A Note to the Reader: It appears that Epinions has once again added another category without confirming the correct name of the product. The actual name for this album is actually Café Del Mar Volumen Ocho. Only hard-core perfectionists like myself will endeavor to enlighten you on these terribly minor details…

Time Flies...

It's been four months since I purchased Café Del Mar Volumen Siete, the seventh member of the magnificent Café Del Mar series, and despite how much I have changed within that long time span, I must admit that I still thoroughly enjoy this form of music. Obviously, I have yet to express gratitude to my dentist for enlightening me on the presence of this genre early this year. Prior to this, I had only ignorantly indulged myself in the genres of Soul, Rock and Hip-Hop.

So when the cat is gone, the mice will play. Now that I am a continent away from his clinic, I brush my teeth less regularly and avoid the use of dental floss despite his repeated advice to me. Perhaps I will soon pay another visit to his clinic when I really get into trouble with my teeth. This time, he will choke the living daylights out of me…and I may never want to step into his office again, in spite of the drawing power of his choice of music.

Every Name Has A Meaning…Including Yours.

The Café Del Mar series is in actual fact named after a real Ibizan tourist spot, a little bar situated near the sea which is positioned to catch the setting sun at the end of every day. Many tourists pay a visit to this location each year, to dissolve in the setting sun and chill out with the relaxing music. At Café Del Mar, a resident DJ is at least partly responsible for maintaining the sentiment and the mood in the bar. This qualified DJ chooses a song carefully and airs this track as soon as the setting sun hits the horizon, a very respectable skill indeed. Café Del Mar Volumen Ocho sounds like a complicated math question, “Calculate the volume of a solid octahedron”, but this name is really much less cryptic. It simply means Café Del Mar Volume Eight.

The Café Del Mar series was initiated in 1993, with a new album produced almost every year. These compilations historically contained small collections of songs, perhaps as little as 10-15 tracks an album. Jose Padilla was the resident DJ at the bar between 1993 and 1997, and during his illustrious career, compiled six albums, starting with Café Del Mar and ending with Café Del Mar Volumen Seis. (Volume Six) He has since left the Café, probably in search of more opportunities to further his musical career. Bruno has now taken up the reins as the new resident DJ, producing the next album Café Del Mar Volumen Siete, (Volume Seven) but unfortunately not this album. With all these changes going about inside, it is not surprising that the cover art of the discs has also changed dramatically over the years.

Volumes One to Six featured blurry, though pleasantly drawn pictures of various sceneries, all done in soft pastel colors. Now, the eye-candy has become very real. Café Del Mar Volume Seven featured a scantily clad girl posing lustfully, with the setting sun in the background, and the photo on Volume Eight is no less impressive. This one is interestingly done, taken from the side, showing a lady in the process of taking a deep breath above water, with most of her body still submerged. The water is so clear that one can see the corals lying on the seabed.

What’s Your Type?

When I initially came to know this form of music, I archived the series in my mind under the category Ambient. Ambient music, as the name implies, often implements sounds or instruments in an attempt to mimic certain atmospheric sounds of Nature. This includes an imitation of the calls of birds, crickets, and even others of a more elemental form such as rain, thunder or the crashing sounds of waves.

Over several more months of careful listening, it has come to my attention…or rather…I have begun to overcome my close-mindedness, and now realize that the songs in these albums cannot be accurately classed under the genre of Ambient alone. Rather, the tracks widely encompass the genres of Trance, Techno, House and Jazz, the first three of which can be placed in the broad category of Electronica. In general, songs of the Café Del Mar series appear to be highly repetitive, yet strangely deep and addictive. The music often carries little or no audible climax, as even the fastest tempos are maintained throughout the greater part of tracks.

So…what would you like to hear?

The following information is a track listing, detailing all 13 songs in the album, with the name of the artist in italics and my favorite songs bolded.

