Decoy - Not Responding To Light (Dance N Dust Records 2006) CD

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Decoy – Not Responding To Light

decoy1wt.jpg


Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Decoy (Australia)
Title: Not Responding To Light
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Dance N Dust (Israel)
Cat. #: DNDCD06
Distribution: Arabesque
Date: 13 February 2006

Track listing:

01. 07’05†The Ride
02. 09’55†Milkiness Of Infancy
03. 06’42†Snakey Wave
04. 10’10†Pio Pio
05. 07’15†The Feral Kid
06. 09’16†Akoha
07. 07’23†Playing 4 Time
08. 08’11†Rainwashed
09. 01’46†Afro Ken
10. 08’22†Ornette’s Nest

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/qjukp (all tracks!)

Review:

Progressive mardi gras…

The Aussie duo Decoy (Ian Chaplin & Philip Rex) used to make a living playing jazz and they’ve now successfully crossed over into progressive trance. I’ve only heard a handful of tracks from them, and especially their most experimental stuff has been very interesting… And judging by the long list of supporting musicians on this album, we’re in for something quite different here… And by that I mean real music, played by real people with real instruments… Sweet!

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: The Ride
The opening track is a slow-burning, afternoon venture into funky electro-groove… The live percussion is rich and the spoken vocals by Jeff Norris have stamina… It reminds me of a progged-up version of a Tristan… There’s nothing too complicated going on here, it’s just pure, edgy progressive trance with a fair bit of psy chunked in during the final run-down… Very tasty!

#02: Milkiness Of Infancy
The next track takes us further into cross-over territory… This is like a big melting pot of jazzy twirls mixed with ethno world beats and lush, plush progressive trance… Piano, didgeridoo and some hot vocal and throat noises by Mia Salsjo…. It’s like Kaya Project meets Tegma, and oh my, that’s a nice combo for sure… My only gripe is that this track runs for a little too long… It could easily have been slashed by a couple of minutes to avoid boredom…

#03: Snakey Wave
But do not despair, track #3 is here! And this is where it gets really interesting for me… This is definitely the tranciest tune thus far, and besides some thick morning psytrance influences we’re also exposed to a heavy dose of percussion trickery and some trademark Aussie phat reverbs… FREq meets Protoculture meets Antix meets Mr. Peculiar meets Kenny G… Yeah something like that... With a live rhythm section and a real trippy saxophone! Pretty damn nice!

#04: Pio Pio
And if the guys hadn’t crossed over yet, they sure do now… This is the oddball tune off the album which features the distinct Marcello Salvo vocals… Anyway, the basis for this track is a deep, rolling progressive morning tune… Packed to the rim with uplifting melodies and rich, groovy percussion – and of course the South American singing/chanting…Whatever it is, it sure is very different, and I nearly dropped my jaw the first time I listened to it… But after a while I got completely sucked in… I’m loving every second of this ethno-lush, Juno Reactor’esque bundle of joy… A stand-out track if there ever was one!

#05: The Feral Kid
The next track goes even deeper… This is ripe, tech-trance with enough phat progressive elements to satisfy both minimalists and progressive trancers… It’s kinda minimal but still has lush parts… A very mature and edgy track… Would be the perfect first track in an edgy, darkish progressive set – and in the same notion, I think this works less good for home-listening… But I’m not complaining, this is a pretty neat underground track…

#06: Akoha
Whereas the previous track was underground, this is way above the ground… Epic, uplifting and maybe not unlike 12 Moons, Gaudium or Antix… A little clubby and maybe even a little commercial – and in that regard, it reminds me of the Decoy on the recent Plusquam compilation Kodama… It’s not bad, but it’s just too silky-smooth for my taste…

#07: Playing 4 Time
“Time does not belong to you. It spreads itself like air…†This track pretty much stays in the same clubby lane as the previous one – though with a distinct harder edge… And edge is just what tickles my nuts, so I appreciate this cross-over track a great deal more… There’s a great deal of instrumentation going on here, and I can vividly visualize the guys jamming with their mates in their studio… The AOL-txt-language title doesn’t do the track justice… It’s actually pretty neat, and works better for sofa trancing than trancefloor dancing…

