GusGus Vs.t-world

If you know anything at all about GusGus, you'll know there used to be lots of them. You'll know that they were singers, actors, photographers, film-makers, and, of course, musicians. Before GusGus, they all did other things. The DJ (Herb Legowitz, then known as Maggi Lego) and the computer programmer (Biggi Veira, aka Thorarinsson) used to make music as T-World, for their own enjoyment as much as anything. This album GusGus vs. T-World is a bit of a history lesson: every track here was recorded by T-World before GusGus were even dreamt of. A glimpse into the building of the sound world that is GusGus today, and, they insist, a glimpse at the direction they'll be moving towards with their next proper album. GusGus vs T-World represents another, more reflective side to the 24-hour Icelandic party people. Drawing on Detroit techno, deep house and introspective downbeat grooves, this is music for driving through rainstorms, or that 5am chill. Believe me, it sounds like the best music you've ever heard when you're hurtling across Iceland's alien landscape after a night of sampling Reykjavâk's legendary hospitality. Eschewing the pop sensibilities that made This Is Normal a global underground hit, this excursion allows them to take their collective love of strange sounds, twisted club grooves and obscure musical equipment to its logical conclusion Back in 1991, Biggi Thorarinsson started exploring his musical talents as T-World. Growing up in Breidholt, a Reykjav'k suburb where Depeche Mode ruled in the 80s, Biggi was a computer scientist who discovered music relatively late. His record collection included Sylvester, Divine, Imagination, Soft Cell, Kraftwerk, Carl Craig, Maurizio and, of course, Depeche Mode, all influential in Biggi's eventual musical make-up. An enthusiastic break dancer with a background in funk, soul and disco, Herb Legowitz stepped into the DJ booth in 1988 and didn't leave until GusGus knocked on the door with the promise of following in the footsteps of Franois Kevorkian, Larry Levan and all those other childhood heroes. By 1991 he was already known as Iceland's hardest-working house and techno DJ, after years spent begging borrowing and stealing every record he could lay his hands on. If you're single-handedly bringing this stuff into a country as isolated as Iceland, you've got to work hard to find the music you're looking for. Feeding his habit with occasional trips to mainland Europe, and the goodwill of visiting DJs from around the world, Herb had set out to educate the clubbing population of Reykjav'k to the sounds he was picking up. Upon their second meeting, Biggi asked Herb to join T-World. Through the software company Biggi was working for, they had access to enough vintage synths and other musical equipment to make most producers weep, and spent the years between 1992 and 1995 putting together their own idiosyncratic deep house and techno soul, inspired by the music they were hearing from North America and Europe. Then Underworld's Darren Emerson picked up on a tune called Anthem, which became the first (very limited) release on his fledgling Underwater imprint. The record subsequently disappeared and became something of a lost classic - though heavily promoed, it was never actually given a full release. The track resurfaced in 1998 on a taster 12" for GusGus' second album, This Is Normal, but this is the first time the track has ever been given a full release. When the cinematographic members of (what was to become) GusGus were producing a short film (entitled Pleasure) in the spring of 1995, they asked T-World to provide the music. With other members of the group contributing songs, on completion of the film they decided to take it a step further and become a fully fledged recording outfit, producing an album later that year which included an original T-World track, the Marina Van Rooy-sampling Purple. GusGus released the album themselves in Iceland, and it was picked up by 4AD and re-released as Polydistortion in early 1997. No other T-World tracks have ever been released, until now. The rest you know."Taken from 4AD records page (official site)in Internet".

If you LOVE Gus Gus's other albums but hate instrumental electronic music, well, you might want to look elsewhere. This probably is not for you.

BUT, if you are looking for another album that is *similiar* but not exactly like other albums you love-- maybe Groove Armada's 'Vertigo' or Air's 'Moon Safari' or 'Premiers Symptomes' or Rinocerose 'Innstallation Sonore'-- Well, you have hot the jackpot. This album is NOT exactly like any of the above sounds, however, Gus Gus/T World does a BETTER job of hitting exactly *that* feeling. You know what feeling I'm talking about...

It's late. Maybe you've been out clubbing or partying, and you're pretty tired, but not ready to sleep. All you are looking for is to be transported into some dreamy, almost supernatural realm in which you can relax and just enjoy the awareness of yourself and those who are with you.

Buy this album and play it at those times.

I am a lover of downtempo electronic music. Including those albums listed above, I'm into Theivery Corporation, Tosca, Kruder/Dorfmeister, etc. This album, FAR AND AWAY, is the best downtempo music that I have found. Organic, spiritual, incredibly inspired. I wish all of Gus Gus's albums were like this one.

Had a chance to hear this one last month as some member of GUS GUS was drunk at my house. It is a beautiful piece with some resonance you might have found on a few rare remixes that are floating around the world. Do yourself a favor and his the "add to my cart" button ASAP..you will not regret it.