Indidginus _ // Blog

Review of Feast or Famine by Axis Mundi.

"Hailing from the South African hub of Cape Town, UK artist Michael Martin, known as Indidginus, has been making waves and dancefloor shakers for over a decade. For even longer, Michael has been an avid musician and multi instrumentalist, and has made quite a name for himself across many genres and industries of music, having played alongside, and collaborated with, many respected artists, from the legends OOOD and The Orb to Ishq and Eat Static. Michael has the talent, experience and drive to make his recent release, 'Feast or Famine', a dancefloor booster built also to be enjoyed in more relaxed settings as well. With professionally expert mastering by Colin Bennun of OOOD notoriety, Indidginus has obviously put great amounts of effort and time into his collection of musical creations, and the result is remarkably noteworthy. 'Feast or Famine', simply put, is a masterful collection of ten solidly arranged masterpieces displaying unique talent found nowhere else on Earth, which will be evidenced to the listener from the first rotation in your players ever onward.

Funky Town » Indidginus launches the listener straight into a mojo-filled, old-timey disco groove in his cleverly appealing remake of the classic anthem Funky Town. His unique take on this hit is a perspective refreshing journey into the soul of funk interpreted through the lens of 21st-century audio synthesis and digitalism.

Tau Ceti » A haunting, cybernetic zen-approaching into curtains the entryway into a realm of groove. Bass as ripe as a red apple pumps out foundations of crisp, percussive rhythm hits and eerily bobbling melody and pad arrangements. Touches of ancient tribalism collide with futuristic musical technology and innovative technique.

Tokalosh » Bouncy ethnic percussion accompanies thick, key-changing basslines at the outset, and as the sound progresses, more and more pleasing layers filter in. Soothing washes of pads and glitchy foreground rhythms wend their way about the soundscape, with a surprise twist of moods midway through.

Law of One » Indidginus picks up the pace with this nighttime full on stomper which ressurects the old school Ajuna sound with acidic innovation. Breakbeat basslines timed by four on the floor kickdrums keep the flow moving with serpentine precision. Between the percussive elements and Indian raga vocals, 'Law' imparts unmistakable feelings of sound come to life.

Lotus Eaters » This funktastic thumper serves up heaping servings of churning, warm bass, kinetic kickdrums and srisp, slapping snares. With plenty of glitchwork, melody and vocal segments, Indiginus' energy lends itself well to the uplifting buildups of positive dance vibrations which characterise this sound so well.

Surya » With 'Surya', Indidginus has crafted you a sonic transport vessel taking you to previously unknown dimensions of digital sound. Pulsating rhythm stacks atop foot tickling bass and is in turn the strata for vaulting melodies. Each arrangement opens doorways for sequentially edgier and more aggressive, piercing layers.

Substrata » Taking you to heavenly realms found seemingly within the hidden cavernous reaches below, these masterfully arranged layers of ear-tickling waveforms postulate new scientific fields of geomusicology. Panoramic percussion and bouncing leads play your senses like a violin and keep the dancefloor in motion.

Cosmic Trigger » Indidginus lays out a superbly pleasing morning rocker fueled by multicultural musical influences infused with a newly defined sound. Each layer, crisp and distinct, grips you and adds to a track that is as much a timeless journey through Earth's timeline. 'Trigger' is a masterfully synthesized six minute fusion of ancient and modern traditions.

Faerie Tale » An intro of crystalline, temporally altered glass sweeps cascades straight atop thumping bassbeats and a baseball team's worth of synth arrays which play their parts in seemingly hive-mind unison. Melodies made up of this many sorts of sounds stay fresh for many rotations, and topped with plenty of dancefloor funk make this a must-have for energy ressurecting playlists.

Gene Swarm » Indidginus' finale track to his latest and greatest album to date packs every inch of the artist's experimental intuition and knowhow until the very end. A chilled out, downtempo beat diverges away from the accepted norms of trance music and explores this artist's true sense of diversity and musical imagination and potential.

Review of Feast or Famine by Full Lotus (PsyMusic UK)

"Indidginus is South African producer Michael Martin who has been actively making music in the scene since 2001 and playing didgeridoo since 1996. Feast or Famine is his second full length release and it's a colourful journey into the down tempo side of psychedelic music with a unique Indidginus twist. Released at the end of 2008 on Micro Dot music from Cape Town, this is one hell of a fun album that can only be described, in my opinion, as accomplished clean sounding groovadelic music. Kicking off with a reworking of the classic Funky Town, the tunes take in a range of influences from ethnic sounds through to electro in places and beyond. It has an infectious funky feel permeating the tracks and keeps you on tenterhooks eagerly awaiting the next sound or groove and ensures that those feet keep on tapping away furiously. This has quality written all over it and is as refreshing as it is original. With the tracks ranging in speed from 113 to 139 bpm, this album is excellent sunshine music that should not be restricted to just the global psychedelic trance scene but should go and infect the rest of the global electronic dance scene. The album is a veritable feast, with the famine coming only when it ends.

