01. This Earth
02. A Feeling
03. Far Away
04. Half Time
05. Black Iris
06. Let It Go
07. L'Attitude
08. Fantasy
09. Elijah
10. Sunfish
11. National Dobro
12. Midnight
13. Parkour
14. Lay Your Love
15. Waterfront Dub
Electrosensitive is soul, psychedelic, dub, jazz, Latin, disco, house and a little bit electronic. It’s a fine collection of quality laidback songs and grooves. Afterlife is Steve Miller. A well renowned artist in his field. He’s is no newbie; this is his 4th artist album. It’s good to note that one of his albums ‘Simplicity’ sold out in a week.
Steve has cemented himself as one of the world’s leading electronic ‘chillout’ producers and DJs. He has had more tracks than anyone else on the classic Café Del Mar series and his music has astoundingly featured on over 500 other compilations.
If you were to ask people what their perception of his sound was, they would say it was ’warm, blissful, lush, melancholic, uplifting and soulful’. It would be true to say this is an accurate description of this, his newest work.
The album title holds some interesting clues into the thoughts and physical makeup of Steve Miller. This is a unique artist in many ways. When asked what the title represented he had this to say:
“I was writing it at the time that tedious electro was in fashion. When there’s a new fashion I tend to run in the opposite direction as fast as I can.”
It seems that pop culture has gone electro mad, and with the sound finding its way into the mainstream it is not surprising that many rebel against its commercialism.
However the album title also has a more serious meaning. Many will find this a little difficult to digest but Steve has electrosensitivity or electromagnetic hypersensitivity. A condition that ultimately means that WiFi makes him feel ill, so it’s very hard for him to operate in modern cities.
“I am electrosensitive – sensitive to magnetic fields. I have to be a recluse. I’m in enforced exile on my own planet. About 3% of the population have this problem. I’m not trying to make a big new age deal out if it, this is a fact.”
This has forced Steve to live in the further reaches of society, in remote areas where there is far less electrical contamination. In fact it is this that encourages his creative process. Dividing his time between Ibiza and in Cornwall he finds relief and inspiration by sailing. Out in the open sea there is not the same electrical interference that you would get on land. In fact he draws philosophical parallels, he has discovered that sailing and making music have a lot in common:
‘Sailing is like meditation, you have to be in the moment, in the zone, much like when you are creating music. When the sea is blue and the sky is blue there is a void. It’s easy to reach a meditative state’.
Of course his creativity is also stimulated by the various collaborations that he has done on the album. He finds that the chemistry in collaboration always brings out new vibes.
This is evident in the track ‘Fantasy’. Steve collaborated with the marvellous Sharon Musgrave, who was the lead vocalist on the classic Bassomatic track “Fascinating Rhythm” (one of Steve’s all time favourite records). As well as Juanita Grande on the Parisian dubby tune “Far Away”. There is even a bluegrass tech house tune called “National Dobro” which fellow chillout DJ and producer Chris Coco had already remixed into a real smoker. All in all this is a perfect eclectic album by Afterlife, it’s an album that you would be as happy to play at home to ease you into your day or play in the intimacy of an exclusive hilltop villa as the accompaniment to that perfect poolside moment.
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