Blu Peter [Widescreen & Digital]
Now here's something different, i don't usually listen to this stuff, but at the beginning of last year i've wanted to broaden my musical love, and delve into a wider array of musical genres, therefore Electronic / Trance music is very much on the top of the list, and i've especially searched on Ebay for possible purchases, this was one of them, i was initially attracted by the visual idea on the front and back, but of course the music has to work also, and these days there's always samples you can listen to, or whole tracks on YouTube, just to make sure before you commit your money, this was an enlightening experience today, i can feel my musical mind opening up, this is what music is about for me.
Blu Peter is the artistic name for Peter Harris, who was born in 1961, and is Welsh, he's mainly a DJ, but has also brought out mix albums, and his own stuff as here, he recorded this disc in 1992, and yes it's the visuals that are so fantastic with this album, featuring a whole load of those calculator like data banks, or whatever they were called, all lined up in neat rows and switched on, the lettering is small in a white box in the middle, it's all very symmetrical, a stunning piece of visuals which enhances the album no end.
Well this is only the first listen to this album, so my perspective could well change dramatically over the next few listens, it's nice and electronic, 10 tracks and 78 minutes of music, so the average track lasts for nearly 8 minutes, nice and long, enough time to really develop something, there's a degree of monotony, and of course some tracks are more inspired than others, on this listen i liked tracks 1-2, 5 & 8-9, with the ninth track 'substance' the creative gem of the set, it lasts nearly 9 minutes, it certainly has layers to it, a gentle vibraphone melody to begin with, with electronic deep bleats in the background, and then a gorgeous drumstick roll on the cymbal starts up, it's hypnotic [0:14+], bringing in a nice drum bass, and before the minute's up there's a digital foot stomping / hand clapping type of chug that drives things forward [0:42+], it's great that Blu Peter develops these layers to the piece, and slowly brings in each element, it gets nice and funky, the sound of a glockenspiel like instrument helps bring a sense of exuberance to the music [2:07+], and this develops into a more intense ringing, like a mobile phone [2:36+], it's great when the whole thing collapses quiet, and the opening vibraphone monotony is left to itself [3:05+], there's an extended rhythm in the middle which is dedicated to drumbeats, but elements of the opening come back, and the music shifts here and there for variety, and the close of the track is like the opening, it's good to hear those cymbal rolls again, i'm a better person for listening to this music today.
Here's 'Substance' being played on YouTube.
