I really love this band. This band is DEFINATELY NOT ANNOYING! Sounds
like a strange review? Not for me. Did you ever listen to FM radio lately? Got my point? I have 3 CDs by
Aquarian Age (the Austrian band, not that anime thing!) and I often listen to them. Sometimes to lift me
up, but often to calm me down, when I had a bad day at work or so. Its music by people who know how to
play their instruments ( which is also a bid deal for me, cause I can´t stand thatz pure computer stuff
anymore!) with great lyrics and strong melodies. But most of all: There songs are not annoying. I can
listen to them over and over again ...and feel good, feel relaxed. For beginners I recommend this CD (Birth)
and their free live net CD (if it is still available - search at their website). When you are into it
(and I´m sure you will be soon!) then go and buy their CD songs of birds. You will love it!
Great stuff Aquarian
Age
I like this; I do have to say that 'Down to the Top' has been one of the few songs I go to, to uplift me
at times. It's a favourite.
KMP (Los Angeles, USA):
(Thu May 05, 2005)
Aquarian Age is one of the top 10 Indie bands in my opinion. You guys always come up with real cool tunes.. "With My Eyes" is possibly my favorite indie track. "Perfect Day" is very close. Great job guys.
artist: AQUARIAN AGE ft. Yellow Jumps Twice from Austria
track: Run (2004 collab version)
Genre: Rock - poprock
This is an extremely polished and radio ready track from these
Austrian pop rockers! It's not all Scorpion (sound)bites in the eastern
Alps, no, no, no
With it's rock roots firmly in the school of songwriting from 70s pop
rock maestros this is a great little easy rocker firmly stamped with pop
hit. Snappy hooks in a big wide chorus, catchy guitar riffage and a song
you can sing along too.
It's loaded with optimism in the "life's on the up" lyrics,
giving just the necessary electric charge to get through the day. Hey,
forget the coffee, let's spin some Aquarian Age!
Partial translation:
A round and fine thing the boys of Aquarian Age delivered here. The
Funk/Jazz band from Upper Austria for sure got something cooking
and there is rumor that some people in California are running around on
the beach with their mp3s (for more info visit their homepage). But lets
come to the point and talk about the CD:
It begins with “Love is Blind” which enchants with a cool text (‘I
thought religious prudish moral code is completely out of date´) and an
easygoing groove, generating a cool and airy attitude to life. The song
‘Mountain of Fools’ is more or less a reckoning with the blindness
of the world, text and music going together very well.
‘With my eyes’ is a first-rate song for cuddling and ‘Down to the
Top’ is a top-quality catchy tune. Especially the bass is bad ass
without end. Cool thing and then there´s the extremely catchy refrain.
As closure for this ride “Sweet Love Of Mine” is coming trough the
speakers. Again cool bassline and the cool vocal part at the end which
then is becoming a duet is for sure something.
And that’s that then. With 5 songs and a running time of about 20 mins
“BIRTH” is a ep, but better less and high quality than much and a
lot of crappy fills. Not the case here.
Overall 20 minutes of cool and
good music. Who's not in need of permanent 120bpm should strongly
consider this EP . Play it, relax, groove, enjoy.
(full review (german) here)
ARTISTLAUNCH
about Down To The Top:
(06-08-2003)
Overall rating: 8.40
I so enjoy this band. They are never without a fresh, funky new angle
from which to approach a tune. A big part of this is the bottom half of
the rhythm section; the drummer has a fabulous jazz/funk sensibility,
and the bassist is pure monster. This piece is no exception, with
frenetic bassline, furious drumming, and nice vocal harmonies. (full
review here!)
WZJN Radio about Love Is Blind:
(found that 05-16-2002)
Another class act here that immediately made me
brought to mind one long dead great king, Tommy Bolin! Excellent mix here with a
lot of musical diversity and influences that force you to turn it up and smile
even before the head can react – that’s how good this one makes me feel.
Once more – why is it that something like this isn’t all over the radio?
Just blows me away that we don’t see these guys and hear their music
everywhere instead of the bare belly little girl / little boy with peach fuzz
pseudo pop that permeates radio now. Thank the music gods that you can hear this
stuff anytime you want. Rack this up and get ahead of the curve.
Dust
on Feet (BeSonic) about Mountain Of Fools:
01-07-2002
War in Bosnia.
