Aerolink - Sky Pilot

Aerolink is the new project of German act Psychonaut (Lothar Herrmann & Dr. Balser), known already for their hypnotic brand of psychedelic trance. Here they are exploring the friendly side of progressive psytrance with eight new tracks ranging in speed from 130 to 145 BPM. The focus is generally on deep drifting soundscapes with fat synthetic rhythms.

Cloudwalk is a beautiful opener with the sounds of birds spread throughout the lengthly introduction. Spacious chords and growing pads culminate with the first dropped beat and hi-hat shuffle. Two minutes into the song the bass line hits, and the metaphorical plane that serves as the album’s vehicular metaphor is in the air. Throughout the song the percussion remains intricate, with a nice rolling rhythm that is occasionally accentuated with a slight tribal touch. The first break near the half-way point introduces a fitting female vocal sample: “let me be.” On it flows without much in the way of surprises, through a satisfying series of pumping grooves that are elegant in their simplicity. A competent beginning to the album.

Luftgemisch (air mixture) begins to show the funkier side of the group with a shuffled percussive flow and staggered bass line. This is a lighter track with a thick Germanic sound and a smooth flow, well suited for morning and afternoon. The standard mid-point break introduces a simple chiming melody and a few more tribal influences such as a didgediroo and faint tribal drum elements. The last half is a replica of the first, with small hints of the new elements introduced in the break. Background music.

Pleasure Addicted has a sleeker quality to it, almost operatic in nature. Again the progression is delicate and sublime, with a hypnotic quality that breaks down the conception of time. The first sweeping voices pan in around the three minute mark, and shortly thereafter a characteristically light melody finds its way in amidst all the swirling atmospheres. The break is a blend of sweet silences, cinematic overtures, and an expressive melody that delicately caresses the ear. Overall this track has a luxurious quality, very sedate and almost sensual; very nicely done.

Way To Access is much slower, with a bass line that lopes around instead of pumping along. The atmosphere is thick with ethereal sweeps and pads, all arranged with care. Small melodies creep in and chime through the haze, leading through subtle layered progressions that blossom in time. The breakdown features a sample: “information waves are never really lost; you just needed a way to access them.” The latter half isn’t quite as active as the middle, with more focus on the moody groove, slight tribal hints, and subtle drifting sounds. It doesn’t make a huge impression but continues the flow of the album nicely.

Funky C returns to the slick realms of vaguely futuristic progressive. The beat has a distinctly bouncy feel to it, with another nicely layered bass and percussion arrangement. I detect a very slight connection with the Phony Orphants sound on this one, mainly with regards to the tone expressed in one of the chords which frequently makes an appearance throughout the track. The now standard middle break lets the bass line shake loose and grow out from the abyss into a smooth return. Every once in a while that funky bass goes a little unruly in the latter segment, but there are no massive changes here. Decent, once again.

After that lull, the album charges back with the fastest track here: Skydive Part 1. Despite being uptempo, this track remains rather tranquil, with soothing chimes and sparkling melodies that pass on by as the track drives forward. The middle segment lets the energy fall as the elements disassociate and scatter, only to gradually return as the later minutes are reached. There are some pleasant sound textures in use here, artfully placed with a gentle touch. With such an emphasis on the graceful feeling of the composition it can come across as rather dull at times, and whether this track benefits from either the tempo or the placement in the track ordering is subject to debate.

Skydive Part 2 marks a significant drop in speed, dipping down 15 whole BPMs with a heavier, more spacious beat. The mood continues to be very sedate, with only minor changes in the flow and structure throughout. The warm bass pulses with an organic feeling, and sounds quite nice on a good system. Calm and tranquil is the mode here, and there isn’t too much to report. The artists have certainly accomplished the sublime.

Morning Birds closes the album with what I feel is one of the finest tracks from the album. This is very slow and groovy morning music as the title might suggest, and features some very lush work on an acoustic guitar. Emotional pads sweep and undulate from the first moment, though the track takes a sparse turn in the second. Slow builds reintroduce sounds previously hinted at, and one can make out the faint impression of the incoming guitar riff as the track drops into the break. The rest is simply nice melancholy beats with these smatterings of acoustic guitar work, and a long conclusion that fully relaxes the listener with the chattering of birds on the way out.

I usually try to relate an artist’s sound to others in the field to gain some perspective of where they fit into the picture. It took some thought, but here are some subjective comparisons I made about the sound on this album. It is deeper than Sensifeel or the newer Native Radio singles, more pumping than the Iboga sound, lighter than Luna Spice, warmer than Phony Orphants, not nearly as energetic as the new Tegma, close to Space Safari in terms of pacing but not necessarily tempo, nearly as rich in bass as the sound of BLT, but less diverse… much like Son Kite’s Colours album, Skypilot is a loop, with the bird sounds in the introduction of Cloudwalk making a nice progression from the closer, Morning Birds. It is questionable whether there is a conceptual theme at work here, but the music of Aerolink certainly works best in the format of a full album. On a compilation I suspect these songs would have been drowned out by more active material.

In essence, Skypilot is a sedate trance album for moments where you would like some background beats but not so much involvement. The synthetic sounds may be thick, but the arrangement is very spacious, resulting in a calm and groovy product. If there is any flaw, it is simply that there aren’t many distinct moments, and I expect many listeners would find this release to be rather unexciting. It is most likely not music for a party, but certain specialist DJs could find a use for it. The flip-side of that coin is this is really going to appeal to minimalists, and those who like simpler sounds arranged intelligently. Being exactly an hour long the value is a little less than some other modern progressive releases. For these reasons, I’d call this a slightly above average album at best—polished and nice to listen to, but it doesn’t distinguish itself. Don’t let this dissuade you from trying this album out however, as I have had several friends pass on their appreciation to me for having introduced them to this overlooked release. The quality of the music itself is very evident, so it’s only a question of whether the style and composition catches your ear. Give it a chance!

Purchase Options

Saikosounds // Physical mail order shop based in Hong Kong.

Share This

One Comment

Transmit a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required; never published or spammed)

Web Link/URL (optional)

Check this box to subscribe to the Ektoplazm newsletter for infrequent updates, special promotions, and more.

Check this box to receive an email whenever additional comments are made.