FLOOTING GROOVES - Debut Album "Upsyde Downe" PEAK Records - March 2007

5 ratings since posting on Monday, February 12, 2007
FLOOTING GROOVES - Debut Album "Upsyde Downe" PEAK Records - March 2007
in Switzerland
website
(submitted by master margherita )

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*****

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Para...
Parasite effect
offline 8
*****
a very talended album - Parasite effect , posted 10/08/07
fung...
fungusok
offline 90
*****
:)
Very good release from Peak Records once again!
5 stars from me! - fungusok , posted 05/02/07
Morp...
Morpheus Music
offline 21
*****
Flooting Grooves - Upsyde Downe
STYLE
Downtempo trippy, chillout with some imaginative organic performances on flute and other instruments. The album opens with some beautifully atmospheric flute lines and echoing exotic percussion - breathy phrases curl and breeze through the air. The album delivers a well balanced fusion of electronic programming and organic instrumentation. The drums often have a 'live' sound to them, embellished with a variety of ethnic and synthetic layers. There is plenty of repetition employed in the track structures, brief motifs and arpeggios rolling in hypnotic revolutions - the emphasis often on rhythm and mood rather than melody. Abundant use of sharp effects creates a depth and sense of distance, the occasional spoken voice sample meandering between tracks, introducing what is to come. Most tracks interfade creating a fluid listening experience from start to finish.

MOOD
Upsyde Downe delivers a busy series of psychedelic aural environments where the quality or nature of the sound is of equal importance with any tunes being unfolded - the lush multilayered tracks are dripping with detail, surrounding the listener, mesmerising and beguiling. There is an underlying global thread taken up by instruments such as the didgeridoo and ethnic percussives - but also the electronica itself has an exotic nature to it, unusual voices and tribal patterns thickening the spell.

ARTWORK
The artwork here is firstly hand drawn, but with some additional graphic manipulation. Complex figures, delicately patterned with a style in places not unlike traditional Aboriginal art, swirling backgrounds and informal fonts combine to form images of mystical gardens and arcane forests. The CD is presented in a jewelcase with a two panel foldout sleeve - inside are credits and a page of thanks acknowledging, among others, Miles Davis, Ian Anderson and The Grateful Dead.

OVERALL
Coming via Switzerland's Peak Records (renowned for quality psychedelic trance and psychedelic chill releases) Upsyde Downe is Flooting Grooves debut CD. The man behind the project is actually Pearce Van Der Merwe, born in Cape Town and having grown up in South Africa and Italy. Building on an early interest in seventies psychedelic music Pearce connected with musicians Dan Symons (a.k.a Dymons) and Ajja Leu (one half of Yab Yum) who both contribute to Upsyde Downe. He is also a part of The Peaking Goddess Collective (PGC): the organic chill and psy trance band formed in 2003 by Ajja, Dymons & Master Margherita, which combines laptops and synths with live instruments: Flute, Guitar, percussion, Bass & Fx. The label describes the music as "ethnic-ambient-groovy-downtempo-psy-progressive-cyber-chill-floaty-flooty" and this is as good a summary as anything.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you enjoy downtempo or midtempo psychedelic chill with tribal atmospheres and organic performance - Flooting Grooves is a cut above the average for the genre. Deep, colourful music with emotive flutes - this is an album for headphones or for flinging your arms up and moving. - Morpheus Music , posted 05/02/07
mast...
master margherita
offline 116
*****
FLOOTING GROOVES - Debut Album "Upsyde Downe" PEAK Records - March 2007
FLOOTING GROOVES
Debut Album
"Upsyde Downe"
Peak Records (PR012)
March 2007


Following the recent psy-stomping-night-time spree with the releases of "Peakopath" and Yab Yum's debut album "Nocturnal Emissions", PEAK RECORDS is now on a mission to explore the chill side of the moon…and is proud to introduce artist and producer FLOOTING GROOVES with his debut album "UPSYDE DOWNE".

Ethnic-ambient-groovy-downtempo-psy-progressive-cyber-chill-floaty-flooty would be a few words to describe FLOOTING GROOVES' music…if only words were enough to describe sound! His trademark is the well-crafted combination of these different styles, producing tight, funky beats, with a silver flute free-floating and gliding on top.

“UPSYDE DOWNE” is a psychedelic odyssey that travels from the land of beatless chill all the way to planet prog, in 8 tracks. Intelligent, trippy and organic, FLOOTING GROOVES’ album is the offspring of hard work, art work and heart work!

The emphasis is on groovy, airborne, spacey sounds that make you feel good!


Tracklist

1. Mbirations
2. Across The Threshold
3. Thermal Shock
4. Mystic Mountain
5. Wavelength
6. Birds
7. Zero Defect
8. Spacedrift

Mastered by Huby Sea & Vincent Villuis @ ultimae.com
Artwork by Titine Leu
Graphic design by Ajja & Tanina Munchkina


Artist profile

FLOOTING GROOVES is Pearce Van Der Merwe. Born in Cape Town in 1975, he grew up in South Africa and Italy, surrounded by music. Having a varied background ranging from classical to jazz, rock and related styles, he started playing flute after hearing Jethro Tull. Groups like Ozric Tentacles and Pink Floyd opened him up to Psychedelia and that's where his journey began!

A party in Amsterdam in 2000 changed the course of things forever, marking Pearce's introduction to the trance scene, with its addictive and infectious grooves! Another turning point was the meeting of like-minded musicians and beings Dan Symons (a.k.a Dymons) and Ajja Leu (one half of Yab Yum) who both played instruments and laptops. The initial meeting and jamming eventually led to Pearce moving to Switzerland to join The Peaking Goddess Collective (PGC): the organic chill and psy trance band formed in 2003 by Ajja, Dymons & Master Margherita, which combines laptops and synths with live instruments: Flute, Guitar, percussion, Bass & Fx.

After his beginnings with the PGC, where his flute found the perfect niche in which to evolve, he started to participate actively in the production of the collective's tracks. Soon, he was also producing music solo, finding his own sound and ultimately performing live: FLOOTING GROOVES! Ethnic, groovy, floaty and psychedelic, his music ranges from chill to airy progressive beats. His performances are always a success and music lovers greatly appreciate the sight of the live instrument fusing with machine production.

In the past two years, Pearce has performed live at a great deal of parties and festivals including the renowned Boom 2006 in Portugal and Soulclipse in Turkey, both with his FLOOTING GROOVES project and with The PGC. The trance caravan has taken him to South Africa, Switzerland, The Netherlands Portugal, England, France, Turkey, Ireland and Germany. And his 2007 agenda is filling up with new performances around the world.

Since 2004, FLOOTING GROOVES has released a number of tracks on Peak Records and Electric Dreams. He has contributed to virtually all the Peak Records releases with down tempo tracks for the chill compilations as well as chill intros and outros for the night-time compilations. More releases are to come!

2007 will be a busy year for FLOOTING GROOVES! He will be promoting "Upsyde Downe" his full-length debut album, as well as The Peaking Goddess Collective’s debut studio album, which is set for release in March 2007. May his trails be happy and fruitful, and may your trails cross his!


For more information on Flooting Grooves visit: www.myspace.com/flootinggrooves
www.peakrec.com - master margherita , posted 02/12/07

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