Lifetracks

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (31 ratings)
Sample Album
Lifetracks album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 68:56

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Another discovery on EMusic

bbnowski

As a fan of Global Communication, I wasn't even aware of this CD until I read an article that lead me to this CD. Classic electronic/melodic space music, fave tracks are Sea of Glass, Enchanting, and Astral Projection.

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A Rare Gem

buckeye_refugee

This is a very solid recording from top to bottom with a nice flow from start to finish. All of the tracks are standouts with "Astral Projection" the definite leader of the pack.

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If you Like Global Communcation get this.

hayhook

Multiple tracks on this album were originally released as tracks by AMBA on various compilations over the years. The review above is incorrect. Amba is and has always been just Tom. (cosmos too) A couple of dancier pieces open the album, then it's all smooth ambiance the rest of the way through... GET IT Sea of glass, Shinkansen, and Optimystic(an ambient rework of an earlier DnB track by Middleton under his Modwheel Monicker) are standouts.

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They Say All Music Guide

For someone who has had a prolific 15-year career as a producer, DJ, remixer, and composer, it’s sure taken Tom Middleton a long time to come up with a solo album under his own name (the ones previously released under the pseudonyms AMBA, Cosmos, and Global Communication don’t count, because those were all collaborations with Mark Pritchard). Lifetracks finds him working in a style that rather curiously fuses elements of ambient techno, prog rock, hip-hop, funk, and even classical impressionism in ways that are both immediately accessible and generally quite interesting. “Prana,” the album’s opening track, plays simultaneous homage to King Crimson and Steve Reich with its repeated and shifting guitar patterns; “Beginning of the Middle” is a bit jazzier, but never really gets off the ground. However, “Shinkansen” manages to be both gently pleasant and compellingly funky at the same time (a more difficult feat than you might imagine), and “Astral Projection” brings an element of trip-hop into the mix. Fans of the Orb, Brian Eno’s non-ambient and ambient work, and Vangelis will all find plenty to enjoy here. Recommended. – Rick Anderson

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