Phil Western
The Escapist
(Map/Canada)
Another impressive release from Vancouver's bastion of the cutting edge, Map Music. Phil Western has
an impressive pedigree, releasing music in the past under the moniker of OFF AND GONE, who had an
amazing album called "Everest" out on Harthouse (still one of my favourites of the last few years).
This new album is a solo project, with the assistance of a live band on some of the tracks. It is
incredibly diverse and shows the all round flexibility of not only Phil Western, but of the
possibilities of the modern studio in general. Rather than focussing on one method of production,
Western goes for broke and encompasses everything from hard-ish techno, to live psychedelic rock, to
downtempo abstraction, deep tech-house grooves and collage. It is a very powerful effect.
One of the most important achievements here is that it is an actual ALBUM that listens all the way
through. This is consistently one of the problems with current electronic music: it just doesn't
reward proper attentive listening; what contemporary music needs is long-players. Of course the DJ
cult which has hit the music scene hard diverts people's attention away from the artist-based album
format, but will only ever serve as a marketing device, unless DJs themselves become either more
responsible or more talented, instead of mere icons of dance culture. Phil Western makes a valuable
statement here for the return of artist-based 'real music', in the sense that he is able to
transcend genre-fication and simultaenously produce work of impact and meaning. My particular
favourites here are the gorgeous guitar-tinged "Pleasures Gained", the squelchy techno groove of
"Mourning" and the closing two tracks of psychedelia "Getting Old" and "Stay Clean", both excellent examples of the currently promising electronic-live crossover.
An incredibly contemporary record recommended to the astute music lover.
XLR8R August/98 - Andrew Rawnsley
Phil Western
The Escapist
(Map Records)
The Escapist is Phil Western's first release under his own name, but
most local electronic-music fans have heard the man's work, whether
they know his name or not. His skills as a keyboard player and drum
programmer have graced everything from Skinny Puppy's final album to
Two's Voyeurs, former Judas Priest howler Rob Halford's foray into
industrial rock. As a member of Download, Off and Gone, and
Floatpoint, Western has helped create sounds that range from
rave-friendly techno to unsettlingly dark ambience.
It's hardly surprising, then, that The Escapist is so hard to
categorize. Heavy dance beats throb next to ethnic percussion,
effects-treated guitars vie for your attention alongside purely
electronic sounds and samples. Western's annual excursions to such
places as Thailand, Malaysia, and India surely informed the pulsating
drone of "Hampi" and the gorgeously languid "Pleasures Gained", while
the harsh rhythms of "No Help" owe something to Skinny Puppy's
gothic-industrial assault.
This album may be a sonic collage of Western's disparate influences,
but it sounds remarkably cohesive and organic, a drifting slice of
seamless psychedelia tailor-made for lethargic, sun-drenched summer
afternoons.
(John Lucas/The Georgia Straight)
Phil Western "The Escapist" Map Records MAP204-2 1998 (73:55)
Overall impression: excellent! Phil Western (aka DJ Philth) is probably best known as 1/3
of Download and Plateau, 1/2 of Landhip and Off and Gone, and 1 of Cap'm Stargazer ...
but on this disc, he's just Phil Western. Although elements of his other projects can be
found here and there, this album is much different. "The Escapist" has a very organic feel,
very lush and textured (like all of Map Records wonderful releases), but the use of "real"
instruments and the buried vocals (on 3 or 4 songs) adds much to the otherwise
predominantly electronic sound. The album is heavy on soulful groove and mesmerizing,
hypnotic textures and melodies ... I haven't heard an album like this in years. A very
welcome addition to my "IDM" overrun collection. I especially enjoy "Hampi", "Pleasures Gained", "Mourning" (Phil must really like this track because this is this 3rd time he's used it - see also Cap'm Stargazer "Mourning" on the "Welcome to Lotus Land" compilation and "Purple Passion" on Plateau's "Music for Grassbars"), "I No Really" (clever use of surgery
conversation samples), "Sun is Round", "Full Moon" (a 12 minute + krautrock-like trance), "Getting Old" and "Stay Clean" ... oh wait, I've just listed most of the tracks as my favorites ... there's a reason for that! "The Escapist" shows just how incredibly talented Phil and friends are. It's only July, and I already know that of the hundreds of cds I'm probably
going to buy this year, "The Escapist" is going to make my top 10 of the year list. Be sure
to visit the Map Records page to check it out for yourself via real audio of the entire album...
