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Kino Oko - Alphabetically Divided Highway album review by Lara for Tribal Vision rec
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a'damn
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Sep 10, 2008 01:34
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Taken from my review at: http://kpsu.org/node/27561
Review:
I was hanging out with a girl last night and midway through our hangout, she said:
"I am glad that I decided to hang out tonight. I was thinking of flaking on it because it was a long day at work and I wanted to chill and relax, but this is very chill and I am glad to have the relaxing company."
This is basically my summation for the new Kino Oko album "Alphabetically Divided Highway" from Tribal Vision Records.
I have been listening to this album a lot lately and I am always hesitant when I put it on. I haven't been in the mood for banging twisted psychedelic dance music lately, but I am also not interested in boring trippy chill out music either. After a few starts and stops with other albums, I always look over eventually to see the new Kino Oko sitting there and I put it on. Next thing I know, it is over and I am starting it all over again.
This isn't to say that the album is boring. Definitely not. Nor is it really chill. It is simply different. Different like Outolintu, Rip Van Hippy and Kixotek. This entire album would be highly enjoyable on any substance, including sobriety, and it isn't jarring or trying to overcompensate for anything.
Some artists want to fit the molds and be the best within that mold. Some of these artists are extremely good at doing that too.
Other artists don't care too much about labels and molds and simply want to write interesting music. These artists tend to get thrown into molds by outside audiences who enjoy labeling things; although normally these labels are projected upon the artist, not chosen by the artist. Kino Oko is a hard one to label and describe, so I just label him as Warm. I think Warm is an appropriate label. He warms your mind and brain, stimulating your head while floating in space. He warms your body while you dance to the music or while being cozy under blankets. He warms your soul when you simply don't know what you want to do. Kino Oko is Warm music. I like that. I like Warm music.
Kino Oko's new album 'Alphabetically Divided Highway' is a great album for everyone's collection. Regardless of what music you listen to the most, chances are that you also enjoy Warm music and good decompression moments with your friends. When you find yourself in need of one of those aural moments, put on some Kino Oko and let it sink in.
Your brain, family and friends will thank you for it.
xoxox
-A'damn
  nlm - http://goaconstrictor.com v4.2 |
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Zoopy
IsraTrance Junior Member
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44
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538
Posted : Sep 10, 2008 01:56
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totally agree adam, listened to this on my way home from slammo and it was perfecto |
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Mat N
IsraTrance Senior Member
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272
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1211
Posted : Sep 10, 2008 12:52
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KINO OKO
Bigwigs
Started Topics :
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345
Posted : Sep 10, 2008 14:15
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Hi, thnx for your input and link but is there any chance to know what is written there? i dont know hebrew but i would like to know what this review says.
i preciate your help,
thnx again for all for your effort,
grzegorz
www.kinooko.pl |
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Nathan
IsraTrance Senior Member
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301
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Posted : Sep 10, 2008 15:49
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Hi, Grzegorz: I wrote it but I can't translate the whole review so here is the translation of the last paragraph:
it’s a surprising album: there is no way to know from the beginning to witch direction each track will take you – there is no formulas or patterns. The album is exiting with a calm and gentle way witch will wake you up into something new. It’s a must have album for you're collection.
-=The Meaning Of Life Is To Give Life A Meaning= |
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KINO OKO
Bigwigs
Started Topics :
29
Posts :
345
Posted : Sep 11, 2008 23:48
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thnx, cool. was trying to send PM but your inbox is full
www.kinooko.pl |
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BrettFromTibet
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Sep 17, 2008 01:44
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This is a warm, funky, interesting album... took me about 3 listens to get into it.. but now I like it.
It explores electro without being cliche, and has funk and melody without being too cheesy. And it's psychedelic enough.
