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R E V I E W S
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Flow -
MakeMineMusic records
" Opening with Schengen’s City is a masterstroke, setting the tone with glitchy electronics and digital pinpricks accompanied by funky sampled spoken word segments. The other track on offer by the band is also notably good, this time the band ditch the up-tempo beats for more textured and ambient atmospherics to equally good effect... It’s very clear that the philosophy behind Make Mine Music provides a fantastic environment for creativity, as bands like Epic 45, Schengen and Yellow6 can latch onto fragments of emotion and transform them into wonderfully delicate explorations so perfectly. " Eclectic Honey " Flow sees all the musicians involved make contributions to what is a great representation of their unique talents beginning with Schengen's 'City' which carries strong shades of Kraftwerk's 'Franz Schubert' about it... Long may this small but perfectly formed label continue." Leonards Lair " What makes this collection so special is the ease at which it places upon the listener, each of the 16 tracks on parade seamlessly lock into each other to provide an enjoyable dreaming collage of wistful atmospherics, you are almost numbed by the cross fusion of ambient textures and chilling backdrops..." Mark Barton @ Losing Today |
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'ep' - MakeMineMusic records
(Feb 2003) "...Some lush, relaxed, gorgeously atmospheric electronica (think Black Dog meets ISAN) on the Schengen/Portal tracks... An excellent CD that comes highly recommended!" Smallfish Records "...a blissed to the eyeballs set of collaborations" Boa Melody Bar "... if the MakeMineMusic label keeps this up, they are going to spoil me! EvilSponge "...Seizing, atmospheric and unique." konkurrent " The tracks, recorded live, by Schengen and Portal are a delight. The first, Capitol evokes comparisons with the alien worlds of Boards Of Canada whilst B'Leaf is steeped in Scott Sinfield's 4AD-style guitar playing and Schengen's Harold Budd-mimicking piano minimalism. Though these efforts are unquestionably the main attraction of the CD, two remixes are offered for a Schengen original named Seti; Weyland's On Safari mix borrows disturbing effects from This Mortal Coil and Innerise opt for the understated, downbeat side. Finally, Schengen go solo with the oceanic, well-titled Grace. Long may Make Mine Music continue producing music of this calibre." Leonards Lair " Kicking off with the first of two collaborations with Portal, Cap itol carves an enchanting entrance for itself, taking you on a journey to exotic climes to a far-flung idyllic dream hideaway, the sensual twists of the elated textures create warming patterns tinged ever so slightly by a Robinson Crusoe like loneliness. B Leaf continues the theme of melodic sensuality, a towering composition that opens to the grand, though sombre atmospherics of cavernous drone waves, their heavy dominant mood is lightened by the drifting sounds of delicate tinkling ivories and ultimately shattered by the entrance of Sinfield’s graceful chiming guitars. Both ethereal and elegant. Seti is given the remix treatment from Innerise, carving roaming spacey signatures that flit and flicker with all the irresistible allure of a light bulb to a moth. Grace swirls with droned synths that give the invigorating sensation of tides washing to and fro, magnificently melancholic. Weyland deliver perhaps the collections most satisfying and haunting moment. Enlisting a spacey feel to the proceedings Weyland’s remix of Seti, here re-titled as Seti on Safari utilises drama laden atmospherics that at times will have you thinking that your in the middle of the monster attack scene in the original Lost in Space, demanding and doom laden stuff replete with spine tingling twang sequences. A must." Losing Today |
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Portal Remixes
CD on Roisin Records.
"Schengen creating ...a track that floats between ethereal pop and electronica...Portal's Remixes album is a great example of a remix album that works... if not a beacon, a measure for remix albums to come." EtherREAL |
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Substracks
"...the uplifting tones of What could make me feel this way ?..a Hermann and Kleine sound, albeit with a slightly more restless feel and tempo.... No Time continues on a similar trajectory, with the reverb setting turned onto 11... washes of warmth and effervescent melodies throughout. Lovely." Pelican Neck |
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Nyplex - 12" on Roisin Records
"Making a welcome introduction to the page, Roisin present Schengen's debut vinyl excursion: Four tracks of soothing landscaped electronica, that manage to capture mood and emotion as if they were a detailed conversation. Put to minimal sedated beats and Germanic keyboard textures, Envy and the stirring I Think I've Found It offer melodic and cohesive simplicity, with the restful sounds of Piano One offering yet more space for introspection and wonderment. Put simply, a beautiful and evocative debut" 4/5 DJ Magazine "Nyplex is an accomplished EP of electronica. I Think I've Found It is an Eighties-sounding piece of weirdness, while Envy and Classica veer into dark distortion. Piano One is chilled perfection using a simple piano line worked around distant strings." MUZIK magazine |
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