Solar Fields – Reflective Frequencies (Special Re-Mastered Edition)

I am not au fait with all of Solar Fields' recordings, but this first album holds a special place for me. There's enough residue of Goa trance and psychill in this first album for the songs to hold together, partly via beats, partly via acid. There's also a fresh experimental spirit that shines through, partly via some slightly unpolished sounds. There's a certain edginess here that appeals. The later records become more and more abstract and refined, at times fragmenting, at other times becoming a snore. I think ambientish stuff needs an edge to avoid becoming aural wallpaper. Anyway, this first album is super and the vinyl sounds good.

For the vinyl freaks who are no doubt wondering how does this remaster/reissue sound... like all Sidereal LPs, it sounds excellent! Out of all the artists I have been buying on vinyl lately, only Solar Fields and Bluetech have had consistently great vinyl remasters. I am never let down from either artist, and Reflective Frequencies is no exception. This might actually be the most impressive SF LP yet, considering it's a triple pack and the packaging and artwork are beautiful as usual.

Let's not also forget this was Solar Field's first true album (not counting the mp3.com days) and his production and style were a bit different than they became later on. So this was probably a harder album to remaster and I can understand some negative responses on this page. However, mastering for vinyl is different than mastering for digital, and you have to hear SF on vinyl to really appreciate the work that goes into these represses. I think all of his vinyl represses have been top notch. I also don't sit there any compare them to the CD versions trying to see if every little detail is the same. I enjoy them for what they are, and appreciate that Sidereal is investing the time and money into making these gorgeous vinyl versions.