Light Aromas

Chillcode’s reputation and success goes a long way. Quietly, and with style, their downtempo output has been consistent lately, but Light Aromas falls down on a couple of unfortunate areas.

Enterprise kick things off in firm Chillcode style with Vega Networks. A desolate intro ambles toward a slow, easy-going groove and the track warms up like brand new central heating on a cold winter’s day.

You’ll want to have Kuba’s babies when you hear Summer Breezin, a track that sounds just like the name suggests. Laid back, cornfields swaying, a kind of Tripswitch-meets-Abakus-y groove and gorgeous colour. The vibe gets more and more opiate-infested with Enterprise’s quite marvellous Lovely Atoms, having a sort of vaguely-sinister playfulness to it, and one of the nicest drum patterns I think I’ve ever heard.

Jong’s Sparkling Circles would be a classic were it not for the misguided hiphop samples: glitchy beats juggle over warming pads, but this borderline-blaxploitation just sounds silly, particularly at the embarrassing dubstep midsection.

Two tracks from Ten Madison are further steps downhill for Peter – pedestrian, Trentemoeller-bothering stuff, and in the instance of Echzeit one gets the distinct impression that it’s more self-indulgent than anything else.

It’s just as well that Kuba’s back with the on-form Chiquita: a sort of Pink-Floyd-through­-a-Shpongle-filter, and Aural Float’s Life In Dub has one of the most adorable basslines ever in the history of anything ever ever. Vibrasphere do well with Fuzzy Vibes, not quite up there with their best downtempo work but the unfolding, mesmerising quality is still very much there, and finally Saafi Brothers’ Supernatural finishing off in a more loungey, housey style than you’d expect.

All in all this isn’t a bad release, but not up there with Chillcode’s previous stuff. I’m being harsh here, admittedly, but with great Chillcode, Chillosophy and Interchill releases still vividly in memory, you have to be. Those Ten Madison tracks wreck the album’s flow. Half of Light Aromas is brilliant, half of it isn’t. If you’re sniffing around this one and you haven’t picked up Downbeat Liquid, you might want to reconsider.