Colin Edwin / Lorenzo Feliciati - Twinscapes (2014)

Bassists Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and Lorenzo Feliciati (Naked Truth, Beserk!) and several prominent guest artists venture towards the constellations via these bass-driven jaunts, shaded with streaming electronics, firm backbeats, and wraithlike soundscapes. Shortly after the first listen, I detected a kinship to bassist/producer Bill Laswell's early, bass- heavy ambient electronica outings and soon noticed that he engineered the mix for Twinscapes. The first several tracks contain loping bass grooves amid tastefully applied and largely, discreet otherworldly electronics treatments. The bassists yields a rather enchanting vista. Yet the second half of the album is where things pick up, or perhaps advance to the next logical level. On "Transparent," Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer's shady and echoing lines ride atop an electro- percussion world beat vibe that casts a far-reaching and spacey panorama and could serve as an opening theme for a sci-fi thriller. "i-Dea" follows, and features legendary progressive rock saxophonist David Jackson's (Van Der Graaf Generator) corpulent tone, blustery overlays, and serrated single note phrasings. Here, the bassists employs harmonics and supports Jackson with a hefty presence, reinforced by percussionist Andi Pupato's (Nik Bartsch's Ronin) multicultural rhythmic jamboree. However, the pulse is notched up a bit on "Perfect Tool," which combines a bubbly techno vamp with the bassists' slinky patterns and subtly delivered harmonies. The final piece "Solos," is designed with dreamy passages and tangy electronics patterns, riding above Edwin's massive and resonating drum programming sequence that heaves matters into a march- like progression, veering into an interminable void. In sum, Edwin and Feliciati take it easy on the soloing front, and concentrate more on framing capacious, pulsating utopias that often impart a lofty degree of musical escapism.