Synaesthetic
A Positive Life
warehouse 5am
bathdub
the calling
pleidean communication
lighten up!
space hopper
hypnosystem
aquasonic
Waveform, 1995
If there were ever a group, or a project that had a name that absolutely embodied the message of their music, A Positive Life would be it. It is a positive energy that invigorates without being sappy, without being cliche' and without condescending. And it's not just me that thinks so...
I've come across candy ravers, casual ravers, dub freaks, jungle sluts and a few others who compose the underground culture of electronica. One thing that is almost universal for them, at least the ones that i've met, is you mention A Positive Life and there's almost a moment of reverence as people recall the energy and warmth that this CD contains.
Make no mistake about what this CD is. It is rhythmic ambient with a cause. It is dub. It is sedate and bristling with energy simultaneously. It's for grooving, it's for driving, it's for chilling. This CD has had such a sway on me over the three years that i've owned it, that i named my domain after it. I like it THAT much.
If you've been trying to explore music that is off the beaten path, but still accessible, you really can't go wrong with Synaesthetic. It's not only a great "entry point" for exploring other musics, but it stands on its own months... and even years later.
The only thing i don't like about this CD is that A Positive Life, aka stefan pierlejewski, apparently hasn't done anything since. Not that i can find anyways. I think it's a shame because this type of musical vision is scarce and frankly, people with this kind of talent are few and far between.
It's January of 2008 as i write this. As you might guess, this review was my first CD review. When i first started writing what few CD reviews i have, it was my goal to be brief, succinct and above all, not to write as some goddamned longwinded, pretentious music reviewer for a zine or indy paper... or a non indy paper for that matter. For that matter, i didn't even want to talk about individual songs. Anyway, over the years i've learned longer isn't always worse and shorter can be... well, bad. As for Synaesthetic, it's hard to say- it's still a gem of a project- great for chilling, great for dancing, wonderful for sharing with your friends and lover, but since 2001 it has garnered a bit of a timed feel to it. But if you don't have it in your collection, you should.