Mr. Soon • Places in Arizona
Monday, June 19, 2006
category: ambient / atmospheric • release date: 09/01/02
label: Psychosomatic Records • duration: 74 minutes
contact: psyrecords.com
Music by Joseph P. Jakob. ©2002 Disconnect Publishing (ASCAP)
Licensed to Psychosomatic Records.
email: joejakob@gmail.com
R E V I E W S:
Vital Weekly - Reviewer: Franz de Waard
Having visited the state of Arizona a few times I was curious to experience this tour of sonic traveling under the guidance of Mr. Soon. Behind the name Mr. Soon, which I have never had the opportunity to meet before is the sound artist called Joe Jakob. No doubt does he have warm relations to the landscapes of Arizona, since each moment on this 80 minutes long trip has been created with such a passion that it should be able to attract every visitor or non-visitor of Arizona. Each track refers to one certain geographic place. The overall style on the album is ambient but as it develops the music varies nicely. At the beginning of the album rhythmic textures dominate with some dreamlike floating tunes giving a nice chilling atmosphere, not far away from earliest Boards Of Canada, but the further we penetrate the "Places of Arizona", the rhythms disappear or at least turns subtle, giving way to some beautiful tracks of pure ambientscapes. As we approach the end of the album the rhythms return and we stylishly end up with excellent tribal ambient pieces reminding us that Arizona used to be the home of the native Indians. Go to Arizona, get a car and let the album become the soundtrack for cruising the natural landscapes. Alternatively just take a lean back at home and enjoy this excellent album of ambient beauty. (NMP) Address: www.psyrecords.com
hallandsposten.se- Reviewer: Gert-Ove Fridlund. [ 2.28.2003 ]
It is rare to hear music that represents places as suggestively as this quiet ambient production. Certainly, one explanation is that Mr Soon (Joe Jakob) fits into the landscapes that are depicted here. The all-inclusive "Places in Arizona" reveals that he knows his surroundings and is simultaneously able to portray them with specific sounds. Every one of the albums 13 tracks has been named by existing places in Arizona. Therefore, the mood shifts significantly during the course of the trip. In addition, the perspectives change. Close-ups shift nearly imperceptibly to majestic panoramic views, which in turn soon shrink down to ghostlike reflections of the states desert landscape. Within it all, silence takes a big part. But everything is not peaceful. Distinct rhythms often give strength to the sound waves, at times as one shoots toward advanced stages. The extensive organ sounds convey something about the composer Terry Riley, and pieces such as "Nazlini" carry a similar minimalism. On the other hand, there1s not much left of the more DJ-directed style that Mr. Soon previously utilized. It is difficult to stop listening to this album. The pictures painted by the sounds seem to shift a trace each time – as if the echo was searching for new shadows.
EarPolution- Reviewer: Mark Teppo. [ 11.18.2002 ]
Mr. Soon wants to be your travel agent. There is only one destination that he is offering, but his knowledge of the area is expansive. Places in Arizona takes you across the desert landscape with 13 stops on this tour, each one an evocation of sand, sun and saguaro cacti. Mr. Soon's prior work with Native American Grammy Award winning artists Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike is the influence here, transforming the emotional and celebratory nature of the traditional peyote chants into sky-bending atmospherics and ambient drones. The final step is the addition of beats -- dub echoes, drum & bass pops, native polyrhythms -- to the mixes. The landscapes are empty of human habitation, the swirl of weather across the stone and sand the only movement you will witness, but there is a vibrancy of human history which percolates just below the surface. People once lived in harmony with the natural world in these places.
I can't find "Highway 2" on my map of Arizona, but I can tell you that it spans the desert between two towns overrun with tumbleweeds. Crisp tones transport me to the hard floor of a dried lake bed. Distant drums pulse beneath my skin, my own heartbeat is the loudest sound for miles. The desert is dry enough that the highway is in good shape, just covered with sand in places. You can still drive Highway 2 and, taking that road at dawn as Mr. Soon recommends, is a rhythmic adventure across emptiness. The beats are the sound of your wheels against the ridged roadway, your lungs and heart providing counterpoint. Your thoughts become living ghosts, streaming behind your vehicle, a 12-mile trail of white streamers.
The nine-minute "Second Mesa" takes us to the heart of sacred Hopi territory, climbing the red rock to pierce the sky. The sound of cicadas pursues us until we reach the pinnacle of the sky and can hear the movement of the stars overhead. The memory of tribal drums echoes under our feet, the natural rhythms of the earth reverberating through time. Over at "Low Mountain," the sun is creasing the horizon, spreading a tiny breeze across the dunes and ridges of rock. The wildlife is stirring and you can almost see the wildflowers reaching towards the warmth of the sunlight. A gentle guitar melody follows the sun as it spills over the horizon.
The weighty "Echo Canyon" fills out the second half of the disc with its looped vocals, Native American flute, and historical echoes. There are box canyons in Arizona, cramped channels cut deep in the rock where history gets lost. These canyons become pockets of lost time, filled with ghostly voices, wisps of space noise filtered down through the ionosphere, ambient drones rattling back and forth between pillars of rock, and the subterranean rumble of tectonic movement.
We need documents like this for every region of the world, recordings which translate space into sound, turning vistas and landscapes into symphonic explorations of ambient music and rhythm. Places in Arizona captures the heat coming off the rock in the deserts of the American Southwest as well as recording the history which has passed over these stones. Mr. Soon has done a remarkable job and Places in Arizona is the closest you can get to the Arizona desert without having to worry about sunstroke or ornery Gila monsters.
