Reviews
Ben Eshmade…Chiller Cabinet Classic FM
“Finally Free has a heavenly handcrafted melody, every note it seems has been smoothed, polished & finally placed in this perfect arrangment…beautiful…”
Adil Ray,Presenter BBC ASIAN NETWORK and Desi DNA, BBC2.
“A provider of the most consistently produced music, combining such a spectrum of world sounds. Are you sure you’re not Indian?”
Rez Jamal…World Beat…BBC Radio Wales
“Sounds of planet Earth blended to perfection”. “His music is sublime, crafted with skill and definately done with love”
PATHAAN [Stoned Asia Music/Globetronica]
“A beautifully produced fused listen” !
Naz …Chatshow.network.
(Finalist of World Beats international DJ Awards)
” A Plea For Sanity is an insane sonic journey that reaches sanity and beyond…”.
Raphaël Marionneau…Abstrait.Net
“I consider al-pha-x as the bridge of 2 cultures, the European electronica sound that I know and have played for many years and the Oriental world and the deepness of India. Of all the artists I know and have heard, he is one of the most creative and inspired.”
Naz…Chatshow Network
AL-PHA-X “A Plea For Sanity”
Declan Flynn, aka AL-PHA-X, has been at the forefront of the dance and chill out music scene for at least the past decade. His work has been featured in countless compilations, TV Documentaries and films. His first album “Gravity” is now a classic of the genre in the true sense of the word.
“A Plea For Sanity” is yet another sonic escapade to far-away lands with Declan – great orchestral arrangements and mad keys. I honestly thought that he could not match “Gravity”, but my opinion changed after about 30 seconds listening to the opening track “Indian Summer”. I just love it when a track is sample free, especially when it comes to vocals and this hits the spot for me; great arrangements, two completely different atmospheres blending together in perfect harmony, great piano touches and an amazing vocal. The rest follows on nicely, great compositions throughout, very funky bass lines and very clever laid-back beats. The album gets funkier towards the end with titles such as “Punjanbi Prelude (Tap your feet Mix)”, “Bangle of Gold” and “Wee Weaver”. Even though the tempo rises a bit at this stage, the overall feel of the album remains chilled and very lush. This is the perfect listening material for those long bus and train journeys to and from work. You are guaranteed not to go wrong with this in your IPod!
All of AL-PHA-X’s music is available on itunes and at most good record stores. You can also listen to samples, get to know more about Declan, as well as buy his music from his website: www.al-pha-x.com.
To visit Naz’s official website click here www.djnaz.net
DJ MAG. KATE WILDBLOOD
AL-PHA-X.”GRAVITY”
Certain tracks follow you all summer long. Every compilation, every backdrop, becoming part of your soundscape. Al-pha-x’s “First Transmission” is one of those tunes. Like Aim’s “Cold Water Music”, Blue States’ “Your Girl” or Royksopps “Sparks”. Seems there can be no sunshine without them.
First Transmission is a truly majestic Arabic violin infused masterpiece that will launch you into “Gravity” perfectly. Warmed up just right , dive in and you will be rewarded. Chilled but inventive, “Gravity” is world music at its most laid back with a global feel that’s minus the usual “worthy” tag. It won’t stop the world from turning but it will lighten its load. One to appreciate.
FUTURE MUSIC. ANDY JONES
AL-PHA-X “GRAVITY”
The Man Behind Al-pha-x. Declan Flynn, is a keen FM reader and he’s obviously picked up quite a few tips on production from these pages because “Gravity” represents a global tour de force , taking in influences from places as farflung as Thailand , the Middle East and India. What unites them is Flynn’s love of arrangements and a contemporary vibe that manages to help this reviewer not just lazily fling the words “world music” into the review. Oops. Expect to see some of these gems on the next big chillout compilation soon…
ETHNOTECHNO USA. VIJAY
The first thing that strikes with Gravity is its book-like packaging: one must go through four flaps which opened up, down, left, and right, (representing compass points) before you got to the actual CD. The second thing I noticed was the shiny little sticker on the cover with a crescent and two stars that said, “Bar De Lune, A Genuine Product.” Fortunately, it only went uphill from that. It has come to my knowledge that besides the *.Beats series DJ’d by one of your favorite Indian gods, Bar De Lune also houses solo artists, among them Christophe Goze, Radar (which is 1/2 Goze), and Al-Pha-X, who, admittedly, I had never heard of before.
So what is Al-pha-X?
“Al-pha is the beginning of everything in life and in thought. It represents the starting of a journey, in this instance, into a body of music. X is the unknown, the mystery. As with all that is undiscovered and is left to the imagination it’s the X-factor that keeps us intrigued and lets us all know there are some things in life bigger than us-.” (www.al-pha-x.com).
