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Mubali - Cats @ Play (Trishula Records 2006) CD
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DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Mar 27, 2006 23:08
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Mubali – Cats @ Play
Cover: http://tinyurl.com/fwsg9 + http://tinyurl.com/z6qms
Artist: Mubali (USA)
Title: Cats @ Play
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Trishula Records (Germany)
Cat. #: TRISHCD007
Distribution: Arabesque
Date: 20 March 2006
Track listing:
01. 07’50” Mubali – Balancing Equations
02. 07’18” Mubali & Aeon - Symbiosis
03. 08’13” DMV – Hotshot (Album Rmx)
04. 08’56” Mubali – Zalophus Californianus (Californian Sea Lion)
05. 08’22” Mubali – Spacial Distortion
06. 08’41” Mubali - Puissant
07. 08’43” Mubali – Salacious Ooze
09. 07’47” Mubali – Cats @ Play
10. 08’53” Mubali - Spherechucker
.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/g757y (all tracks!)
Review:
Someone’s been smoking catnip…
American producer Greg ‘Mubali’ Farley is finally out with his debut album which was announced a year ago, following his compilation tracks on the two latest Trishula Records compilations… I’ve only heard three tracks by this guy, and his über-hardcore industrial-sounding psytrance has often been a bitter pill for me to swallow. I did however really enjoy his explosive track on the Crazy Goblins And Wicked Pixies compilation, so I’m kinda hoping that this album is up to par with that… Let’s find out…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Mubali – Balancing Equations [146 BPM]
The opening track establishes a dark, eerie – yet playful atmosphere right from the gritty intro… A pale bassline is introduced which is soon accompanied by some seriously wikkid acid-lines tweaked beyond recognition… Hell yeah, this is in-your-face, wall-to-wall psytrance not unlike the underground stuff we’re used to from the Bay Area… The acid is flowing freely and the bassline will give you a soar neck if you try to head bang to it… A nice intro track for sure, but somehow I feel Greg hasn’t really opened his goody back yet… ;p
#02: Mubali & Aeon – Symbiosis [145 BPM]
The booklet doesn’t supply any info on Aeon, but I’m guessing it’s old-schooler Max Chapados of Nuclear Ramjet fame… Anyway, what we get here is well-refined, crew-cut psytrance with a slightly more uplifting touch than the grim opening track… That’s right; this is one bouncy motherfucker of a track! Don’t get me wrong, this is still psytrance to be played during the darker hours of the night, but it doesn’t have the distinct industrial-slash-bleak nature of previous Mubali tracks… The trip meter has been cranked up, and despite the pretty simple FX here, this track really works wonders… A brilliant, trippy track that really showcases Greg’s diverse production talent… Yummy!
#03: DMV – Hotshot (Album Rmx) [148 BPM]
DMV is short for ‘Durty, Mubali & Vidi’ and that's the only info available in the booklet… After a pretty hardcore intro (which samples a turkey!?) we’re soon completely engulfed in a VERY spacey, bouncy and immensely funky track… Yeah, who’d thought that darkpsy pounding away at an incredible 148 beats per minute could be *this* funky? I have no idea how they did it, but this track is RIPE… 100% driving, maximal psytrance which is easily the most trip-friendly so far – and by far the most multilayered and diverse… Not unlike Penta really… Whatever it is, it’s brilliant!
#04: Mubali – Zalophus Californianus (Californian Sea Lion) [142 BPM]
This might possibly be the first instant ever, of a psytrance track being named after a marine mammal of the Otariidae family… History in the making folks! Anyway, despite this track being the lowest rated in BPMs it sounds like one of the hardest… This is trademark Mubali trance with heavy industrial influences and an influx of twirling acid-lines… In that sense, it’s not unlike the track he did with oCeLoT off the Multiple Personalities compilation released by Manic Dragon Records in 2005… Grim, gritty and downright evil… And unfortunately I’m bored half-way thru… ;o/ As another Mubali trademark, the track picks up towards the end though – and the last couple of minutes has to be among the most psychedelic moments off the entire album… Blimey! I just wish the entire track was like that…
#05: Mubali – Spacial Distortion [144 BPM]
Spatial distortion? Spacial? Ah well, let’s not go into semantics here – as this is a very enjoyable track… Somehow Greg manages to keep me entertained and fully focussed for the entire length of this track… Maybe it’s the advanced acid-tweakage going on, maybe it’s the trippy birds chirping away or maybe it’s less-industrial-more-organic atmosphere that I really like… Whatever it is, it works like a charm and it would fit very well on a Pavarti Records compilation! This is a fine tune which will send shock-waves thru the dancefloors this summer… Triiiiiippy!
