Concert Review: Liminal Roots at Dubai’s Chill Out Festival

The 5^th Annual Chill Out Festival at the Atlantis Resort celebrates jazz, R ‘n B, and soft rock in an intimate beach venue on Dubai’s Palm Island, from April 8^th to 9^th, 2011.

Chill Out Festival in Dubai is at once two nights of mellow music and an immense, high-energy beach party. Each realm bleeds into the other. Sometimes the electrified crowd inspires the placid artists to push the volume a little higher or boost the song up a few beats per minute and sometimes a reflective, down-tempo track takes the edge off of the crowd, who suddenly finds the soft sand beneath them to be an inviting bed on which to repose.

Dubai-based ambient DJ, Liminal Roots, did this well during his set on the first night of the festival, transporting the audience to “far off soundscapes” as promised in the evening’s event guide.

Liminal Roots started things off with one of this unplaceable sample’s that sound like something out of an old movie and while the audience puzzled over the piece’s message, LR began concocting a smooth rhythm that eventually overtook the mysterious monologue.

This progression of one track smoothly eclipsing the one before it continued for the entirety of his 90 minute set. Listeners rested comfortably on the sand, sipping drinks and looking out over the water as it lapped gently at the shore. Meanwhile, LR continued to radiate vibes from behind the turntable, slowly bringing the tempo up until the ambience almost became noticeable.

By the end of LR’s set, those in attendance had taken notice of the steady beats. Heads began to nod as the track teetered on the verge of being dance-appropriate. Liminal Roots grinned broadly from behind the steel wheels. As the sun set over the water, the guru brought his followers back to the start of the journey and bowed out to a smattering of applause from a crowd too mellow to exert much more effort.

Listen and download Liminal Roots mixes here.