For the sake of completeness (well, eventually it will be complete) I’m posting some of the past reviews from the first Akumu Self-Titled CD. People had some very nice things to say and I’d like to thank them a lot! So, thanks!
Selected reviews of “Akumu”:
BPM Culture:
This debut release is one of the most promising that I’ve heard in some time. The music is both soothing and provoking and jumps between various genres. From downtempo to drum ‘n’ bass to instrumental hip-hop rhythms, it covers many bases and leaves you feeling like you have taken a journey of sorts, one that takes you to a different place — through the inside.
(John Wesley)
Godsend Magazine:
A marvelous debut release from this Toronto artist, AKUMU presents an altogether appealing and masterful collection of modern electronic sounds ranging from heavily-rhythmic dub and drum & bass grooves to cinematic ambience.
(Todd Z.)
Wind + Wire:
This is a fascinating and (more often than not) exciting blend of various electronic and (mostly dark) ambient music styles, from drum and bass to breakbeats to dub to more abstract subgenres. The disc is very well-engineered and it caught my attention the first time I played it.
(Bill Binkelman)
Ambientrance:
Spiced with just the right amount of tasty percussion, this self-titled debut from ‘akumu’ easily slips into a lush, hour-long electronic reverie. 10 tracks from deane hughes feature down-tempo grooves which dwell within lovely (sometimes darkly so) ambient spaces; very nicely produced and packaged.
(David Opdyke)
Exclaim Magazine:
Like the fiery red images blurred over a void-like backdrop, the sounds on Akumu’s debut album are darkly passionate. The ten-track instrumental excursion sounds it was like recorded in a dungeon. However, Akumu’s impressions of this sonic wasteland are not only listenable, but beautifully imagined. It’s very rhythmic and often sounds like what industrial (in both the Skinny Puppy and Neubaten sense) could be if it tried to keep up with drum & bass and dub.
(Prasad B)
