Seefeel - Quique [Redux]

I am back from my one night stay in the tourist pit that is Branson, Missouri. The drive down and back went pretty flawlessly, although on the way back I about saw a diesel smash head on with an oncoming truck on a two lane highway. The idiot behind the wheel was trying to make a quick pass around a school bus and couldn’t have picked a worse spot to do it going down a hill and with a curve you couldn’t see around at the end. Needless to say it was a very close call when the other truck came around that corner. I’m just glad I didn’t have to witness what would have been a very very nasty wreck. And with that, on to today’s update which happens to be of the reissue type.

It’s really good to see an album like Quique get the reissue treatment this year from Too Pure. Seefeel's original masterpiece has been remastered and been tacked on with a second disc of rare material. There is some really cool stuff to be heard on that. But anyway, Seefeel was an experimental/ambient group in the early 90’s that some may not be real familiar with due to their fairly short time together and maybe the reissuing of what could be considered a breakthrough album for its time might gain it some well deserved new appreciation. Quique, for many, is an album that helped pave the way for similar bliss sounding IDM artists that are becoming increasingly popular at the present time. However, for Quique it was 1993 and at that time an album like this was pretty mind blowing. Originally Seefeel had originally dabbled within the fuzzy layering and washes of distortion, which sort of led them to the shoegaze tag. However wanting to break out of the restraints of traditional songwriting the group moved toward more of an electronic experimentation in their music, which they hit the mark with completely on Quique. The sounds they achieved on the album were something that felt as if it were out of this world if you just sat and listened to it with your eyes closed. Throughout each song it gains loops and layers which are then sprinkled here and there with a touch of distortion to wash over it. At times it’s complemented beautifully by the vocals from Sarah Peacock which contain a very similar dreamlike vibe that Seefeel’s base sound already operates on. Unlike many electronic/ambient acts operating at that same time, Seefeel made a lot of their dreamy and droning sounds by using their guitars instead of synthesizers and other electronic instrumentation. However, electronics still played a very big roll in their sound, thus making the album what it is obviously.

Seefeel – Industrious [MP3]
Seefeel – Charlotte’s Mouth [MP3]

For those that enjoy ambient/electronic music with a bit of a blissful/shoegazy touch, then I can’t recommend picking this reissue up enough. If you like what you hear, then head on over to Tonevendor and pick this up for pretty cheap. The packaging is almost worth the price alone. Definitely my favorite reissue of the year thus far. Good job Too Pure.