Mark Weddle
www.brainwashed.com/weddle/reviews
Phil Western: The Escapist (Map)
I firmly believe that Phil Western has created some of the most interesting
music of the decade. As a member of Off and Gone, Download, Plateau, and as
Cap'm Stargazer and Philth, he has constantly enthralled electronic music
listeners with his techno/ambient rhythms. But now, Phil Western has added
another element to the picture.
Phil has said in interviews that he turned to electronic music to save
money, as it cost very little to put together an electronic music studio,
compared to the over-inflated costs of working in a real studio. It appears
Phil has more money now, as this album not only contains electronic music,
but also very real drums, bass, guitar, violin, flute, ukelele, and vocals.
I know I usually pick out some highlights of an album, but with The
Escapist, I really can't. This album should not be listened to for
individual songs, but as a whole. Genres span from ambient to techno to
industrial. If you liked Download's III or platEAU's Music For Grass Bars,
or have enjoyed any of Phil's other work, pick this up asap.
by Simon Speichert
PHIL WESTERN The Escapist (Map/Canada)
Over the last half-decade, Vancouver's Phil Western has amassed a
healthy back-catalogue of work, most of it in partnership with follow
west coast electronic producers like Dan Handrabur and cEvin Key. The
Escapist, however, is his full-length debut as a solo artist, and his
first work under his given name (earlier singles and compilation tracks
appeared under monikers like Cap'm Stargazer and Philth). This lack of
anonymity is fitting since this album strikes the listener as an
extremely heartfelt work, right from the very first spin. In fact, it's
almost personal to a fault; as it careens from techno beats to dark
ambience to tripped out live jams to experimental weirdness, it seems
as if the thread that connects the whole lot into a truly cohesive
whole is visible only to Western. Still, if taken with an open mind and
an adventurous nature, The Escapist will not disappoint those who are
willing to take the time to absorb it's many and varied layers of
sound. Just remember that when it comes to music, "difficult" doesn't
always mean "bad".
(Greg Clow) - appearing in Chart - July/August 1998
PHIL WESTERN The Escapist (Map/Canada)
Phil Western's solo debut defies all preconceived notions and conceptions
you may have formed while awaiting the release of this phenomenal CD. This
masterpiece is an eclectic array of sonic creations, which brought me to a
place that faintly resembled an opium den: psychedelic, ethereal, and
celestial all wrapped up into one. It's an escape to say the least.
It appears his many trips to Asia have had a strong influence, and Phil has
brought forth some amazing music that is placed in a class all on it's own.
"Hampi", "Pleasures Gained", "Full Moon" and "Stay Clean" are my chosen
destinations, but all tracks make more than an impact. I am curious to know
if the message he is relaying is something from far beyond, somewhere
beyond a passport stamp.
Sit back, close your eyes, and get ready for take off, Phil is piloting you
on a journey of magic, mystery and enchantment.
(Melanie Dawn - Taxi 5/98)
PHIL WESTERN The Escapist (Map/Canada)
The Escapist is mixing down sounds to take you to the farthest reaches of
your own head. Resistance is redundant - go with it. Hear, feel, travel
with Van. electroniculturalist Phil Western as your sonic/psychic guide on
his MAP Records debut The Escapist. From beat-driven percolations like
Hampi to Mourning's elegaic palate, Western's longtime-in-coming solo disc
is a mastermix of this prolific musician's influences (Download, Off and
Gone, Floatpoint, Tranquility Bass, etc.). It's also a culmination of sorts
for MAP Records, bringing all the best elements of the label's high quality
releases together in one recording. The Escapist is the best entry point ot
MAP's concept, and Western's musical worldview: Varied, fully-realized and
fun too! There's no arguing the scope and strength of each cut on Phil's
disc are mature in the execution and HOLY SHIT the production is AWESOME.
Put this sucker on a a quad system, enhance yourself and LET IT RIP!
