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Trance Forum » » Forum  Music Reviews - Skyhigh n ting - Audio Playdough (Catawampus Records) 02/ 2011
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Skyhigh n ting - Audio Playdough (Catawampus Records) 02/ 2011

kazuku
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  100
Posts :  1123
Posted : Mar 28, 2011 12:55:59
Artist: Skyhigh n ting
Album: Audio Playdough
Label: Catawampus Records (U.K)
D.O.R: 02/2011

http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.aspx?id=6114

http://www.catawampus-records.co.uk/

1. Otherwordly Oddity
2. Ral´s Dubguitarproggysoumithang
3. Fugoidalstoned Castle
4. Chooby Doo
5. Psionic Whorehouse
6. Toxic Playdough
7. Dangleberries
8. Get It Out Of My Head
9. Fuckin Insane

Skyhigh N Ting - Audio Playdough is the 4th album release from Catawampus Records, following last years V.A. Feeding The Whimsy. The man behind this new project is Mark aka Skyhighatrist - if you have listened to any previous releases on this label you should be familiar with him and his twisted, stretchy style that has helped define the Catawampi´s sound from the first hour with the 2007 debut "Strangely Obtuse" with Galactic Monkey. In fact, it´s valid to say that Skyhighatrist´s style is representative of the playful, fun infused, psilocybin oozing sound that the label has become known and appreciated for. We may as well call him Mr. Catawampus....ehm...sry..Dr. Catawapus obviously, as his tracks, solo and in varous collabs have featured on every release so far.

This time around, Mark explores new territories with a downtempo album that shows us his mellower side - perhaps the inner Catawampus needed to chill after the exhausting frolicing of recent years, choosing to unleash a somewhat dreamier and funkier squelch orgy on Audio playdough. The album artwork is consistant with the bold, cartoony, tribal-techy art that we have seen on their previous releases, this time with a fungal-space theme. I was pleasantly suprised to see this as a digital release on Beat Space as they don´t have too many, so, well done whoever made that possible.

The journey begins with a bouncy plod through an alien marsh - Otherwordly Oddity is infused with a hint of B-Movie vibes ( carried by a grinding bass that sets the attitude for a fair chunk of the album. The foresty noises - squelches, squeeks and creaks, anyone who is reading this knows them- infiltrate the bassline causing a low frequency stretch-fest as the effects chatter to each other. The general undrlying growliness gradually interbreeds with increased impish prankyness, giving birth to increasingly funky and melodic offspring as the track progresses. The mellow tempo opens up plenty of room for expeimentation as the iconic squelches return in a myriad of forms

The trip to the summit of stretchyness continues in a similarly groovy manner with (ehm....come on how long is that title...ppff...make me write that whole thing out will you) Ral´s Dubguitarproggysoumithang. At its very center, the track is dirtier than a mud-wrestling whore/Charle Sheens bed sheets sfter a long weekend and funkier than a monkey with a funny hat. Definety more whacky and playful, creating a sound scape that comes across quirky and circus-like from the outset, yet manages to Progressively build with plenty of suprising and left-field elements and remains highly danceable throughout with mischevious percussions and riffs.

If Fugoidalstoned Castle would be a physical object rather than a song it would maybe look somewhat like this:

http://www.ustoy.com/cgi-bin/u.sh/2.0/product.htm?pf_id=7987&utm_source=Mercent&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=Nextag&mr:referralID=1c45f2e1-57a9-11e0-a86a-001b2166c2c0

The groove is a little snarlier in this castle, and definetly seems like it has an important date with a pretty sound wave to get to, as it does not let itself get distracted from the calling effect voices in the dark as much. Comparitively somber and Mario-in-the-spook-house like, with its inherrent bounce, stretch, boing and rubberband-like spring, very much in line with the comedy-infused „squelch core“ spirit that we expect. Packs the biggest punch in the last quarter, picking up emotionally for an atmospheric highlight towards its explosive ending.

Chooby Doo´s bass line, as we have come to expect so far, remains funky and dirty, with amazonic fx and organic croaking setting micro-rhythms. The deeper we get into the album, the more I think at times it could work very well on progressive dancefloors, even if the folks on those are often afraid of things that go bump in the night For me this track was a highlight with its tight, kinky percussions and jazz-on-acid influences giving it a unique odd-ball personality.

