Another treat for those who enjoyed the lush, delicate atmospheres of the last features: the Some Bright Valley ep by UK artist Northcape, put out by the monotonik netlabel. Like a pleasant summer's walk through nature, a variety of sensations float through the air, stimulating your senses and relaxing your mind. a bed of long pad and string notes mixed with subtle environmental sounds is accented by almost organic-sounding synth leads, and held together by smooth basses and steady grooves. the short playing time is cause for repeated listening; drifting away on the sound, into a world of light filtered through leaves, gentle rain, and deep reflective pools. the warmth of summer is not yet completely gone, and Northcape helps it to hold on a little longer...
Hiddenplace music blog (05 Sept 08)

Northcape had already the right to a feature in our blog with his album "Detach". His latest work is this one " Some Bright Valley EP", and it was released by the already classic netlabel, Monotonik. With a springtime title, this Ep is very fresh, a fusion of sonorities from IDM Downtempo, trip-hop and Chill Out, very relaxing yet transporting sounds, that takes us through quiet forests and green fields, whispering pleasant and addictive melodies into our ears.
Braindance music blog (with thanks to Metricks for translating from the Portuguese)

"Northcape was a fresh surprise, that I discovered; while pre-screening another ambient CD offering. I really don't get the direct musical connection to the very eclectic, Boards of Canada, except in regard to the pair's ability to create very seminal, atmospheric constructs. If I were to attempt a futile comparison of Northcape to anyone, it would probably be, the reclusive Marconi Union offering [Distance]. This is the perfect muse-music for an afternoon of thoughtful reflection, or just a "Get-Out-of-Jail-Free" card for boredom between waystations. The production value is excellent with a great final result. This is an above-average effort on all counts, so please give it a try!"
Zephyr- comment left on cdbaby

"I first found Northcape on Last fm and downloaded a couple of tracks, as you do, but the mark of quality is that the same afternoon I bought the whole cd. I love this album, the tracks are like tickets to little mind journeys. 'Under The Fog of A Winters Dawn' is a fave but each one is a delight. Perfect for chilling out to, it's rolling,inventive, haunting & atmospheric. Check out Northcape's 'Some Bright Valley' a four track gem. A big recommendation from the world of headcage!"
Headcage- comment left on cdbaby

"Brilliant- perfect electronica. If you like Ulrich Schnauss, Jon Hopkins, Global Communication, prepare to become unreasonably happy. This is beautiful sun-filled electronica, that makes you realise how far the genre has come and how further it will go in the hands of an artist like this- the music is so simple and wonderful. It makes me want to hop in my car, pop this on very loud, and drive into the hills. That must make it good right?"
deepspace

"As the proud owner of Northcape's debut Cd "Letter to Nowhere" I was really looking forward to hearing this one and I wasn't disappointed. The first album was excellent, but this one is even better, showing greater maturity in composition and production.
This is chilled electronica at it's best, with beautiful inter-twining melodic lines that wrap themselves around the brain and don't let go. Great melodies are only half the story though as the right choice of sounds is important, and in this, Northcape proves to be a master of his art. Crystalline synths rise and fall against carefully thought out percussion and magical bass lines that hook you straight in and pull you into an enchanting musical journey.
Northcape avoids all the pitfalls of this genre of electronica and never strays into insipid "New age" or the blandness which a lot of chilled electronica is prone to do. This music serves the brain as well as the heart and new things reveal themselves with repeated listens, always the sign of good music in my opinion.
The stand-out tracks for me on first listen are "Detach", "Hedges" and "Skyline", but that's not to take anything away from the other tracks which are all excellent. There's not one track on this album I could give less than eight out of ten, which in my book means it's a brilliant album and a must-buy.
Anyone who's into intelligent, chilled electronica would do well to check this album out. A consistently beautiful album full of great music.
blipp. (USB)

Northcape excels at beautiful and fluid elctronica that could be described as melodic and mellow but would be better suited by the adjectives, evocative and sensual. He manages to use technology and the genre of electronica and make it sound like hands on instrumentation is being used. If synthesizers could be plucked, Northcape would be the man to do it. It's also complex without being cluttered. Northcape really understands when less is more and that really helps to give some extra weight to the tracks. Not to say the tracks are sparse by any means, the layers and orchestration on the album are formidable. As you can probably guess, I am quite the fan of Northcapes work.
This is an album that has been painstakingly put together by an artist in love with his craft. Everything is where it needs to be. If you like beautiful music then I would heartily recommend 'Detach' and while you are at it you may want to treat yourself with his first album, 'Letter To Nowhere'. It's records like this that help people understand that electronica does not have to mean cold and mechanical. Stand out tracks for me include, 'Hedges' , 'High Water' and 'Fades'.
drt