It would be a nice change of pitch and flavor to mix into a progressive or full-on DJ set. |
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Templar^
IsraTrance Full Member
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105
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Posted : Oct 13, 2008 21:37
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Kino Oko - Alphabetically Divided Highway
Tribal Vision Records, 2008
1. Any Kind Of Structure
2. Made In Satisfaction
3. Body And Mind
4. Mother Mature
5. Symphatetic Magic Death
6. Story Of Forgotten Notes
7. Stand By Me
8. Pure Irony
9. Remedy Express
10. Messiah Formula
11. Through The Round Window
Around the world, endless masses of people wallow and pat each others' backs in their own boring and conservative mud. A person with an open mind always manages to find more interesting things to do. Some time ago, Grzegorz Magnuszewski stood beside himself, took a look at the past and present from the outside, evaluated his ideas, feelings and emotions, and then suggested a future. This suggestion materialized in the form of yet another album with an intriguing title, "Alphabetically Divided Highway", explained in detail (along with many other things) by Magnes in the included booklet / poster. Information about an upcoming Kino Oko album appeared quite unexpectedly. The Tribal Vision Records label, which took up the task of publishing the album, was also a surprise. Changes included not only the name of the album (the initial working title was "Renaissance"), but also a changeover from Horns & Hoofs Entertainment to a different publishing house. Of course the most important changes concerned what is most important to us - the music. Music that turned out to be different from what we have been used to so far, but at the same time similar, for it is full of ideas and attractive, possibly calculated in such a way as to shove a musical stick in the anthill that is the stiff and unyielding environment of creators and consumers.
The CD is made up of 11 tracks from the creative world of Kino Oko. "Any Kind Of Structure" is a fusion of pleasant downtempo and rougher, minimal sounds, giving birth to the sound equivalent of cool ice cream (your favourite flavour, of course) with warm chocolate sauce. In "Made in Satisfaction" Magnes winks at the listener by decorating the piece with lyrics referencing the title. "Body And Mind" offers a livelier dynamic, vibrating and winding sounds, all of this held together by the lyrics, once again reminding us about the title. The initially lazy "Mother Mature" track gives us colourful melodies we can hum along to, a pleasant groove and teasing effects. These types of pieces always make us feel better. "Sympathetic Magic Death" is definitely one of my top two on this CD. Its main advantage is the tornado of intense sounds and frivolous piano, skillfully mixed with electronics, that will blow you away. It is addictive as hell. I dare you to find another creation like this. "Story Of Forgotten Notes" is another unique, in its own strange way, creature, which, like its brothers, leaves the land of pigeonholing far behind and gives us a moment of musical meditation. Some of the more trance-y tracks include the cheerful, acidy "Stand By Me", and "Pure Irony", full of silly tomfoolery. "Remedy Express" is another good excuse for your jaw lying on the floor. "Messiah Formula" (brilliant title) is the other of my top two on this album. Its undeniable, massive emotional charge, as well as the uplifting, slightly ballad-like climate and deceptively banal vocals make it hard to forget. No offense to the other tracks, but "Messiah Formula" itself can be the one reason to get acquainted with this CD. The last track, "Through The Round Window" is charged with sadness and sonic poetry and adds yet more essence to the album's value.
Before I wind up, I would like to mention something I found on the Discogs, which concerns the album I have just described. The style section of the album states: "Psy-Trance, Freestyle, Disco, Techno, Progressive Trance, Minimal" and the tempo of successive tracks is, I quote again, "133, 126, 136, 135, 140, 120, 132, 137, 133, 130, 120". As far as that detailed classification of styles is concerned, you will surely find way more than that on the album. As for the BPM, well, I have not checked, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Either way, both cases show that we are not dealing with a one-dimensional CD with just one specific tag, where all tracks are a steady 145 BPM and each one sounds like a cheap remix of the preceding one, leaving us with much to be desired. There are no two same tracks on the album and everything is captivating, throwing new sounds and solutions at the listener at every corner. Tracks like "Sympathetic Magic Death" or "Messiah Formula" have etched their form into my memory forever. The material burned into Kino Oko's second production is definitely not run of the mill. Grzesiek jumped off the bandwagon a long time ago and left behind people who beat music's proverbial dead horse, using the same motives over and over again (I am looking at you, Israeli full-on!). What is so special about this music that it is so attractive? Maybe the fact that there is not much competition for Kino Oko in the "difficult to classify" aisle. Or maybe the fact that it has got that “special something”? Or maybe… "Alphabetically Divided Highway" is an album for those who are sick and tired of bland, mass-produced music. The ever increasing repetitiveness of music and the lack of ideas for it show that what we need right now is a blast of fresh air. One that will throw us onto the highway of Magnes and others like him, where it is not the name, the loudness or dance-floor statistics that count, but the music.