(Stuart Derdeyn - The Province)
PHIL WESTERN - The Escapist (MAP)
West coast industrial vet (Tranquility Bass, Download, Rob Halford's Two)
debuts with a fascinating sonic travelogue. Unlike most discs swamping the
ambient/electro racks, this one's got a human face as the sequencing is
augmented by violin, guitar, flute and drums. More evidence that MAP is
the nation's most promising alt.rhythm imprint.
Jeff Bateman - The Record 5/98
(Sr. Ed. & Review Ed., The Record; Vancouver Magazine music columnist)
PHIL WESTERN The Escapist (Map/Canada)
Phil Western's iconoclastic sounds in music have once again been unleashed
with The Escapist, a self-perpetuating voyage onto dark winding synthways,
intermittent jazzy percussion and guitar and beautifully orchestrated
harmonics. The changes from track to track are very diverse with Phil's use
of voice, keys, guitar and drums which range from organics to synth beats
and occultish acid drones. Michael Louw includes moments of flute, ukelele,
violin and percussion on various tracks. Dan Handrabur includes even more
intricate movements on violin, with Barb Kennedy on vocals, while bassonics
and guitar are done by Chris Hill. A couple of the tracks are somewhat
reminescent of what I would consider works that Duck would have enjoyed,
fast hard-hitting techno-edge electronica as in "No Help", "Maruti", and
"Flashback."
One of the most interesting tracks on the release is "I No Really" -- laden
with vocals of two men, and a woman who are apparently conducting an
operation and shock treatments on a woman. From what I can understand, it's
brain surgery. As the song progresses, (and it is very progressive and
excellent!), the men keep asking this woman in surgery if she's "feeling
anything now?, feeling anything now?" to which she says "no, just a little
pressure", and among other things, "I...no...really". You hear gurgling
sounds and other twisted synths, excellent percussion and a sick sense of
guitar in the background, all the while the woman being "treated" is trying
to make them understand she (thinks) knows the answers to their simple
questioning by stating, "I....no.....really." Great track, but scary if you
take the time to actually hear what is going on with the vocals/samples.
"Sun Is Round" brings out more guitar effects, and percussion that keeps
you hanging on for the next change in tempo, and synth timbre. (The lyrics
are printed on the liner.) "Kent The Fly" is another excellent piece,
percussion, loops of what sounds like bassonics and ends with a techno solo
beat, which smooths its way into "Full Moon", a [Eastern type of]
culturally swirling instrumental work, quirky, synthy, fast paced and
mello, with sweet and temptuous angelic vocals, good dance song, on the
techno-tribal edge lasting over twelve minutes.
Overall this is an excellent quality CD in both composition, engineering
and sound -- one you won't want to miss. The Escapist surpasses a number of
releases I have heard in the past year in the same associated veins of
sound. Get it soon before is escapes the racks at the cd shop nearest you,
or order from your favourite online company.
Kim Alexander - Last Sigh Magazine For Underground Music
www.lastsigh.com
Phil Western - The Escapist (Map)
Escape from what ? If anything Phil aka Philth of Download aka Cap'm
Stargazer aka one half of Off and Gone aka something to do with Skinny
Puppy has rounded up another reason to keep living in Vancouver: we decieve
ourselves into believing this is Lotus Land. Or perhaps the album just
decieves for us, the deception being the most on the last track, "stay
clean" with its haunting melodies that just wants to make you snuggle with
something furry, smoke the funny and die crying. Beautiful soundscapes;
etheral beats punctuated by industrial stabs invoking the modernist-aspect
of the cover art; obviously music
assembled from travelling the world, perhaps a mental voyage, as the inside
photos show. Well worth it. 8.5/10
-Tobias (Discorder 7/98)
Phil Western: The Escapist (Map)
This eclectic, psychedelic groove romp is flat out one of the best
records I've heard in a long time. People may know Phil from Download,
Off and Gone or Cap'm Stargazer but this should throw him into the
spotlight as a solo artist. Muted acidic textures contrast with UR
influenced techno to create a stunning hot pot of beautiful music.
Awesome artwork too. Buy now or lose out on the opportunity to hear one
of the finest musicians around today.
Kuma - Apocalypse Magazine
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