#08: Rainwashed
Another highly uplifting, melodic piece of epic morning trance with deep progressive roots… The intro seems to sample some Badalamenti melodies or something similar… Whatever it is, it sure is trippy… Floating, melodic and epic trance with a distinct fusion-jazz touch to it… Unique yes, but I tend to like the previous track over this one…

#09: Afro Ken
This track is a short transition/intro track which features some hardcore live percussion – possibly by Afro Ken!? Deep, hypnotizing, tribal stuff… Very nice – but I’d have preferred it to be a more integrated part of the last track…

#10: Ornette’s Nest
The final track is a good example of what Decoy does best: The fusion of rich progressive trance with an array of diverse music influences… Piano-riffs and jazzy saxophones are not exactly what we’re used to hearing in progressive trance, but it works like a charm here… The framework is distinct, reverb-soaked Aussie proggy pads… Guaranteed to throw a bunch of hands in the air and get some asses wiggling… Funky, groovy and totally sexy! A brilliant way to end the album!

So, what are we dealing with here? I’ll tell you what… Build around a framework of lush progressive trance; this is an eclectic, unique album of rich, diverse musical influences… Ian and Philip’s jazz-background shines thru in a number of tracks, but we’re also witness to dub, ethnic world music, morning-, club- and tech-trance here… Not to mention the frequent usage of live instrumentation… Something that’s getting rare within our scene! And when it’s done as good as on this album it makes me smile… Sure there are a couple of tracks here that is a little too clubby for my tastes, but they are easily outweighed by the many great tracks…

The cover art it absolutely pants, but the music more than makes up for that… So, to conclude I’ll recommend this to fans of diverse progressive trance – which crosses well into other genres… Also the broad spectre of real instruments should draw some attention – it’s not up to par with Juno Reactor, but who knows what the future might bring? I for one was positively surprised by this debut album… It’s lovely! … Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 3(!), 4(!), 5, 7, 10(!)

DeathPosture
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External links:
Dance N Dust Records: http://www.dance-n-dust.com
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/623913
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/ocwe6
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/ngqz5
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/qckux
Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/rumva
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/pvyfg
Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/rnd7z
Juno: http://tinyurl.com/pysjf
 
quote - "and works better for sofa trancing than trancefloor dancing…"

Pfff...

Your a poet who didn't know it mate! Loving that phrase.... Good lowdown as well - thanking you.
 
thanks to DeathPosture for a realy nice review:iyes:

i hop guys you like this album too
more from decoy will be out next compilation's,.
you are wellcome to add here your review please




dnd crew
 
lovely album indeed but why on earth would someone like to go pio pio pio pio and then to follow it with something of the likes of pio pio pio pa on top of a lush chunky groove of a choon is beyond me

eh mr bedouin??

:tongue1:
 
lovely album indeed but why on earth would someone like to go pio pio pio pio and then to follow it with something of the likes of pio pio pio pa on top of a lush chunky groove of a choon is beyond me

eh mr bedouin??

:tongue1:

LOL. Who let the Gypsy Kings in?
Nice tune though.
 
lovely album indeed but why on earth would someone like to go pio pio pio pio and then to follow it with something of the likes of pio pio pio pa on top of a lush chunky groove of a choon is beyond me

eh mr bedouin??

:tongue1:

yeah.....its a bit unecessarily wacky eh :irolleyes but so am I sometimes :irazz:

I don't find it cheesy..... its just a bit naff! but always seems to get people giggling (other than beat whores from greece :iwink: )

"lose the vocals!!"
 
I first heard Pio Pio whilst at the OOOD/monkibizness beach party. Ryo put it on not long after the sun rose... It put smiles on everyone's faces and got folks dancing again.... For me it was perfect for the moment. I hassled colin and ryo for the name of the tune a few days later when i still couldn't get the hookline out of my head. Ordered the album and haven't stopped playing it. The jazz influences are there and seem to work well with psytrance. Generally I like a harder faster sound, but these guys have done it for me.... A top album in my opinion.

Every time I hear Pio Pio I'm transported back to the beach full of shipwrecked psyfolk with the smell of the woodsmoke, the beautiful cliffs and happy smiley faces :ibiggrin:
 
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