Artist: Om
Title: Instant Enlightenment
Released: 1993
Label: C & S Records
Genre: ambient trance
There are tons of groups and artists named Om. This particular Om features Tetsu Inoue, Dennis Ferrer and Luka Zotti. I discovered this group through a chill out compilation put out on Topaz Records while I was in high school but I was never able to find a copy of the original album. No reissues were made, either.
Many early 90s ambient trance releases were pretty good. Most were pretty easy to get into and not as intense as trance or psitrance. Om definitely hold true to that. The music is energetic but blissfully chill. I thought about this album while I was writing the review for The Whole Traffic’s first album. This seemed to be the most logical post to make after that one, musically speaking.
There’s plenty of excellent synth work, acid murmuring, soothing beats and thick atmosphere. Each track dives into its own direction, some cruising more on the ambient side of things and other leaning a bit closer to trance music. In my mind, if all of the beats were removed, you’d have a trippy FAX Records type album. That certainly makes sense with Inoue at the helm; many of his albums came through that label. That said, if you feel like dancing or chilling, you don’t have to go far to get there on this album. I dare say there are no weak points here; each track holds its own while staying true thematically to the album as a whole.
Admittedly, I haven’t much experience in the trance ambient genre outside of streaming a few older 12″ singles by other artists that folks uploaded on YouTube. I’m still exploring. I will say that this album makes for a great launchpad for diving into the genre. I certainly want to hear more. And I wish more had been put out from this project.
I really enjoy this album. If you’re into either genre or the mix thereof, you will, too. If you’re a fan of Inoue, you might dig it. Serious great.
4.7 yips out of 5
The Far Out Fox 