| Author
|
V/A Digital Psionics - Psionic Circus
|
mubali
Mubali
Started Topics :
71
Posts :
2219
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 03:11
|
Those crazy buggers from Down Under have done it again, releasing a new compilation with a focus along cue with their past couple of releases. At first glance of the artist list, many of the old D.P. (hehe) fans might be a little disappointed about the amount of melodically inclined artists on this compilation. Personally, I am not the biggest melodic fan around, but all in all I feel that the compilation does tell a pretty good story. It may not be as mayhem packed as what we are used to, but I think that people will still enjoy it for what it is.
1. Safi Connection - Albert on Acid
I think it is a pretty decent opening track. It definitely has the classic Safi feel to it within the first 2:30 or so and it gets this really really dirty sounding lead in it around 2:55 where it hits a very discumbobulated break and returns to its melodic intent again. Very nice sample work, but I personally have a bias against drug samples. All in all, I did like some of the sounds used but wasn't too motivating of a track for me. 5/10
2. Space Tribe and Psywalker - Space Case
These two released a collaboration on the previous D.P. compilation and you can tell that it's got the total bouncy groove to it with a little guitarish sounding lead from the getgo. If you are a fan of the Space Tribe sound, this is right up your alley. I have always dug the choice of samples that Olli has used and you can really tell that Luke's involvement has given it a bit more of a modern dancefloor kick.I did really enjoy the sound that was used at 4:25 right before that big break, the one that sounded mettalic with a good bp filter on it. The final break seemed a little anticlimatic for me and didn't really add any new sounds.This track definitely adds more energy from the previous track, but for me doesn't really have enough for me to really want to play. If someone were to play it, I wouldn't run off the dancefloor though. 6/10
3. Tube - Land of Reason
Many of you will recognise Tube from his previous releases on Chemical Crew.
This track opens with a very metal guitar riff and gets a very israeli plucked string sound that is very reminiscent of IM, right down to some sounds being reversed... I used to be a big old mushie fan, so I did get a little nostalgic about this track, but all in all I wasn't a big fan of this one either. I think energywise, it would have done better after the Safi Connection track. I am not the biggest fan of the metal guitar thing in most psy, and this track reminds me why to an extent. No disrespect meant to Tube, but I think this track was my least favorite on the compilation. 4/10
4. Skazi and C.P.U. - Highest Party
When I first heard about tracklisting on this cd, I kinda wondered how this track was going to sound.... But that was just me... Believe it or not, I was pleasantly surprised. This track is non stop in your face with crazy leads and some tricks that I still am trying to figure out how they did it. I really like how they built the energy up really high and dropped back to basics just to build it all over again, but it did it a little too often in this track. This is something that both artists are very good at. Around 2:16 they do this reverse thing that is just awesome for me. It seems that these two guys really compliment each other well, and the only real complaint that I have is that the track seems to constantly go up and down in energy level a little too frequently for me, especially for a 6 minute track. The only other bitching I might add was I really didn't like the sample. All in all though, it was a lot better than I was expecting 7/10
5. Damage - Unspeakable Evil
You all know Damage and his sound, so you can expect some interesting madness in this track. Impressively crisp percussion with some really sharp leads. The first 1:30 or so is really an energy building for a nice mix transition if you were to play it. After about 1:54 the track returns to its base and has good energy flow to it. At 2:21, it gets a mini filtered break at returns to around the same area that it was at around 1:54 but with this crazy wailing lead in it. It keeps its pace and groove with some good synth stabs till it's break around 3:54. Now I have to admit, that I am an old skool rave sound fan and that lead he comes up with so reminds me of olden times.. I really loved it. For me that synthline really makes the track and those type of synths is what makes Damage as good as he is. Infusing the old with the new. I would actually play this track in a hard bouncy set. My personal favorite on the compilation. 8/10
6. Shift - Corrosion
No introduction needed for Shift, or the track for that matter. It comes in with that Shift style melody that is too menacing to be cheesy. Good percussion and a hard bassline really gives this track a lot of force to it. I really like almost all of the sounds in this track and I think this is one of the better ones he has done in a long time... And the corrosion of the track at 1:45 was a really nice touch... After that little interruption it gets that hard groovy bassline that I actually am a big sucker for and picks up a nice accompany lead while the percussion takes up the slack to give it a good full groove. Really dirty but clean leads are the story of this tune and I am always a sucker for that. Around 3:25 it goes into a break and acquires a Twisted System style lead (go figure). The lead goes through a good filtering sequence and hits you hard in the gut and face at the same time. Around the 5:15 minute mark it goes into another pseudo break and gets this very interesting simple melody riff that really works especially with the offsetting bells on it. I enjoyed this tune and didn't have any major complaints. I am not the biggest fan of most melodies, but I really felt that the ones used in this tune weren't obtrusive and pretty well done overall. 7.5/10
  An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
|
|
|
mubali
Mubali
Started Topics :
71
Posts :
2219
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 03:12
|
Part 2...
