Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 1994
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Length
9 tracks
Pete Lawrence (founder of the Big Chill) - sleeve notes for LIFE BEFORE LAND
"Summer 1994 was a revelation to me. Apart from being an all-too-rare scorcher, it was the year when The Big Chill - which would come to dominate my life so centrally over the next decade - was born as a Sunday social in the back rooms of a church in north London.
It was also the summer that saw the release of three seminal downtempo albums. The Irresistable Force's "Global Chillage", Global Communication's "76:14" and Another Fine Day's "Life Before Land" all emerged during the earlier part of the summer and provided the essential soundtrack to a memorable time, which was very formative for the Big Chill's musical directors.
From the moment the album's publicist called me and was almost apologetic that "Life Before Land" had 'real' instruments like mbira (thumb piano) and double bass on it, I knew that it would be up my street. What I didn't realize on those first revelatory plays was how important the album would be in terms of setting a more organic ambient agenda that still stands up strongly ten years on, and has transcended fashion in all senses.
This was a true definition of 90's world music. Deliciously understated music with a subtle power to shift mood, create a wide open space that coaxed the listener into a more contemplative state of mind, where the imagination could freewheel around the unfolding musical journey. Music for a lifetime.
It was also the summer that my beloved daughter Ella was born - a time and a soundtrack to treasure for so many reasons.
This is music that I can't ever imagine not being part of my life."
Pete Lawrence, June 2004
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