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VA - Hypnotwist [Sonic Motion Records 2009]
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neuromantik
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
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593
Posted : Mar 1, 2009 17:10:14
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Title: Hypnotwist
Artist: Various Artists
Label: Sonic Motion Records
Date: 02/2009
Tracks: 9
Mastered by: Tim Schuldt @ 4CN Studios
Tracklist:
01 – Noisy Pipes - No Transpose
02 – Zion Linguist - Black Jack
03 – Triskell - Chips n' Twist
04 – Toxic - Mayhem
05 – Phatmatix - Behind You
06 – Killer Buds - Kim's Special
07 – Atyss - Room 237
08 – Orca - Hat Madder
09 – Deeper in Zen - Razzer
Atyss is once again back with another hard hitting compilation "Hypnotwist" which still keeping true to the spirit of the label, is a lot more darker sounding than its predecessor. Let's pop the CD in and see what's cooking 
1. No Transpose... This pearl of an introduction is brought to us by newly signed Sonic Motion French artist Noisy Pipes, delivering a brooding stomper which progresses very nicely into a haunting piece of tech-trance meets industrial, setting the tone for the rest of things to come After an intesresting intro mixing what sounds like a ping pong ball in a pipe (no pun intended) with some form of pictched down Russian Red Army Choir  , Nico gradually builds things up, with a break here, there mingled with muffled screams and what not.. Until finally hitting the final break at 5'15", an oldschool saw pad reminiscing of some old Carpenter movie soundtrack mixed with a cute Adaams Family sample, things finally start getting serious (cue dancefloor going crazy ) at around 7' where all hell breaks loose, literally some distorted industrial "bark", female screams, that same brooding chorus, really words can't describe, best listen to the sample (think Trance meets Terrorfakt).. IMHO NP is filling the void that Tim Schuldt left in the trance scene... 9/10
2. The second track is by South African artist Zion Linguist, and I'll be short, this track is designed for the dancefloors... The mix is very tight, drum programming very techno and linear, but in a good way, and at around 1' doesn't waste any time to cue the acid effects and shift into 2nd gear.. A very "cold" vocal sample can be heard during the intro and during the break in the middle at around 4', wish he did more with that (sounds a little like the vocals in Black Strobe's rmx of Moscow Reisen, sorry for the obscure reference ), and well the track just chugs along more or less as the first half, very driving but as said earlier with little "story" to tell (ie not for home listening)... 6/10 
3. The third track is brought to us by Triskell, which although being on the scene for over 6 years STILL hasn't blessed us with an album (wake up Fred!!).. Well in typical Triskell fashion, this track is a swirl of rolling basslines, sweeps and swooshes, sound fx which are so intricately layered it seems as if they're talking to one another I always enjoy that about Triskell, is that his style is for the moment unique (no copiers yet) and instantly recognizable Things shift into 2nd gear at around 2'20" when a dirty acid lead sneaks its way into the mix and things seems to progress smoothely until the next break halfway through but not for long.. The dust starts to kick back up into the air and things get moving again, this time with some colorful leads and the "power" lead common with the genre at around 4'36", from which the tone seems to shift towards something more darker (which is always good in my book until a great climax à la Triskell towards the end (fans will know what I'm talking about), shifting keys here and there, keeping the tension strong.. 7.5/10
4. Mayhem starts with some heavy metal guitars, a little too obvious IMO, but afterwards things don't waste any time with some interesting percussion, a throbbing bassline, and some Virus and other sounds over the rest... Things sound a little clunky, the production is great but it isn't very groovy as the rest, too Skazi-ish in structure for my tastes.. It isn't until the massive break at 4'10" that things start to get interesting, guitars alternating with a scorching synth lead, everything building and building, rinse, lather and repeat The buildup in this track is simply over the top, I can easily see people going crazy on the dancefloor, and despite the very bad taste of sampling Governor Schwarzenegger, I recocognize the raw power of this track and don't doubt that it can be a DJ favorite... However, being a home listener, I'm sorry to say that the "story-telling" content of this track is almost nil, and urge Toxic to bring back tracks like "Arise" (Acidance) 5/10
  I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea it's too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity. -RR |
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neuromantik
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
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Posted : Mar 1, 2009 17:11
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5. Phatmatix needs no introduction... He just released this 2nd full length album, and it this reviewer's opinion it is hands down the BEST album in its genre of 2008. It starts off very nicely but doesn't waste too much time in delivery a really tight kick/bassline, phatmatix patented acid riffs, and snare you can beat head too its so nice and crisp, until finally at 1'16" it goes directly into 3rd gear with some nice EBM synth ornaments reminiscent of "Beyond Reality" in the mix... By 2 minutes you're teleported into some otherworldly place, a haunting scream in the void, those twisted evil riffs guiding your way... Man this shit'z good By 2'25" the eerie pitched up piano of "Universal Prophecy" sneaks its way in, I like how Steph just layers the sounds without hitting us too hard... yet... By 3'30", this for me is where the track reaches its apex, massive leads, same EBM lead iterating itself into our brains... Ok it starts to break down at around 4'32" where we're allowed to breathe a little... It then continues on a little toned down, a nice little morning groove feel now, a little less ominous as the 1st half.. Great nonetheless By only complaint for this track is that it's too short!? But it is easily on par with some of the finer gems on the album 9.5/10
6. Killer Buds bring us the 6th track, and after a rather excited intro consisting of a muffled snare roll with a nice intermingling of odd samples, by the minute mark it doesn't waste any time or energy with a very sick kick/bassline, tight production, heavy snares and yet again starts to build and build, so much energy, the only breathing space is when the mix glitches up a bit... Yes the stutter factor is very present here, but it is done in moderation... After a short break at around 2'40, things start getting back on track, the production here is really nice, I don't recall their album on Beyond Logic sounding this good... By the 3'30" a nicely modulated chime starts to catch our fancy, complete with a nice hanting pad in background, but let's not kid ourselves, the rythms and drum programming, stuttering about, is what is driving this track... By 5', the last break give us one last breather, before a massive build up overshadowing the previous ones, very nicely done, very dancefloor friendly, and things explode once again.. the rest just seems to evolve into what comes naturally, structure wise this track is quite dynamic, the production is superb and it is guaranteed to kick up some dust... 7/10
7. Man it is intros like this which I feel should be an example to all... Despite a muffled kick at the minute mark, it lasts over 2 minutes!!
