In its 1990's heyday the post-dance ambient label Fax Records attracted some of the most gifted e-musicians in the world. The German DJ and composer Dr. Atmo (real name Amir Abadi) was one of Fax's brightest talents. He was fairly prolific and usually collaborated with others including Oliver Lieb and Pete Namlook (see those artists for reviews of other excellent Atmo albums from the same period).
Atmo proves to be a remarkably dab hand at ethno-ambient on the Sad World series, his recording project with an enigmatic collaborator known only by the name of Ramin. The first and third volumes are highly recommended.
The tracks "Apadana" and "Terasury" which bookend the first Sad World album are high points, based around Third World-style vocal swells with a deep, aching beauty that will just wipe you out. The vocals are set against a backdrop of haunting yet warm analogue synth drones and anchored by slow, incredibly hypnotic percussion loops. These two tracks alone represent a meeting of Eastern music and contemporary sounds that's every bit as powerful as music by masters of the form such as Popol Vuh and David Parsons.
Elsewhere on these albums you'll hear strange spoken voice monologues, ambient dub and long drone-based synth excursions sprinkled with global exotica. There's even a bizarre meeting of classical music, Mid-Eastern dance and Oldfield-style choral chants, a reassuring sign that Atmo and Ramin weren't content to simply find a groove and stick to it.
Dr. Atmo, Amir Abadi. DJ since 1992. DJ in Club: XS (Frankfurt), Warehouse (Cologne)
Was a member of: Silence I&II and Escape (with Pete Namlook), Six Mullahs (with Marc Pcp), Sad world I,II & III (with Ramin Naghashian), Java and Music To Films (with Oliver Lieb), I.F. I&II (Intergalactic Federation with David Moufang and Deep Space Network), Atmofeos (with Pascal FEOS..unreleased cause lost the master), Whole Traffic and A Day In The Park
6 сен 2024