CDBaby.com - Reviewer: Allan O'Marra
I heard several cuts, several times on an Internet ambient music station and excitedly ordered the CD. On first listen, I was a little disappointed with the overall impact of the collection of pieces, but, in keeping with music that eventually becomes integral to my existence, by the third time through the CD, I was totally hooked and beguiled by Mr. Soon's art and vision. Nobody in his genre has done so much with base lines. They groove and twist and hang like nothing I've ever heard. Each song is unique and inventive. This CD is now in the upper pantheon of my musical heaven.
CDBaby.com - Reviewer: David Marin
Very cool!!! Very different!!!
I was quite surprised by the middle part of the CD. There are 2 or 3 songs that melt into each other, which provide a trance like journey. This album starts out with some more traditional textures and beats, then gets real mellow. Thank You.
CDBaby.com - Reviewer: Peter Montgomery
There are less than 10 CDs in my 500+ collection that I would listen to all the way through. This is one of them. It is easily in my top 5 favorites of all time. While it is desert-themed, fans of space music may well enjoy it too. Great combination of both intimacy and a sense of vast space. Absolutely beautiful harmonies. All melted together skillfully for a relaxing journey any time of day. I hope this artist follows up with another release...SOON!
Wind & Wire - Reviewer Bill Binkelman
"Without a doubt, one of the top releases of 2002 and, as far as I'm concerned, a must have for serious lovers of the broad category of music that is labeled ambient these days."
Earpollution online magazine - Reviewer: Mark Teppo
"We need documents like this for every region of the world, recordings which translate space into sound, turning vistas and landscapes into symphonic explorations of ambient music and rhythm. Places in Arizona captures the heat coming off the rock in the deserts of the American Southwest as well as recording the history which has passed over these stones. Mr. Soon has done a remarkable job and Places in Arizona is the closest you can get to the Arizona desert without having to worry about sunstroke or ornery Gila monsters."
Amazon.com - Reviewer: Kappa987 / February 4, 2004.
"The CD is filled with absolutely gorgeous harmonies. Many of the tracks melt into one another, creating additional harmonies and/or effects during the transition, sometimes bordering psychedelic. Many tracks have spacy-sounding synths juxtaposed with more natural sounding, very rhythmic, percussion. Most of the tracks are great on their own. But the sequence of them makes each more enjoyable. Another person called this CD a "Southwestern Road Trip." I add to that, "with the top down under a very clear and starlit sky." After listening to this CD, I feel mentally like I have just taken a relaxing vacation.This is a great treat of a listen any time of day, but it rewards the listener well for paying attention and listening in complete darkness with no distractions. If you're a fan of Ambient music, this is undoubtedly an essential must-have.
Amazon.com - Reviewer: ZGRAF / March 11, 2003
Splendid! This is a very relaxing ambient recording, and like the previous reviewer indicated, it is wonderful for meditation. There is a certain "spiritual" sense with tones that seem to "float" in the air and evolve. For me the feeling is evocative of some relaxing, far-off place. There is a good variety of material here also. Synth textures are spacious and deep, and the rhythms are interesting. Clearly a good deal of time went into creating this music. My only (minor) complaint is that the drums on one or two tracks sound a tiny bit distorted (perhaps the mixing engineer added a bit too much bass emphasis?), but this could be an artifact of my (well) "inexpensive" audio reproduction system. There is also some awesome Arizona photography on the CD jacket. Altogether
a treat for the ears and eyes
Amazon.com - Reviewer: A music fan / January 22, 2003
Very Different. Very relaxing and gentle ambient, electronic music.
Its nice to hear something so different and melo.
The beats are nice and laid back. I really dig the beat less tracks on the disk. Great for meditation and relaxation.
Soniccuriosity.com - Reviewer: Matt Howarth / March 2003
The man behind Mr Soon is Joe Jakob, an Arizonian who has worked in collaboration with Native American Grammy Award winning artists Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike. Here we have a blend of dreamy ambience with uptempo sensibilities. Instances of lively percussion pepper these atmospheric passages, motivating the melodies to comfortable agitation. Such rhythms are offered through both artificial and traditional means. Sometimes the beats are quite sterile and synthesized, cut in a distinct Autechre mode; other times the tempo is meted out via actual drums, often of ethnic, tribal design. Mixing the two results in some highly engaging rhythms: extremes married to produce a spiritual union of heritage and modernism.
While the electronics are reserved and solemn, voicing their tuneage through drifting tonalities and streams of fluid sound. The air is made to waver under this gentle sonic application, generating a sonorous mist that acts as a gate for the audience, conveying the listener to places in Arizona with excellent achievement (which is the point of this recording: to recreate desert aspects and locales with sonic structure).
Soft baselines rumble beneath this electronic foundation, attributing an earthiness to the ethereal strains. There are hints of zithers and other exotic instruments, each lending an astral quality to the mix. Overall, the balance of ground and air is expertly crafted, imbuing the music with a wholeness that encompasses a totality of environmental serenity.
Except for two longer tracks (8 and 18 minutes), these tracks are generally brief (averaging between 3 and 5 minutes), focused to succinctly elucidate their harmonies without undue elongation or repetition.
I N F O / D E S C R I P T I O N:
Tracks from Places in Arizona have been Featured on PBS radio stations across the US on John Diliberto's syndicated radio show "Echoes", KXLU FM on the long running "Alien Air Music" show hosted by Pat Murphy. KCRW (LA): "Morning Becomes Eclectic", "Blueprint", "Pop Secret", "Broadband" and "Weekend Becomes Eclectic". Online play includes "Wind and Wire" and "Aural Innovations".
