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Ace Ventura - "Re:Boot" (Iboga rec. nov. 08)
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aden
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Nov 17, 2008 17:14:59
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Artist : Ace Ventura
Title : Re:Boot
Label : Iboga
Format : Double CD
Release date : nov. 2008
Tracklist:
1. Morning Blues (Ace Ventura rmx)
2. M.A.R.S (Gaudium rmx)
3. Presence (Motion Drive rmx)
4. Psychic Experience (Aerospace rmx)
5. Sao Paulo (Sensient rmx)
6. The John (Quantize rmx)
7. The Light (Zen Mechanics rmx)
8. Exposed (Liquid Soul rmx)
9. Serenity Now (XV Kilist, Rocco rmx)
10. Presence (Khainz rmx)
11. R.I.S.E (Rocky rmx)
12. Presence (Shadow FX, Interpulse rmx)
13. Sao Paulo (Astronivo rmx)
14. Let Go (Duca rmx)
15. Psychic Experience (Perfect Stranger rmx)
16. Serenity Now (Fiord rmx)
17. The Light (Bluetech rmx)
As in most success stories, things go fast: since his first track released 4 years ago, Ace Ventura has now become one of the most in-demand acts in the Trance scene. There is hardly a week-end that does not see his name featured on some prestigious line-up. Hardly a club or mega festival in the party world where he has not been. Last year saw him widely acclaimed for his debut album, released at Iboga. And this spring confirmed his planetary reputation when he was awarded the title of best psy-trance artist at the Beatport awards. But Yoni Oshrat’s talent does not limit itself to firing up dancefloors with his high octane, hard pounding, forceful Progressive. He is a great compiler whose outlook embraces the full spectrum of Progressive and he keeps an expert and alert eye on the new trends in the scene. Hence the remix album he is presenting to us: it encompasses some of the talented regulars he has been associated with in music composition. But also some of the hot names rejuvenating Progressive spanning from Europe to the far-reaches of Down Under.
CD 1
1. Morning Blues (Ace Ventura rmx)
The Ace himself opens this richly-endowed album, with a long rmx of a morning ballad from Perfect Stranger’s first album “Learning=Change”. It starts with a meandering debut, the kick/drum combo taking its definitive and signature rolling drive after 3’. The track strikes the right balance between the sweet melodic register and catchy riffs of the original which are still clearly audible, and the fat psy-prog arrangements, the whole lot being perfectly engineered.
2. M.A.R.S (Gaudium rmx)
Swedish Duo Gaudium put their own spin on the dark tribal monster from the Ace’s debut album. Gaudium has substantially changed their style with their second album, released last year at Iboga. This instalment confirms this trend as it probes their new sound, drawing a lot on the slowed down full-on inspiration. No doubt the predominant roaring synths in the second half of the track will have a positive impact on the dance floor, but they are, as are most of the orchestration devices here, copy-pasted from the original, and therefore make this take quite redundant, triggering very little interest.
3. Presence (Motion Drive rmx)
Zurich-based producer Philip Guillaume, better known as Motion Drive, and his side projects Rumble Pack and Natural Flow is a regular at Iboga. Even if his skills in production are undeniable, I’ve never been impressed by the originality of his output up until now. But let’s not beat about the bush, he delivers here his best tune, and this rmx is top notch. It mixes epic slabs of large reverberated trancey pads, with melodic bits of the original, stacked atop an fierce bouncy bassline. Things break cleverly with a crescendo built up on drums, pitch shifting stabs and the recall of the voice sample. The inspired final bars unfold the grand outdoor trancey style at the perfectly progressive pace of 130 bpm. Hats off: this is definitely one of the strongest assets of this CD.
4. Psychic Experience (Aerospace rmx)
The affinity between Guy Shanti’s project Aerospace and Ace Ventura were evident right from the beginning of Yoni’s career, the former giving a glimmering version of the latter’s seminal piece “cardiac arrest”, which was eventually performed in the 2006 live sets of our man. That said, their musical styles are quite close, but it is hard to beat the master on his home pitch. Expect a pounding rhythmic combo, and extra Goa-ish touches such as a transposed lead or a drastically abridged melody, and you have a hard rocking tool in itself, but in no way a groundbreaking one.
5. Sao Paulo (Sensient rmx)
Sensient, the alias of Melbourne-based producer & Zenon label manager Tim Larner has really sounded out the the dark-psy depths of the original: he plunges the listener into the horror of Count Dracula’s castle — not the sexy Coppola version, but the black and white expressionism of Murnau’s Nosferatu. It’s even darker, more techy and psy than the original, finely nuanced with an infectiously deep throbbing bassline and brief synth lines or vocal snippets streaking like a bat in the night. The intensity builds up towards the ultimate assault of the last sequences. As brilliant and fascinating as a canvas by Soulages! An absolute winner in this album. No doubt this will be in serious rotation in the months to come.