Psionic Whorehouse - see I told you Charlie Sheen would feel right at home here, frolicing in the filthy, grinding bass line. Here, as with the previous tracks the cruise control has been set to 120 BPM, and turns out to be a catchy and melodic affair that morphs into an unspeakable, twisted perversion that would even make dear uncle Charlie blush. The other day I was at the doctor with some extremely crooked guts. At their peak, the worrying noises coming from my stomach were not unlike the intense blurp, chirp and blubber orgy that haunt the punchy frame of this tune, which seems to be plucked by a plump, bald bassist with shades and dark suit.

From here onwards the pace continuosly picks up with each track, Toxic Playdough stomps along a little faster (125 BPM) after the mellow trumpet introfalls into the venemous couldron along with the remaining elements. This track is a little more hectic and seems busier with plenty of vocal sample snippets and an onslaught of cartoony fx that make for a, twisted off-beat carnival vibe, clowns at play. Their fun is sporadically interupted after a break-down when they are forced to submit to a tight,determined, burroughing lead that slowly and naggingly meanders through the track like a flesh eating worm.
Dangleberries continues the tempo-push and remains extremely danceable – kicks off driving and stompy, staying true to the strategy of intoducing whackyness progressively. Has many experimental, break-beaty passages and techish percussion, contributing to comparatively minimalistic sequences which concentrate on conveying the rawness of the bass and promote general ass-shaking/marching on the floor.
The final two tracks speed up a fair bit again (135 BPM) romping up the intensity. „Get it out of my Head“ again lets the raw bass line do alot of the talking, introducing vocal snippets/cuts as rhythm setting elements and has various „lift-off“ phases that push the dance floor forward, such as a wild energy release in the form of an insane tribal percussion flurry that suprises the listener after a break-down. Be prepared for many tempo changes and bring a fair bit of rhythmic open mindedness for this one. Final lift off-phase consits of a wonderful melody that bursts onto the scene in the final section, something the track sticks in the mind for.

Finally, Fuckin insane is equally stompy and flows kind of dreamy to begin with, but then quickly decends into mad clown play with its vocal cut orgy – the insane blabbering becomes the tracks defining feature and I have to say whereas it is kind of funny, I could´t really get into it and see it more as an experimental comic relief at the end of the album. The times I listened to it, it got on my nerves, but I am sure some will feel differently.

In my opinion „Audio Playdough“ is a very nice addition to the Catawampus catalogue, showing us a fresh, experimental side of a label that has become known for high-tempo squelch-a-thons at the witching hour. The focus on bringing across the raw grit of the funky bass lines in their full, muddy, dirty, rough appeal is a feature that I could distinguish in every track, as they constitute the pillars on which the album is built. The TradeMARK (hoho) squelching and indulgent psychedelic FX frolicing translates well to these experimental tempo ranges, and although we are dealing with a different pace and style, the whacky humor and squelch/bubble -core affinity remains unscathed- listeners may feel themselves reminded of Mark´s earler works, especially „Strangely Obtuse“ in places. Although at its heart this is a pure psytrance album, there are many left-field influences can be identified- psy-dubby sounds, cuts, break beats, techy rhythms and maybe spiced with a hint of something like Ju-Ju Space Jazz, albeit more heavy on the fx side of course.
Favorite tracks here are 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8, which are all equally intriguing. I am sure there are plenty of ideas left in this project and I predict this will not be the last we have heard of Mark´s experimental odyssey, which shows alot of promise. Lovers of past Catawampus releases should feel right at home in this organic downtempo album and it will propably attract many new listeners who prefer their psychedelic fix at a (s)lower dose.

At its core this is really an ass-shaker body album which could even find a spot on fun-spirited progressive-trance floors that are open to off-beat whackyness, humour, fungal vibes and psychedlic fx assaults.




kazuku
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  100
Posts :  1123
Posted : Mar 30, 2011 09:25
When I say downtempo, I really mean "relative" downtempo compared to previous albums on this label. It doesnt go slower than 120, just to clarify.
Adigroovy
IsraTrance Junior Member

Started Topics :  24
Posts :  1647
Posted : Apr 13, 2011 12:28
just when pitched up, it sounds so much better imho. like some soumi forest style!           to use your head you have to go out of your mind
Catawampus Records
Catawampus Records

Started Topics :  5
Posts :  41
Posted : Apr 14, 2011 02:38
wicked cheers, always interesting to hear how other folks interprete our wiggles.

play it fast play it slow just play it x off to crank the pitch soumi style for a giggle
x cheryl           http://www.reverbnation.com/fierceimaginaryoddities
www.myspace.com/catawampusrecords
Trance Forum » » Forum  Music Reviews - Skyhigh n ting - Audio Playdough (Catawampus Records) 02/ 2011
 
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