REDSHIFT

Redshift

Progressive Electronic

3.42 | 14 ratings

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Roj
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

I am a huge fan of electronic music, both of the type that one finds here on PA and also modern electronica/IDM, a genre which I also find to be truly progressive.

Redshift had escaped my attention but the reviews here took my eye and after sampling some tracks I took the plunge. I was not disappointed. Of the four albums I have thus far, this is probably my favourite.

As a big fan of the 1970s halcyon days of Tangerine Dream, I couldn't fail to be impressed by Redshift. Using the old 70s analogue technology, they have produced music very much in the vein of TD. It is clear they too are big fans. However, for my money some of the material on Redshift is superior to that of their predecessors. I am sure some will be horrified to read this, but it is true. Some may find them to be wholly derivative, and the influence is clear, but such is the quality of the music offered, I am totally enveloped. This is wonderful stuff, almost like a missing TD album from 1975. It really is that good. And the even better news is that whilst with TD we were lucky to get 35 minutes of music on an album, Redshift clocks in at well over an hour.

As for the structure of the album, we have two long pieces bookending the album with two shorter pieces in the middle. Redshift the opener is not far off 20 minutes in length, full of ethereal mellotron and classic pulsing sequencers. Fabulous stuff, and as Russellk has pointed out, not too far away from Phaedra. The closing Blue Shift is out of this world for the first quarter hour, truly wonderful stuff. However the last ten minutes or so consists of a heartbeat, and loses its impact for me.

The two shorter pieces, Spin and Shine are simply amazing. I would struggle to find anything within this entire genre to compete with the quality of these two tracks. The most stunning atmospherics you could ever hope to hear. The combination of mellotron and sequencer on Spin is simply awe inspiring. Listen to Shine with headphones on and sail away into the cosmos. If you are a fan of electronic prog, give these a listen and you will see what I mean. A TD fan's ultimate dream.

I am sorely tempted to go for 5 stars here. Wholly original or not, this is a work of the very highest calibre. The last ten minutes or so of Blueshift does detract a little from the overall though. 4.5 stars would be about right. Totally recommended.

This band is prodigious in output and I have another dozen or so albums from Redshift to get. I plan to enjoy the journey!

Roj | 4/5 | 2011-9-2

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