DeathPosture
Fingering.Nuns.On.Mars
Behind Blue Eyes – Behind Blue Eyes
Artist: Behind Blue Eyes (Denmark)
Title: Behind Blue Eyes
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: IBOGACD35
Distribution: twohandsdistribution.com
Date: 23 November 2005
Track listing:
01. 08’04†Excerpts From Dreams
02. 08’09†Remember This
03. 08’17†Shadow Environment
04. 08’53†Sunshine
05. 09’07†Brumbasse
06. 07’11†As Brown Sugar Dissolves
07. 08’32†The Epitome
08. 09’11†Rumble In The Jungle
09. 07’42†Brumbasse (Emok Remix)
Review:
Sunglasses at night…
This debut album from BBE marks the 35th CD release from Danish label Iboga Records – and this time, the artist is Iboga label boss Banel (Michael Abel-Larsen) in cahoots with Rene Nielsen of Beat Bizarre fame… They’ve teamed up under the Behind Blue Eyes moniker, under which they’ve already released one track on last year’s Playground compilation… I haven’t heard that one, so I have no idea what to expect… Let’s find out…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Excerpts From Dreams [135 BPM]
The opening track is blunt, though playful… Minimal, yet groovy… Simple, yet multi-layered… WTF? Yeah, this is a puzzling track in all its complexity… I really like the laid-back progressive groove here… This is car music – for cruising around in an urban environment at night – wearing sunglasses! A nice track that took me A LOT of listens to become comfortable with – but now I totally dig it!
#02: Remember This [133 BPM]
“You’re my hiding place, my faithful escape…†As the title suggests, we’re digging deep in the retro-bag… And we’re getting a real dominant female vocal here… I’m usually not the biggest fan of singing in trance, but this vocal is pretty damn nice – and fits the track perfectly… The music is also something out of the ordinary – with a sharp contrast between the deep-as-fuck reverb and the light-as-a-feather naïve melodies introduced halfway through the track… Three very dominant elements in this track, but they complete each other very nicely… A very ripe, mature track – which I’m sure, will appeal to the cross-over crowd too…
#03: Shadow Environment [133 BPM]
This track is like a mix of the two previous tracks… The contrasts mixed with the multi-layered complexity… Actually it starts out pretty boring – and continues to be kinda dull throughout most of the track… It gets better towards the ending, but still there is nothing here we haven’t heard on a gazillion Ibiza-compilation before… I dunno, maybe it’s because of its Balearic decent I don’t really get anything from it? A decent track…
#04: Sunshine [133 BPM]
As the title suggests, we’re still in fluff-territory here… Only this track appeals to me in a much greater sense than the previous one… That’s right, I’m a sucker for a well-constructed rhythm-section, and that’s exactly what we get here… It all starts out tribal Etnoscope-style, but soon more layers are added – including some floating, uplifting melodious background pads… Oh yeah, this might be commercial too, but I actually like it… Sexy beach-house trance… Nothing ground-breaking, but nice nevertheless…
#05: Brumbasse [133 BPM]
We’re still rubbing shoulders with the most commercial tracks on this compilation, but this track is a definite step in the right direction… Devout of the most obvious cheese-pitfalls, this track is real sweet… Big syncopated reverbs + nifty little melodic pads + subtle percussion + the sweetest summer groove this side of the Atlantic… Oh yes, this is what I’m talking about… Progressive trance when it’s best! Brilliant track!
#06: As Brown Sugar Dissolves [133 BPM]
Right – I take, it this is not a reference to heroin or subsequently The Rolling Stones… Whatever it is, this is a pretty harmless, laid-back track… Cruising at a comfortable 133 beats per minute, and generally sounding pretty nice… Nothing that gets me too excited though!
#07: The Epitome [128 BPM]
But wow – now we’re getting somewhere… This is definitely the most hard-hitting track of the album – despite the lowest BPM… Oh, the irony! Anyway, this is one bleak panzerfaust of a track… Minimal in structure at first, but slowly develops into something that bears closer resemblance to the previous tracks… I really don’t like the vocals here, but they don’t last too long so I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear ‘em… Generally speaking, this is on hell of a track – experimental and edgy… And I’m all about edge! Sweet track!