7. Bon - The Only Escape
Bon is an Italian Producer that has released on the past couple of D.P. releases. I first heard Problem Child and really really loved that tune (I played it till my cd scratched.)
This track opens up with a very interesting opening with a very altered vocal sample till it mentions that "God is not here today" In the back of my mind, I'm goin, "No shit, I guess he's playing Skeeball"...
The opening has this really hi pitched squeal thingy goin on and it gets this interesting lead around 1:26 which was a little too early for me. I usually like semi long mixes and combined with the long intro, doesn't leave me that much time to mix. But that aside, the leads that being used are kinda on the fence for me.. I almost like them but they seem a little too rubberry for me. Around 2:57 comes this melody that I honestly did not care for very much. Really reminded me of something that would go on in heavily melodic trance. This track does have some really wierd sounds, especially the squeaky one around 4:11. Around 4:23 comes this break that has this other floaty melody in it that fortunately leaves by 4:47. It comes back in with that rubbery synth that has been filtered, and on top of it is this dirty sounding lead that I did enjoy, but it being in conjunction with the rubbery sound didn't really work for me. At 5:42 the God sample comes back and is nicely warped but that rubbery sound is back too and doesn't really do it for me. I really wanted to like this track because I really loved Problem Child, but unfortunately the rubbery sound and the general flow of the track didn't really allow me to fully enjoy it. 4.5/10
8. Xatrik - The Spice
Xatrik is known for his releases on Timecode as well as D.P., and him and I share the same first name of Greg.
The tracks title eludes to one of the most heavily sampled movies in electronic music Dune, but we won't worry about that currently. I really dug the bassline on it and the percussion. I wasn't the biggest fan of the melodies that is used in this particular track, but I did dig the general flow of this tune. 2:34 comes the first Dune sample "The Spice Must Flow", and at the end of that mini break comes this sound that made me wanna go back and hear it again... Really nasty sounding... Overall this track does carry a modern goa feel without it having to be melody heavy. The percussion and the bassline really carry this tune for me and the bassline change at around 4min is really nice for me. Gives it an extra groove and some funk, but at around 4:23 it changes again, which I don't object to bassline changes but I would've liked that aggressive funky bassline to stick around a bit longer. At around 4:56 it hits another break where the opening melody is gated and screwed with and here comes that crazy ass sound again teasing me like a stripper during a private dance. The more I listen to the melody that he uses, the more I think that it does really fit with this track. I may not neccesarrily like it, but I don't really think too many other type of melodies would have really worked there either... All in all, I would consider this a cruiser, but not too bad. 6/10
9. Kluster - Walker
Many of you know about Kluster, he's been doin his thing for quite a while now and really adds that Swedish forest flavour to it. Lots of odd crazy sounds for this one with a good relentless bassline. I enjoyed the percussion in this one as well (can you tell I'm a percussion nut) and the sound that comes in at 2:12 is something that I really liked. It wasn't too over the top and has those little energy shifting 4 beat kick rolls that you find in lots of the forest sounding stuff. FM madness at it's best. At 3:23 comes this crazy but under control lead that really works. At 3:48 comes a melody that is kinda similar to the one Xatrik used but it seems a bit darker. At 4:15 comes this sample and yes I do understand that our time is limited. It seems to be a calm before the crazy storm that comes in at 4:42 and it gets back the 3note bassline and gets that crazy lead with the melody too. At 5:08 it gets a very interesting offseting semi melodic lower toned stab that I think really works with the track. All the sounds in this track really seem to communicate well with each other and don't seem to get to the obnoxious point in any of them. The track as a whole doesn't really seem to get very storming, I think for where it is at on the compilation was the best place to put it. The one big complaint that I have about this track is it does seem like there could have been more sounds and been made a little fuller. After the 7 minute mark it does seem to drag a little though. All in all, a good tune from Kluster and it's good to hear the Swedish forest sound still in full effect. 6.5/10
10. Dark Nebula and Scatterbrain - Crash and Burn
Finally you have Dark Nebula and Scatterbrain closing out the compilation. You can't have a D.P. comp without these two cats. The track has some crazy ass electronic sounds with a sample that only these two guys can find. The track goes into a definite full-on bassline groove that you have become acustomed to if you have listened to melodic full-on for a bit. The leads here work rather nicely with the samples that offset eachother.. at 1:59 it gets this really powerful melody that for me seems a little out of place with the overall feel of the track. At 2:24 comes a good choppy sounding lead. The crash and burn sample was cool, dug that a bunch. For me though the track as a whole seemed a little alien to what I was used to hearing from both of these guys. You could tell that both of these guys worked hard on this track and tried to make it different from their other stuff, but I really wasn't too into this track. Makes a good closing track, but this isn't the best I have heard from these guys. 5/10
Overall, there was at least something that I found cool or nostalgic in every song, but there might be only one or two tracks on the whole cd that I would play. That's mainly because I am not really into the melodic stuff, but I am certain that several of those tracks will find their way into many dj sets.
