Reviews — A Midsummer Nice Dream
A Midsummer Nice Dream Reviews
Angry Ape
The Milk Factory
Modsquare
Release
Sutemos
Tesselate
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“It’s hard to ignore the impact Toytronic have had on the electronic scene since it’s birth in 1997, with the ‘Load Error EP’ by Gimmik. Since then, the last seven years have seen Toytronic become one of the leading electronic labels, and alongside such important companies as Warp, Ai, Merck and Static Caravan, they have developed a respected collectable status. It’s not surprising each release is eagerly awaited and highly desirable, having released records by the likes of Multiplex, Digitonal, Abfahrt Hinwil and their latest signing Ochre, who delivers his debut full length album ‘A Midsummer Nice Dream’.
Chris Leary (Ochre) first began writing electronic music in 2001, initially releasing his music through various internet sites and in 2002, won a remix contest held by Global Goon (Rephlex). As his official debut album, ‘A Midsummer Nice Dream’ follows Toytronic’s tradition of high quality electronica, jumping between lush melodic synths, sublime ambient sections and pummeling beats. Although the tracks were recorded at various times and over a long period, they flow together effortlessly creating a feeling of consistance and recurring themes. Ochre’s secret is within his intricate arrangements of drums and simple, dreamy melodies which recall classic electronic stars such as Boards Of Canada and even label-mate Gimmik’s ‘Back To Basics’ LP.
In recent times, Ochre has been hotly tipped as one of the leading new electronic musicians and ‘A Midsummer Nice Dream’ does not disappoint. An artist to watch for the future.
9/10″
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“The journey that has taken Chris Leary from his first incursion into electronic music while he was still at school, to releasing his first album, has been a long one, yet his constant effort toward making his music available is now paying off with the release of his first album as Ochre, following last year’s Sound System Bangers Vol. 1 on Repeat Music.
Chris Leary first came in contact with electronic music while still at school, but it is not until he gave up his Aeronautical Systems Engineering course to study music at Newcastle University that he focused on Ochre. Originally the name used for his college work, Ochre eventually developed into a fully-fledged project. With a good understanding of the Internet and a flair for marketing his music, Chris started offering his music to download from a variety of websites, eventually compiling his work on a CD-R, AudioMicroDevice. He took part in remix competition held on the Global Goon website, and eventually won it, and his work has been featured on numerous compilations from labels such as Rednetic, Boltfish and Unschooled.
Now twenty-five, with his Masters degree and a first EP under his belt, Chris Leary is finally introducing his long-awaited first album, released on the excellent London-based Toytronic. Collecting thirteen tracks recorded over the years, A Midsummer Nice Dream is a treat for lush melodic electronic music enthusiasts. Very much in line with previous Toytronic releases, especially that of Gimmik, this album combines strong electronic arrangements and sumptuous atmospherics into perfectly crafted sonic vignettes. Alternating between ambitious constructions (Yugen, Drink Malk) and simpler moments (Revolver, Sticklebrick Symphony, Summer Lusk), Leary finely balances this album, capturing the attention of the listener from the opening bars of Yugen to the dying moments of this album with stunning warm analogue soundscapes, crisp beat patterns and light glitches. At time reminiscent of Boards Of Canada, Leary offers a slightly less complex sonic palette, almost entirely relying on electronic structures. No vocal gimmicks are used here to highlight the melancholic nature of these tracks. Instead, Leary uses sounds with great care, keeping his constructions to the essential, leaving his melodies exposed, as on the stunning Low Grav Freefall.
Although this album collects tracks recorded over a long period of time, Leary manages to remain very consistent all the way through, avoiding sharp atmospheric changes, to create a comfortable place for the listener to fully appreciate his subtle tonal nuances and beautiful melodies. The result of years of meticulous work, A Midsummer Nice Dream is a very strong debut and shows Ochre as one of the most promising new talents of the British electronic scene.
4.7/5″
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“Immediately recollective of IDM’s glory period in the mid ’90s, Ochre’s A Midsummer Nice Dream is catchy and memorable with enough subtle depth to be engaging listen after listen. With fun and funky melodies Ochre makes you wonder if you have heard this album before. In fact, some of the melodies on this Toytronic release sound eerily familiar to other songs here and there. Upon return listens, you find yourself wishing that you started having Midsummer Nice Dreams years back.
“REM Sleep Research” is a great example of what Ochre can do. With swelling synths building behind a tinkling melody (which happens to sound a lot like Zero Seven’s “In the Waiting Line”), percussion work sputters and grooves along. There’s just the right mix of technical stuttering and glitching to make it more than an ordinary groove, but still tight enough to pull the song through in the listener’s ear. This is much the modus operandi of A Midsummer Nice Dream: well balanced and extremely smooth.
“Low Grav Freefall (Mix)” is another stellar cut. The beatwork is interesting, employing the ol’ bouncing ball retrigger in places, without being overbearing. This allows the lush in and out superstellar synth streaks to really create a dreamlike atmosphere. Ochre then locks the listener in by dropping more layers of ambient melodics. This kind of timing and control really sets some of the tracks on A Midsummer Nice Dream on the personal IDM jam mix tape level.
As sort of a reprise to “REM Sleep Research,”"Summer Lusk” starts off as hinting at one melody but slowly evolves into a calming set of pulsing and expansive sonic ripples backed by ever-so-slight hi hat rolls and tappings. Ochre drops a few effects when breaking down various percussion sections, but never to excess or to the point where they yank the listener away from the focus of either the main delayed melody or backing chords.
