Throw Shadowfax and Planet Drum into the same room, close the door and let them jam. The result will undoubtedly sound a lot like Rhizomorph's funk-driven, world-music-inspired Xenofilika. Rhizomorph mixes his influences and intentions nicely across the disk's ten tracks. After two pulse-raising uptempo tunes ("Bangi Takatifu" and "Latent Ferality") that smack deliciously of Africa and the Middle East, he slows the pace with the contemplative "13th Bliss," thick with guitar glissandos and breath-calming groove. That gets kicked out of the way for the frenetic rush of "Dawamesc," which rockets the listener back to that Middle Eastern sense as a tabla beat rages on against waves of electronica. Then "Khasafa" lumbers in on drums that have clearly helped themselves to a tab of acid and chills the room right back out. This track is psychedelic, trippy and trancey—a feel that carries into electro-tribal pulse of "Cave Prayer." Having offered a pleasant brain massage, Rhizomorph next drops the listener back into a quieter realm beginning with the melancholy "Regret du Jour" and melting into "Sakra" where environmental elements accent slow chords and electronic exhalations that feel like a look inside someone else's sadness. The mood brightens, appropriately, with the loungey ease of "Skyward." (A slight change of feel late in the piece threatens to mar it but Rhizomorph brings it back where it belongs for the last minute.) The circle closes on the last track, "Theta Phase," as the drums roll back in and we're back in Shadowfax territory with a solid, dominant bassline and a rich world-music feel. Xenofilika is a superb debut CD from an artist worth watching. Expect more and better from Rhizomorph—but in the meantime, get this disc.

— John Shanahan, Hypnagogue.com

The debut effort from bay area artist Rhizomorph, entitled Xenofilika, is a musical translation of freedom, that much sought-after state which might arise immediately on entering a sumptuous global fusion hotel suite where you find your luggage already unpacked, a stocked refrigerator full of tiny exotic drinks, and the horizon glowing with a magical sunset. Rare? Indeed.
 
Each track of this ethno-ambient creation is a soundstage for new fantasies. Diverse and alluring psychedelic worldbeat elements marry to create an intimate atmosphere, both profound and light, that stimulates visions of exotic landscapes. This is music intended for those who like variety, intellectual delight, and the pleasure of genuine musical constructions, not just the simplistic repeating patterns so typical in the genres of ambient and chill.
 
As one listens to this collection unravel, creatively-layered ambient, downtempo, and world fusion soundscapes lilt by, their common foundation apparently being a highly charged musical imagination. It is like a snow scene opening up for a skier: We climb peaks, feel the change in velocity in our hair, and allow the travel to take us wherever it might. Xenofilika is an intruiging work of global fusion featuring highly listenable, ever-flowing tribal inspirations which give way to gentler pleasures toward the end of the disc.

In the peaceful dusk of music, a poet sighs, the "do not disturb" sign hangs outside, and inside the same sign reads: "Stay."
 
Close your eyes and take the journey. No passport required.

--Claire-France Perez