1. Goldfrapp: Utopia (New Ears Mix)
2. Thomas Newman: Any Other Name
3. Afterlife: Sunrise (DJ Thunda & The K-20 Allstars Remix)
4. Dido: Worthless
5. Mari Boine: Gula Gula (Chilluminati Mix)
6. Lux: 100 Billion Stars
7. Mark de Clive-Lowe: Day By Day (DJ Spinna Remix)
8. Ben Onono: Tatouage Bleu (Avec Chet)
9. Illumination: Cookie Raver
10. Tiny Tunes: Will You Catch Me (Twin Tunes Mix)
11. Digby Jones: Pina Colada (Jazz Mix)
12. Scripture: Apache
13. Lamb: Gabriel

The Grammy Award Winners!

11. Digby Jones: Pina Colada (Jazz Mix)

Genre: House, Jazz and Ambient

Frankly, the title of the song says little about itself, mostly because it is foreign and therefore incomprehensible. This however, makes the song very unassuming and leaves a mystery for the listener to discover. Pina Colada begins with a momentary silence, as though to keep us in suspense. But slowly, it reveals its elements to the audience, like a curtain unraveling to unveil some marvelous invention.

The sounds of gentle waves are the first audible detail, followed by the calls of homebound birds. This almost instantly transforms one’s living room, train carriage or even an office cubicle into a romantic setting on a beach. One can almost imagine sitting on the bank, toes intermingled in the soft, white sand, watching the sun go down and admiring the deep purple hue of the late day sky. Then the electric guitar makes an entry, constantly reminding us of its presence with only single strums, at regular intervals. But as abruptly as this begins, the guitar leaves quickly, along with the sound of waves. This resulting silence is then replaced by true melody, created by groovy bass beats and very catchy piano chords.

By combining the relaxing nature of Ambient, along with the mid-tempo nature of House, Pina Colada constitutes a masterpiece. It is great for chill-out dancing or just to set the mood for a sunset. Tasteful as good wine, Pina Colada is so smooth, it simply slides over your senses, but not without leaving something memorable behind.

3. Afterlife: Sunrise (DJ Thunda & The K-20 Allstars Remix)

Genre: Ambient, Folk

While almost every other song in the album seems to reflect upon the evening or periods of dusk, Sunrise, as the name suggests, seems to sound brighter, seemingly signaling the break of dawn. This track is considered very unusual amongst the songs in its genre, since it actually contains intelligible lyrics that appear to describe the glory of the sun…or perhaps dedicate themselves to a man that the singer has a crush on.

A brief Ambient phase, made up by the sounds of waves, makes a very brief appearance and is quickly followed, though not entirely eliminated or replaced, by the words “Can you feel it now”. This haunting voice scared me off for an unknown reason, and I only returned for a second evaluation several hours later. Sunrise, in my opinion, has a weak start, but speedily makes up for this by setting up an exceptionally relaxing atmosphere. It was probably written for slow, sensuous dancing between couples, due to its lazy tempo and the total absence of heavy bass beats.

Sunrise is indeed created from very light elements, such as the carefree strumming of the guitar and the soft patting of percussion instruments. The song largely carries a bright and happy sentiment, but shockingly ends off a little sad. The singing ends quite expectedly, but the guitar does not. Instead, it dies down slowly, like a setting sun, with tunes that sound almost spontaneous. Eventually reaching its last breath, the song is ushered off with the sounds of waves, just the way the Sunrise began. Perhaps, the song not only narrates the rising sun, but also tells of the tragedy of its setting.

9. Illumination: Cookie Raver

Genre: Techno, House, Trance and Ambient

Compared to other songs in the album, this is by far the most powerful. Cookie Raver is an odd title, but quite accurately describes the unusual nature of the song. While carrying serene undertones of the organ, it possesses incredible bass of an upbeat nature, hard-hitting and intense enough to blow your speakers! This song begins low and mild with the relaxing tunes from the organ, masterfully repeating itself, buying time for other elements to settle into their place, like the fulfillment of a grand prophecy.