Available from the following reputable on-line shops:

Beatspace
Psyshop
Saiko Sounds"

Review of Feast or Famine by Josh (BPM Magazine (SA))

"Michael Martin has been playing at festivals for years now, many of them being in our mother city, making the name Indidginus well renowned in our local psytrance scene. Following his downtempo album Align on the same label, he now brings us this progressive treat filled with funky rhythms and fun melodies. Ranging from 130 to 139 bpm and finishing off with a down tempo track, these tunes project a positive energy thats playfully psychedelic and extremely groovy. His signature sound can be best described as sharp kicks, electrifying bass lines and crystalline voice samples with added local flavour. Containing anthems and fillers, Feast or Famine provides an experience that is equally suitable for home listening and dance floors."

Feast or Famine on sale now

Following hot on the heels of Indidginus' downtempo album Align, Microdot Music is pleased to present the 2nd Indidginus album Feast or Famine.

Indidginus is the solo project of talented Cape Town artist Michael Martin. Michael has been active in the psytrance scene for many years, & is now a Vortex artist. He makes use of slide didgeridoo in his unique and eminently danceable live performances.

Focussed on the funkier, groovier, slower side of psychedelic trance, Feast or Famine takes you on a kaleidoscopic journey through time and space, which will make your booty move & keep you coming back for more! The album exhibits a diverse array of influences & includes a masterful collaboration with Colin Angus (The Shamen, Pablo Sandoz). Sure to be a winner on dancefloors the world over....

» Indidginus

» Vortex

» Microdot Music

Listen to Feast or Famine

If the Reverbnation widget above does not display, you can also listen to track previews on the Arabesque website

Buy Feast or Famine

Feast or Famine is available to buy online from the following outlets worldwide:

» Amazon

» Play.com

» Juno

» Zavvi

» Saiko Sounds

» Beatspace

» Goa Store

» More outlets will be receiving stock in the coming weeks - Psyshop, Tower Records etc....

Or in South Africa:

» Direct from Indidginus (contact email below)

» Microdot Music

Cost - R70 or R95 (including postage & packaging)

» Indidginus' downtempo/IDM album Align is also available at the same price.

Contact

» indidginus@deviantdidg.com

Indidginus' downtempo album Align is now available for only R95 in Cape Town direct from Microdot Music and also at Music Moods (Somerset West), Crystal Wizard (Observatory), CD Select (Tygervalley) and other selected stockists.

Digital downloads of the album are available from CD Baby.

Review by Slackline Radio :

As the name implies, Indidginus is a look into foreign cultures where the sounds are only local to those inhabitants of the region. Michael Martin is Indidginus and he resides in Cape Town where the land of Africa meets the sea on its southern shore. South Africa is a melting pot influenced by many cultures from around the globe. So too is the work of Indidginus. Martin pulls together an expression of the world's music, blending electronic beats amongst the sounds of his personal didgeridoo. Foreign instruments and languages work to transport his modern medium of electronic music. On Align, you will find raw beats that graduate to the school of the old world with sounds and instruments dominated by ceremonial rhythms.

Martin has been creating music for several years now. It began with a love of the didg and a personal trip to Tanzania where the idea burst to incorporate his instrument into danceable music. His journey into electronica transformed into his solo work as Indidginus. Along his musical voyage he collaborates with Matt Hillier of Ishq on a project entitled Open System. Ishq records on the international Interchill Records, a location not unsuitable for Indidginus given the overwhelming influences of organic music. The style of Indidginus and Ishq meld together beautifully and their collaborative work can be heard on several tracks of Align.

On 'Doors to the Deathless' we hear Martin's experimentation of incorporating the didg into electronic music. Initially, this track slowly starts with chants and ambient soundscapes that build to a discernible rhythm. An organ begins and makes it feel like some truly religious experience. The didg is added for complexity in subtle waves.

On 'Machu', Martin collaborates with Josh Hawks and they bring an ethnic beat of maybe some Mayan or South American culture. It is a slow beat raised with an interesting base line and occasional funky, twisted noises. Some rolling synths along with a traditional morphed flute transport this track to a distant, remote village unknown to many outsiders. You can hear the influence of another culture as the electronica carries this historic music to a new age.

Off we go to the Indian continent on 'Chakrasonic'. Not unlike the Hindustani or Qawalli, 'Chakrasonic' drives home the sounds of traditional Indian or Pakistani music as we hear a male vocal wash over the beats. The rhythm is upbeat with distorted sounds that carry a curious connection to some of the more traditional sounds of this regional style of music.

The incorporation of worldly music into electronica is nothing new and in fact, it has been going on for some time. But as time goes on, one occasionally finds an interesting twist where the ethnic sounds are changed and modernized in an entirely new and refreshing way. For Indidginus, Align solidly falls into this category.

You can buy the album on CD Baby