Album Review: Michelle samba & Phil Mills – Platoo

Drifting on oceans of thunderous stillness, carried away by endless currents, whipped up by waves of darkness devouring you until you see the light. The first album from Platoo, a collaboration between Michelle Samba and Phil Mills, has an unrelenting cadence that grabs you and refuses to let go. A distinctive combination of calming soundscapes and highly-charged energy fitting any occasion, from dancing like lost souls in the empty halls of ancient barracks to ecstatically tripping on a distant desert planet.

Check The Sound:

To Phil and Michelle creating Platoo was about being given a sense of freedom and exploration, at once shaking off habits and rediscovering forgotten values. Phil’s love of the mesh of ”real” sounds and electronics, and quest to establish a balance where both would feed off each other saw him abandon convention and standard structures, deviate from the beaten path and let things come to life. Michelle’s quest to create, to inspire and be inspired, to draw her conclusions from serendipitous events allowed her to break things open and be at ease with letting herself go to create the breathing space needed for this new sound.

What makes their symbiosis fruitful is a common yearning for the unknown, a search for what works without exactly fathoming why it works. The result is something that indeed meets those needs, a strange and beautiful musical exploration.

Verdict: A lush mix of ambient layers, rhythmic pulsating beats and experimental vocalising. The album flows through a myriad of differently structured compositions from the IDM percussion drenched ‘Blauw’ to the multi layered soundscapes of ‘Victoria Edge’. The exploration into using organic based sounds and pushing the electronic mediums in the process create a sonic environment that is quite unique. Each track brims with creativity and you get a real sense of that Michelle samba & Phil Mills wanted to create something special for the listener. Drop the needle and submerge yourself into the world of Platoo.

Track List:

A1 Tap Into Joy
A2 Changing Horses
A3 Blauw
A4 Human Beings Without Legs
B1 Bête Noire
B2 Department Of The Environment
B3 Victoria Edge
B4 Watch Out, Please!
B5 Lake Torso

Limited edition of 200 copies.

OUT NOW:

PLATOO | Michelle Samba & Phil Mills | YUKU (bandcamp.com)

PLATOO (Final-50) — YukuMusic.com