This being said, educated musician-composer Decan Flynn and his band of talented instru-technicians bring to us Gravity, a multicultural album spanning much of the globe, keeping the track listing ever fresh. Flynn does not overload us with heavy ethnic instrumentation to manifest his four points on the compass. In fact, he uses very little. Rather, it is the vocals – language and style – and how the instruments are played that have a primary and powerful role in his tunes. Flynn keeps his music relatively simple, technically, yet the album is complex in its contents and entirety.
“First Transmission” starts us off with the staccato of the Middle Eastern darbouka from which emerges north Indian vocals and a violin elegantly alternating, overlapping, and complementing each other until the end with the encouraging support of the darbouka spicing things up between breathers. Taking you retro is “Hojar,” putting you dead in the center of a 1970s police investigation: baby blue-suited gangsters, chains out, being followed by one slick detective, sunglasses on, the scene complete with cigs, drugs, and a general ambiance of lust. All this just created with the plucks of the dulcimer and the smoky bass instruments. Beautifully backed by the grand orchestral flow of violins in “Blue Jay” is a traditional Balkan song sung with emotion countering the orchestra. The pace accelerates with “Punjaabi Love Affair” and “Thai Ways,” catchy dance tunes thanks to the melodically-played sitar and mandolin, definitely some of the lighter, more fun tracks in the album. Flamenco-laced “Mi Corazon” could be mistaken for the Gypsy Kings for a moment, but will nonetheless make you want to learn the damn dance and release all energy.
Each track seems to be composed with such attention as if it is the only track on the album. And each has just the right dose of vocals and instrumentation that leaves you content and happy – yes, plain happy- not wanting more, not wanting less. And the album is complete – the tracks are not to be isolated from one another – just like the compass, you can’t have east without the west.
Reviewer – From allmusic.com USA
Gravity AL-PHA-X
Declan Flynn literally wears his worldly influences his sleeve in this his debut album, with the digipac opening out into a compass replete with scenes from all four corners of the globe. Flynn’s previous career of composing music for film and TV becomes apparent within the opening seconds of the appropriately titled First Transmission; muezzin calls conjuring rich melodies from luscious orchestration – shuffling breakbeat drops only adding to the spaciousness of the track. Although heavily sample orientated, a peppering of real instrumentation – whether Mark Ogebomo’ thick layers of bass, the soaring violin parts of Saskia Tompkins or the occasional touch of percussion – lends a welcome organic touch to the album. The organic elements lend a sense of Craig Armstrong like grandeur to much of the material, ensuring Gravity delivers on its aspirations of fusion and reinforcing Flynn’s reputation as a producer to watch.
Reviewer – Thezenarcher from Teaneck, New Jersey USA
What distinguishes the work of Declan Flynn (AL-PHA-X) from the pack is it’s focus on track by track tunefulness and creative focus. His work displays a reliance on mood and the use of what is right for each tracks essence.
Listen to PUNJAABI LOVE AFFAIR — there’s gotta be 400 different soundstyles in that one piece, but I defy your ear to single out one as even slightly out of phase with the rest, and with the overall shape of the track. This is evidence of the artistic control that Flynn exerts over his materials and methods and it’s a welcome relief from the over-exertions of the current glut of what’s-this-button-do, bland and blase material.
Atmospheric, fun, and just plain right.
Reviewer – San Jose CA, USA
Al-pha X (aka Declan Flynn) does his piece for multiculturalism with his studio project, Gravity. Many of the tracks are available on the “Arabica” anthologies, also published by Bar-de-lune.
Middle eastern muezzin calls rising from an electronic drone starts off the first track, savily titled “First Transmission”. There, Flynn’s sampling and studio prowess comes to the front with a bobbing groove, punctuated with distinctly Arabic flavoured fiddle. A strong cut.
Reviewer – MJ Harbut New York USA
Best of the Bar De Lune label’s artists, this CD is absolutely wonderful. Artistry, instrumentation, production: end-to-end this is an absolute winner. If only all music was this good, you wouldn’t see music sales slumping, year over year. I’m an audiophile, and find new intricacies in the music on this disk, every time I listen to it. It conveys so many moods. This is, far and away, the best album I bought in 2002. (FYI: Bryan Ferry’s latest comes in a close second.) BUY THIS AND ENJOY IT. WORTH EVERY PENNY, AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Reviewer – Candy Chart
Gravity is the debut album form AL-PHA-X, and it promises a bright future fro this proported alien intelligence! Middle eastern influences abound on this absolutely gorgeous down tempo jam, a must!