The one thing that I did enjoy the most out of the cd wasn't the music, but the cover itself. That cover kicks ass!!! Long after this cd has been archived to my music library of cd, the cover will be on my wall...
6/10 overall
Many thanks to Luke Psywalker for sending the cd and I know that there will be quite a bit of people caning this release for times to come...
I am kinda new to this whole review thing, so I am brutally honest, and I would expect nothing less if people reviewed my music.
An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
|
|
|
Noise Poison Records
Noise Poison Records
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
579
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 10:15
|
High Mubali .....
first of all ..... honesty is the most treasure, doesn't matter where ...... and a review don't need to be positive .... yours is honest and wellwritten ..... and finally I agree to the most of its points ..... so please don't stop writing, as a native english speaking person more easy for you also, and delight us with more reviews in the future..... interesting to me for sure, cause I think in consideration to your taste in music your reviews will open another, skilled view on good music !
thx ya for .....
cheers
I just came out, cause it seems there was a noise outside ! .... added to Parvati Records rooster .. check webside !!!
http://www.parvati-records.com
http://www.noise-poison.com
http://www.myspace.com/dj_ilse |
|
|
|
DJ Buju
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
70
Posts :
1334
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 14:49
|
|
a3k
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
269
Posts :
7826
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 16:33
|
|
nice review.to 2 point.
... |
|
|
|
Rah
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
498
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 18:20
|
Changed sequencer window for the text editor and i'd say it came out pretty well. As for the actual meat, well... you said it all
elementoftime.net
musique à la carte in mp3 & wav.
Sonic-energy.net
Reviews, interviews, downloads, articles. |
|
|
|
*Karma Cola*
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
113
Posts :
2314
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 21:19
|
I like most of teh tracks on teh compilation.. all sound like a 'peak' track to me and if u hear one after teh other its pretty relentless..
Good work.. keep up..
Nice review Mubali
~*** You can tell By the way i use my walk, Im a woman's man, No time to Talk***~ |
|
|
|
lokus
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
12
Posts :
684
Posted : Jun 9, 2005 22:13
|
interesting review,
best track for me is
kluster - walker
i like the groovy but not at all cheasy touch and the funny sounds.
this one is a crazy twilight to morning track.
followed by
damage - unspeakable evil
true damage sound, sounds much better then tracks from his album
shift - corrosion
hard, dark with lots of shift sounds...very good one
boom
- last possible solution
- trick music
- ambivalent records
myspace.com/lokuz
ps: y trance?
|
|
|
|
Mat N
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
272
Posts :
1211
Posted : Jun 10, 2005 15:56
|
Damage Bon and Kluster are my favorites here. all in all, this compilation is good but not as good as Psionic Storm. anyway, watch out for this Bon guy, i really liked his tracks so far.
|
|
|
|
Salamandrill
Started Topics :
1
Posts :
49
Posted : Jun 10, 2005 17:31
|
|
shift and dark nebula, good stuff!!
