Wildlife At The Okefenokee [18:00] Five Sisters [7:42] Swamp Impasse [20:54] Road To Nowhere [5:34] Tannic Tonic [5:05] Southern Sunset [10:33] Feedback [0:33]

product info

Recorded live at Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia USA from April 20 till 24, 2001. The musicians are: Marcel Engels (Free System Projekt) John Christian and Peter Ruczynski (Air Sculpture) Dave Brewer and Bill Fox. All tracks composed by Brewer, Christan, Engels, Fox & Ruczynski except tracks 2 and 4 by Brewer, Engels & Fox.

review

I´ve heard this cd and I have to admit,its a great cd for any fan of retro Berlin School style. I love all those music but my favourite is Swamp Impasse by Free System Projekt. That music starts with an organ sound,then cosmic sounds echoeing giving the perception of space around me. A couple of minutes later,a sequencer sound takes place followed by a synthesizer melodie and that makes a beautiful music. 2008. Jose Fonseca / Portugal

review

OK, a history lesson first. In 2000 Vic Rek organised a meeting of Tangerine Dream fans at the Okefenokee swamp. During the event Free System Project and Dave Brewer improvised a superb set of music. This was released as 'Okefenokee Dreams'. A year later the event was held again but this time Bill Fox as well as John Christian and Pete Ruczynski from AirSculpture joined in with the fun, all the musicians playing together on most of the tracks. What you get here on 'Okefenokee Dreams 2001' is a selection of the best tracks from these sessions. The appropriately titled 'Wildlife at the Okefenokee' initially features what sounds like heavy breathing or even snoring (!) of some large animal. A looped vocal sample then informs us that this is 'a great example of some of the wildlife here at Okefenokee'. It has to be one of the strangest starts to a CD that I can remember. A slow sequence comes to life and we settle down to more familiar territory. The sequence becomes more strident and a nice melodic lead line can be heard. A second excellent rapid sequence comes in mutating beautifully accompanied by spot on tron sounds and electric guitar lead line. Those people who wondered what the hell was going on at the beginning of the disc will now probably be in retro heaven.- wow! It is hard to think how this combination of sounds and pulsations can be bettered. We get straight into a nice bass sequence for 'Five Sisters'. It is Very close to the mid 70's TD sound. The sequence keeps coming and going colour being added by some relaxed guitar licks. 'Swamp Impasse' begins with high register drones to which are added some nice organ sounds. Its as if the track is searching for direction but then some great deep pulsations start to emerge as well as wonderful heavenly tron sounds which hit the spot perfectly. Another sequence comes in and... well er- it just gets better and better. Not exactly an original combination of sounds 'Rubycon' through to 'Encore' Tangerine Dream with even a bit of 'Ages' Edgar Froese all coming to mind but what these guys have done with that sound palette is awesome! If you are into sequencer music and don't go ape over this then what the hell's wrong with you! 'Road to Nowhere' initially sounds a little like early Klaus Schulze, that is until Bill starts up with a gorgeous soft guitar line nestling in the middle of the mix. The whole track is extremely relaxed. We finish with an atmospheric passage which could be some missing moments from 'Encore'. 'Tannic Tonic' is another laid back one beginning with a swirling mesh of electronics trying to drown out piano sounds. The piano ends up winning providing one of the more melodic moments on the CD. The last proper track is 'Southern Sunset'. Various lines of pulsations come and go until a high register one becomes the main line of attack- organ sounds over the top. Please note in the seventh minute there is the sound of Bill plugging in his guitar- this is not a fault on the CD! 'Feedback' closes the album in light hearted fashion as it is just a few seconds of chat picked up on a microphone which was accidentally left on. As with last year's Okefenokee this is a seriously good album. DL

review

Okefenokee Dreams is an album recorded deep in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, USA, during April 2001. The musicians involved include Marcel Engels [Free System Projeck], John Christian and Peter Ruczynski [Airsculpture], Dave Brewer and Bill Fox. I'm not sure exactly why one would want to hump a truckload of synths into the humidity of a bug (and snake)] infested swamp, but musicians are crazy - you know! The common point of reference for all of these musicians (apart from bug bites) is a passion for the music of Tangerine Dream, and one of that band's celebrated most tracks is inspired by the same region. This album begins with a track called Wildlife at the Okefenokee, and the track starts with what can only be described as an alligator with severe snoring problems - at least I think it's an alligator, perhaps someone stuck a microphone up one of the musicians' nostrils. As the various loops, samples and sequencer riffs kick in this track reminds more of The Orb and their offbeat take on things. After some spoken word loops the track explodes into a fuzzy guitar and synth duel. Track two, Five Sisters, starts with some broody sequencer riffs, the sound becomes more bass heavy as it proceeds until it suddenly vanishes to be replaced by flute-like melodies. All extremely powerful and lovely. Swamp Impasse follows: radio bleeps morph into cosmic winds and ghostly melodies and then into classic 70's TD sequencer riffing - one can almost imagine this sound weaving through the mangrove trees late at night. Road To Nowhere slowly fades into existence, ambient washes and delicate lead lines picture that swamp again, perhaps this time at sunset as darkness falls and the animals quieten down - it's a short track but highly atmospheric. Tannic Tonic is much more cosmic, high whistles and bursts of sound - the sort of thing you might hear soundtracking one of the X Files's ufo episodes. The final music track is Southern Sunset, a ten minute soundscape: echo-laden percussion, clicks, synth explosions, organ lead lines, all mixed into a swirling miasma of swamp fever. Final track, Feedback, is just some off-air chat picked up on the mixing desk. Okefenokee Dreams 2001 is a highly entertaining and atmospheric album aided by a picturesque location. MusicWatch