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/tvr/tvr1cd020.html
www.ektoplazm.com/2011/panta-deus - download for free Psytrance.pl's 10th anniversary compilation featuring 100% Polish psy-music (goa, prog, dark, full-on, chillout): Artha, Sundial Aeon and many more
www.psytrance.pl - Polish psytrance website |
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Alic
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Oct 13, 2008 22:39
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Hello,
I'm still wondering why this album came out on TV Records but anyway - thank you very much to Kino Oko and Slater.
This is music I'm shure I will still hear it in 10 or 20 years. I like the tales of nearly each track, the way you worked with rooms and the type of synth sounds you used. Exactely punishing my feelings!
This album is so great.
My absolute favourite tracks are "Sympathic Magic Death" because of its way the piano rides you, kicking you, getting you, confusing you. "Mother Mature" because of this 80ies synth reminding me on my child-time and sunshine and its great implementation.
Also "through the round window" because of its compressed atmosphere and epic character.
I don't like "Body and Mind".
Thanks, Volker
http://www.psychedelic-techno.com
http://www.digital-diamonds.com |
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Slater
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Oct 14, 2008 13:46
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Quote:
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On 2008-10-13 22:39, Alic wrote:
I'm still wondering why this album came out on TV Records but anyway - thank you very much to Kino Oko and Slater.
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The reason why this CD came out on Tribal Vision Records is simple - I just love this album and I beleive such an original and outstanding artist as Kino Oko is always worth supporting, no matter how much this music sells.
I am really happy for such a great feedback and reviews from all sides, thanks a lot for that. Just it´s important that people understand that experimental artists like Kino Oko really need their full support. If you spend some 11 EUR to buy an original CD, you don´t only get a proper product with wonderful booklet and full sound quality, but you also support the artist that is trying to do something special and different than mainstream acts. Neither Kino Oko nor Tribal Vision have an illusion of becoming rich from this kind of release - but it´s really important to see that people care and support this kind of approach. I guess it´s probably a bit offtopic here but I still wanted to mention this 
Out now:
*V.A. - Vanguard vol. 3 compiled by Duca & DJ Slater |
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KINO OKO
Bigwigs
Started Topics :
29
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345
Posted : Oct 16, 2008 10:52
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Your story touches my heart Slater and this story is true. We did it for all possible reasons except money.
Some time ago Lord from the Blue Skies told me:
Counting on support in terms of money is sensless. No one cares so give up. One thing is sure: you have fans, you succeed.
Then Holly Mother with Virgin Soul said:
Do what you feel, not what others feel. This is a difference between art and craft.
After that i realized that this is word of God and i have to proceed like Word says.
www.kinooko.pl |
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phasetech
Float
Started Topics :
58
Posts :
531
Posted : Oct 16, 2008 14:18
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Wise words, so true..
Original is only one, but copies are million
ADH is original, in any of its meanings
Enjoy it, cause you wont find something like this everyday!
www.soundcloud.com/float |
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kap6uk
Started Topics :
0
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3
Posted : Nov 25, 2008 10:31
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I almost do not listen psy-trance, i like culture, psy-ppl, deep adventures, festivals, but out of parties i listen another music, from classical to techno, from jazz to indie, etc . And i want to say what this cd is an ideal brilliant for me, i have listened to this album of 20 or 30 times, at work, at home, at walk, at bicycling. Music with absolutely free and infinitely spirit and is thus executed on the highest technological level. ¹1 in my own top10 of this year (remaining is far away from dancefloor aesthetic).
Thank you Grzegorz, you move the culture! |
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Magadansky
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Nov 26, 2008 20:50
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Awesome album, just... magnificent.
Can't really pick a favorite of mine here but lets try:
Made in Satisfaction (clearly made that way!), Pure Irony, Remmedy Express, Stand by Me, Messiah Formula (omg!), Symphatetic Magic Death...
But the best for this album is that is very diversed and listened as a whole is also a wonderful experience! |
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-Abatwa-
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
42
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1087
Posted : Nov 27, 2008 19:10
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one of the best releases this year and one to be remembered for sure.
the way it is structered, the ideas and melodies the music is top notch...
awesome artwork too.
Its good to hear innovative experimental musik 
any kind of structure
made in satisfaction
remedy express
fav's but true dat all the album is high quality, no bad tracks.
`Bottomless wonders spring from simple rules, which are repeated without end` Mandelbrot |
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