|
|
|
|
DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
142
Posts :
547
Posted : Jun 10, 2005 18:54
|
V/A – Psionic Circus
Cover: http://tinyurl.com/9z86r
Artist: Various
Title: Psionic Circus
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Digital Psionics (Australia)
Cat. #: DPSICD12
Distribution: Arabesque
Date: 16 May 2005
Track listing:
01. 06’34” Safi Connection – Albert On Acid
02. 07’07” Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case
03. 07’07” Tube – Land Of Reason
04. 06’10” Skazi & CPU – Highest Party
05. 06’50” Damage – Unspeakable Evil
06. 07’28” Shift - Corrosion
07. 07’15” Bon – The Only Escape
08. 07’09” Xatrik – The Spice
09. 09’15” Kluster - Walker
10. 09’22” Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn
.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/9zek7 (all tracks)
Review:
Cirque du Psionics…
Australia’s leading export, Digital Psionics, is finally out with its much awaited and heavily delayed 12th release... A quick glance at the tracklist reveals a close resemblance with the tracklist on last year’s Psionic Storm compilation – and what looks like too many Skazi disciples… Oh well, Luke Psywalker and Luna Orbit compiled this baby – and they rarely let me down, so let’s dig a little deeper and smell the saw dust…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Safi Connection – Albert On Acid
“…His family was away at the time, so he had a lot of fear, that he had perhaps damaged his mind by doing this. He lay in bed, at one point his consciousness was up on the ceiling, looking down on what he took to be his dead body… ” Mishel Bitton from Israel is a very productive full-on producer with no less than 4 released albums and tons and tons of compilation tracks… None of the tracks I’ve heard from him have been outstanding though – but this takes the cake as the best one I’ve heard thus far… The intro is very experimental and the overall groove is smooth and bouncing… I like the little melody and the many crazy FX sprinkled throughout the track… The drug-samples are perhaps a bit over the top (and also used by Vibe Tribe!?), but they don’t annoy me at all… A nice little track for sure!
#02: Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case
“They play music and meditate. And wait patiently for UFOs to appear…” Here’s another collaboration between Ollie Wisdom and Luke Psywalker… I really liked the collaborations on Psionic Storm and on the Space Tribe Collaborations album… Again we get Olli’s light, fluffy, melodic full-on mated with the harder, wicked input from Psywalker – a well-tested formula that works! Twisted, futuristic full-on… And whenever Ollie is about to get too fluffy, Luke saves the day… Another nice track!
#03: Tube – Land Of Reason
Enter the first member of the Chemical Mafia: Pini Alon from Israel… It’s no secret that I’m not particularly impressed with the whole Skazi spin-off hell circus… And this track is a good reason why – already within the first minute the track is drenched in the same mind-numbing heavy metal guitars we’ve heard over and over again… And as others have pointed out – the obvious Infected Mushroom-inspired reversed piano-riffs… Move on already! Filler!
#04: Skazi & CPU – Highest Party
“Welcome to the highest party in the world!” And now for the most hated man in our scene… Skazi! Before Shaffel Records turned into Chemical Crew and before every single Prodigy, Metallica and Britney Spears was brutally butchered, I actually liked some of his stuff… The first album was pretty good, but ever since I’ve avoided everything labelled Skazi Inc… Oh well, it’s not Skazi on his own here – he’s collaborating with CPU (Samy Guediche) so I’m gonna give this track a fair chance before I bash it… Actually it’s not as bad as I had expected… There are indeed interesting moments here – especially the breaks and acid-bits are pretty well executed… And it seems as if CPU was in charge of the track construction, as there are only a few obvious signs of Skazi’s usual arsenal of sing-a-long samples and electric guitars… Unfortunately the track seems to lack an overall sense of direction and as such the flow is a little off… Decent track!
#05: Damage – Unspeakable Evil
Third member of the Chemical Mafia is Deon Baard from Japan… The recent Damage track on the Electric Embryo compilation was so-so, but on the other hand the track on the Psionic Earth compilation released last year was awesome… And actually, this is a pretty nice track too… I’ve always been a sucker for squeaking acid-lines and there’s an abundance of those here… Deon twists his knobs like a madman on this flaring hard, acid-ridden night-time tune… It reminds me of Rinkadink/Time Code stuff at times – and I really like that! Solid tune!
#06: Shift – Corrosion
Next up is good old Chris Hoy from South Africa – an extremely productive guy who’s also one half of Twisted System… I really liked his track on the Ketuh compilation ALittle Lunacy released earlier this year – and this follows the same formula… An extremely demented acid-line hurts your teeth in the intro – you will either love it or it will annoy the hell outta you… I think it’s pretty cool – same with the breaks here… This is fast-paced, acid-ridden night-trance with enough stamina and dance-potential to last well into the summer… Good stuff!