#06: Mubali – Puissant [147 BPM]
Well, I think Shakespeare coined it when he said ‘Awake remembrance of these valiant dead. And with your puissant arm renew their feats’ - with ‘puissant’ describing something powerful and mighty… And powerful is exactly what this track is… Holy sweet mother of Merzbow! This is ultra-hard, über-dark, nocturnal darkpsy – forged in the darkest realms of the Californian underground… Straight outta psyland, a crazy motherfucker named Mubali – destined to mess with your senses and fuck you up royally… Definitely not something for the meek and something that requires a certain state of mind for me to fully enjoy… Yikes!
#07: Mubali – Salacious Ooze [145 BPM]
And now it’s time for some kinky secretion! Oo’er! This is metallic-sounding, high-pitched, acid-ridden, fast-paced night trance designed to annoy the hell out of neighbours, pets and other non-trance entities… Crisp, versatile and totally malicious… Like something Mistress Of Evil would have a field day with… I’m not sure what to think, as I’m equally repulsed and attracted to this track… Another tune that requires special attention – and quite possibly dilated pupils to be enjoyed fully…
#08: Mubali – Cats @ Play [147 BPM]
The title track is very similar to the opening track in both construction and flow, but don’t worry it’s not a cut-and-paste track and this definitely has more weight… This track has an impressive rhythm section and some seriously trippy morphed acid-lines… Reminds me a little of Penta without the comic relief… Fast-paced, dark, haunting night trance that will work wonders in dark, isolated warehouses late a night… We’re not exactly reinventing the wheel here, but this is good, wholesome darkpsy with a certain quality stamp I enjoy: It’s not too extreme… Tasty!
#09: Mubali – Spherechucker [150 BPM]
As the bpm count reveals, the final track is the Beelzebub of the batch… That’s right, this is some seriously fast-paced horror-trance packed with demented melodies, gabba’esque bass-lines and acid all over the place… And frankly, this is where it gets too frekkin’ hardcore for my tastes… Is it even possible to dance to this, or is it merely an excursion into nightmarish drill-and-bass-like psytrance? Sure, it’s well-produced and several passages are cool… But it’s just too fast for my tastes… But hey, you can’t win the all… ;o)
What an album! As always with Trishula, their artist albums are very well-defined and tightly know – and that is definitely also the case with Mubali’s debut album… There are no down-right bad tracks here, but there are some tracks here which don’t really rub me the right way with their monotonous and too hectic parts. But hey, I’m happy to say that there are also a bunch of really excellent and surprisingly diverse tracks – that does rub me the right way…
Especially the collaborations showcase a side of Mubali I was not familiar with – a side I would definitely encourage him to pursuit in the future… Also there a couple of his solo tracks that are really excellent, and I’m happy to conclude that Mr. Farley isn’t just repeating himself, but he’s in fact exploring and experimenting with new styles… And I’m sure a couple of these tracks could eventually become favourites of mine as time goes by.
The hand-painted cover by Jesse Dean is definitely something out of the ordinary and I kinda like the avant-garde look of it… All in all, this is another high-quality Trishula album – and as the Procs album it’s not easily-accessible but given some time, I’m sure there’s a good chance it will grow on you… Recommended to fans of the darker side of night trance from the West Coast – and to fans of labels such as Trishula, M.o.E, Pavarti, Acidance, Dropout Productions and so on… Enjoy!
