Maskit Chamber, The - Heaven Machine

Year of Release: 2001
Label: TMC
Catalog Number: TMC 666
Format: CD
Total Time: 53:08:00

Gayle Ellett has been one of the main composers within Djam Karet for years, adding his multi-instrumental knowledge to the band's firm amount of improvisations. Known for his talent on both guitars and keyboards, Gayle has now settled for his own limited supply of solo ideas bundled under the name of The Maskit Chamber. Without going into detail where the instrumentation is concerned, one can clearly state that the e-bow is certainly back in business as are a multitude of different instruments. Those instruments mainly consist of analogue synths of which of course the Moog gets a royal treatment. Just listen to those typical Moog sounds in the opening track ?Italian Horror Movie Soundtrack #6? and you clearly get the picture.

Ellett describes the Moog as the "heaven machine," hence the title for this album which consists of ten compact instrumentals ranging from uptempo elements to floating, dreamy atmospheres. ?English Countryside? is exactly what the title implies focusing both on the vastness of the landscape as well as the majestic idea behind the English chauvinism. It's oscillators a-go-go during ?Mosaic 2000? where Gayle explores all of the Moog techniques as made immortal by a very young Rick Wakeman. Here the sound of the Moog alternates with "dirty" sounding guitar drowning in a pool of distortion. Wave sounds and guitar "arpeggios" make up the appropriately titled ?Floating Arpeggios? which sounds more like Gayle's musical homework. The percussion at the end of the song makes way for the next song, which takes us to ?Free Tibet,? wind'n all.

The wittily labeled ?Transcendental Medication? turns the atmosphere completely around, as the song even becomes a bit funky, reminding me of the exclusive nature of a band like Air. In the same vein one can catalogue ?Bill & Monica Shuffle? which sounds very contemporary by using a drum machine on one side and by also incorporating fragments of Clinton and Lewinsky's version of "the facts" backed by great Moog sounds. The possibilities of the Moog are put to an extreme test when they are used to underline the brutality of the war in Kosovo, whilst pieces of text are interspersed to make it a musical documentary in ?Kosovo." Gayle's wonderful diverse solo outing ends in an ethnic way with ?Indian In The City? incorporating some wonderful tribal flute into a synthesized setting representing the urban jungle.

Gayle Ellett has delivered a wonderful easy listening all instrumental of home industry in which he illustrates both his musical and compositional skills. Sadly it is very uncommercial to know this album has only been pressed on 250 copies and will never be pressed again once the initial run has dried up. Snap up the remaining copies fast. You won't regret it!

Tracklisting:
Italian Horror Movie Soundtrack #6 (7:17) / English Countryside (6:35) / Mosaic 2000 (4:32) / Floating Arpeggios (3:37) / Free Tibet (5:21) / Transcendental Medication (5:28) / Bill & Monica Shuffle (5:27) / Kosovo (5:11) / 6% Solution (4:17) / Indian In The City (4:57)

Musicians:
Gayle Ellett - everything!

Discography:
Heaven Machine (2001)
The 4th Wave (2001)

Genre: Electronic

Origin US

Added: January 1st 2001
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.djamkaret.com
Hits: 1856
Language: english