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the cover art of this CD is impossible to reproduce on the Internet, as it's basically all black but the cover is embossed |
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review by Bill Binkelman When judged against other career retrospective recordings, Black Sands from A Produce, is in a class by itself. Spanning three discs, the album contains not just many of the artist's signature tracks but also a considerable assortment of previously unreleased tracks (seven by my count) and, in fact, the entire third disc of the set is a live recording (co-starring synthesist and guitarist Scott Fraser) from 1996. So, right off the bat, what you have here is a great bargain for a career overview recording (many of which are usually just for completists, as frequently they contain only one or two "new" cuts). However, even if this was like so many others of the ilk, Black Sands would be come highly recommended from yours truly simply because, well, shit, this is A Produce, folks - one of the most overlooked and underrated artists in the entire ambient genre. The guy is damn near invisible compared to other luminaries in the field, and that is a grave injustice, something this album will hopefully begin to rectify. I first discovered A Produce through Lloyd Barde at Backroads Music who recommended I try his Land of a Thousand Trances back in 1995. I remember how cool I thought the artwork on the unusual cardboard sleeve was (this was before the digipack was all the rage as it is now). I placed the CD in my player and was promptly blown away after hearing the first two tracks ("The Far Shore" and the title cut), both of which are included on disc two of this collection. I wondered (and still do to this day) how someone could manifest such startling talent in both drifting soundscapes and rhythmic groove-oriented trance pieces, without sounding derivative or redundant in either arena. Through the years A Produce continued to surprise me with each release. Now, Black Sands puts an exclamation mark on how special this man's gifts are, as well as showcasing the width and breadth of his musical range. If you're not that familiar with this artist's work, suffice it to say that A Produce (whose real name is Barry Craig) is one of the truly original "voices" in the ambient music genre. Sometimes he operates within a minimalist framework (such as the subtle reworking of "A Smooth Surface" hear titled "An Indian Surface"), painting with sparse electronic tones and reverb, or on "The Barrier" with its swirling ominous washes and keyboards and haunting chimes. At other times, he is joined by guest artists to go in markedly different directions, such as the stinging electric guitar leads of Scott Fraser, which soar and dip over Craig's weaving organ chords on "The Golden Needle." On "Rousseau's Jungle" a wall of sound envelops you, drawing you into a nightscape of dimming light, deepening shadows, and palpable sensation of immense spaciousness. The artist's fondness for ethnic percussion can be heard in several places, e.g. on the fusionist piece "Farming in Arabia" on which he intermixes the ambient, electronica and world genres. Whether you are looking for drifting minimalist textural soundscapes, primordial rhythmic pieces that pulse with organic life, or electronic ambience that shapeshifts as it snakes through the circuitry, it's bound to be somewhere here on these three discs. The live disc alone is so extremely cool that the 3-CD set is worth it for that alone, as each live cut bleeds into the other yet every piece stands alone and apart from what came before and follows it. The live version of one of the artist's best-known pieces "Heart of the Dunes" will blow yer ass away, it is so damn hypnotic! Black Sands may be the most essential to own recording for 2005 if you are an ambient music fan. If you have never heard A Produce's music, one word of warning. If you buy this, be sure you have a source located for the rest of his music, 'cause you're going to want it all after hearing this album. My highest recommendation. |
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