Favourites: 2, 3(!!), 5, 8
DeathPosture
External links:
Trishula Records: http://www.trishula-records.com
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/647717
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/etctg
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/g4dv4
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/eqlkj
Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/gjxcl
Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/kwtpq
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/fxvbb
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/eslen
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/j9hrs
Juno: http://tinyurl.com/gvv9d
Play: http://tinyurl.com/jkfug
  On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
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Meta
Meta/Boomslang
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24
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1045
Posted : Mar 28, 2006 03:32
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M.o.E.
Amanda
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6
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88
Posted : Mar 28, 2006 06:16
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congratulations mubali on a really nice first album!
all of the tracks are well produced and dancefloor oriented in my opinion. my favorite at the moment is the sea-lion track(=
my only complaint is the cover art. not really my taste, but i bet a lot of the guys will like it(;
anywayz, i hope all his fans support him by actually BUYING this cd!
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dE.Tonatik
Detonatik
Started Topics :
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2374
Posted : Mar 28, 2006 06:53
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smashing
had been waiting for this for a while .
i must say mubali has come out with a bomb of an album ..
twistedd style ...
great feel to the tracks
good buildups , nice atmospheres ,
like all the tracks ...
my favs
1, 2, 4,5, 9 ,10
big boom to mubali
ritual dance
out now
http://parvati-records.com/music-shop/cd/out-of-time |
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Shimmer
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Mar 28, 2006 10:33
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Spherechucker is a pretty cool track. Probably my fav, seeing as it just goes for the guts.
This is pretty much great harder psy...the tracks are relenting and very powering!!
Very good, overall. Well done Mubali!!
_______________________________-______________________________
I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream. That's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight... razor... and surviving. |
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Lepton
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Mar 28, 2006 12:36
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very good ,intelligent and highly psychedelic album !!!
it works very well on the dancefloor, the track progression is relentless !!!
top 3 album release of 2006 till so far ..
wel done mubali !!! |
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FrodOhm
IsraTrance Junior Member
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1018
Posted : Mar 28, 2006 14:05
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I really enjoyed this album, and after a few more listens i like it even more!!
Thumbs up 
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djmeghan
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Mar 28, 2006 17:27
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mubali
Mubali
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Posted : Mar 28, 2006 19:45
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Just to clear a couple of things up, Symbiosis was written with Mr. Aeon LaFrance, who is a prominent Bay area dj and producer and a close friend who was vital in the my music production evolution.
DMV (Durty, Vidi, & Mubali) Durty is Aaron Waters, a Monterey Bay hard dance and hard trance dj/producer (www.djdurty.com)
Vidi is a personal name of Mr. Michael Veitengruben, also another Monterey Bay hard dance and hard trance dj/producers. Both have worked some really influential names in the hard dance and hard trance industry and it was incredible to take our two styles and combine them to make that song. Be on the lookout for more with these two...
Also... There's a bit of an error with the track names for those that checked it out online. Track 5 is actually Salacious Ooze and 7 is Spacial Distortion...
An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
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All...
Started Topics :
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118
Posted : Mar 29, 2006 00:53
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Great album. Congratulations! |
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pete
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Mar 29, 2006 02:43
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5 minutes into Hotshot is my favorite portion of the album...totally unexpected! |
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Take A Break
Started Topics :
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51
Posted : Mar 29, 2006 03:50
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mulabi is definately a gret upcoming 2oo6 performer...keep it up, man
ohm - dance. Dance is active meditation. When we dance we go beyond thought, beyond mind and beyond our own individuality - to become one with the divine ecstacy with the cosmic spirit. |
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Syntax442
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Mar 29, 2006 20:59
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two thumbs up
superb work, Greg |
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Takuan"the pickled radish"
Started Topics :
5
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225
Posted : Mar 30, 2006 19:26
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Great job Mubali!! i love it and the new shit whoa man look out for mubali he has more up his sleeve! |
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DJAmanita
IsraTrance Junior Member
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236
Posted : Mar 31, 2006 09:36
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Nothing but love for Mubali. A good person, a great drinker, and an excelent producer and performer. He may fall asleap in your shower, but his music will wake you the f@ck up on the dance floor. NICE WORK MATE!
Brian |
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