The Orb: Nina Walsh (vocals, guitar); Aki Omori (vocals); Bailey Harper (electric guitar); Robert Fripp (guitar); James Clancy (flute); Nick Burton, Simon Phillips (bass); Alex Paterson (programming).
Producers: The Orb, Witchman, Andy Hughes, Guy Pratt.
This 14-track edition contains the bonus cut "E.D.M."
Though Alex Paterson is a pioneer of ambient house music, the former KLF member has ventured down many different electronic-oriented paths through his career. CYDONIA, however, marks his return to a more ambient approach that will bring a nostalgic glow to the hearts of longtime fans.
The album opener "Once More" features the wispy vocals of the album's namesake over the Orb's patented "fluffy clouds" of sound and a gently danceable beat. From there, things get progressively spacier, as psychedelia-laced electronics mingle with Aphex Twin-like breakbeats, languid singing, and odd spoken-word samples. While things do occasionally heat up a bit, as on the thumping, churning electronic beast that is "A Mile Long Lump of Lard," CYDONIA's ultimate destination is the chill-out room, as exemplified by the 11-minute closing cut "Terminus." Here, organic sounds and heavenly electronics criss-cross fluidly in a time-suspended landscape of synthesized bliss.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (5/10/01, p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Offers a beautifully accomplished lesson in classic ambient-house artistry..."
Uncut (2/01, p.89) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Floating along on its own soft dynamic, CYDONIA retrenches itself in the dub style of yore..."
Alternative Press (6/01, p.78) - 3 out of 5 - "...Mellow dancefloor electronica laced with some inspired rhythms and catchy melodies..."
Magnet (6-7/01, p.102) - "...A welcome return to the sensual, dubby, progressive trance that marked their best work..."
The Wire (1/01, pp.63-4) - "...An extremely listenable record, full of stray moments of delightful mischief..."
Muzik (2/01, p.51) - 5 out of 5 - "...His most cohesive work to date...they manage to sound like no one elese when they put their minds to it..."
CMJ (2/26/01, p.13) - "...A gulp of electric ambient-dub Kool-Aid, sure to quench the thirst of any parched chill-out room veteran..."