Bewildered and without understand ! "...we are on a mountain of fools
playin´ a game with unknown rules..." ...Without more Words...
Alternative Static
(5/13/01
10:25:47 am)
Aquarian
Age
impressed me the first time I heard them. Anybody
can play musical notes. The difference is something that I
experienced at a live (indie) show a few weeks ago as well.
When this band was playing one particular song, the entire
room felt as though it was somehow electrified; when you
looked at any of the band members (there were 9 of them),
they all had their eyes closed as if they were enchanted
under some spell. I counted five people crying...as many
were laughing, each experiencing a moment as deeply moving
to them as it could be. In that all-too brief moment, it was
about the music. Nothing else existed or mattered. MUSIC.
That was a live event.
Aquarian Age
can do that to me through an intangible digital music file
on a cold, lifeless computer. They are magic. It must have
something to do with the fact that they got their start back
in 1995 during a jam session.
"Mountain of Fools"
is just one of my favourites, partially because there are
several versions. You have
Chris' original version
, the complete restyling of the phenomenal
Rick Richards' Remix
, and the pounding
NoFuture Remix
by Andreas Stuermer. There are (to the best of my knowledge)
two other versions of the song as well, that are apparently
only available on the EP that's available on their MP3.com page
.
"Down To The Top"
has one of the most funky, infectious grooves around.
Nothing prefab here, the bass line alone makes it worth the
listen, and that doesn't take into account Chris' brilliant
lyrics or smooth vocals. But you
gotta
hear that bass! You can get it from
their AMPCAST page
"Sweet Love Of Mine"
(also available on their AMPCAST page) is just good mood music. Smart, sexy and very
smooth.
...and the list goes on. There's just not a bad song on
either of their pages.
I enjoy hearing live recordings, because it gives you more
of a sense of what an artist is really like. You hear the
good with the bad.
There's no denying the boys in Aquarian Age have there stuff
together. They are all fantastic musicians and artists in
the truest sense of the word. The webpage states that they
didn't do a studio version of this song because they
envision a big do with strings and orchestra, and that would
be too expensive. It's easy to imagine a full-on production
of this piece, but this rough-quality live recording does
quite a respectable job of holding its own.
It goes down as smooth as a snifter of fine brandy on a
Winter night. I have to admit I was skeptical when I saw
that the piece was just over twelve minutes long, but after
listening I found myself wanting it to continue. So continue
it did when I hit "play" for the second time.
Tight musicianship, solid lyrics and great vocals.
This
is the Way for Funk in 2000
Brilliant played and produced Funk/Soul. 4 Songs and all jewel's...Listen...
Great
! 4 Songs and every Song a jewel. Perhaps you know the
following Groups : Kajagoogoo, Big Light, Level 42. If you
like these Band it will be better you here this Songs. They
have all done, what is good for an perfect produced
Funk/Soul Song. Slapp Bass. A melodic and powerful Voice.
Sade in the Backround-Choir and i think a good live Power.
Who's the next with Party...listen
"Love is Blind" - This song came straight out of the gate with a funky
riff. This is a funky tune where the bass player is straight gettin funky.
The lyrics and vocals are excellent. It's a groove that sounds like it's out of
the 70's with a 90's feel if that's possible. Let's try this.."A modern song
with an excellent 70's-like groove" Instruments were blazin and the guitar solo
was a definite "ON HIT". WOULD DEFINITELY PAY TO SEE THESE GUYS LIVE!!!
"Mountain Of Fools" - Damn These guys are jammin. They have a groove that
is undeniably DA BOMB!! (Another for the ***HOT LIST***) I'm truly diggin on
that bassist..he is in A ZONE The vocals are tight too....this is a great
tune. I also checked out their live stuff on their page..they are a far cry from
"STUDIO"..these guys are FOR REAL!! OH SHIT..I have to take a quick pause
cause I'm definitely rockin to this cut..it even has hints of the old "George
Clinton" or groups of that era. (THIS GOES ON MY MP3.com) gonna listen again.
Also adding these guys to my favorites..Man they are definitely kickin. The
further you go into the song..the TIGHTER it gets!!! Nice break downs, Nice bkg
vox at the end..this song has it all. I'm truly truly impressed. (I must've been
tired last night not to list these guys as on the favorite list)
I could talk about these guys all day..