#08: Rumble In The Jungle [135 BPM]
‘The Rumble in The Jungle’ was a historic boxing event that took place on October 30, 1974, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It pitted then world Heavyweight champion George Foreman against former world champion and that time challenger Muhammad Ali. Ali won! Enough sidetracking now – let’s talk about this track… The intro is maybe a little too long for my taste, but when things finally happen they happen with a blast… Yeah, this is also pretty rough around the edges, but with enough uplifting elements to ensure a safe passage… I like the huge pads that surface once in a while maxing out the entire sound-spectre… Well done! A majestic tune!
#09: Brumbasse (Emok Remix) [133 BPM]
Emok (Mikael Dahlgaard) from Phony Orphants ends the album with a remix to Brumbasse…He re-arranges the track into a slightly more electro-ridden house-tune… The melodic lead here doesn’t do much for me… It’s not bad at all, but frankly I prefer the original…
Right, so I actually have pretty mixed feeling about this album…There are no bad tracks here – not at all… It’s just that some passages are a little too dull for my tastes… But hey, I do not despair, as there’s a handful of track here which are really good… Three of them are even VERY good… And I’m happy to say, that the good tracks easily outweigh the less-good tracks… ;o)
The best tracks are the edgy ones… The ones taking chances and playing around mixing up opposite elements… I like that, and in that sense this album is brilliant… If only it wasn’t for the few close-to-generic tracks here… Anyway, it’s still a pretty damn nice debut album. So, to clear up the confusion: Generally I like this album, but it’s not among the best I’ve heard this year… It’s still Iboga though, which guarantees a high level of quality! Progressive fans will definitely take well to this, and I’m sure certain tracks will cross successfully over into more commercial scenes too… Enjoy!
Favourites: 1(!), 2, 5(!), 7(!), 8
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/559736
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/br8bs
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/aggya
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9v87u
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cyz2k
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/bclub
Artist: Behind Blue Eyes (Denmark)
Title: Behind Blue Eyes
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: IBOGACD35
Distribution: twohandsdistribution.com
Date: 23 November 2005
Track listing:
01. 08’04†Excerpts From Dreams
02. 08’09†Remember This
03. 08’17†Shadow Environment
04. 08’53†Sunshine
05. 09’07†Brumbasse
06. 07’11†As Brown Sugar Dissolves
07. 08’32†The Epitome
08. 09’11†Rumble In The Jungle
09. 07’42†Brumbasse (Emok Remix)
Review:
Sunglasses at night…
This debut album from BBE marks the 35th CD release from Danish label Iboga Records – and this time, the artist is Iboga label boss Banel (Michael Abel-Larsen) in cahoots with Rene Nielsen of Beat Bizarre fame… They’ve teamed up under the Behind Blue Eyes moniker, under which they’ve already released one track on last year’s Playground compilation… I haven’t heard that one, so I have no idea what to expect… Let’s find out…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Excerpts From Dreams [135 BPM]
The opening track is blunt, though playful… Minimal, yet groovy… Simple, yet multi-layered… WTF? Yeah, this is a puzzling track in all its complexity… I really like the laid-back progressive groove here… This is car music – for cruising around in an urban environment at night – wearing sunglasses! A nice track that took me A LOT of listens to become comfortable with – but now I totally dig it!
