reviewed Febuary 2003 by www.ambientrance.org

Studio 13 : Perpetuum Mobile (Studio 13 - 2002)
Phillip Le Frois uses mellotron and vintage synths and sounds (also bagpipes, kalimbas, frame drums, bells, bowls, zithers, flutes and much more!) to forge his own little soundworlds; expect plenty of tribal inflections and DIY magic. Soft female voice-loops sway enchantingly in the light synthetic mists of Autumn , to be suddenly infiltrated by a cavernous drone, exotic rhythms and blipping keys. Twangling ethno-strings dance atop buzzing electrical currents and horn glare in enticing twelve; the track switches to a big, brassy Brazilian '70s-cinema-score affair with more-modern rhythms. Nice! Other tracks take this densely-layered very-cinematic approach, like the noir-ish Train, which blends moodier vapors with bold hornsounds and compelling beats (though its main themes get revisited a bit often perhaps...).
 
World-anthemic Bondo (3:01) fills a void with blurting tuba and thundering timpani as well as female-tribal chants and wind/brass instruments. Chaotically booming orchestral-sound-knot Early precedes February (11:21), full of drone-and-drum meanderings through assorted sparser realms of soft musicality. Beatless orchestral flows close with Concerto for Mellotron.
 
Impressive arrangements from a true one-man-band, only rarely sounding a tad homegrown; Studio 13's material (13 tracks/74+ minutes) falls not so much into ambient but rather into electronic/world music, though could be backdrop-ish enough if played quietly. A promising B; I do look forward to hearing more of Mr. Le Frois' future works.
 

reviewed Febuary 2003 by www.electro-music.com

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Joined: Jan 31, 2003
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 2:32 am    Post subject: Studio 13 - Perpetuum Mobile Reply with quote

Perpetuum Mobile is a new independent CD release by Studio 13. It's an interesting crossover project that has elements of electronic, world music, jazz, and trance. All of the music composed by Phillip Le Frois. Musicians include John Reid - Trumpets, and Debbie Johnson, Chris Blake and Brain Forest - vocals. Paul Kollar provided the vintage synthesizers.

The instrumentation is quite diverse. Some of them used on the CD are: Bagpipes, Kalimba, Turband Drums, Guitar, Zither, Mini Moog, Mellotron, Tibetian Horns, Orchestral Strings, and Native Flutes.

The musicianship and production quality are very good. The juxtaposition of world music instruments and electronic sounds is quite interesting; very well done. There is a lot of variety in the sound textures. Most of the pieces have a discernable rhythmic beat. This music is well crafted.

I particularly like the Concerto For Mellotron. It has a more ambient style than many of the other pieces on the CD. It's quite enchanting; very beautiful.

Studio 13 would be a great match for film makers looking for original music. This music would be good for everything for independent flicks all the way through Hollywood epics. This is not at all predictable, but it always sounds familiar.

Check out the web site where you can listen to some mp3 tracks from the CD, buy the CD, and download lots of interesting sounds for looping and sample players.
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Howard Moscovitz, Editor-In-Chief
sublevel203
Reviewed in Autumn 2003 by http://www.sublevel203.com

Sublevel 203 is an international organization that's devoted to bringing the world a one-stop-shop for band listings, information, CD reviews, interviews and concert coverage

Studio 13 - Perpetuum Mobile Studio 13 - Perpetuum Mobile
by Laura B.

Studio 13's Perpetuum Mobile is a disc of the unexpected. While I anticipated something a little bit experimental and a little bit trance, I was presented with a large amount of sounds from around the world. While I have spoken of genre mixing in the past, nothing compares to that of Perpetuum Mobile.

Traversing through a globe's worth of sounds, Studio 13's release makes for the ultimate in musical culture-clash. Bagpipes meet tribal rhythms in "Temple Pipe" for an unusual congregation with chilling ambiences. Warm eastern sounds slip into sultry sax laden jazz in "Twelve". The usual trippy beats appear on the "Acoustic" track, contrasted by acoustic guitar, dueling with richer electric guitar sounds. Spanish strums creep into "Taurus", one of the stronger songs on the disc, while a very pronounced beat stomps forward. Deep synthesized hums rumble occasionally with an oddly alien chirping in the background. Asian flavors are presented in "Early", and booms with serious intensity that instills an overwhelming sense of tension.

Tibetan bowls and chants, African bells, Celtic citterns face off against Moog, Yamaha, and Kurtzweil in a worldly battle of sounds. The result is often intriguing and terrifying while at other moments soft and truly lush. Studio 13's Perpetuum Mobile provides a unique collection of tracks suitable for lounging about or scoring some off-center film. While this release is wholly offbeat, its originality was a culturally twisted treat.

more to come!!!