The quiet beginning doesn’t necessarily reflect the general mood of the song though. Once all the instruments have taken up their positions, Cookie Raver hits its peak and strongly maintains this climax till the final portion of the song, where the peripheral noises leave, allowing the organ to once again step into the limelight. This period is identical to how the song began. Cookie Raver thus “winds back on itself” and if properly blended, can be played multitudes of times with seemingly no end.

This piece is perfect when played at late-night, stay over parties, especially at a chalet near the beach. But it brings to my mind a picture of teenagers dancing to the groovy music in a house on stilts, with its roof decorated by strings of bright bulbs, situated in the middle of an ocean. In our culture, we call this sea-surrounded, wooden structure a Kelong.

In Moderation, Here’s An Honorable Mention!

6. Lux: 100 Billion Stars

Genre: Techno, Trance and House

Lux, the brilliant band that made this song, is a familiar one to me. Previously, they also created Northern Lights, which found its place in Café Del Mar Volumen Siete. This song was a grand starting point in the album, making it, in my opinion, award winning.

100 Billion Stars may sound like a lame excuse for a song, but Lux has managed a piece that proved to be mystifying and very memorable. The drone of a tiny string ensemble is the first to be heard, and catches the listener by surprise. Its instantaneous entry aggressively attacks the senses by giving off an audible aura of mystery and perhaps even a sense of coldness and desolation. Then a voice, heavily synthesized and brutally warped by echoes speaks, narrating, “The Universe is [filled with] galaxies. Our own galaxy, [is like] an average galaxy…galaxies are [primarily made up of stars], some of them [possessing as much as] 100 Billion Stars.”

After the words “100 Billion Stars” echo off into the darkness, the song seems to make an official start, with the addition of bass beats and echoing electronic sounds. All these combine to create a scene where one can visualize themselves floating in deep space, appreciating the stars. Precariously attached to the space pod by an umbilicus, it is the only thing that keeps you from spinning, out of control, into the clouds of celestial bodies. It appears that this song is best listened to when stargazing, late at night, rather than while watching the sun go down.

Listening Recommendations

Café Del Mar Volumen Ocho, as can be seen from the descriptions above, is a very varied album, containing songs of different natures and sentiments, though they mostly reside in the same genres. This album contains perhaps some of the most haunting songs of all, including Utopia, Apache and Any Other Name, thus resulting in an album that appears to be more “spiritual” than the previous seven editions.

Such music seems too disruptive and powerful for study, since they tend to wrench reality away and replace it with an atmosphere of their own. On the other hand, the tracks may be used for meditation and self-reflection. When played at a louder volume, the more upbeat songs such as Cookie Raver and Day By Day prove to be perfect choices for parties or a chill-out accompaniment for a lonely drive home after work. Personally, I listen to these songs when I need inspiration to write.

More specifically, if you own a device that uses a quality Equalizer to adjust the quality of your sound output, then the following settings might be helpful, assuming “+12 dB” is the maximum for any setting:

Bass: +8 dB
Mid: + 12 dB
Treble: +12 dB
Mid Frequency: 3000Hz and above

Emphasis should be placed on the Treble and Mid outputs here, since these help to accentuate various sound details, making them sharper and clearer. Bass, on the contrary, should be kept lower to prevent it from clouding out the softer details, which can be very important in setting up an ambience.

Sunset…

The least obvious, but also the most important asset for your enjoyment of this album is actually universal: Imagination! With that, we can see, and even feel with our ears, so to speak. Music, a very metaphysical idea will solidify into physical forms with the mere power of the mind. If you have followed me through this review, then you have already experienced the power of your own Imagination!

I dedicate this review to my Dad, the most magnificent father in the world, on his birthday, the 18th of August. He deserves more than I could ever give or say…words alone are never enough…but hopefully, Love is!

Final note: In purchasing the albums in this series, the translations below may prove useful. English will undoubtedly be easier to pronounce than those tongue-twisting Spanish words.

Spanish-English
Dos-Two
Tres-Three
Cuatro-Four
Cinco-Five
Seis-Six
Siete-Seven
Ocho-Eight

By: Andrew Lim
Revised 19-8-01


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving