Five BC is Bruce Cohen’s latest twelve-song electronic excursion that continues his signature take on ambient music with the added element of funk. His 2017 album Four BC was a constrained four-minute per song experiment, while Five BC was recorded with a no time limit total stream-of-conscience approach. Cohen literally took to heart Miles Davis’ witticism when asked the name of the song he was about to perform saying, “I’ll play it and tell you later,” so Cohen didn’t title his songs until after they were recorded. The result is tracks that are an indisputable electronic classic, using a progressive house groove while weaving atmospheric textures of subtlety and beauty, demonstrated by Cohen’s artful skill of manipulating various moods.
The album’s dramatic kick-off with Groovatronic, Push Play, and Kaiju, are prime, spacey grooves with deep slamming bass lines and speaker ripping noise. Between-the-grooves ambient songs like Silence, Sunday, and Requiem rival some of the Eno/Bowie Low album tracks. Ensuring there’s something on the album for every electronic music lover, Cohen included a Latin mood track, Electric Samba, that dares you to try not dancing.
On Five BC Cohen has created his most complete album yet by ensuring listeners can get their groove-on, or just chill-out to some ambient vibes. The album is constructed for repeated listening, rather than a quick-fix, with a sound that is compelling, inventive, dazzling and diverse. It’s all there, all you have to do is listen.
∎ Tarock Music, August 18, 2018
