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VA: New Directions (Starsound Records)

Candy
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  184
Posts :  2273
Posted : Dec 1, 2003 20:43
1. Kinetic - Zero One
2. Total Eclipse - On the Moon
3. Prosper - Hard Drive
4. Time Lock - Insert Reset
5. Silicon Sound - Deep Eye
6. Psyside - Pitch in Black
7. Starsys - Stargate
8. The Antidote - Mr. Nice
9. Nemesis Divine - Lavazza

7th release by Starsound Records – one of the leading Greek labels.
Starsound have combined 2 sides in this compilation – night music and morning music – which is something you don’t get to hear much, especially since most music released today is morning.
The compilation consists of well known international artists. Seems as if Starsound Records chose one or 2 ambassadors from each trance leading country – which makes it quite an interesting c.d, as most countries have their unique sounds - Greece, France, Israel, Spain and even Yugoslavia.
The compilation begins with nocturnal music mixed with dense and thick beats. Numerous psychedelic noises - you can hear hundreds of small sounds, but yet so distinctive from each other. Pumping and energizing beats that will accompany you till the middle of the c.d. The style changes to uplifting morning (or should I say neo full on?) with Silicon Sound with bright and dynamic music. The compilation continues with morning full on, funny and interesting trippy sounds.

To sum it up - a good release, worth to listen and purchase. High quality music production. This is what you get hear nowdays in parties.

          Majority is never right!

"Without music, life is meaningless."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Basilisk
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  168
Posts :  2984
Posted : Jul 20, 2005 17:57
V/A - New Directions [Starsound 2003] CD

Kinetic - Zero One
Total Eclipse - On the Moon
Prosper - Hard Drive
Time Lock - Insert Reset
Silicon Sound - Deep Eye
Psyside - Pitch in Black
Starsys - Stargate
The Antidote - Mr. Nice
Nemesis Divine - Lavazza

New Directions was the seventh release from Greek label Starsound. At any rate, this compilation found its way into my collection, so I thought I might pore over it to seperate wheat from chaff.

Kinetic opens the compilation with Zero One, a frantic full-on floor burner with some rather questionable sample usage. While it does develop a melodic backbone in the later sequences, this comes across as a sloppy and amateur piece of work.

Veteran producer Total Eclipse drops in to deliver On the Moon, and it is as dull as most of their post-1998 material. Analog-sounding but overall quite uninteresting, with no hook to sink your teeth into.

Prosper aka Manibus delivers the first notable track here with Hard Drive, an aptly named track full of distorted kick drums. The production quality is sort of muddy but it works for the style here - aggressive hard trance with a mildly gothic character. The big melodies that come surging out of the heavy underbelly of this beastly track really deliver on the dancefloor.

One half of the defunct Israeli techtrance act PPS Project, Time Lock's Insert Reset is rather typical for the artist. At first the sound was fresh and interesting, but my response to this sound rapidly decayed into indifference. Groovy bass lines and snappy little hooks proliferate through this track, leading it to be a decent enough piece of dancefloor fodder, and yet it fails to engage in any significant way.

Silicon Sound's Deep Eye is another light and ethereal piece of melodic psytrance, more full-on in sound and style but progressive in structure. The atmosphere here is breezy and easygoing, never complicated. This particular track is somewhat difficult to distinguish from the artist's other material, but it is a pleasant journey just the same. Not worth seeking out but nice to have for those morning moments.

Psyside is a French act that I was never really into. They had two albums come out after the millenium, and seem to have disappeared in the last couple years. Pitch in Black is actually one of the best tunes I've heard from the group - probably because they aren't using what I considered to be a rather irritating style of kick drum that you will hear in their other material. Here the beat is bubbly, with an unobtrusive use of percussion. Several melodies with an old school feel develop as the track drives on, which brings a smile to my face. In the heart of the track a notable sample plays through: "he's not just catatonic - he's disappeared... like having a dream, and never waking up". Following this, the last three words are repeated while the tension is raised progressively. Usually I don't like repetative sample usage, but it totally works in this instance. There's nothing too surprising on the other side, but this turns out to be an all right song.

Starsys is another act I have no familiarity with, and they bring out a curious hybrid of progressive morning sounds and old school flavour with the track Stargate. The production quality is once again an issue, but the composition makes up for it. Groovy beats with epic chords keep things interesting in the early half, with all sorts of bubbling effects curling around in the background. The major shift occurs at the mid-point break, when a pleasant melody reminiscent of Astral Projection launches a wiggling bass run that is sure to excite a dancefloor. A few breaks in the later half show off more of the old school Israeli vibe, though the amateur nature of this production becomes clear when the melodies fail to evolve. Were this to be a little more dynamic it would certainly rank as one of the better tunes here.

The Antidote's Mr. Nice is a punchy piece of psychedelic trance with some house influences. The tempo remains high, but the groove is all funky, with sharp hi-hats and progressive chords that sweep in and out. Think of the style heard on Synthetic's debut album and you will be getting close to the sound here. There is, however, no real substance to this track. Filler.

Nemesis Divine's Lavazza is sort of wishy-washy; an amateur production. Melodic morning stuff, but it doesn't bite. Anonymous sounding filler, unfortunatly.

New Directions proves to be something of a poor compilation, featuring several bland tracks and a few goodies. It isn't really the sort of music built for home listening, which also devalues the release. For the DJs out there you will find a handful of decent tracks here that make for fine dancefloor-friendly material, though it is questionable just how timeless some of this material will prove to be. In essence, this is easily forgotten DJ fodder for the time of its release. I'll still give the Prosper a spin once in a blue moon, but that's about it. Nowadays this qualifies as a decent enough bargain bin purchase but I see no reason to hunt this one down.

Faves: 3, 5, 6
Rating: 3/10
pr0fane
Multiphase

Started Topics :  418
Posts :  3816
Posted : Jul 20, 2005 18:22
Quote:

On 2005-07-20 17:57, basilisk wrote:
New Directions was the seventh release from Greek label Starsound, and it seems to be their second last as well. Nothing much has come out of their stable in the two years since this arrived, so perhaps they're done for.



Actually they released their 9th CD just this week:
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/ssc/ssc1cd009.html          DJ pr0fane (Iboga Records) | Multiphase
www.sunrisesupplies.com | www.iboga.dk | www.soundcloud.com/pr0fane
Basilisk
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  168
Posts :  2984
Posted : Jul 20, 2005 19:44
Notice the edit. Quite a coincidence that I went straight to Saiko after posting this
Trance Forum » » Forum  Music Reviews - VA: New Directions (Starsound Records)
 
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