Artist: Jonathan Lisle
Title: Bedrock Original Series: OS.0_2
Label: Bedrock Records
By: Simon Jones | 3 February 2005
Tracklist:

1. Cosmic Baby - A Tribute To Bladerunner Volume 1 (LA Main Titles)
2. Rabbit In The Moon - Waiting For The Night
3. Art Of Silence - West 4 (Crowd Control Dub)
4. Habersham - Gently Shifting People (Relisys Momentary Lapse Of Reason Mix)
5. Hawke - Vivos En La Muerte
6. Steiger - Ghost Sector
7. PMT - Afro Lava Lamp
8. Young American Primitive - Voyage To The Great Attractor
9. Hawke - Can You See The Love (D Christoper Mix)
   Low End Specialists - Powerstation
10. Trafik - Surrender (Habersham & Blake Potter Mix)
11. Matthew Dekay Vs Proluctors - Bad
12. Andy Ling - Fixation (Hamel & Evolution 2005 Mix)
13. Forme - Ignition

Jonathan Lisle "Bedrock Original Series: OS.0_2"

When the launch of the 'Original Series' was announced back in the summer of 2004, many wondered what John Digweed had planned for this new series, and the interest has steadily grown over the past few months, with the inaugural compilation by Desyn Masiello only furthering the interest in this exciting new series, receiving widespread critical acclaim and being heralded as not only one of the best compilations of 2004, but of the past few years. As we move into another year, so the 'Original Series' progresses, placing the spotlight on a DJ who's become synonymous with the name Bedrock in the past few years, but perhaps more so with the word creative - that DJ of course is Jonathan Lisle.

Regarded for the depth and complexity of his sets, often layering and phasing records over the top of each other to create unique sounds, Jonathan Lisle is someone who's not afraid to push the boundaries of what a DJ set incorporates, often utilising three decks or multiple CD players. mixer channels and even keyboards to create greater depths and moods, and over the course of the last four years, it's this creativity that has seen him tour the world, earning himself a reputation as one of the best of the nubreed DJs.

Cosmic Baby's 'Tribute To Bladerunner Volume 1' opens the mix, it's futuristic sounds and epic moods steadily climb, easing you into the album, but at the same time laying the foundations of what is to come, Rabbit In The Moon's 'Waiting For The Night' continuing to do the same. However, this album isn't merely about what's on the surface, but what lies below, and the more you listen, the more you will appreciate, for whilst it may seemingly switch suddenly into drum and bass provided by the excellent Art Of Noise, the transition and layering leading up to this switch have been developing right from the start. This is but the first of many surprises this album has to offer.

As the mood subtly transpires again, an exclusive remix of Habersham's 'Gently Shifting People' by Relisys begins to build some energy in the album, the delicate sounds shape shifting between downtempo breakbeat, live drums and guitar and Mediterranean vocals, before finally a trippy hook edges its way to the surface, and Steiger's 'Ghost Sector' sets the template for the middle of the album. A series of minor tempo changes affect the underlying breakbeats, the tribal drums of PMT's 'Afro Lava Lamp' melting into the climbing beats of Young American Primitive's 'Voyage To The Great Attractor', with the atmospheric mood of the mix expanding, building right into the tight 4/4 beats of Hawke's 'Can You See The Love'.

The ethereal vocals of Trafik's 'Surrender' provide another high point of the album, with Habersham & Blake Potter providing some gritty bass and driving beats that adds an interesting twist to this emotive track, distorting and tearing as we move towards the final few minutes of the album. The peak time combination of Matthew Dekay & The Proluctors' 'Bad' and the Andy Ling classic 'Fixation', updated here by Hamel and Evolution both build and build as the subtle energy built through the album now explodes in a dazzling array of filtered beats, synth lines, killer riffs and electronic sounds. A big lead element appears to be ripping its way to the surface and climaxes with the the moody strings and rock edged grooves of Forme's 'Ignition', a track that seemingly sits in the divide between chaos and harmony, but undoubtedly the perfect bookend to this latest chapter in the 'Original Series'

OS.0_2 is an album that provides an insight into the creative mind of Jonathan Lisle, but at the same time forming it's own individual blueprint, incorporating classics and exclusives, taking us on a journey not only through the years, but styles, sounds and influences. It's an album with a depth that may be overlooked and with a flow that is somewhat unconventional, but in time may come to be appreciated. A great debut, and album that deserves headphone listening, for the listening experience is a journey in itself.