Jan 1, 2012

Sundaze 1201 Happy New Year

Hello, Happy New Year everybody, 2012 will not be just another year, it will be a watershed, admittedly it's unclear which end of the shed we will end up, as there's plenty of nasty to grab us. Let's not become downhearted by the big media (corporate) propaganda, their talking heads are basically overpaid nincompoops, awaiting full digitization (Max Headroom 2.0).

Well, Asura is a sanskrit word describing demons or non believers (atheists), they are hyper-competitive and paranoid, driven by a desire to beat their competition, and everyone is competition. They have power and resources and sometimes accomplish good things with them. But, always, their first priority is getting to the top.

"Always desiring to be superior to others, having no patience for inferiors and belittling strangers; like a hawk, flying high above and looking down on others, and yet outwardly displaying justice, worship, wisdom, and faith -- this is raising up the lowest order of good and walking the way of the Asuras." (Chih-i 538-597)

I suspect then this group is part of the new world order drive to global domination, or maybe just two naive French atheists. Musically it's psychedelic chill-out/downtempo, a must for everyone who enjoys good relaxing music and the way to start 2012.

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Asura is Charles Farewell, born in 1975. Originally a duo composed of Charles Farewell, and Vincent Villuis.
Since 1996, the project Asura has polished a personal electronic universe sound, between Trance Psychedelic, Ambient and World music. In 1998, Christopher Maze joins the band and in 2000, the first Asura album, "Code Eternity, is released.
Made by many influences, their music, built around electronic machines and acoustic instruments, does not remain about it less one personal and considered creation, centered on the perpetual search of infinite spaces and multiple origins. Monotonous melancholic lyrics, symphonic waves, fast and slow rhythms, heavy or throbbing, liturgical songs, the project Asura introduces a certain solemn vision of the world. They have created a very distinctive sound which has contributed to making Asura one of the most recognizable bands of the World Electro and Trance Ambient genre.

In 2001, Vincent Villuis left the band to concentrate on his new project Aes Dana and was replaced the same year by Alex Ackerman. The second album, "Lost Eden", was released in 2003. Since July 2005, after the departure of Christopher Maze and Alex Ackerman, Asura became a solo project. exclusively composed of Charles Farewell.In July 2007, he released the third Asura album, "Life²". In 2010 he released "360" with Villius in the background, Music For Awakened Spirits And Open Minds, a musical cloak of many colors, somewhat unlike the previous 3 releases this is sweet, positive, relaxing music. 2011 saw the digital only release of Oxygene.

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This album is history - it was the start of Ultimae's excellent long running chill catalogue, Code Eternity, however, is very slightly out of place with the rest of the record label. It has more of a Goa sound and is more engaging to listen to compared to the lush sound of most of Ultimae's releases. Code Eternity usually has a great synth sound going which holds the tracks together, along with a powerful beat and the old 4/4 kick. Soaring strings add atmosphere and power. This has been labelled as psychill, but I would say that it's closer to Goa trance in most parts.

The tracks face being a little inaccessible due to their lengths, but this truly allows for development. Vincent Villius and Charles Farewell really did something wonderful with this album - it's a great soundscape, ambient with much more of a kick and with more power and perhaps hostility. Excellent album and one of the very best in the Ultimae catalogue.

Code Eternity is an album full of great ideas but sounding a little too digital and sterile sometimes, and occasionally suffering from some poor mixing & mastering. Considering this was their first production effort, it's almost inevitable it was a bit "flat" and lacking the kind of warmth and life that later works contain.


Asura – Code Eternity (flac 383mb)

01 Like A Summer Day (10:16)
02 Trinity (10:05)
03 Simply Blue (10:22)
04 Phoenix (8:05)
05 Code Eternity (9:24)
06 Territories Part One (4:25)
07 XP Continuum (9:10)

Asura – Code Eternity (ogg 154mb)

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Synthesized keyboards and sequencers, provided by group leader and producer Charles Farewell, capture a combination of ambient bliss and infectious groove. Group member Curtis Maze supplies ethereal flute; his presence on the opening of "Land and Freedom" may briefly evoke one of Kitaro's mellow soundscapes, but Asura's music is generally too groove-oriented to fall into the new age category. Bassist/guitarist Alexandra Ackerman deepens the groove, which is also strengthened by electronic percussion of a type and quality that was generally not available for earlier electronic music artists such as Jarre and Schulze. And since Asura's intent is by no means self-consciously retro, they're not shy about the use of contemporary vocal sampling. The eclectic nature of Asura's presentation is further reinforced by the use of a thudding hip-hop beat and sampled female house vocals on "Raindust." Elsewhere, African vocal samples are used on several tracks, this wide-open, indiscriminate appropriation of cultures and ethnic influences could (and has been) criticized as superficial, but since Asura doesn't seem to have any agenda beyond creating elegant, sophisticated ambient trance music with a world music flavor, they should be judged only on the quality of their execution.


Asura - Lost Eden (flac 372mb)

01 Prologue 2:14
02 Lost Eden 5:53
03 From The Abyss 4:16
04 Raindust 4:25
05 Land & Freedom 5:16
06 Fahrenheit 3:55
07 Requiem From Nowhere 9:53
08 Incoming 3:38
09 The Battle Of Devas 10:13
10a Le Vol D'Icare 7:32
10b Untitled 1:00
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Asura - Lost Eden (ogg 140mb)

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Life 2 will mark its time as the return of the original Asura sound. With 10 strong tracks: melodic, echoes, astoundingly composed. Aramean tribal rhythms, ethereal duduks, hypnotic basslines, symphonic orchestrations, fusion of gentleness aqnd strengh bleding into acid themes. The outcome is melodic yet positive, as any renewal would be, a tangible passage, sort of a second life...

Undoubtedly the most mature Asura release to date, Life² is a stunning musical journey from beginning to end. The flow of the album is natural and effortless, starting with the massive Golgotha, then seamlessly flowing through relaxing atmospheres (such as the Galaxies) as well as the more aggressive goa-influenced pieces (the title track, for instance), and ending with the beautiful, contemplative La Chanson De Carla.


Asura - Life² (flac 479mb)

01 Golgotha 6:12
02 Back To Light 7:16
03 Galaxies Part One (Album Edit) 8:15
04 Celestial Tendencies 9:07
05 The Prophecy 7:28
06 Five Lines 9:32
07 Life² 7:49
08 Galaxies Part Two 10:34
09 Butterfly FX 6:27
10 La Chanson De Carla 4:56

Asura - Life² (ogg 192mb)

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

or http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Asura :D

in 2012 fare thee well & may you be wholly consumed by the Dragon

in thanks & forgiveness

kieran said...

happy new year mate, thanks for all your hard work in 2011, all the best for 2012.

Anonymous said...

Great blog - I just found it and will read all of it!

Happy New Year 2012!