Redshift, in my mind anyway, are the premier Berlin School revivalists from the UK. They started as a quartet led by accomplished synthesist Mark Shreeve, and their blueprint is Baumann era Tangerine Dream. Nobody does it better, and it seems Redshift picked up where Tangerine Dream left off after Stratosfear. Their debut perhaps apes their mentors more than later efforts, but is by no means unoriginal. 'Redshift' is sometimes jokingly, or reverentially, referred to as 'Rubycon Part 3', as the sounds created from the Moog and the mellotron are identical to Tangerine Dream's greatest work. The music, however, is entirely Redshift's, proving that there are many doors still open within this house. 'Spin' is the highlight of the album and demonstrates Redshift's trademark variation of the classic Berlin School of music. 'Shine' is a short but effective sequencer driven piece while 'Blueshift' represents the longest track, though one third is a boring outro that could have been trimmed. Many consider this piece to be the highlight, and while good, isn't up to the standards of the first two tracks. Redshift were to improve dramatically for their sophomore album "Ether" - for me one of the greatest electronic albums of all time. And one we'll for certain feature at a later time.
Ownership: CD: 1996 Champagne Lake
One note is that the reissue (2006 Distant Sun) has 5 tracks instead of 4, but apparently it's just the 'heartbeat' section of 'Blueshift' and doesn't represent additional material.
8/28/10 (new entry); 7/20/18
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