title:

as the leaves turn

label:

boltfish recordings

format:

cdr / mp3

release date:

30.07.04

cat. no.:

bolt006

tracks:

shinchon

dragon head rock

sometimes

reviews:

"joint label owning cheju, started boltfish in january of this year as a forum for free online music specialising in experimental, cinematic, organic sounds. now, not since the days when warp records used to send us material have we had the pleasure of reviewing something away from the 'norm'. four tracks here to enjoy, and straight away i felt right at home with it. gentle percussion, and waves of electronica washed over me, soothing my mind and adding a dreamy mood to the office. my personal favourite was 'dragon head rock' a vocal track with a sombre mood, but beautifully constructed and allowed to roll around in aquatic oceans of cinematic drama. in fact all the tracks remind me of two lone swordsmen and boards of canada at their finest. be sure to log onto the website for more." - untitledmusic, 07.04

"new release on the impressive boltfish label, this time by cheju. 'shinchon' silently explodes, scattering glass like confetti over the surrounding area, and giving off wave like blast revelations, that shake and vibrate anything standing in their way, and the minature mushroom cloud, disperses into the air as soon as it arrived. massive echoing, sub bass strikes, entice you into the fold, as you are knocked down by the density of the air, as the chaos caused by the explosion takes its toll, and everything falls silent. cool stuff. 'dragon head rock' has you swimming alongside a fish, this fish has the biggest smile in the world, as his teeth are made from sparkling buttons, which are catching the rays of sun, jettisoning rhythmic melodies out into the oxygen rich surroundings. the vocals in this track, piped from the brain centre of an information point, deep in tokyo, reveal that machines do dream, and you are listening to it. 'sometimes' heaves you aboard the magic train, on the way to the magic city of magicness. rotating strikes with a sub bass beat line, melt together with the stringy beep melody to create an atmospheric tune, that is only allowed in this magic world. magic. 'departure' wallows in its thick pulpy bath, as the sunshine creeps over the horizon, causing plants and wildlife to spring into action, with a bump. hisses and pops from buds and shattering shell splinters from cracking eggs, all blend together, creating the super sublime full of richness melody, which floods the speakers, and in turn, melts off your ears with its creative quality. deep atmospheric excellence. 'as the leaves turn' is a very very high quality release from cheju. it has 'those' kind of tracks, that just stop you in what your doing, transfix you into listening, and your imagination takes over, visualising the sounds in your head. that's my kind of music. another superbly crafted release on boltfish, get on over to their www and take a listen." - tesselate, 08.04

"another ep release from the boltfish recordings label which is freely available from their website. the label operates on a not-for-profit basis though you have to wonder how they even meet costs if they’re not actually selling anything. i suppose recording costs must be low given that their output is primarily digitally constructed ambient music, as is the case with this ep from one of the label founder artists cheju. it's blissfully chilled with occasional vocals, like a less weird orb or less pompous future sound of london." - eyeballkid, 08.04

"on this mp3/cdr release from the boltfish label, cheju delivers four tracks of well-executed programming, melodic construction and quite a lot of atmosphere. the nostalgic factor is high, so is the production quality, high that is. the opening track 'shinchon' has qualities that any electronic music listener can appreciate. 'dragon head rock' builds along the same lines of thought, but is not as convincing. the third track on the ep 'sometimes' is an excellent track with subbass to go and very apt rhythmic compositions. it grooves in a very compelling way. i would say it was made for the big sound system and i can’t wait to hear it on one. simply lovely! 'departure' is a virtually beatless track with soaring soundscapes of solitude that also marks the end of the ep in a fitting way. the sixth release is a good effort by cheju and readily reflects the musical direction of boltfish recordings" - electronic desert, 09.04

"wil bolton's cheju moniker is one to pay attention to. as the boltfish label co-owner, wil is not afraid to captivate his audience with highly emotional tracks, paying close attention to the relationship between sound and feeling. with distinctive vocal compliments by soo lee, cheju allows time to casually blur ambient energy and hypnotizing spurts of lyrical beauty; such is the case with 'shinchon', the opening track on this ep. 'dragon head rock' manifests pure simplicity as waves of ambience wash away tears of joy. 'sometimes' reaches into the melody bin and punctuates a vibe that runs parallel to abfahrt hinwil-styled rhythms. the closing track aptly titled 'departure' is an uplifting ambient entity that tugs at the heartstrings with its enya enriched layering until it fades away. 'as the leaves turn' could easily be the soundtrack to nostalgic memories of times past, but it may also signify the ever changing weather patterns of life as the leaves turn to signal such an event." - igloomag, 09.04

"four songs that echo the idm and techno-pop principles of the 90's. effective ethereal melodies, basses and a clear pop direction. the disc produces precise idm ('shinchon' and 'sometimes', this latter at greater speed), spirals of techno pop with the voice of soo lee ('dragon head rock') and finishes with the ambient ('departure')." - avantfolk, 10.04

"c'est avec le single mp3 "closed circuit" que l'on fait connaissance avec cheju, projet atatchant mené par will bolton. inspiré en grande partie (et jusque dans son nom, une île au large de la corée) par la culture asiatique, bolton y fait allusion autant dans ses mélodies orientalisantes que par l'apport de voix féminines ("dragon head rock") qui ajoutent à la dimension onirique de cette electronica atmosphérique, douce et mélancolique, proche d'une ambient spatiale des plus touchantes ("sometimes", titre typique du style cheju). "as the leaves turn" offre un aperçu plus que satisfaisant du talent de l'anglais pour créer des mondes à part, une sorte de "fantasy" musicale qui trouvera sa place à quelle que saison que ce soit. une musique qui dépasse les frontières et le temps en somme, prenante et surtout vivante!" - guts of darkness, 10.06