6. The John (Quantize rmx)
The Israeli Duo Quantize, with an artist album due out soon at Iboga, takes “the John”, released on the “New Order” compilation, further off the sidewalk into psy-ish territories. The rhythmic section is complexified and made even more effective with a transposed galloping bassline and extra stabs. The additional, well-orchestrated whip hits contrasting with the reverb-laden zooming synths nicely hook you up with the female voice sample and conspire to make of this rmx another dance floor magnet. Great teaser for the upcoming album!
7. The Light (Zen Mechanics rmx)
Wouter Thomassen, the flying Dutchman associated with Neurobiotic, puts his nimble finger on this anthem cowritten with Lish. He has lightly skimmed off part of the cheesy excesses of the original but has kept its anthemic power and hand-in-the air potential. Expect a relentless, deep, banging rhythmic combo, and a solid dancefloor monster, just as he did with BBE.
8. Exposed (Liquid Soul rmx)
Progressive star Nicola Capobianco aka Liquid Soul is another pet detective collaborator in music writing. His rmx explores the rather soulful side of the Ace by picking out the most melodic track from his debut album. He delivers a festival of audiophile effects, until the melodic dimension is unveiled in the break. Very little is added to the seminal piece, both in structure and in the main and counter motifs, which are simply expanded with large reverb. For that reason it may not be on par with the very best numbers of his recently released second opus, yet LS fan will thrive on this one.
9. Serenity Now (XV Killist & Rocco rmx)
Swiss master Kilian Horvath, also known as XV Kilist, and Ramon Rocchinotti have been partners in music writing and in label management (Traktor Schallabor) for quite a few years now, and they can boast a respectable number of albums and licences at some of the most influential progressive labels. Their take on the original Ace Ventura track modifies the style of the seminal piece, here developing a rather easy-going progressive trance, fit for a beach setting, thanks to the bouncy, syncopated, Siffredian bassline. The glittering, tight arpeggio of the lead combined with the nicely contrasted chords and soaring pads unfold a nice array of sun-filled contrasting harmonies and intelligent beats. Again, this is very nice remixing job, decidedly taking the original to different territories. |
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aden
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Nov 17, 2008 17:15
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CD 2
10. Presence (Khainz rmx)
Khainz is the progressive-side project of Simon Schwendener, still better known as Freakulizer, who has just compiled recently for Echoes. He has retained a fair amount of the seminal psy orchestration –which make the original still very recognizable in the intial bars – but the techy reworking is quite stunning. The most striking aspects are the intricate play of percussive rolls and rattles layered upon each other throughout the mix, and the original fairy-talesque interlude in the break that sharply contrasts with the re-entry of the growling throaty bassline. A very cogent rmx to kick off this second CD and a startling DJ tool. Double thumps up!
11. R.I.S.E (Rocky rmx)
The next surprise comes from Israel. Rocky, the well known full-on project of Roy Tilbor delivers here a surprising blend of prog-housy beats but spiced up with a D-cup-siliconed bassline, while the thematic intervals of the original are modulated throughout the track and made more audible in the break even if they’re mixed with real fake sounding drum rolls. But fat and pumping all the way.
12. Presence (Shadow FX, Interpulse rmx)
The collab of Melbourne fame and pioneer Shadow Fx (of the Zenon roster) and Interpulse (Echoes) join forces to give a dark and tribal rendition of “Presence” in a typical stripped-back trancey mood. The tempo is substantially slowed down but does not give up the full-on oriented groove. The reverberated pads, and plenty of minute squeaks and percussion flourishes might remind you of early Freqish notes. Nice and thoroughly radiated with the vibes of the Aussie bush doof.
13. Sao Paulo (Astronivo rmx)
The Astronivo boys have impressed me lately with their recent release “Heat the music”. Pursuing that trend, they take a techy sort of path into Sao Paolo, although the ominous presence of large reverberated and filtered pads in the first half gives a nod to its trancey roots. They’re swapped for “Jew’s harp” sounding arrangement which accentuates the metallic, indus stomping rhythmic pulsation which sets up a rather dark backdrop to Sao Paulo. Well done! even though I prefer the seduction of the above-mentioned track. But keep an eye on this talented duo, there is more exciting music signed by this pair to come out soon...
14. Let Go (Duca rmx)
Serbian producer Duca Sekic is now firmly established among the most wanted producers of the progressive scene. His rendition waits 2” before it really kicks off. The percussion work plods along, ticking as excitingly as a metronome, backed by a pulsing bassline which sets the pace but also seems just to trudge along in that context. All in all his rmx lacks urgency, as exemplified by the break – quite bland – as it neither brings tension nor suspense and the back up of trancey pads in the end does not dissipate the lack of inspiration. I’ve seen much better from him.
