Review Summary: Living inside a hydro-bionic dome in the year 2872
Aes Dana (aka Vincent Villuis) is an ambient/ electronic artist that has been around since the early days of the Ultimae label. He released his first album 'Season 5' in 2002 to critical acclaim. His following albums were all journeys into lush ambient territory, but never has the very foundation of electronic been questioned and morphed like it is on 'Pollen'. Here we see Aes Dana creating a transcendent work of absolute genius that sounds like it was sent to us from another time.
The albums starts off with the track, "Jetlag Corporation", which enters with a excellent rhythm yet sounds so distant in time. The song starts off in a hesitant manner before exploding unexpectedly into another dimension. An echo reverberates throughout the track sending the listener into a kind of production not yet heard before in electronic. And this stunning experience is just the first song.
Pollen continues its trek into a seemingly prophetic march towards the far future of civilization. Taking us into strange hydroponic worlds in songs like "Tree.Some" and into skyward cities in "101 Clouds". Every track here is brilliant electronica. It is isn't psybient in the slightest, even though Ultimae is usually known for many artists that dabble in that style. But not this. Its electronic dance music from cybernetic eden. A rave in the biomechanical jungle of tomorrow.
The last track on 'Pollen' is "Low Tide Explorations", and I don't hesitate to say this may be one of the finest examples of electronic music in our time. You will not believe this statement until you hear the song for yourself. It is that good, and leaves you in total disbelief of the journey you have just taken. It is Aes Dana's muse finally taking over full control, gathering all it can from our next stage of humanity, and handing it to us on a silver platter. If you're wondering if I am listening to the album as I write this, you'd be correct. This is truly a feat for the ages.
