E GONE – ADVICE FOR HILL WALKERS (Zeon Light Cassette)

Following the impressive debut All The Suns Of The Earth from 2014 and the Smokediver EP released earlier this year, Daniel Westerlund returns with a second full length E GONE album. Advice For Hill Walkers is the usual excellent E GONE mix of traditional instruments with digital technology creating a rich blend of  bubbling electronica and Eastern flavours that earnt the previous releases such critical praise, however this record is far more focused than before and Daniel has really found his groove…….this is the best E GONE release to date. Whereas All The Suns Of The Earth was a very eclectic record mixing psychedelic electric sitar headswirlers, Post Rock synth drones, far out Psych Rock and gentle Acid Folk, Advice For Hill Walkers takes its cues from the fantastic Whirled Music on the Smokediver EP. Don’t be fooled by the title………..this is not a gentle Psych Folk Sunday ramble up a few hills, but more of an epic psychedelic trek through the mountains where you may need oxygen at some point to complete your journey.

The journey starts with the elongated drones of ‘Mark the Spot Where You Leave the Injured’ guiding the listener gently into the Eastern European gypsy swirl of ‘Your Goal Is To Know Everything And Say Nothing’. Advice For Hill Walkers takes influences/inspiration from many sources……… Picking up where the Smokediver EP left off, ‘Follow Moonmilk Rivers’ has all the chaos and confusion of a Middle Eastern bazaar, ‘Build Your Camp Out Of Alpine Moss’ has the feel of early John Carpenter soundtracks while ‘Dwell In Tents By Day, Hike At Random By Night’ has the vibe of a mid-90s Trip Hop track. The wonderful ‘Find New Methods For Compass Use’ is a sweet combination of field recordings (in this case a rainstorm) and drones. There is also a huge European folk influence on many of the tracks, more so on the enthralling ‘Continue Ascent While Blindfolded’ and the whirling ‘Record The Humming Of Melodious Caves’. The record closes with the epic ‘Reach The Summit, Egg!’ which pulls together all the strands of the album to create one massive 10 minute psychedelic track which is a total mindblower. There are 10 tracks here all of the finest quality, this really is a fantastic record and if you want our advice we suggest you get yerself a copy and check it out…….this is the real deal.

At the moment Advice For Hill Walkers is currently only available on cassette in a seriously limited edition run of only 50 (which is about the number of people who still own a tape deck) from the great little Swedish boutique tape label Zeon Light…….you can get your hands on a copy (plus free download) from their Bandcamp site here https://zeonlight.bandcamp.com/album/advice-to-hill-walkers .........but no doubt someone will have the sense to make this available on either CD or vinyl in the near future as it is truly an awesome album. The Smokediver EP is still available as a "name your price" download from the E GONE Bandcamp site here https://egone.bandcamp.com.

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