#02: Remember This [133 BPM]
“You’re my hiding place, my faithful escape…†As the title suggests, we’re digging deep in the retro-bag… And we’re getting a real dominant female vocal here… I’m usually not the biggest fan of singing in trance, but this vocal is pretty damn nice – and fits the track perfectly… The music is also something out of the ordinary – with a sharp contrast between the deep-as-fuck reverb and the light-as-a-feather naïve melodies introduced halfway through the track… Three very dominant elements in this track, but they complete each other very nicely… A very ripe, mature track – which I’m sure, will appeal to the cross-over crowd too…
#03: Shadow Environment [133 BPM]
This track is like a mix of the two previous tracks… The contrasts mixed with the multi-layered complexity… Actually it starts out pretty boring – and continues to be kinda dull throughout most of the track… It gets better towards the ending, but still there is nothing here we haven’t heard on a gazillion Ibiza-compilation before… I dunno, maybe it’s because of its Balearic decent I don’t really get anything from it? A decent track…
#04: Sunshine [133 BPM]
As the title suggests, we’re still in fluff-territory here… Only this track appeals to me in a much greater sense than the previous one… That’s right, I’m a sucker for a well-constructed rhythm-section, and that’s exactly what we get here… It all starts out tribal Etnoscope-style, but soon more layers are added – including some floating, uplifting melodious background pads… Oh yeah, this might be commercial too, but I actually like it… Sexy beach-house trance… Nothing ground-breaking, but nice nevertheless…
#05: Brumbasse [133 BPM]
We’re still rubbing shoulders with the most commercial tracks on this compilation, but this track is a definite step in the right direction… Devout of the most obvious cheese-pitfalls, this track is real sweet… Big syncopated reverbs + nifty little melodic pads + subtle percussion + the sweetest summer groove this side of the Atlantic… Oh yes, this is what I’m talking about… Progressive trance when it’s best! Brilliant track!
#06: As Brown Sugar Dissolves [133 BPM]
Right – I take, it this is not a reference to heroin or subsequently The Rolling Stones… Whatever it is, this is a pretty harmless, laid-back track… Cruising at a comfortable 133 beats per minute, and generally sounding pretty nice… Nothing that gets me too excited though!
#07: The Epitome [128 BPM]
But wow – now we’re getting somewhere… This is definitely the most hard-hitting track of the album – despite the lowest BPM… Oh, the irony! Anyway, this is one bleak panzerfaust of a track… Minimal in structure at first, but slowly develops into something that bears closer resemblance to the previous tracks… I really don’t like the vocals here, but they don’t last too long so I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear ‘em… Generally speaking, this is on hell of a track – experimental and edgy… And I’m all about edge! Sweet track!
#08: Rumble In The Jungle [135 BPM]
‘The Rumble in The Jungle’ was a historic boxing event that took place on October 30, 1974, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It pitted then world Heavyweight champion George Foreman against former world champion and that time challenger Muhammad Ali. Ali won! Enough sidetracking now – let’s talk about this track… The intro is maybe a little too long for my taste, but when things finally happen they happen with a blast… Yeah, this is also pretty rough around the edges, but with enough uplifting elements to ensure a safe passage… I like the huge pads that surface once in a while maxing out the entire sound-spectre… Well done! A majestic tune!
#09: Brumbasse (Emok Remix) [133 BPM]
Emok (Mikael Dahlgaard) from Phony Orphants ends the album with a remix to Brumbasse…He re-arranges the track into a slightly more electro-ridden house-tune… The melodic lead here doesn’t do much for me… It’s not bad at all, but frankly I prefer the original…
Right, so I actually have pretty mixed feeling about this album…There are no bad tracks here – not at all… It’s just that some passages are a little too dull for my tastes… But hey, I do not despair, as there’s a handful of track here which are really good… Three of them are even VERY good… And I’m happy to say, that the good tracks easily outweigh the less-good tracks… ;o)
The best tracks are the edgy ones… The ones taking chances and playing around mixing up opposite elements… I like that, and in that sense this album is brilliant… If only it wasn’t for the few close-to-generic tracks here… Anyway, it’s still a pretty damn nice debut album. So, to clear up the confusion: Generally I like this album, but it’s not among the best I’ve heard this year… It’s still Iboga though, which guarantees a high level of quality! Progressive fans will definitely take well to this, and I’m sure certain tracks will cross successfully over into more commercial scenes too… Enjoy!
Favourites: 1(!), 2, 5(!), 7(!), 8
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/559736
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/br8bs
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/aggya
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9v87u
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cyz2k
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/bclub
bring on the weekend :sun:
