Enveloped was a thing of beauty back in 2002, but be under no illusions: this new remastered edition is a revelation.
[...] make no mistake, this 2017 remaster is now the definitive version of Enveloped. It makes one wonder just how much we’ve been missing from all those other albums released in this era.
igloomag
This album is timeless, emotional, mesmerizing. Great idm structures and ethereal atmosphere. I still like to go back to it often and it's good idea for remaster.
Adam ES (Facebook)
Probably one of the most significant Bulgarian contributions to IDM and electronic music in general, originally released in 2002, now remastered.
Artmospheric festival
one of the stand out IDM albums of the period..wonderful production and still hold up extremely well today.
darktrain, Discogs
Reviews of the 2002 edition
one of the stand out IDM albums of the period..wonderful production and still hold up extremely well today.
darktrain, Discogs
Fantastic in every way. The CD version is slightly longer but lacks the pace of the LP.
clocker13, amazon.com
enveloped is the confident and inspiring debut long player from esem, a
bulgarian producer who has given little previous insight into his
capabilities (an okay-ish single and occasional features on samplers
have been his only available work). opener 'neaudea ettin (eloki)'
appropriately sets the agenda: skewed drum patterns and spiky percussion
fizz through the speakers, balanced against delicate yet involving
melodies. this knack for setting beguiling, almost innocent soundscapes
against brittle, inhospitable backgrounds proves to be the album's major
strength. the range of emotional contexts addressed and the dancefloor
appeal of tracks such as 'noulli et' and 'ekre' develop the appeal
further still.
dave stenton, international dj
wer mal etwas anderes hören will, sollte sich mal diese cd zulegen.
nicht das diese cd unerhörtes zu tage bringt, nein aber die vollsynthetische musik
gepaart mit träumerischen klangflächen lassen einen von einer welt träumen
mit robotern als ehefrau und einem tamagotchi haustier.
nichts für freunde handgemachter musik, aber für alle die
neue interessante musik entdecken wollen. jawoll ja.
deck5aft, Amazon.de
like dutch label delsin, uk imprint defocus have made a name for their
soulful melodic and chilled interpretation of techno, and this debut
album from bulgarian artist esem will only serve to strengthen their
name. keeping things to a strictly laidback tempo, for the most part
esem fuses mournful synths and sensuous strings with hissing percussion
and hip-hop influenced beats and, though he occasionally surfaces to
introduce a 4/4 beat - check "postledd" - the really impressive thing
about "enveloped" is its melodies. from the plaid-style "tanji" to the
pretty hooks of "sbroots", this is emotive electronic music that's not
afraid to celebrate its influences.
richard brophy, dj
this cd consists of relatively minimal tracks, very much in the vein of hermann and klein,
telefon tel aviv, ulrich schnauss, etc. some breaks and glitch-hop style beats are to be
found here along with some very sweet and wonderful, i really mean, wonderful melodies.
clint anderson
Undoubtedly the best release on DeFocus to date, Enveloped has both
broad appeal and startling accessibility. This album is utterly free of
the pretension, whilst at the same time feeling both unique and
inspiring. It is an album that, were it given the wider attention it so
richly deserves, would be the ideal platform with which to convince
non-IDM listeners that this genre can be truly beautiful and genuinely
moving.
igloomag, read complete review
A finely detailed album of solid melodic electro tinged electronic music put together with great care. nice!
Expanding top 10, bbc
[reviewing "preledd" on FutureDesignDays] This is magic! Stop
the world! Silencium. This is the music that we would fall in love to if
we were robots. Totally otherworldly and absolutely unique. ...if I were
to decide what G Biggabush and Mr Blair should do tomorrow, I would
place them in front of a rather huge soundsystem placed on top of Mount
Everest and play this tune on repeat until they digested the message.
futuredesigndays
After the delightful "Ikae" 12" release on Defocus in 2001, Esem
returns with this full-length album entitled Enveloped. The 13
tracks contained on the CD version all contain brilliant beats
programming, bass and beautiful melodies. The compositions are all
strikingly well balanced. That is, Esem's music isn't at all to be
categorized as minimal, but neither is it to be regarded as burdened by
over production, it's just that, very well balanced. The rhythmic
strength in his music is especially noticeable, and it's a display of a
not to complicated, but nevertheless interesting percussive elements,
giving the tracks plenty of forward motion. And in combination with the
strong melodies, sounds, creating tracks that are very enjoyable indeed.
