursion leaps from the pause, suggesting a rush of squelching bass form, though this evens out quickly layering up to complexity. the constant hihat work mixes with the bass and melodic swirls with the presence of voices coming through in the mix. illusions of move continues with a drift of melody and a bass hump, like something emerging from the water while its bulk remain submerged - mental. slowly moving forward on a tight focus, consisting of these elements. a high bleep stream rushes in, each element short and strung together as a continuous thread. the bleeping grows becoming an intensity, a whirring, clicking forefront. the frequency changes and falls into slow bass, from which point the track changes almost seamlessly into slowed, though the feeling is consistent. the motion is more fluid, the sighing a stream with melodic waves and light ripples. melody growing more prominent and leading us on while the bass becomes something of a regular drone. illusions of move and the previous rituals for the dying which i am also currently listening to, are strong releases which i have been enjoying a lot. the layers of sound work closely together, creating a complexity that really gels together, but is difficult to describe to convey its full depth and detail. strongly techno influenced in its sound structure yet starfish pool seem instead to be offering sculptured sound scapes and engaging ambient mood music.

seven. www.nezzwerk.com/seven
the main idea behind the music of starfish pool is combining hypnotic drum patterns with subtle atmospheric changes happening on the background. majority of the tracks on this vinyl are build upon unchanging technoid percussion, minimal noises and synths soaring on the background. soon enough you get into the trance-like state hypnotized by seemingly unchanging motives, that keep your attention by subtle changes. the whole release would have been considered merely a decent background music, if not for the material where all the monotonous percussion is eliminated and instead atmospheric elements take over. gliding synths are occupying your attention and percussion is reduced to the form of random compressed noises that add barely audible structure and self-contained intensity to the track. the contrast with the rest of material on the disk is stunning; it creates a nice atmospheric break and points out the elements in the music that might have been overlooked initially. "illusions of move - chapter blue" revolves around minimal ambient textures that might occupy you during the hours before the dawn, when attention starts slipping and thoughts tune in to the recurring motive of this record

equinoxe ausgabe 12

diese lp hat durchaus ansprechende momente, und bietet ein breites spektrum an sounds, sprachsamples und beats, die sich zu einem puzzle zusammenfügen. dabei entsteht eine bisweilen etwas seltsame stimmung, die mich in fremde welten entführt, die irgendwie kalt und dennoch anziehend wirken. experimentelle momente sind auf diesem kurzen album ebenso wichtig wie der gezielte einsatz von dominanten rhythmen. ein bisschen erinnern mich die verwendeten sounds an die frühen 80er jahre, mit ihren eingeschränkten möglichkeiten digitales material zu manipulieren. kein echtes highlight stellt diese lp dar, ist sie doch wie ein kleines pflänzchen, dem leider zu wenig beachtung geschenkt werden wird. schade, auf cd würde dieser scheibe mit sicherheit mehr aufmerksamkeit zu teil. (alexander götzke)

recycle your ears

this lp is the first one of the "illusions of moves" series that will eventually contain 5 starfish pool lps, each one based one a colour and the feeling that fits it. blue is for sadness, red for passion, black for "heavy and soulful" things, white for "open and minimalistic" ones, and yellow for brightness. a selection of tracks from these discs of the very productive starfish pool will also be issued on 2 cds. with the first part of these series is presented, darkness and sad atmospheres are at the center. this is particularely clear with the very melancholic soundscape of "mental" or the strange background music that supports everyday life samples on "fall". however, one should not forget that this is starfish pool: the music is a very flowing kind of industrial techno, with a lot of melodic loops being intertwined at a rather fast pace. some rare distorted sounds are also used, giving to this lp a bit of a black lung feeling, but the whole thing stays catchy and "moves" easily around very nice tunes and a steady beat. i wouldn't call this material aggressive at all, since the listener has plenty of space to breathe. this music, very well produced and recorded, is ample and quite spacey, without being too ambient. complex and interesting, "illusions of move, chapter blue" has raised my curiosity toward this series. even though i'm not sure it's as dark or as sad as one could expect (except, as already said, on a couple of tracks), this is very soulful. this disc carries a very urban feeling (for example with a lot of voice samples) in an intelligent way, that makes it very enjoyable. definitely a good disc, a good introduction to starfish pool, and something which fits well the very high quality of the hymen releases. (nicolas)

starfish pool discography 02.2000
chill out 'n confused. cd. 09.94. kk records
restless. 12". 01.95. kk records
cool for lovers. 12". 03.95. kk records
amplified tones. cd/2lp. 04.95. kk records
offday remixes. 12". 11.95. kk records
interference. cd/lp. 04.96. kk records
abstract no two ep. 12". 11.96. respect wax
dante's carnival. cd. 04.97. silver usa
remixed. cd. 11.97. silver recordings
remixed. 12". 11.97. respect wax
rituals for the dying. cd. 04.99. u-cover records
rituals for the dying. 10". 04.99. conspiracy records
kinetic. cd. 06.99. daft records
illusions of move - chapter blue lp. 02.00. hymen

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