BT – ESCM (1997)

This is the second album released by BT. The world of EDM was becoming less specific in its offerings, and more artistic and individual in doing so. Does this album still sound good over twenty years later? Let’s find out.

Firewater begins our sonic trip with some swamp night time animal sounds. It then adds some melodies after a brief speech introduction. It’s a real sonic journey into bliss, complete with electric piano and soul searching harmonies. We then enter a trippy, laidback piece of sonic exploration at hand. Looped percussion begins the next part of this trip. The elements of the track flow in and out of our listening experience. Some semi acid/techno noises then come along. This is certainly a surreal experience to listen to. It then melts down into a more progressive element, complete with an acoustic guitar. Interesting lyrics then enter the scene, with the continued harmonic chanting. Chinese flute then comes along. Some semi classical string melodies finish this track off, an interesting listen so far.

Orbitus Teranium is far more traditional, EDM wise to begin with. More melodic piano playing is here, with some beautiful some electronic melodies. Tripped out beats then arrive next. We switch from these beats into interesting cut-up sections, and back to the beats. Some great utilization of musical structures and sound effects are here. The supporting melodies along with the beats are brilliant. These sections are almost IDM like in its variance. It’s epic stuff, and not dull for one moment here. This is a classic track, and one of the best from the album. A must listen. Dope. The outro is super trippy.

Next is Flaming June. It begins with some, once again, combined melodic structures with piano. Some acid noises then enter, building the momentum. We then burst along with traditional fast house beats. It’s a danceable tune for those who dig varied EDM. Some cyber dope sounding electronic noises then come along. This track, in particular, has progressions that only original EDM could do and that this is. It has a semi-Trance music structure here. It’s melodic and excellent. This piece is a real classic of its kind and sounds interesting all the way through. Some unusually trippy and wonderful sounds are expertly dialed in towards the end. Drum and bass beats are in place towards the end of this tune, only adding to the suspense, before segueing into the next track.

Following up next is the ethereal The Road To Lostwithiel. It’s relaxing and soothing listening with rushing sounds and heavenly textures. Some cut up beats are here, and the textures are awesome. It’s the perfect EDM track to do meditation to if you ever have the striking mood to do so. It’s a little repetitive, but then again, what form of music doesn’t use repetition? It’s a head-nodding, not headbanging sonic adventure for the ears. Just when you thought that it would end – BAM! It re-enters with a much more beat centered approach. It repeats the relaxing and ethereal sounds at the end.

Memories In A Sea Of Forgetfulness comes next. It’s interesting to listen from the start. Many varied textures come into your ears, along with a variety of beats as well. Some almost semi-electric guitar sounds enter, then we have some chanted melodies arrive in the mix. This consumes the majority of the sound, although it sounds reassuring. Some wah-wah sounds are in the background as well, making this piece even more unusual. The chanting becomes central to the listen, propelling it along wonderfully. Some awesome cyber sounds are near the end of this piece, making it a good listen, along with the chanting as well. We segue gently into the next track.

Solar Plexus begins with rainfall and some strange melodies. It then goes into an almost Nine Inch Nails sounding tune, which is an interesting twist. With real bass guitar and processed vocals, it’s an interesting twist on this album. It’s much shorter a listen, but still upholds the suspense. After all, rock and roll was still strong around the time of this album’s release. It then goes straight into piano and vocals. This calm musical setting continues for the rest of the track, and we flow into the next piece.

Following up is Nectar, which sounds more energetic from the start. It’s a more traditional EDM style track. There are some futuristic sounds and straight-ahead beats, perhaps influenced by the likes of people such as The Chemical Brothers and Underworld. It’s a great listen, and very psychedelic. The cut-up vocals are really very well thought out and are highly original too. Some more trippy elements come along with this vocal sample, and the beats re-emerge. This goes on for the rest of the track, a nice listen. Original and wonderfully beautiful.

The next track Remember starts with more swamp sounds, before having a gentle female singer telling us about a love long lost before metallic breakbeats come in. It’s a brilliant futuristic pop song. Surprisingly, this sort of thing would sound very normal on the radio today. But back in 1997, other forms of more traditional music were present then. It’s pure romance for Gen Y/Gen Z, and a great song to hear. Not bad for an eight-minute listen, definitely worth your time. It has many elements that rush in and out of this epic romantic piece. Some beautiful string parts are towards the end, making this song even more emotional.

Love, Peace and Grease is totally different. It’s a much more straightforward EDM piece with distorted melodies and pounding beats. Once again, it is a great listen and has a multitude of sections. Hell yeah, this album is definitely excellent. A little shorter, but still fits into this album quite nicely. It mellows out in the middle of the track but retains the beats. A great and danceable epic piece by BT. A cyber dance tune, which is great. It segues into the last track on the album.

Content is a much slower and more subdued piece on this album. It goes for over 10 minutes. Pianos and dance beats combine for a more melodic listen. Is this the EDM Champagne Supernova on this album? Maybe. It is long enough to be considered so. Many trippy sounds are to be found here. They intertwine with the piano melodies for maximum effect. Some proto The Matrix sounds occur next here in the breakdown. Some awesome breakbeats then drive this piece along in the middle of it. Stardust and other original sounds become part of this album. We then go into a more straightforward EDM piece. It slows down into nothing and then fades away. It comes back a minute or so later, with new instrumentation and melodies. This finishes the album nicely.

Overall, this album is really brilliant. The only downside? Length, some areas of this recording are a bit longer than necessary. Otherwise, a fine album and a great addition to your collection.

8/10