While tracks like “Brancaster Coast” and “Eleven” are ambient and dreamy, as implied in the title, other tracks like “Drink Malk” and “Seesoar” are bouncy and energetic. The resulting juxtaposition is pulled off well by Ochre because often times the more energetic songs will change tempo and style mid-song while still exploring the same theme. This really helps keep things fresh during a 5 or 6 minute song, which a lot of the album’s tracks clock in at. Some of the tracks towards the end of the album such as “Sticklebrick Symphony” don’t bring the same magic as earlier tracks like “Yugen” and “Low Grav Freefall (Mix),” but they’re hardly skipworthy either. In addition, some of the ambient oriented pieces may be viewed as filler by some, although they do help the flow of the album. Overall though, Ochre has created an album that deserves both critical acclaim and a healthy listening audience. Ochre has a bright future ahead of him as long as he keeps dreaming and keeps giving us the proof.”
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“This, my friends, is yet another electronica outfit. It sounds a bit like the early Autechre (percussionwise), and like my two other favourites Gridlock and Bola. However, Ochre distinguish itself by the cunning use of mood and harmony. Take “REM Sleep Research” for example, a marvellous piece of work, where Ochre is combining smart melodies with extremely digital percussion. Ochre is now a household favourite of mine, and almost every song is computed perfection containing splendid brittle synths, strings, and a funky, glitchy groove. It sounds cold and precise, but with a lot of warmth, if that makes any sense. You know you want it.”
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“UK Toytronic label has just released Everything Is Green compilation. One of the most beautiful tracks of it was made by Ochre – you will find it in this fresh album, too. 25 years old English Chris Leary (aka Ochre) is pretty well known in the world of electronic music because he is working in it since 2001. Although he has got quiet a few releases: debut Sound System Bangers Volume 01 EP (2003) and some tracks for Boltfish, Rednetic, Igloo, Toytronic compilations. So it is no wonder that in all web sites this release is presented as “long-awaited debut album”. A Midsummer Nice Dream after a long process of creation will come out on 29th of November.
I am glad that my prediction this album will be more of experimental nature did not come true. I now hold a really fresh and melodic album in my hands. Actually it is even in summer mood and very joyful. This is how Toytronic continues the theme of greenness (which was started in Everything Is Green compilation). I guess they also aren’t waiting for the winter. Ochre melodies accompanied by lush summer rays and strict rhythm lines are just the right kind of thing for the souls that were tainted by the music of the year 2004. Toytronis is one of those few left that are not into chase for fashion. They tend to stay the same. At least I think that I know the fingerprint of this label. Chris Leary also is trying to retain it. But the stuff of A Midsummer Nice Dream seems to be even more lyrical. This album (excluding some tracks) can finally be labeled as “sounding” because in the mean time sonority has always been in background. Rock’n'roll like and improvisational electronica is trumping. I see that here things have been different – it took a lot of time for Ochre to build backgrounds and to create melodies that sound amazingly (they remind me of the rain drops). It is highly charming and even a bit Sensish. Such tracks as Revolver, REM Sleep Search, Seesoar, Eleven make me melt. At some points (especially at Sticklebrich Symphony) more neutral rhythm was have fitted better. I would not have included some of the tracks (it seems that they were trying to make the content more varying what was needless to do). But overall this is a beautiful and quality IDM album. Ochre did succeed in his debut with no doubt.
Ochre’s Revolver hit me straight in the heart.
Rating: 9/10″
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“Toytronic pop up again with a new release and this time its the debut solo release from ‘Ochre’.
“Yugen” warps backwards in time and then reappears in a bubble of yesterday in front of your eyes stuttering and juddering around like an android low on reserve power. A super sub beat hugs the ground trying to stay out of sight, whilst smooth edged cubes of magical strength build themselves around you, blocking you into staying to listen to the secret display. This is one you wont mind being semi kidnapped for, smooth as a robots manifold duct. Cool.
“Revolver” manages to sneak out a little smile, keeping your attention as the other members of its tiny but calculating gang spray a plastic like liquid over everything in the vicinity, which bubbles and pops, ricochets and spits and sends a hidden coded message into the airwaves for all to hear. Rammed with airborn magic and stacked to the hilt with smiling characters, this one captures your head for its lifespan. “Rem sleep research” plays its special song with almost a cathedral like presence to its musical outlay, with grand chords and sparking melodies that are gagging to be broadcast over huge distances. Remember to join in with the rubber ping people as they scuttle and explode all over the freakin pace, its mandatory, so just get down. Clickwhizzle pop style goodness for you all.
“Drink Malk” wraps its face hands and lower legs in an 8bit coat and takes you to another world, with a cascade of electrocuted pipe game adventure soundtrack style spinrotationalifegetquality that is packed with warmth and perfection. Just listen to it. Whilst “Involution” plays a different tune, with an acoustic style pipe attempting to communicate with the passing clouds with a friendly message that seems to fall on deaf white puffy ears. Luckily a zap droid falls from one of the passing chalk barges and joins in just for a laugh, turning our viewers origina track into a fuzzy minimal acid journey into semi complete darkness. Another cool one.
“Saturniner” streams its message through every available port, and it seems the message is confidential and is being relayed by a series of minimal clicks and almost dry tones that skim around in the background like circling vultures mapping out a template on the floor below, spooky stuff.
The title track “A Midsummer Nice Dream” is a processed fairytale spread out thin on a sheet of fluorescent glass which is slowly shaking and humming to bring the item back to life. Once the music begins an ever growing selection of machined items with grinning smiles and globuar like lifeforms come out of hiding to soak it all in, its like a a cold wind flowing through your inferno of a flat (greenhouse) in the middle of summer. Refreshabot excellence.
Ochre has jumped up to the table with this full length release on the ‘tronic and has really laid it down double well. Its like an instruction manual, packed with information and amazing technical specifications which on the sly is secretly seeping hidden codes and enchanting melodies into the oxygen. Character tunes for all. Coola.”
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