15. Psychic Experience (Perfect Stranger rmx)
Yuli Fershtat, once a music-writing companion of the Ace, tells quite a different story here. His rmx is drenched with sunny, easy-going groove that chugs along and travels patiently through lo-fi percussion, hissing hi-hat and a rich tapestry of sounds. The style belongs to the same creative vein as his last album, although the techy element is reduced to muffled tingling string arrangements, and yet it is recognisable thanks to the soaring, sly, sinuous, and thoroughly immersive loops in the last sequences. As a result you have another beguiling contribution from the Stranger, maybe not as driving as the most epic tunes in his last album, but a couple of months ago, it was featured in his live set, and –believe me– it hit the crowd at the right spot.
16. Serenity Now (Fiord rmx)
Fiord, the side and currently main project of Kiwi fames Hayden and Barton Strom, internationally known as Antix, gives a radical and rather fascinating techno interpretation of “Serenity now”. It was the most Freq-inspired piece of the Ace’s storming debut album. Very little remains of the original except the audible two-note gurgle that made up the main motif. And this is quite a radical rmx indeed, with a lot of groove derived from the additional, “aquatic serenade” bassline. The percussion work is transposed to another register, giving it a glass bell-like quality, and undergoes a perky minimal reworking on simple octaves. The vocal snippets are shredded to bits and are arranged with catchy effects. This output which originally came out on EP in the wake of their great rmx of this year’s hit “Shnorkel”, and before their stunning reworking of Perfect Stranger, confirmed the ascension of the Auckland wonderboys to the firmament.
17. The Light (Bluetech rmx)
Bluetech is one of the many aliases under which Evan Bartholomew publishes his music. No less than 14 albums so far, focussing on a wide range of down tempo tech, tech-house, minimal, electro, experimental electronica etc, some produced with Steve Hillage. For the closing track, he retaining just enough of the original material to make it identifiable, and serves up a nice soft break-beat driven slice of ambiant, with a dubby touch, all twisted up with lysergic drop in the end.
Bottom line
Trust the Ace for his flair and do yourself a favour: pick this very generous release up as soon as you can. The minor rmxes are by far outnumbered. This double CD album is substantially filled with top-quality dance floor material, taken from a wide range of styles, some truly outstanding.
Related links
www.iboga.dk
www.myspace.com/ibogarecords
www.myspace.com/aceiboga
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Djones
IsraTrance Senior Member
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Posted : Nov 17, 2008 18:39
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Very nice review!
I cannot wait to order this cd, looks marvelous really.
Having real high expectations of this one for sure. |
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DjSchofield
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Nov 17, 2008 23:09
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Can't wait to hear the Sensient and Shadow FX/Interpulse remixes...!
Definitely a release to snap up! |
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Shahar Indepth
Indepth
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416
Posted : Nov 18, 2008 23:34
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some really fantastic music here...mu current fave's are the Astronivo remix and the zen mechanics remix.
top release fo' sho'
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www.myspace.com/depthsof |
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hkghost
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Nov 19, 2008 03:06
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Amazing work by ace and the iboga crew. They even managed to use some of my photos in the booklet =)
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Steve00
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Nov 20, 2008 00:35
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Two words! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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bricktop
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Posted : Nov 20, 2008 13:09
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nice work on this one...ace's remix on morning blues and motion drive's remix are my favorites..at least till now 
Good luck on this one!!
 one toke over the line sweet jesus :> |
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0hz
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Nov 20, 2008 18:33
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10/10 .
keep it up. |
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a3k
IsraTrance Team
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Posted : Nov 20, 2008 21:33
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i enjoyed very much the 1st 9 tracks..the "new wave" on the second part, not my cup of tea..but the 1st part just blew me away!
simply fantastic music
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Tomer
Yotopia
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Posted : Nov 21, 2008 15:00
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still waiting to hear some of it ... 
good luck Ace , i know this one is gonna be a smasher
visit us on myspace.com/yotopia |
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Glen.C (Iboga Rec)
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Nov 22, 2008 00:40
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Pokerface
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Posted : Nov 22, 2008 13:38
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what a great album!
yoni always no what the crowd want to hear/
the 2 cd`s are great.
my favorite so far:
Morning Blues (Ace Ventura rmx)
Sao Paulo (Sensient rmx)
The Light (Zen Mechanics rmx)
Presence (Khainz rmx)
Presence (Shadow FX, Interpulse rmx)
Psychic Experience (Perfect Stranger rmx)
i going to dig this album at leat 2 months from now.
yoni, keep on rocking in the free world ! |
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papay
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Posted : Nov 22, 2008 14:03
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besides sensient&shadow fx remixes i found this once again boring to the max this could have been easily been a 1 cd recording so many pointless remixes gaudium,zen mechanics,liquid soul the sprinklers in my pants came off of the shock effect those remixes gave me
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phasetech
Float
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Posted : Nov 22, 2008 19:39
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this album rocks! so many great tracks here!
my favourites are sensient, astronivo, khainz, shadow fx and zen mechanics remixes, but the others are very good too!!
www.soundcloud.com/float |
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