Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty, vol. 2
Like a stash of old Irish potato whiskey, Alex Patterson (the Orb) gets tastier, stronger, and more covertly mischievous as he gets older. The firstAubreyremix setwas, in retrospect, a test drive. This second double-disc is the full-throttle adventure, the work of an ambient-sound scientist not afraid of anything, not genres or boundaries or conventions. Patterson's work--floating, cushiony, and angelic--is pure therapy. His samples and segments inhabit the record like relics from an old antique shop. Classical piano jives alongsidePato Banton's "Beams of Light" whileTangerine Dreamcruise alongsideWitchman's dirty hip-hop-based "Angel Art," and somehow it all makes sense.Lisa Stansfield's "Time to Make You Mine" mix is deliciously smooth ambient soul, and the Orb's pulsing take onSun Electric's "Red Summer" is a tasty stew of ambient, dub, and house. But the defining point of the entire set comes with Rick Wright's own remix of his solo cut "Runaway," a haunting piece of music that would have madeJean-Michel JarreorPeter Gabrielproud. Wright is, of course, one part ofPink Floyd. Patterson has often been viewed as Floyd's only true child, and here the family traits are apparent. This volume is a fitting jewel in a rich and expansive collection of ambience, and it underscores that Patterson is still the master of this dreamy, surreal genre.--Steffan Chirazi