Various Artists - Natural Born Chillers
The trouble with the word "chill" is the tendency to try to squeeze it into a pun as a record title. Most are atrocious and the rest are, at best, minor distractions to the work. Aleph Zero's Natural Born Chillers has, unfortunately, an allusion to Natural Born Killers, Olive Stone's ode to the media and the public's fascination with serial violence. For a record that is intended to induce a sublime state of physical bonelessness, it's a jarring misstep.
That niggling detail aside, Natural Born Chillers does indeed cause bonelessness, a liquidity of movement that is inspired by the Oriental and Middle Eastern overtones flowing throughout its rich sonic landscape. The ten artists on Natural Born Chillers have a cohesive intent, a singular vision that allows for the ten tracks to be seamlessly integrated into a single flowing experience. While each track has its own indelible personality and influences, the overall focus is so clearly defined that the record moves as a single unit. And, frankly, that's how I've been listening to it over the last few days.
Sure, I can point out the downtempo lounge work of Cosmic Fools' "Be Yourself" (including their use of torch singer Natalie Chalfon), or the delightfully rich and time-stretched melodies of opener Ishq's "Alaya," or the water-tinged textures, vocal inserts, and sumptuous dub echo of Zen Mechanics' "A New Philosophy," or the wooden flute and vaguely Taiko drumming of Agalactica's "Monochrome Rainbow Pixie" (which, of course, in keeping with the blended philosophy of the record also channels Middle Eastern desert rhythms and African vocal histrionics). But singling out such efforts break the flow of Natural Born Chillers, and such an insistence mars the vibe this record gives off in waves.
Aleph Zero [2004]
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