JamesDavis posted
05-18-2000 10:09 PM
AQUARIAN.heard the song blind (Love Is Blind).great groove tune
deftly liked the lead guitarist sound vocals excellent you guys sound
great.James
Team Faithgroove posted 04-20-2000 09:55 AM
Aquarian Age - first of all, great background on your page! Silky smooth
vocals by artist extraordinairre Christian Grill will mellow you out in "Sweet
Love of Mine". Excellent guitars in all of these songs (I must say I'm favorably
biased to that funk sound). Great feel and good songwriting in "Down to the Top"
- one of my favorites on MP3.com. Gotta give it up to the bass solo on this one!
Give Aquarian Age a full listen and you may find yourself adding their DAM
CD to your shopping cart! Great listening with definate radio ready cuts primed
for high rotation.
I can't tell which is better - the instrumentation, vocals, or songwriting.
All of them just fab!
THE AUSTRIANS ARE COMING! Europeans with soul. This versatile band fronted by
Christian Grill demonstrates a range of styles, quality musicianship, and great
production throughout their impressive catalog. I started to review just one
song by this very good band but couldn't do them justice without touching on the
wonderful variety of quality recordings found at their mp3.com site.
Let's get started, shall we? Mountain of Fools: Started off with this groovy
techno piece that has swirling synth and tight drum patterns. Christian Grills
vocal adds just the right touches to this funky dance tune. The vocal breaks and
instrument fills keep this tune interesting throughout. No small feat to keep me
involved in this kind of music which is normally not my cup of tea. Sweet Love
of Mine: When the bass line started this song, I was hooked. This is a great,
soulful, yet intimate tune with a wonderful hook line. Christian's vocal is
highly compressed which gives the impression of a man whispering right in his
lover's ear. This smoky hot vocal carries the listener along on a joyful
excursion with the rest of the soulful groove. This is a soul-fest!
Perfect Day: This is an acoustic ballad that once again showcases the
versatility of Aquarian Age. Very impressive change of pace that shows just how
good this band is. Good playing, good vocal work, good production. Just plain
good! Can you tell that I like these guys? If English is Christian's second
language, I'd have to say he has mastered it better than many Americans. His
lyrics are tight and he tells great stories with his songs. There are many fine
qualities to this band which make it very worthy of further exploration by
anyone who appreciates quality musicianship, story lines, and production. Check
'em out!
- WIFE
Paul Toner posted
02-18-2000 07:38 AM
Love Is Blind Sharon (cool) Ginger (cool) Joshua (cool)
Paul (cool)
Reminded Us All of: "Feelin' Allright"...a Von Toner Family Favorite! Really Kickin'
Groove!
bandpad posted
02-03-2000 12:20 AM
Chris/Aquarian Age...Great lyrics on "Love Is Blind". Excellant musicianship
on the bass, guitar, drums, and vocals. Very funky sounding song. Mix and
arrangement are primo! Great song...
Newtonlaw
LOVE IS BLIND: Nice funky pop tune.Some great vocals and the bass player
is awsome. Althoe this bassline totaly gives me that R.H.C.P Walkabout
vibe. Overall great sound and recording.Very profesional. I figured out
why you choose LOVE/LUST. Lots of love on your page a. Thats cool
thoe.
Lizette posted
01-21-2000 02:42 PM
(asked for her favorite male vocalist)
I haven´t heard that many - but my fav right now would be mp3.com/aquarianage
Stewart Reynolds posted
01-19-2000 05:12 PM
AQUARIAN AGE,
Listened to LOVE IS BLIND....
VERY GROOVY TUNE!
A real cool, afternoon-in-a-hotel bar feel.
Great work! And from Linz? Awesome town in a great
country.
Ruud van de Moosdijk,
Netherlands
"Mountain of Fools"
Now THIS one I really like! Groovy, funky beat accentuated by the 2 note
guitar bass! Together with the somewhat less melodic, darker vocals very catchy
tune!! The switch to the melodic vocals with piano/organ and the intermezzo with
'stupid fools we are' is cool! Finally the multi-voiced vocals at the end really
finishes the tune! I would be most willing to try to make a more synthesized
heavy-beat version of this song!
