Sick Sad World Fear And Lies

Sad World I & II is a double CD of strange ambient space music from Dr. Atmo and Ramin. It is on Pete Namlook's Fax label, so the strangeness is not unexpected. Atmo and Ramin build very slow atmospheres from low drones. They weave those atmospheres around and through each other. They insert some outright odd voice samples in the middle of the whole thing. These slowly evolving soundscapes have just enough rhythm and structure to stay just outside of minimalism and just inside weirdness. This is a fun CD and a great listen. It will appeal to fans of Viridian Sun, Vir Unis, Pete Namlook, and Michael Stearns.

In its 1990's heyday the new-school ambient label Fax Records attracted some of the most gifted electronic musicians in the world. The Iranian-born, German-based DJ and composer Dr. Atmo (real name Amir Abadi) was one of Fax's brightest talents. As a DJ he was one of the artists who hung out at Frankfurt's legendary XS Club, a Sunday chillout event where many young e-musicians connected with the dance music scene performed and got to know each other. Atmo was a prolific composer during these years, though he much preferred collaborations to solo work. His collaborartions included some the era's most outstanding chillout albums with names like Oliver Lieb, Pete Namlook and Deep Space Network.