Artist: Various (Japan)
Title: Far East Technology - Next Generation Of Japanese Trance Format: CD (jewel case/digipack)
Label: ELF Music (Japan)
Cat. #: ELFCD 012
Distribution: QQS/Wirikuta
Date: October 2006
Track listing:
01. 0726 Kuromitsu Beautiful Moon Rise
02. 0658 Future Sonic Black Sky
03. 0742 Macotrax aka. Salem - Toluene
04. 0826 Tri-Force Place Of Dawn
05. 0738 Drap Drop The Clone Who Is Freakin Out
06. 0911 Ten-G - Butterfly
07. 0739 Savage Scream Underground Shiva
08. 0732 Paradigm Shifter Dupe On Mad
09. 0724 11 vs. Symphonics Space Criminal
ELF Music has fast become one of the steadiest suppliers of high quality Japanese psytrance They linger somewhere in between hard-hitting underground stuff like Slum, fluffier club trance like Tri-Force and nu-school goan psytrance like Phi and Drap Drop Ive liked the majority of their releases and after a couple of really excellent artist albums from Slum and Drap Drop its time for another compilation the first since the brilliant from After 10 Years Of Japanese Trance from 2004. Again its a mix of upcoming talents and established Japanese artists Lets get it on!
Let me take you thru the tracks
#01: Kuromitsu Beautiful Moon Rise [138 BPM]
Things kick off at a comfortable 138 BPM and a familiar Engrish spelling mistake (Beatiful) This is my first encounter with the music of Youki Kuromitsu but with this kind of production talent I find it hard to believe this is his first released track What we get here is a lovely piece of melodic morning trance seasoned with a bunch of psytrance elements Stunning production and lush progression Obviously on the clubbier side of things, but the old-school melodic structures are simply lovely and I cant help it but smile when listening to this fine piece of trance and I totally love the quirky breaks. Moonshine music a la 2006 when its best!
#02: Future Sonic Black Sky [145 BPM]
The name Future Sonic might not ring a bell, but this project is a couple of experienced trancers. Hideyuki Mitsumoto (aka Sinister Association and one half of Joujouka with Tsuyoshi Suzuki) + Ali Murakami who has been involved in a bunch of techno/psytrance releases on Feedback Recordings. So these gentlemen are no strangers to the scene and that fact does not go by unnoticed in this track. This is a relentlessly powerful, full-on track A little bit on the cheesy sense with the main focus being on huge melodic leads and dancefloor appeal. Wholesome dance music with a distinct Japanese flavour. Very well produced and incredibly danceable but also just a tad too clubby for me to fully enjoy it
#03: Macotrax aka. Salem Toluene [145 BPM]
Makoto Murase is also known as Salem and I have absolutely no idea if he has released anything before this. What I do know is that hes made a track named Toluene which is also known as methylbenzene or paint thinner. And yeah, I can see why. This gets much more deranged than the first two tracks This is non-linear, complex electronica with more than a few surprises thrown in to mess you up The old-school analogue computer game sounds work nicely alongside the twirling synths, the subtle acid and the fragmented rhythms And in that sense this is much more a trip tool than a dancefloor track It requires some advanced dancing at least. An interesting and VERY Japanese track.
#04: Tri-Force Place Of Dawn [140 BPM]
Yashinori Saito released his debut album Entrance To Reality on ELF Music in 2005. And whilst it had its moments, it was too commercial for my taste. This track pretty much follows the same formula as the album: Uplifting, commercial club-trance with tiny traits of progressive and psy-trance Im all for cross-over, but Im afraid this one doesnt do much but bore me Yawn!
#05: Drap Drop The Clone Who Is Freakin Out [145 BPM]
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face. Stars to fill my dreams. I am a traveller of both time and space. To be where I have been. Drap Drop (Diogo Yoshino & Tsunemoto Kobayashi) released their wonderful debut album Dropdead Gorgeous on ELF Music in April 2006. Definitely one of the most underrated albums of the year I love it! And this track is another perfect example of just how talented these guys are. This is eclectic, hard-hitting, underground-pumping psytrance with a ton of quirky little turns and funny twists The quote from Led Zeppelins Kashmir being one example. A wonderful track which works both for the feet and for the mind. Awesome!
#06: Ten-G Butterfly [146 BPM]
I have limited info on the Ten-G project but from what I hear Tats & Yozi are quite the talk of the town within the Japanese psy-community And by listening to this track I totally understand why this is a monstrous track! A kaleidoscopic and frantic tour de force covering many styles within electronic music Tech-trance, drill&breakz, spugedelic sauna trance, hentai dub, anime plastic pop and of course a reasonable amount of shroom-a-delic psytrance A huge old psytrance quilt knitted from the finest, most exquisite ingredients Wooow! Prepare to be blown away!
#07: Savage Scream Underground Shiva [146 BPM]
Savage Scream is nocturnal horror-trancer Mizuki Nishihata who has often scared the bejesus out of me with his vicious gut-wrenching tracks Hes the Marilyn Manson of psytrance and this is another deranged, ferocious track of his Pitch black, introvert horror trance destined to cause both nightmares and headaches Its all about deep bounding basslines, high-pitched acid-squelches and brutally grotesque graveyard antics On paper that might seem simplistic, but this is very well done and Im entertained for the most part here, though it tends to get somewhat tedious for a while. But still an efficient, powerfull track.
#08: Paradigm Shifter Dupe On Mad [146 BPM]
Everyones on fire! Kagetoshi Nakamura is perhaps better known under his Noise Gust alias And where the previous track was dark and distorted, this is darkish and acid-driven Oh yes, this is where the acid flows freely and the 303 gets a workout of a lifetime. Its a bona fide synapse bomb of epic proportions The knob-adjustment here is like a mix of Phi meets GNOTR meets Phyx meets Josh Wink Oh yeah, thats a whole lot of acid right thereBut it totally works here This is fun-filled, action-packed, value-for-money acid-trance And Im totally loving it! Lovely!
#09: 11 vs. Symphonics Space Criminal [145 BPM]
After the tragic death of Shinnosuke Masuo (former member of Phi) in March 2005 some of his tracks were picked up by friends and released as tribute to him honouring his legacy. This is one of those tracks finished by 11 (Jyuichi). Style wise were somewhere between psychedelic polka and fast-paced space rodeo-techno with an influx of spongeadelic synth-pop Hard to describe really but that doesnt make it less good. This is excellent crossover material Very driving, deeply eclectic and totally trippy! The perfect requiem for Shinnosuke. Rest in peace!
Another VERY fine ELF Music release comes to and end. The psy-samurai sacrificed another one of his nine lives to dance with geishas, party hard with the Yakuza and smoke it up with Confucius. Two years down the road from After 10 Years Of Japanese Trance I cannot think of a better snapshot of the current state of Japanese trance affairs, than this excellent compilation. It ranges from fluffy club trance to the hardest, most deranged underground psytrance imaginable. So whilst the flow might be a little off, the sheer magnitude of music more than makes up for that.
The first half of the CD has a couple of cheesy club trax which didnt really please my taste buds, but the second half excels with one sure-fit mega-hit after another The level of experimentation is impressive and I cannot even begin to describe how amazing the second half of the CD is Those five tracks are worth every single yen you have to pay for this CD. The Monty Phyton-inspired artwork work is also very nice and fits the music perfectly. Trust me on this one; if you havent heard this CD youre missing out Big time! Recommended to all fans of eclectic, electronic music in all its guises. Enjoy!
