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Aquila - Aqua Divae (Psy-Harmonics 1994)
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moondancer
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
32
Posts :
69
Posted : Sep 1, 2004 10:25
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1 A.M.
2 Roof Of The World
3 Positive
4 My Secret Garden
5 Phyquen
6 The Awakening
7 Sunshower
8 Turquoise
9 Aqua Divae
This is DIVINE!!! This together with the Dance 2 Trance album are THE best early trance CDs I have! Aquila is apparently a certain Matthew Thomas, and a little search on discogs.com shows that he still was releasing stuff at the end of the 90s! I can't wait to get my hands on those albums, I wonder how his sound evloved.
AM is an extremely dreamy downtempo track. It's so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I must've listened a million times to it and I'm still not tired of it!!! It reminds me of RA Wilson's saying that Beethoven somehow transcribed impressions felt with the 5th brain circuit into feelings perceptible by normal human beings with the 3rd brain circuit. (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, read Cosmic Trigger 1  ) If such a thing were true, than this track does exactly that IMO.
Roof of the world is a repetitive track with a sample of a digeridoo, very hypnotic, very... trance inducing!
Positive has all the ingredients of old acid techno (stuff like Armando): that tinny 303 line (not the kind you're used to in stuff after 96) and the overall moody feeling of the track (definaltey NOT positive as the name would suggest...). It's basically a more complex form of acid techno with atmospheres added to it
My Secret Garden is another one of my favorites. The slow trance-inducing progression is simply incredible. Again, this is one I've listened to many many times and I'm still not bored with it!!
I find Phyouen less enjoyable, The Awakening is a nice ambient track.
Sunshower is the track with highest BPMs... one of the first morning trance tracks? It has 303s and a nice myserious atmosphere to it, but I found it less good than the other stuff here.
Turquiose again has a very nice mystical melody, I like this one a lot as well 
The title track Aqua Divae is beatless ambient, it has 303s and a lot of nature samples in it (bird singing, dolphins...). Although it isn't really for relaxing, the whole track has a menacing feeling, sortof like a message saying that soon these wildlife animals will be extinct due to mankind's greed and stupidity. Gotta be a genious to send such a message without a single word in your track
Conclusion 10/10!! This is GREAT for homelistening! Of course the production sounds dated (especially those very tinny 303 lines) but it is VERY good!! I wonder how geniuses like these just faded away and have been replaced by mediocre talents who copy-paste music that's already around. Keep in mind that not only is this good by today's standards, but that back in those days there basically wasn't anything to inspire the artist!! This is PURE genious and creativity. If you can still find a copy on eBay buy it now, you won't regret it!!!
moondancer (Lemmiwinks from psynews and sonicblend) |
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Voice of All
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
48
Posts :
762
Posted : Sep 1, 2004 12:09
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Thanks a lot, moondancer for these both reviews of such old releases. I think now on the top of long evolution of trance music its very important to turn back from time to time to realize what music was there in the very begining. Thanks again.
 Spiritual guides are to practice and serve in ways that cultivate awareness, empathy, and wisdom. |
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