Dreamfish - Dreamfish Mp3

One of the jewels in the fax crown, Dreamfish is one Namlook release that doesn't drift into mediocre ambient techno, or drift into synth-wank (as he was guilty of on the Dark side of the moog series, sometimes) either. The opener 'School of fish' is a sublime piece of electronica, that propels itself without the need of a 4/4 beat, just subtle pulses that keep if flowing; once listened to it's maddeningly impossible to get it out of your head. The epic 'Hymn' is a bit more drifty and unfocused, but enjoyable all the same. 'Fishology' (notice the titles are becoming reminiscent of Steve Hillage's post-Gong hippy-opus 'Fish rising') lurched forward with what sounds like someone burping the Greek alphabet; and finally the immersive 'Under water' recalls the beatific and sublime 'The rapture of drowning' by Paul Schutze on 'New maps of hell 2'; though DF was the earlier release!
A fave of post-club ravers and all of we chill out fans.... highly recommended.

I'll concur with the other reviews; this is a good album. It's possibly the first solid Fax recording. "School of Fish" is definitely the best and most focused track here, and it ranks up there with the best stuff on this label.

Like its successor album, Mixmaster Morris dominates the better parts of Dreamfish, as Namlook stays largely out of the way. "Hymn" is a bit overlong and repetitive, yet it stays interesting and catchy. I'm not a big fan of samples, yet they seem to work OK here. The album loses focus in the later moments, however; by track four, you begin to wonder what happened to the lovely music.

Still, it's a record that was probably ahead of its time and doesn't sound too dated even in 2010. Recommended.

An impeccable release by two hit-or-miss performers, and perfectly titled to encapsulate a mood. There is little to add in the way of plaudits that previous reviewers have not touched upon. This is a wonderful soundtrack for some lucid dreaming or a spaceage cocktail party, while also having enough emotional heft and feeling to be stand-alone, focused listening. Namlook restrains some of his wandering and repetitive meanderings, and Morris clearly shows his avant-garde & experimental bent, pulling Namlook along on the way to turning out some of his best collaborative work.

"School of Fish" instantly kicks (if that is possible on an ambient record!) into gear, twinkling and throbbing with a gentle melody and percussion that dances rather than dictates. A low bass swirls in the background, propelling in a most relaxed way. If you were to pick a track to show what FAX is capable of, it would be difficult to select better than this. "Hymn" trances (with a gratuitous Terence McKenna sample) along quickly, and seems a showcase for Namlook rather than Morris. "Fishology" has a delightful croaking noise that, to me, magnifies the fish element of the album, and sounds entirely unlike anything else I've heard on a FAX record. "Under Water" sounds akin to an excerpt from the Blade Runner soundtrack. Listen carefully, and you would swear all it is missing is a saxophone solo!

In short, I consider Dreamfish one of the jewels of my entire record collection, and it is certainly an album that can be of great utility regardless of the mood the listener is in, or the time it is listened to. A truly versatile album indeed.