Introduction
Cosmic Replicant – Soul Of The Universe
Artist: Cosmic Replicant
Title / Release Page: Soul Of the Universe
Release Date: 2014 Oct 08
Genre: Deep trance / Downtempo
License: CC BY-NC-SA
Media: MP3 / FLAC / WAV
Pricing: Free / Donation
Label: Ektoplazm
Rating: ★★★★★★★
After several previous label releases, Soul of The Universe is the first independent release for Cosmic Replicant. With a wide variety of inspirations, this release sets out to put you in a deep trance for meditation.
Soul Of The Universe by Cosmic Replicant
Pavel Shirshin is a Russian electronic musician who has earned his stripes, and is well-respected. Just looking at the comments on the release page phrases like “Cosmic Replicant never disappoints” show up fairly consistently.
While I am not familiar with his previous releases, I have to agree that Soul Of The Universe doesn’t disappoint. This release stays between 90-120bpm, with the majority of tracks being right at 100bpm. This is the perfect tempo for getting work done or general listening.
With such a flat range of beats, it wouldn’t be surprising if the sounds became flat. They are consistent, and yet manage to keep a bit of variation that keeps them from getting stale. However, there is a consistency to the tracks that allows them to almost bleed into each other, and not necessarily in a good way. I don’t mean that there are smooth segues between the tracks, but that the sound and texture of the tracks is so consistent as to make it difficult to distinguish between them.
In some respects this is actually good: if you are meditating it would be difficult if there were jarring changes between the tracks. However, if what you want is music to meditate wouldn’t it be better to have a single, long uninterrupted track? On the other hand, if what you are looking for is music to have on while relaxing and smoking a bit, or as background sound for a chilled gathering of friends, then this release will fit the bill well.
Personally, I like this kind of music for when I am writing. It gives me a good rhythm to set my work pace, and allows me to focus on my work, while giving my ears something to do so they don’t distract me from whatever job I am doing (like writing this review).
Conclusion
Soul Of The Universe by Cosmic Replicant is not a perfect release. There is little variation and little surprise in these tracks, unlike in Schlang or One Tasty Morsel’s work. But those releases seemed a bit more controversial. However, this release isn’t boring, it has enough variation to keep the avid listener engaged. It’s consistency makes it a good release for meditation or as background music for a party, while it’s trance qualities make it a good listen while smoking.