#07: Bon – The Only Escape
“God is not here today!” Bon is Fausto Emiliano Gianni from Italy – he’s been a Digital Psionics regular for years and so far I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from him… As with earlier Bon material this is darkish night-trance with epic, melodic qualities…. The long pads in the background are beautifully executed and they are quite trance-inducing… Quite refreshing after the extremely complex, diverse Damage and Shift tracks, but somehow also a little anonymous… But for sure a nice track…
#08: Xatrik – The Spice
“The spice must flow…” Greg Hamber from South Africa released his excellent and extremely psychedelic debut album Project A on Digital Psionics last summer… An album I still get much enjoyment from when I want to challenge my senses… This track is a little less complex than the album tracks - actually it’s pretty stripped down for the first three minutes until the break… Greg plays around with filters and layers and manages to create a paranoia-like atmosphere… I’m not sure whether I like this track or not… For sure it has its moments, but somehow I find it to be a little too introvert and not very living room friendly… A decent track!
#09: Kluster – Walker
“You do understand that our time is limited don’t you?” Michael Petterson from Sweden released his debut album Bug Fix on Digital Psionics in 2002 – and has had quite a few tracks on darkish compilations… And sure enough, this is a darkish track too… With the trademark synthetic Kluster melody… Reminds me of Derango, Procs or old Hux Flux at certain places - meaning this is very, very trippy Swedish forest trance – shroomy and psychedelic! … Just the way I like it… Very nice track!
#10: Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn
“That’s weird… I’m loosing my mind. I must be imagining things… Hey don’t forget! This weekend – all weekend long, it’s a crash and burn weekend!” Just like on the last two DP compilations, here’s a collaboration track between two of Australia’s finest producers (Luna Orbit & Adam Walters)… Just like the last collaborations, this is a very, very sweet track… It’s just like you’d expect from these guys – weird! The intro is super-trippy and kinda old-school … The melodic lead is very Scatterbrain’ish – twisted and psychedelic… A dark, yet uplifting track – with a distinct drive and tons and tons of funny bits and pieces… I mean – check out the break – and the Gregorian chanting monks… It works! One of the best tracks here!
Digital Psionics is indeed one of my favourite labels and they have yet to put out a disappointing release. This is a very tasty compilation – well, I don’t like the lousy Tube track and there are a couple of not so good tracks here… But the rest is very nice, and the good/bad ratio is high enough to validate a purchase… Digital Psionics fans will not be disappointed, and I’m sure people who liked the last Ketuh compilation In Crypto will also find something of interest here… High quality, in-your-face modern hyper-trance… Enjoy!
Favourites: 1, 2, 5(!), 6, 9, 10(!!)
DeathPosture
External links:
Digital Psionics: http://www.digitalpsionics.com
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/a74c3
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9mqlm
Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/a4d36
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/clc9e
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/8qkpl
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/e3nyr
Juno: http://tinyurl.com/bhtml
On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
|
|
|
DiMiTry
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
70
Posts :
2299
Posted : Jun 10, 2005 20:16
|
lol
for me, somewhere in between Mubali's and DPs reviews.. most tracks are not so great, but not bad either. 7/10.
..it's just another party.. |
|
|
|
lukepsywalker
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
165
Posted : Jun 14, 2005 08:07
|
hey folks
thanks for the honest reviews , its greatly appreciated . special thanks go to greg(i love melody mubali hehehe) and martin for there in depth reviews . i can understand some peoples sentiments with some of the tracks . mainly the chemical crew artist stuff . but in our own defence we have released tube and damage before they were signed to chemical crew . and the skazi +cpu track is quite different to the normal skazi tunes . also i feel that it has more cpu influence. anyway ,good that there is some honest feedback and i hope people enjoy this dancefloor comp . keep an eye out for our next release , a debut album from BON due end of july . more details in promotion section soon .
peace out
|
|
|
|
enichkin
eniChkin Project
Started Topics :
12
Posts :
206
Posted : Jun 14, 2005 15:32
|
|
Not the best of digital psionics 4/10 |
|
|
|
Mat N
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
272
Posts :
1211
Posted : Jun 14, 2005 16:04
|
Quote:
|
On 2005-06-14 08:07, lukepsywalker wrote:
keep an eye out for our next release , a debut album from BON due end of july . more details in promotion section soon .
peace out
|
|
this is exactly what i was looking for. great news 
|
|
|
|
|
