A slow, relaxing excursion into the groove
author: MISH MASH Mandate: Subtle Excursion
For a slow, relaxing excursion into the groove, you can't do much better than U. Kay Hytz (read: "UK Heights").
Their laid-back blend of New Age, New Wave and trance is aptly named Ambients, a misty collection of effervescent musical bliss that borrows from the best of each aforementioned genre. Their slow dance beats are built around the sounds of early 80s electronica, while the expansive atmospheric music/vocal beds conjure up the ghosts of Enya. It's a unique feel, and the group tends to lean on the "less is more" theory. The end result is an album which shows its beauty in subtle near-nothingnesss.
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UK Heights have produced some relaxingly beautiful mood music
author: Liane Chan/Plume Noire
In a time where rock music is all the rage, the UK Heights succeeds in blending synthesized and natural sounds into a seamlessly smooth album of dreamy atmospherics.
Ambients recalls the dark hypnotic beauty of the music of Projekt label favorites Love Spirals Downwards in their more electronic album Flux full of the same moody textures that reflect a mind state of perpetual. relaxation. The 5 tracks on this album range from 6 minutes to almost 19 minutes long, and each seems to reflect a slightly different mood or dream.
From the hauntingly dark "Love and intent" to the more uplifting "Rushes (will's way)," this album ebbs and flows so smoothly that it seems effortless despite the 2 years this band spent recording it. The liner notes reflect the spiritual nature of the music, with photographs of coastlines, birds, mountains, trees, and fire. As in tune with nature as with their synthesizers, the UK Heights have produced some relaxingly beautiful mood music—a welcome break from the overpowering beats of today's rock and techno acts.
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Dreamy/drummy vibes provide 50 minutes of electronic retroactivity
author: David J Opdyke / AmbiEntrance 2002
I was thinking that the lightly beaty synthstream sweetness of U. Kay Hytz' Ambients had a mid-90's kind of feel to it... well, it was recorded between '95-'97 so that would explain that aspect of their chilled-out attitude...
Awash in sparkling synth currents and hushed femme choruses Love and intent (6:12) embarks on a gently trancey excursion, buoyed by bubbling basslines. Seasholm exists at lower levels of energy, where slow billows are decorated with sparkly sequences and wordless female "dee-dee-dee"s. Hushed twinkles cascade through the low-lying murk of Rushes as do gloopy basslines and spattery cymbalism.
Waft like a stratosphere-borne feather when Lying back and falling (18:49) into these vaporous drifts of pads and wisps of Enya-esque voice; sparsely stippled with faint percussion, airy drones of lightness shift on translucent skystreams. After 13 minutes, bass pulsations grow more insistent and the drum-kit is revved up too, though still remain fairly aloof, accenting rather than overpowering the flow.
The dreamy/drummy vibes of Ambients provide 50 minutes of electronic retroactivity from U. Kay Hytz. Lightly brighten your world with this five-track collection of pleasant synth-spawned warmness. Not earth-shattering, but quite nice... a subdued B.
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