JohnD posted 12-31-99
08:41 AM
Aquarian Age
Love is blind
Groovy soul-filled stuff from Austria! We start out with a very well executed
unisono guitar/bass/drum riff (Strat neck PU, non?) and we are off to the
groove. Nice and tight it is! I like the phased wah-wah guitar, but it could be
toned down a bit. When the vocals come in, you really need to come down with the
rest of the mix just a tad...that will help the singer come through
better....the snare is a little overpowering within the drum mix an overall
...hhmmmm. Very nifty downwards chromatic riff before we head into a great
guitar solo..good tone, nice licks, then off to the bridge, chorus and take it
out. Nice touch with the girl at the end...get your hands off me! All in all a
great tune, nearly top-flight production, good mix with just a couple of faults
and...you guys can play! 9.0/10
BruceChambers posted
12-30-99 06:36 PM
Chris Down to the Top loaded right into my Musicmatch. Good job,
Dude.
Rob Chilcott posted
11-25-99 03:53 PM
Oh! so that's what all the fuss is about!
Great music!
I listened to Perfect Day, feeling a hankering for a good acoustic late at
night, and I was possessed by the urge to sit back in a silk dressing gown and
smoke a cigar. I don't have a silk dressing gown; I don't smoke.
THAT'S good music.
Love is Blind is good, too, in a retro-funk way. Great musicianship, great
vocals, great production values. But I still prefer that
acoustic!
DDS Halifax, NS Canada posted 11-17-99 08:20 PM
tonight I had the pleasure of listening to:
Aquarian Age who managed to somehow get Down to the Top and
speaking as someone who's trying to get Up from the Bottom I genuinely
liked this song. It reminded me of a Quebec (that's in Canada, eh? - at least
for now it is) trio called UZEB many monsoons ago. Absolutely brilliant
live show, incredibly talented, tight, technique sensitive. I bet Zeeza
knows who I'm talking about. Best bass player next to Jaco himself (in fact, I
think he took lessons with the Jmeister) Well, that was them and if you know who
I mean and want something resembling that sorta JazzFusion kinda feel then head
to artists.mp3s.com/artists/13/aquarian_age.html
RhondaWatson posted
11-15-99 04:47 PM
Hi Aquarian Age Thank you for the review!
Down to the Top: Powerful drum intro woke me right up! *laugh* And
this tune has got one cool slappin' bass player! Very good production and mix.
Lead and harmony vocals are right on the money. Very good song!
Perfect Day(innocent acoustic): I liked the lyrics a lot in this tune,
but, I could not stand that continuous 4 chord guitar progression! Honestly, by
the 50th time of hearing it and having my hopes dashed that something exciting
would happen soon, I got discouraged and turned it off. You need some sort of
change in this thing because the basics are there for the makings of a really
cool song
Love is Blind: Funky!! Just the way I like it. This song's got all of
the right elements. Nice change between verses and chorus. Good hook. Great
vocals, production, arrangement and mix. And the guitar lead rocks! Great tune!
TheBassDude posted
11-15-99 10:52 AM
Chris (Aquarian Age) -- What's with all the bad-ass bass players all of a
sudden?? Down to
the top makes me imagine what Santana would sound like with Flea playing
bass... DAMN!!!! I just heard the bass break (I'm listening while I type)....
DAMN!
I Had to stop and listen from the top again... This stuff deserves
undivided attention! I like the laid-back vocals underlining the
otherwise high-energy rythms. You guys write great tunes!
I just listened to Love is blind... It reminds me alot of
Walkabout by the Chili Peppers... You have an awesome voice... I'd kind
of like to hear a duet with David Bowie... Your voices would sound great
together!
Strangers(Dave) posted
11-11-99 11:55 PM
Well, I guess you heard it again today on the Woody show - twice! As James
said, he played it twice because "it kicks ASS" and he's right, it does.
Tonights Livecast pre-show, artists spotlite will start at 7:30pm est, 4:30pm
pst. The two bands in tonights spotlite are Aquarian Age and Wonderwerks.
Both of these bands kick ASS so you will not want to miss!them.
Lutsik, Nashville, USA posted 10-10-99 05:03 AM
well i heard yer tune Down to the Top on the strangers show this
morning and it's VERY COOL.. nice'n funky with real song thrown in there for
good measure.. cool stuff.
