alucidnation EP02

The 2nd single on Big Chill Recordings

 

Funnily enough, my second release for Big Chill Recordings.

Released on 12" vinyl and cd single formats in September 2002, it contains a mixture of styles ranging from the peace and tranquility of 'battersea park' to the stark reality that is '24hr'...

01 battersea park
02 blue horizon (acoustech mix)
03 24hr
04 blue horizon (100bpm dub)

Review

ALUCIDNATION
ep:02
(Big Chill, 2002)

One of the commonest perceptions about chilling out is that it is a low level energy activity. Although it naturally encourages the listener to relax, the best chill-out music can also bring about the energised yet meditative state of mind more commonly associated with activities like country walking and yoga. It enlivens your senses and opens fresh connections with the world around you.

Certainly that is the kind of chill out music that Bruce Bickerton, aka alucidnation, likes to make. It's obvious from 'Battersea Park', the first track on his new EP, which takes us on an imaginary stroll through a gentle green space. There's lots to take in on the way, whether it's the detailed guitar work, hand-picked piano notes or the ambient yet rhythmic sounds of the park's ducks having their say. It is the aural equivalent of deep tissue massage.

Having carefully rinsed your ears thus, Bruce delivers one of his increasingly confident and distinctive vocal performances on 'Blue Horizon'. Fittingly, this tune dramatises the curious position of those who would move forward in life yet wish to remain connected to their roots - for it features a lyric written by Bruce's mother. 'We have a bit of an Elton-Bernie thing going on,' he admits. 'Though obviously without the sex.'

Already something of a favourite amongst devotees of The Big Chill - who in the last year have enjoyed live and DJ sets from alucidnation in London's Union Chapel, outdoors amidst the splendours of Dorset and by the poolside in Naxos - 'Blue Horizon' is suffused with Bruce's love of deep, minimal house. Both the acoustech and 100 bpm mixes included here will have you wishing they had longer to run than their respective six and seven minutes, for their layered rhythms and melodies make addictively easy listening.

'24hr', the final track on ep:02, is something else altogether. It recounts the common situation of finding oneself out of the necessaries on a Friday night - fags and papers, in this instance - and thus having to venture out into the 'foggy doom' of the outdoor world. Not since The Jam's 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' has anyone given voice to a familiar urban scenario in such an unsparing, straightforward manner. In place of Paul Weller's harried angst, however, Bruce brings out the more humorous side to this oft-repeated ritual, with his references to some of the jarring stimuli encountered on his journey conjuring the more surreal aspect to modern urban living.

Taken together, these three tracks effortlessly demonstrate why the scene that has nurtured alucidnation is so rapidly gathering listeners from across the whole spectrum of music styles now in existence. It is quality music, pure and simple. Chill out, and tune in.

Buy a copy

Click here to return