Rapoon — Seeds in the Tide Volume 03

Zoviet France veteran Robin Storey has been spent much of the last 20 years focused on a form of organic/primitivist tribal ambient with his Rapoon project, releasing countless albums.  This double CD, "Seeds in the Tide Volume 03", is subtitled 'Keepsakes and Oddities from 2003-2004', and contains songs previously available only on rare compilations.  I haven't heard the first 2 volumes in the series, although I'm familiar with many of Storey's albums, as Rapoon and otherwise.

Like Storey's greatest albums under the Rapoon name, "Seeds in the Tide Volume 03" has a primitive, organic, loop driven sound that transports us to caverns inhabited by early man.  Within this meditative, hushed space, we hear the muffled wails of ancestral ghosts diffuse eerily against the walls.  I wouldn't doubt that these recordings were made in real caves; the reverberation sounds natural and authentic.

The music on disk 1 is isolated and haunting, a coldly shimmering nocturnal gush that covers the listener completely in luminescent subterranean feeling.  Awash in a vague but beautiful disconnection, the contrail of each sound glides on for minutes.  A single blurred string chord is held in suspension, thick with mystery as the rustling of leaves.  Crude/dry drum beats appear from time to time, their artificial repetition mesmerizing and dissociative.

The 2nd disk is occupied by a single 59 minute live recording.  The sound quality has to be good for a live recording of such texture oriented music to be worthwhile, and I'm happy to say the sound is vivid and clear.  There's a bit of a noise floor compared to the studio recordings, and the sound may have a little extra treble, but it's understandable, and better than most live albums I've heard.

The music in this performance isn't as minimalist, ambient or abstract as the first disk, or indeed most Rapoon music.  A bold, raw 4/4 dance kick and Gregorian chantlike vocal melodies begin before 2 minutes have passed.  A repetitive hand drum rhythm develops around the central pulse, and the fornlorn tones of whistling desert wind encircle it.  This track is not unlike the earlier sounds of Muslimgauze.

The performance is paced similarly to a usual Rapoon album, changing sound and theme every 7 - 15 minutes.  The sound thins into sparse shimmering drones and spliced chanting voices, their enunciated words arranged into hypnotic nonsense syllables.  A bass heavy IDM rhythm enters to compliment the ambience, and I feel a distinct early 90's ethno-chill vibe.  Drum machines have a greater presence here than on your average Rapoon recording, and it's not too far from vintage Warp records.

Storey surprises me again with what sounds like a bass guitar, and a straightfoward dub bassline and breakbeat.  The feeling that this recording could be the ritual of a forgotten civilization, often associated with Zoviet France and Rapoon, is wholly  absent here.  Rather, this is music clearly inspired by psychedelic rock, laidback hippie ethos, 90's breakbeat culture, and the noble art of grooving out.  The organ riffing at 43 minutes has a triumphant sentimentality I've never heard on a Rapoon recording.  It's nice to hear this more fun and relatable side to Storey.   It's great music for chilling out, gently carrying the listener across a kingdom of stars.

Both disks of this set are worthwhile in contrasting and complimentary ways, and thus I'd highly recommend "Seeds in the Tide Volume 03".  The live disk is great if you're looking for a more active, openly emotional and jam oriented iteration of the Rapoon sound, while the first disk is one of Storey's most powerfully transporting and eerie isolationist ambient excursions.