Date: 09.1.2007
Text: Katja



Composer Adham Shaikh wants to achieve on his fourth album no less than a grand fusion of disparate world influences within a meticulously crafted psy chill framework. The aim – across the ten tracks - is magnificently achieved.

Collectivity also furthers the Adham’s intention - first seen on 2004’s ‘Fusion’ set - to move psy chill out of cool introspection and into hotter climatic regions.

Part of a group of seasoned, outward-looking ambient producers, Adham is committed to expanding the neo tribal topographic map of global chill out. At premier events, including 2006’s Boom! Festival, ambient stages are increasingly becoming ‘world chill’ environments, with live bands like Brazil’s Pedra Branca exploring this interface.

Streamed as an almost continuous work, Collectivity builds a strong African rhythmic and melodic mood from the start. The distinctive acoustic guitar rhythms and grizzled vocals of Mali’s Issa Bagayogo, remixed here by Adham, reflects the close connections between this enterprising producer and current, itself fusion-ised, world music. On ‘Ciew Mewele’ the additional layer, including a fizzy top of percussion and synth and ululatory flute from Marty Carter, enhances the sparse, desert mood of the original.



‘Marmalade Sun’ is another upbeat tune, with marimba and mbira tinklings maintaining an African mood over dubbed vocals.

‘Dougoulanta’ starts with African vocals, then these segue into a live, rocky, dub section, before a high synth melody takes over, giving the bewitching tune a portly grace.

The producer shfts the geographic lens a little further north for ‘Beyond I’. A shimmering intro cascades into a meltdown of oriental tones before West Coast vocalist Gemma Luna’s multi-tracked vocals take us deeper into an Oriental market place. The Middle Eastern pitch develops on the spacey remake of Omar Faruk Tekbilek’s Ya Buoy, a renowned, ‘exoticised’, recent chill out hit.

Breaks spin us back into urban-centricity where Adham’s adventurous production brings another strong, live, feel to ‘Sub Bubble’, and ‘Deep Dream Meme’ folds us back into the deep, green, sonic ecology of British Columbia, where the label Sonicturtle’s forest dub has grown in beauty and power with the seasons.

And on ‘Collective’, we hear Melissa Meretsky’s mantra-like voice intoning “One love , One light”.

Adham has used on ‘Collectivity’ panoply of world beats to help drive home this message. This warm, optimistic music is rightly at the heart of ambient and chill out sessions world wide.