Sure, there's a lot of stuff that is more abstract and complex, but
there's few that is as nice sounding. The closing words: a very
complete album debut by Esem that stands a good chance of becoming
timeless.
electronic desert / resurface, read full
Striking a deal with DeFocus (CiM, Tim Koch, Lackluster), Bulgaria's
Esem created a minor stir with the release of his proper debut,
Enveloped. The album pilfered from a pool of irritable digital pops,
like much of the Warp roster, but used them as last-minute window
dressing instead of its only motive. For the most part, this worked, and
Esem proved capable of delivering unique bottom-heavy downtempo with a
particular attachment toward the unrushed breakbeat, a tactic which
suggested someone ready to sacrifice serenity in hopes of a subtle,
engaged debut.
Dean Carlson, allmusic
Osteuropa ist total im Kommen. Wer h.tte gedacht, dass nach dem Zerfall
des Warschauer Paktes in absehbarer Zeit 12 Staaten zur EU zusto.en
werden? Unsere zuk.nftigen Nachbarn haben zwar so ihre liebe M.he bei
der Realisierung der 31 Kapitel des "Acquis communautaire", aber im
Bereich der Musik scheinen sie, uns in einigen Teilen voraus zu sein.
Der bulgarische K.nstler Esem beweist mit seiner LP, dass Elektronika
nicht nur steril und kalt klingen muss. Zwar h.lt er sich mit der
Verwendung von vielen Elementen dezent zur.ck und bleibt eher
minimalistisch, aber er zaubert zeitlos sch.ne Melodien und sph.rische
Klangstrukturen hervor, die in den einzelnen St.cke ihre besondere
Faszination ausstrahlen und zur vollen Entfaltung kommen. Sehr relaxt
kommt das Album daher und macht Spa. auf mehr.
level 47
This is precious, gentle electronica gliding smoothly through 13 tracks
of safe but lovely mood music. Head for the ace 'twosided' for washes
of slightly eerie keys and some crunchy percussion weaved together
making for all things lush, while the excellent 'sbroots' comes across
almost Casino Vs Japan-like with some sundrenched keys and spacious
production sitting alongside some hip-hop paced squashed beats. Nice.
boomkat
Esem beherrschen es zwar so elegisch elektronikam.ssig zu wirken, dass
selbst der beil.ufigste Freund von gebrochenen Beats und schwebenden
Melodien noch ganz ergriffen ist, gleichzeitig aber fallen sie immer
wieder aus dem Rahmen heraus, weil sie ihren Melodien dann doch noch
diesen Hang geben zu wuchern und sich nicht einfach mit ein paar mollig
weichen Harmonien zufrieden zu geben, sondern aufflattern wie ein Haufen
verschreckter Schmetterlinge die grade geschl.pft sind. 13 feine
kuschelige Tracks die man immer h.ren kann und den grossen Namen des
Business in nichts nachstehen.
de:bug
Running out of descriptions for the output of Defocus, who continue to
lead the field of inspirational techno, which continues to take the AI
baton further into the future. Bulgaria's George Marinov steps to the
longplayer plate, following his "Ikae" debut with sophomore outing
that sees the click and whir of studio equipment expand into a life
fulfilling synthetic prophecy. The thirteen tracks gathered here amount
to a timeless album enjoying a hard-to-place immediacy which is more
chilled than chill out, more accessible than most electronica and as
emotional as modern classical -- something to own and revere.
deconstructed records
Dunno who coined the phrase "it's what's on the inside that
counts", but Esem's debut album embodies this maxim. Packaged in mellow techno
livery, and with a track list straight out of the Black Dog dictionary
of jabberwocky, 'Enveloped' could easily be written of as yet another
Boards Of Canada wannabe. But, mercifully, this is no poor Warp
reflection. Instead, as the title suggests, it vibrates in its own world
of defly ponderous and organic synth electronica, oblivious to all. But
if comparisons to Boards have to be made, and undoubtley will,
'Enveloped' differs by operating on a more melodic basis. Opener,
'Neaudea Ettin (Eloki)', is a soft bass delicacy, while the ever
building textures on 'Tetaby' and 'Postledd' create a cocoon of
flickering percussion and hushed hop-a-long beats. No pretententions
and, no statements, this is easy listening for the techno-minded. ***
Nina Lawson, jockeyslut
background music of the bulgarian kind. not that you'd know it:
'artificial intelligence'-style home listening techno doesn't vary a
great deal from birmingham to bangkok. that said, 'enveloped' has all
the right beats in all the right places, and occasionally familiarity
breeds contentment. pour me a sherry, darling... (TM) ***(3)/*****(5)
muzik
