Mohan

Mohan is the newest offering from Seattle-based Dave Nugent. Nugent’s bio claims he is an award winning producer, composer, and film-scorer. While I am not familiar with his past work, I am apt to believe the claim. This is the composition of a professional, and this music is nothing short of art.
As Is Where Is is a graceful mixture of ambient textures drifting among skitterish IDM beats, organic tribal sounds, and the beautifully layered female vocals gracing at least five tracks. Nugent’s work here brings to mind anything from Delerium, Future Sound of London, and…Well…Pretty much anything. Mohan seems to touch on every end of the electronic spectrum, encasing it all in an easy-listening shell.
Mohan’s As Is Where Is is a brilliantly crafted album; Calming and chill till the last moment. This is a great accent to any laid-back afternoon. My recommendation goes out to anyone who enjoys trance, ambient, or electronic jazz music.
- Chain DLK http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/index.php?rl=1&id=2404

This release from 2005 offers 61 minutes of techno music.
Sprightly electronic surges are tempered with lively beats and dense e-perc. Looping patterns conspire with engaging keyboards to generate a lavishly frolicsome experience. Buzzing sounds blend with crystalline sweeps and twanged noises to achieve a liquid environment of crisply uptempo tuneage. Foundational harmonics support a plethora of tireless riffs designed to activate your rhythm sense and coax you into making any place a suitable dancefloor. Slippery melodies spill out with abandon.

The drumming consists of mechanical beats and with a touch of more organic tempos. While most of these rhythms are languid, they nicely compliment the luxuriously frenetic sentiments displayed by the sultry music.

The guitars are cleverly hidden for the most part, functioning as subliminal embellishment for the club-hopping sound.
Female vocals provide lilting lyrical content. They discuss living life to the fullest.
Although this music is disguised as hip hop, one gets the feeling that the tuneage is actually targeted for a more accessible market.
- Sonic Curiosity http://www.soniccuriosity.com/sc233.htm

I think the description written down in the accompanying bio sheet tells it all perfectly: “Vocals like Delerium, melodies of William Orbit, BT, and the newest, freshest sounds of Thievery Corporation and Sasha”. Well said friend! Perfectly juxtaposing all the best in electronica, Mohan blends gorgeous female vocals, ambient grooves, and smooth downtempo beats. The group is really just composer whiz Dave Nugent who made his mark in the jazz world some twenty years ago. He continues to write compelling ambient and downtempo music that relies on his jazzy compositions for inspiration. - Smother.net http://www.smother.net/reviews/techno.php3?ID=383

Mohan's "As Is Where Is" combines the musical style of Delerium with the rich vocal tones of Olive, and although singer Havilah comes across slightly less soulful, the delivery is just as longing. And when comparing Mohan to Delerium, it's not the more recent sound, its a reference to classic "Semantic Spaces" era Delerium.

Each song in this album is a combination of sweeping, spacey synths, warm, sensual moods, thick bass lines, and smooth, mellow beats that yearn to make a more than surface level connection with their listener.
Despite his heavy history with jazz and film scores, the music of Mohan, while still maintaining its jazzy roots has more in common with the sound of electronic artists like Delerium, William Orbit, and Olive.

If you're familiar with the regional style of Northwestern US downtempo music, you'll easily spot the influence in Mohan, which reveals itself strongly in the vocal style, organic-inorganic synth work and percussive rhythms. Thrown into the mix, you'll also hear a little Latin flavor and some jazz influence that reaches back to the early experience of Mohan founder, Dave Nugent.

This album is a true surprise and highly recommended for fans of "Semantic Spaces" era Delerium, Olive, or those seeking emotionally based, electronic downtempo music with feminine atmospheres and smooth beats.

- Properly Chilled http://www.properlychilled.com/music/release/profile.php?view=165