So Atyss starts things off on a very ominous film-noir feeling, somehow Nexus 6 comes to mind, the layering of sounds is superb, odd machine like gears are being set into motion, and by the end the bassline takes the reigns and begins to drive the listener into a frenzy Did I mention this guy owns the label? Anyhow things seem to settle a bit after that amazing progression, some noisy synth interweaved with a nice bubbler as I like to call it, very out of body tune this one... The break hits at 5'10" and it builds up into a very powerful and IMO misplaced power saw lead which cries too much Abomination/Azax influence, thankfully it isn't mixed quite as loud and we are able to enjoy the background which is so very very nice As the track progressively dies down, the samples that seem to litter this track just keep on screaming Film Noir/SF, the ambience created is very effective.. Atyss' production has really grown by leaps and bounds, I'm sure his album will be one to remember.. 8/10
8. We're almost at the end and next up to bat is Israel's desert scorcher Orca, which I must say I really enjoy his debut album, it sounds all Double REL in the good sense before they sold out in bad sense... ok back on the subject, this track has a clean bassline, very groovy, very nice use of twisted twilight leads which are still very effective even though the patch is getting a little tired... I can't say much about the track except that it grooves along very nicely, bassline changing pitch once ever so often to not lose our interest, the acid fx are very nicely scattered about, but things really start to get interesting at around 4'50" mark... Why can't we stay in this register a little bit longer? This is a grim passage, the bassline is litterally grumbling, and the snare and lead are exactly what I strive for, dark minimalism (well only sometimes.. ) But it doesn't last long however, and the bassline changes a lot now, the leads are twisting about, the drive at this point is very effective and "happy".. Yes Orca is the master at making "happy" twilight 6.5/10
9. I'm a bit tired of writing at this point lol , but it's too bad because this last track is a nice morning tune in complete contrast with the preceding ones, very oldschool sounding (reminds me a bit of Sacred Cycles with a 16th bassline). By 2'15" a nice very light lead is added to the mix, following by some searing saws added in for power, and it just continues on, albeit in a linear fashion, but very welcome nonetheless as it is effectively laying our neurons to rest I'll just add that the background pads are what catches my attention the most, very 90s Eno like... 7/10
Overall this CD is a must have for any serious Twilight Psy fan, especially for the French artists (hey I'm not bias ), for home listening as well as DJing of course. I can't wait to hear some of these tracks really loud soon (hint hint hint )
Oh yeah, I recently found out that Noisy Pipes will be releasing his album shortly on the same label and in this reviewer's opinion, if the quality is great as "No Transpose" and measures up as much as the title is long ("Out of Sync..."), then it will be as we like to say "incontournable"
I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea it's too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity. -RR |
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squirm
IsraTrance Senior Member
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254
Posts :
2638
Posted : Mar 2, 2009 01:23
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good review to a great cd imo.
i really dug the phatmatix tune, the melody he introduces towards the end is just so well constructed and placed, damn .
triskell has a nice brooder of a track, still maintaining his own sound as neuromantik suggested, but i cant help but be reminded of the slightly older phatmatix sound with the leads that triskell uses.
orca's 'hat madder' is nice a jumpy tune that will definitely kick start a party
really dug the atyss track, it has a nice creepy ambience to it that is never quite lossed in the groove and creepy melodies that follow the track.
the noisy pipes track is pretty interesting and definitely a standout in this album in that it is definitely a grimmer industrial influenced tune. his album should be pretty interesting indeed.
killer buds come release a bomb with 'kim's special' - this is the best that they have sounded in years! i did not like the synthetic vision album, but this tune gives me faith in this act. nice, loud, and chaotic @ 147 bpm - NICE 
great going by atyss and the sonic motion crew, really looking forward to the noisy pipes album and the other artist albums to follow
plur
www.soundcloud.com/ishikawa
www.mechanikrecords.com
www.phonix-records.com
www.mixcloud.com/ishikawa/ |
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Sandy Klaus
Noisy Pipes
Started Topics :
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Posted : Mar 3, 2009 00:11
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Well thank you both for the reviews and comments. Beside the fact that you liked the record, it's always a pleasure to read your prose.
My favorites on this cd are Phatmatix' and Orca's.
What I can say about the album so far is that it will be definitely mixing genres including psychedelic trance of course, electro industrial and stuff sounding more like movie soundtracks...
Cheers,
Nico
Noisy Pipes - http://www.myspace.com/noisypipes |
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atyss sonic
Atyss
Started Topics :
77
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130
Posted : Apr 19, 2009 19:34
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Glacial
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
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Posts :
187
Posted : Apr 20, 2009 06:46
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The Killer Buds track was a real surprise here, huuuge tune. Reminds me of old Zion Linguist - really looking forward to their upcoming split album now.
Orca & Phatmatix were wicked too, and the Noisy Pipes tune was one of the better tracks i've heard from the project. Good stuff. |
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energy spliff
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
25
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Posted : May 5, 2009 16:29
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