Short Reviews [Sendelica / Secret Knowledge / The Orb - 2019 - "Windmill"]

The joint production "Windmill" is a one-of-a-kind production on multiple levels, where members from the bands Sendelica, Secret Knowledge and The Orb cooperated on one single song due to tragic events. The song is called 'Windmill', and is explored in four different versions on this EP. And the reason behind it all was the passing of Helen Donlon, soul mate and partner of Secret Knowledge's Kris Needs, and this song was made into a eulogy in memory of Helen Donlon. Of the four versions of 'Windmill', the one named 'Consterdine's Floyd Mix' gives us just that. The song as it might have been recorded by later day Pink Floyd. Slow moving, with a prominent but dampened organ, floating keyboard textures and something of a blues-tinged general feel to it. 'Chocolate Orb Dub Mix' is a take on the song without lead vocals, but featuring spoken words by the late Donlon. Musically it combines an ambient Floydian atmosphere with a slight flavoring of dub, and is a more laid back take on the song in general. A tad more melancholic one might say, and a tad less emotional than the first version. 'Consterdine's Original Mix' is, presumably, a more untreated version of the previous Floyd Mix. Here we have spoken words as well as singing, male and female vocalists and a slightly more psychedelic but also more ambient and slower paced version of the song. Subtle differences, but differences nonetheless. The final version is 'Chocolate Orb Chilled Mix' which is a more minimalist and ambient take on the previous dubbed mix. More chilled out, laid back and dream-laden, with just a minor bursts of energy at the halfway stage when slow techno rhythms come and go. As this EP is sold out from the label, getting hold of it at this stage may be a tad challenging by now. It is a well made production, as is just about always the case with anything released by Fruits de Mer Records, but it is also a production that comes with a deeper story behind it. For this specific production I think that the best recommendation I can give is that those who read up on the details of the background of this EP and are touched by it, and also have a fascination for later day Pink Floyd alongside ambient music, those are the people that should start looking for this production. This because, at the end of the day, this production is about a whole lot more than mere music.