FoN posted 09-26-99
05:25 PM
Aquarian Age
Damn you guys are hot!!!!! Have you been featured here at all. If not,
somebody better get their butt in gear and do their job. A little too much verb
and echo on the vocals, but everything else is so tight. What a bass
player!!!
Galmin posted 09-25-99
09:48 AM
Cool as ****!!!!
The difference between "Aquarian Age" and "Level 42" is that the guys in
"Aquarian Age" can sing!!
Blizz, Sweden posted 09-12-99 09:11 AM
For Aquarian Age!
Yeah! This is my kind of gig. "Down to the top" is funky and pretty well
produced. You guys could do great with some professional recording equipment and
a pro producer. That baseguitar player is making Mark King a bit nervous I
guess.
Anyone who loves totaly the funkiest music on mp3.com, GO TO THIS SITE!!!
Good luck to you!
D, Blizz
Keiphus, Memphis,
Tennesse, USA posted 08-01-99
06:37 PM
I, too, am now a proud "Birth" owner Groovy, man!
Ilan
AquarianAge
Very good drummer. Very good everything. You guys sound like you should be on
the radio. i don't listen to your kinda music to much but i can tell you are
real good. I listened to the first song and the funk song..
Werner
(Soulmatic), Wissen,Rheinland-Pfalz,Germany posted 07-30-99 10:19 AM
to Chris:
got your cd, great funky groove, the cd is a permanent visitor on my cd
player
dal posted 07-25-99
10:52 PM
chris,
your bass player is a madman! very well written and produced. if i had an
engineer like yours, why, i'd rule the world!
BillFurner, Corte Madera,
USA
posted 07-24-99 08:34 AM
"Sweet Love Of Mine" I
just listened, nice beat- I was swingin in my seat And hey classy at the end: You George
Benson fan you!
Lincoln Field Palos Hills,
Illinois,USA posted 07-17-99
09:58 PM Down To The
Top
Well, I'll have to admit this is probably some of the best bass I've heard in
awhile. Beyond the obvious, rhythm section grooves, guitarist knows his
limitations (I mean that as a compliment - too many don't and stretch beyond
their means) and the vocals are seasoned and palletable. Lyrics and metre are
strong. And it makes you want to shake yer booty! I'd give it a 10. Seriously,
this is must listen material.
Steve Haugh (Ballon School), New Jersey, USA:
Aquarian Age
Sweet Love of Mine
"dance together in the symphony of heat"
pop music with bit of an r&b sensibility. the mix on the
drums stands out. if those aren't real drums, your engineer is a miracle
worker, if they are, then i'm guessing the drummer is also the engineer.
they're mixed the best. everything is set up very nicely here despite
this (could just be my perception, but i did listen twice). very smooth song
and the vocalist sings it well, it just sounds a little like he's trying
too hard for resonance (i think he's using too much breath) and i'd rather
hear more of his voice, because aesthetically speaking, it's very pleasing.
he and the backup singer have a nice mesh between them, i'd even like to
hear some of here voice jump out for a line here or there. well written
song, a bit forumla, but i don't even know if that's not true of every song
in the world these days.
Perfect Day (innocent accoustic)
here's what i'm talking about with the voice. even
while singing softly, i hear his voice, not his lungs.
less is more. this is acoustic guitar and voice. a sound i
can't ever tire of. the kind of music you can carry with you to the beach, no
electricity (but for what's in the music). smart lyrics, too. Austrian, huh?
nonEnglish speakers write some damned good lyrics. this ends nicely with
some whispering of the lyrics mixed in with the singing. mild scatting too.
only happens when a singer gets real comfortable with the song. you're
popping your "p"s at the mic. if you're not using a screen, do. i
think there's software that will de-p and d-s tracks. a nice listening
tune. singer/songwriter material done well enough not to turn people off.
exciting? if Jim Croce is, this is.
Mountain of Fools
COOL! Funk with an Austrian accent. Fun with the mix. It's
unique but a bit underdone. A bit drunk, oh, wait, i can do without the
chorus, a bit too jazzy for this. it could almost be the verse of another
song, oh, maybe, i dunno, when it comes out of the chorus it makes
sense again. neat. some nice vocal dynamics. from whisper to blast. "but
we believe, stupid fools we are". hey, he belts well. there should be more
(for my taste).
Taken from the MP3.com Bulletin Board (Artist Area),
06-16-1999
(cool)
