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Synsun - Symphonic Adventures

H2O
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :  16
Posts :  352
Posted : Jan 4, 2005 00:44
Pretty nice, Top5 psychedelic albums last year.
Basilisk
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  168
Posts :  2984
Posted : Jan 4, 2005 18:24
I provided a review shortly after buying this album... after many listens, this is the more extensive review I wrote up:

Synsun gained a name for themselves in the early part of the century with free releases of old school Goa songs on their homepage. In 2002 Willy left the group, leaving Vax in charge, and the project has taken a drastically different course for Synsun's first commercial release. Much like the debut albums from Talpa and The Misted Muppet, Synsun broke onto the scene with a great deal of hype about their new take on orchestral psychedelic trance. Infected Mushroom and Dark Soho have, for the most part, abandoned their early sound for more commercial exploits, leaving this niche market wide open to new innovators. So far, no one has really nailed the symphonic style as solidly as IM did with Classical Mushroom, but that doesn't stop these new artists from making valiant attempts.

Vampiria opens the album on a high note. A hard-hitting intro sets the pace with some crazy throbbing bass sounds and very industrialized percussion. The early break introduces the symphonic elements of the album in fine form, as I find this sequence to be one of the nicest to be found here. Flourishes of stringed instruments loop as a mid-range acidic voice sound leaps from kick to kick. The whole atmosphere is one of a demonic ritual, which is no doubt the desired effect. After a long time driving on this particular sound the song breaks out into a dramatic movie score sound, with the bass wildly leaping in tune to the cinematic coruscations. A heavy acidic line starts to drive home the powerful intent, as kick drums double and triple up to smash with unrelenting force. The final climax lets the song drop to silence before the orchestral elements go through one last reprisal. One of the best songs on the album.

Strings are flying from the very start of Zygote, wasting no time to develop. The cinematic melodies are soon joined by an aggressive beat, and then abruptly halt as a rough guitar riff enters. This sound is pitched such that it becomes something of a percussive element, giving the song a scratchy, grinding underbelly. Sparkling digital melodies enter and the track plods along without much dynamism. Somewhere in here a really nice epic melody develops with skill, spiralling up into the high-end before giving way to the return of those cinematic sounds. Without any breaks the song goes through a handful of high energy shifts between orchestral elements, changing keys to give a small amount of depth. I find that one melody in the center of the song to be the only really engaging sequence - the rest of this track is simply too relentless and repetative to develop a deeper feeling.

Ride the Sky holds some promise with a sick pulsing bass line and some more thoughtful and restrained symphonic sweeps. Horns and strings provide another ritualistic atmosphere. Those speaking acidic synths are back once again, dabbling around over the punching beat. Tension is releived through several breaks along the way, as the song progresses towards the full energy state with less pressure, letting deeper moods develop. The song ends on a peak, with a wailing sound having reached a climax. Structurally it is better than some of the songs here but the contents aren't quite as enticing.

Logic Mami provides an uplifting mood well-suited for morning hours with soaring cinematic climaxes and great transitions. Emotional stringed melodies progress nicely over a contrastingly rough beat. The arrangement doesn't suffer from overdrive as it does on some of these other songs - with flowing melodies interest is maintained straight through. One of the better songs on the album.

The fifth track, Ceremony, mixes several of the moods heard thus far into a ritual package. Big cinematic string sequences are back with a gothic flavour, easily overpowering the noisy beat once they strengthen. The atmosphere is almost comical in a wry mad scientist sort of fashion, and then without warning the strings are purged. The beat displays a repetative tendancy with no change in pattern, and soon some haunting choirs and sounds start to slide in with sinister grace. The tune should be recognizable to many - it is O Fortuna! More dramatic orchestral sequences soon eclipse this bit of nostalgia and lead the song through to the outro: a last minute breakdown and short coda. Structurally this track suffers from some unpolished transitions, and the undynamic beat remains a liability. It could have been a lot better.

Ave Samael begins without any introduction, much like Zygote. No time is spent to develop mood - instead the song plunges into dramatic territory very early, churning through cinematic flourishes at a rapid pace. This soon recedes and a driving sequence similar to Vampiria's opening segment starts to play through with some tribal touches on the percussion. Brooding atmospheres prevail as wailing sounds intermittently flow over throbbing bass lines. Twisted and tortured melodies soon develop from this and lead into a welcome respite from the beat, where those early cinematic flourishes are replayed. The last minute or so would make Tim Burton proud. Unfortunatly I think the structure once again has sore points, what with the heaviest orchestral material being played at the absolute front and back. The delicious dark sequence in the middle is almost an afterthought, and tension is already broken by the time the listener arrives there.

The bonus song on the album sounds more like the older Synsun sound, and in fact I think this was one of their freebie songs from the web page days. Death Machine is dark enough to fit on the album but shows the greatest amount of old school melodies. Halycon atmospheres transition nicely to a dark breakdown with squeeling melodies and an aggressive breakbeat around the two minute mark. Choir voices provide emphasis in this great extended sequence, and the return to the main theme is wickedly psychedelic. Despite the poorer production on this song it appeals more than some here, thanks to a nice composition and some more old school vibes.

Tataria is a more ambient finale to the album, sounding very much like the last song of an Astral Projection album with a trace of the Synsun style. Extensive female vocals combine with the slow pulsing beat and create big atmospheres. Not really to my taste, however.

Symphonic Adventures is a significant effort that doesn't quite pull through. Faults in the structural composition of some of these songs cause impediments to reaching true potential. The sound is hard to place - take some of the late efforts from MFG, add a dash of the ubiquitous Mushrooms, push it into overdrive, and you're getting close. The production is raw and aggressive, causing some trouble when the frantic beats are piled up under a particularly large orchestral flourish. At times the epic cinematics really come together and create a truly dramatic feel, though this is often diluted by a lamentable lack of foreshadowing. Repetition is actually an issue with this release, as some of the tracks feature extended loops of beats or melodies that simply start to sound overused. Despite these complaints, there are several satisfying moments where Synsun really hits the right spot... which is why I still class this as an admirable effort. Some improvements to the arrangement and a continued exploration of the gothic style of trance would surely yield some great results for the artist. The album itself is a bare 60 minutes, which is a bit short for an album these days. The digipak case features a great rendered shot of a demonic face, but the plain text seems cheap layered on top. Much like the album it is a mixed set of great elements and a lack of polishing.

Overall the album deserves a listen if the idea of orchestral psychedelic trance appeals to you. Symphonic Adventures is harder than either debut from Talpa or The Misted Muppet, though it isn't as dynamic as the former nor as solid as the latter. It's a good effort that didn't live up to potential but thanks to the unique style, remains quite listenable nonetheless, and an interesting selection for DJs wishing to cause mayhem on the dancefloors of the world.
kagdila
Kagdila Records

Started Topics :  64
Posts :  158
Posted : Jan 4, 2005 21:35
i would like to thank all you people for great comment and for you basilisk for the great review you gave for that album.

wish you all happy 2005

nice supprise second album of synsun will be by sep/2005 until then wait for news and info.

shu-ki@kagdila
Hodi
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  114
Posts :  1212
Posted : Jan 7, 2005 23:18
why it's out of print??           u can find "Anything U Want" using the search...
kagdila
Kagdila Records

Started Topics :  64
Posts :  158
Posted : Jan 9, 2005 04:51
who said its out of print?
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