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Binkelman's Corner by Bill Binkelman |
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Bill Binkelman is a long-time icon in the industry. |
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| Trans Ukraine |
| By Bodhi |
| Label: Crystal Wind |
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| Trans Ukraine tracks |
1. Crimea I
2. Crimea II 
3. Crimea III
4. Kiev I
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5. Kiev II
6. Kiev III
7. Odessa I
8. Odessa II
9. Odessa III
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Trans Ukraine |
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The last album I heard by Bodhi (who was recording under the name Kevin Setchko at the time) was his minimalist new age tone poem album Cloud Etchings. To say that Trans Ukraine marks a departure from that release may be the understatement of the year! While Bodhi's great flute work is still in ample evidence, Trans Ukraine is a ramped up blast of superbly chilled electronica (with traces of world fusion now and then), with the artist marrying his flutes (and some piano) to an impressive array of synths, beats, and electronics. This CD is highly recommended if you love chill-out music, regardless of whether you're a flute fan or not. Production and engineering are textbook as well. Bodhi collaborated with two Ukrainians (Igor Gromadskiy on the track Crimea and Dimitris Krist on “Kiev” and Odessa) who each play keyboards and Englishman Alex Newman served as producer and arranger and did the final keyboard mixing.
Each of the three "songs" has three parts. Crimea I opens in a moody darker melodic vein (per the liner notes, this reflects the war ravaged country's tensions which still exist). Swirling keyboards and plaintive lilting wooden flute, as well as minimal piano, are eventually overtaken by minor key synth pads and infectious midtempo beats. The blending of the organic with electronic on this track (and the entire recording) is spot on. Crimea II kicks off with gently pulsing faster tempo beats, adds in snare rhythms, and more minor key mellow flowing synth pads. Twinkling bell tones are also present later in the song. Crimea III shifts gear into a funkier more dubbish sound with some fat bass rhythms, echoed piano, and whirly-gigging synths. The flute, which enters the song later, has a less plaintive mood than the earlier cut.
Kiev I starts off in a spacemusic vein with a beautiful drawn out synth wash. Native American flute is introduced after about two minutes and the rhythms, which are a mixture of cyber and tribal in nature, come in a minute after that. Twinkling bells later in the cut add even more of an exotic flavor. Kiev II changes the beats into more contemporary ones at the start (snare and high hat) and the flute continues to dance above the rhythms. Later, the ethnic rhythms are re-introduced. Keyboards on this cut take a back seat to the flute compared to some other songs. Kiev III begins with echoed jazzy piano, spacy synths, and a chilled mid-tempo rhythm with some break beats thrown in now and then. The jaunty mood eventually submerges amidst shadowy synth washes and haunting flute.
All three parts of Odessa are quite energetic and also feature some of the most electronica-based beats, including some semi-techno rhythms at the midpoint of part I. James Asher's world fusion electronica came to my mind at times while listening to this section of the CD. Part III has a particularly revved-up opening featuring lots of ethnic percussion. I suppose, if one was notably ethno-centric in taste, one might consider this CD to be a world fusion release, since it does have its share of that aspect. However, I think the album holds appeal even to those who usually don't like culturally diverse music.
While there is no denying the fact that Bodhi's flute features prominently throughout the recording, there are some long stretches where it's not heard at all. Unless you more or less hate flute music, you’re going to like (or even love) this recording if you enjoy chill-out or electronica. Of course, that's from my perspective and I greatly enjoy flute music, so there's that to take into consideration as well. Putting it bluntly, Trans Ukraine knocked my socks off and I can only hope Bodhi will favor us again sometime down the road with another excursion on the electronica highway.
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Rating: Excellent  |
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- reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 10/21/2006 |
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