The X-Structure is a four man electronic project based in South Africa. Various definitions of their music come to mind: Down-Tempo, Trip-hop, Chilled-Out, Breakbeat, all having a certain accuracy. Yet this ensemble does what the best of its kind does well and that is creating an atmospheric gestalt that allows you to bypass the artificial boundaries and just dig the sounds. The X-Structure has four albums, all under creative commons license, that should please the connoisseur of trippy music.

West-Coast Trip is a good example of that down-tempo grind meaning it is relaxing with a taste of the groove. “Strive To Honor” has a nice beat and a melody of the trip-hop variety while “Subversive” send out industrial vibes that suggests its title. This is a good album for background listening and just plain chilling.

Days of Nights is another good chill-out album. Obviously it’s going to hard to get through this review with breaking a record for the use of the word “chill” but that is the term that describes this laid-back ensemble the best. Actually this album is a bit light in tone with the first two tracks having a Mike Oldfield feel to it. Other tracks like “Gumshoe” are fairly lush and cinematic.

Earth Epic gets to a odd start using samples from Neil Armstrong and Martin Luther King to create a form of social message with a repeated line, “There’s nothing that cannot be done”. I’m not sure it is a successful blend of message and music but again we have a collection of good down-tempo in the rest of the recording. This album appears to be sort of a travelogue of sound and visions with a global focus.

Their latest release in 3 in 1 and is just that: three tracks on an EP. It is a bit short at less than 20 minutes but it may also be your best intro to this electronic ensemble. “Create Equally” is a another socially minded track while “Give Freely” and “Dream On” tend to be a bit mystical in feeling. I like this album a little better than the others but whatever one you choose will give what is promised: relaxing grooves, a heady sound and down-tempo delights.

And for those who must have a complete collection, there is also The Remix Experiments Part 01. There are remixes that feature the voice of Shannon Hurley. Shannon has a really nice voice and for that alone these tracks are worth downloading. Yet I can help thinking that these song versions were a sort of afterthought.

All albums are available in 192kbps MP3.

Download
3 in 1
Earth Epic
Days of Night
The Remix Experiment Part 01
Westcoast Trip