"This is an album of real quality with some shining moments that will become etched on the mind. From the broken beats of "Under The Fog Of A Winter Dawn" and "Unfinished Question" to the ethereal beauty of "Broken Clouds", this album takes you on a journey, which is at times reminiscent of Boards of Canada and Ulrich Schnauss, but which carves out a sound of it's own, that is uniquely "Northcape". Detach yourself!"
Electronica Monthly

Detach is no doubt reminiscent of Boards of Canada and the lighter works of Aphex Twin, but despite any influences Northcape has drawn upon the album stands strong as having its own character - warbling synths and cut up beats provide a warm sense of familiarity within a tapestry of sound woven with superb attention to detail. From the opening track, Detach, the album provides a lush ambience to ease the listener in and throughout fourteen tracks the album never loses its sense of space, an atmosphere that always complements the drifting harmonies and absorbing melodies. Sun Clears The Mind is a notable highlight - warm chords open the track as spliced drums push it forward before a spaced vocal fills out the ambience. Tracks like Rainfall offer a collage of found sounds and beautiful synth work that remains simple without feeling crude. Though often somewhat melancholy, Detach forms a compelling whole; it's an engrossing album that rewards listeners with an ear for detail.
stompp

Pacific Highway is a top quality track in every sense. The production is crisp, clean and clear and this is as a professional sounding track as you are likely to find anywhere on Soundclick. Pacific Highway is a very soulful offering, smacking of the kind of bread and butter 'Bristol Sound' trip hop that I listened to through the late 90’s. Pixiegut's melancholy vocal is great, and the repeated line of 'it's still morning' fits the mood that Northcape sets out with his music as this is the kind of track that you need to listen to at 5am in the morning to feel its full force. I found that it is very easy to get lost in Pixiegut's voice and miss Northcape's arrangement, which offers lush pads, rhodes, guitars and almost offbeat breaks. That isn't a criticism... far from it in fact! To me that is a key indicator that the balance is just right - neither part over powers the other. That said, I feel that Northcape's track would stand on its own without the vocal - but the vocal becomes the icing on what is an already very tasty cake. Im going back to listen again!

Marks:4.5/5
Breakbeatpimp (@ Soundclick.com) 2008

Northcape, in case you didn't know, has been a stalwart of Soundclick's electronica community for a good many years and yet, surprisingly, I've only ever reviewed one track, and that wasn't really a review per se. Distance was a track Northcape had donated to the Sinewinder CD (Ears International) (July 2006) SC's electronica forum project for the Habitat For Humanity charity. Because it was part of a much larger whole, I was unable to give each track the amount of attention I would normally give them but even so I wrote of Distance 'Northcape is my kind of electronica artist, one who uses mixtures of sounds to get what he is after. This pays off handsomely with Distance, an intoxicating blend of different instruments'. If I said that on such short review time, how much foaming at the mouth would I do with a whole track and the normal amount of time?
Sensitive viewers should look away now.

Should you know of my own music you will know that I am a man of detail. Not for me the tsk-tsk-tsk of most hi-hat rhythms, and apparently not for Northcape either because this track has some lovely touches in that department. Take a little listen to the first thirty seconds or so of Doesn't Feel Like a Long Way and you'll see what I mean. That same detail is also applied to anything else that happens in this track and - given the amount of time he's been doing this - all is as should be expected. Even down to the six minute running length; electronica is by nature a verbose genre that lends itself to extended workouts, which is not to everyones taste. Mine included.
It takes a particular kind of track to overcome some of my predjudices about the genre and and clean, melodic work is one of the keystones of that. It is a standout feature of this track and certainly the first element I took to, after the percussive phase. That's pretty much the way the track crept up on me. Noticing this bit this time, that bit next time. In that way, Doesn't Feel Like a Long Way, is exactly what it says. It might be six minutes long but you certainly won't notice it especially if electronica is your musical nirvana buddy.

Highly Recommended melodic electronica.
Steve Gilmore (August 2008)

Great taste, great moods, simple in the parts but surely enough, repetitive but never overstated and I guess that sometimes it's perfectly acceptable to simply be perfect. WTF is he on about now? Well, without a doubt in a perfect world on a perfect month Northcape could rule the airwaves of any radio in my house, car and headphones at work. Let's just start with the great taste then shall we? Every patch in Part of the Forest is whatever the opposite of offensive and wrong would be: lush, warm, just the right tones in just the right spots. Together they were contemplative, setting off all those visuals a song with the right mood can do so well. Starting to sound like I've made with the Aural Sex already? But whatever is in my ears on this second listen isn't all that dirty. It's a subtle, thought provoking romp through a forest with trees so tall you can't really see the sky as anything but a broken reminder you're under the canopy of Northcapes bloody talented ability to capture a moment and send you all the signals your brain needs to feel better than it could have without.
Aural sex or perhaps some strange kind of electronic crack maybe be present here, as I'm left with my own reminder: This artist belongs on the anthologies with all his better paid/credit soaked peers like Thievery Corp or Kruder & dorf...well give a listen and try and pick one that's better? I dare you!
Kulamafi