DeathPosture
Fingering.Nuns.On.Mars
Phony Orphants – [it’cetra]
Hi-res cover: front
Artist: Phony Orphants (Denmark)
Title: [it’cetra]
Format: CD (jewel case/w six-page colour booklet)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: IBOGACD32
Distribution: twohandsdistribution.com
Date: 4 October 2005
Track listing:
01. 09’52†Rise
02. 06’37†Sex, Drugs..
03. 07’38†I Want To Feel
04. 08’22†Got What It Takes
05. 07’50†Mi Corazon
06. 08’09†I’ll Promise You
07. 06’55†Going Down
08. 06’55†Party
09. 07’43†House For My Spouse
Review:
Shizzle dizzle progrezzle!
This is the 32nd CD-release by Danish the Danish power-house label Iboga Records – and this time it’s none other than the second album by Phony Orphants – oh, happy day! P.O. is a Danish producer duo, consisting of Mikkel Dahlgaard (Emok) & Jeppe Ørnkilde and these guys have been progressive stars since the late 1990es… Their debut album Symphony is still regarded as one of the most important progressive trance releases of 2003, and the guys have released countless compilation tracks to much acclaim… After a couple of delays, the oddly named album is finally here… Let’s dig deeper…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Rise
Time to rise up – get up – and start grooving! A majestic intro of gargantuan dimensions sets the mood – holy shit, we’re in for quite a ride it seems… Atmospheric, floating background pads alongside a naïve melody and a mean ol’ bassline lurking under the surface… And then BAM – @ 2’26 all hell brakes loose and we’re exposed to a crisp, lush, plush Son Kite’esque groove… And groove is the keyword here – this is more uplifting than your trusted morning wood… The perfect track to play when the first rays of light soak up the dancefloor in the morning… It has clubby parts for sure, but the phat rhythm section and the neat electro parts make sure we don’t cross over to club-trance completely… A brilliant, groovy track!
#02: Sex, Drugs..
… And rock n’ roll!! Yeah, we crank the old trip-meter up a couple of notches and dig deeeeeep into rich, groovy and totally funky progressive trance… Sex, drugs and progressive trance drenched in the sweet reverb I like so much… Yeah, this is kinda FREq’qy – without getting close to plagiarism… This is oh-so-bouncy, and will work absolute wonders on the dancefloor… And with its distinct groove it’s perfect for home listening too… A corker!
#03: I Want To Feel
The intro here is pretty straight-forward with an old-school bouncing bassline… Pretty bleak actually, and not very funky… Slowly industrial FX are added alongside sharp, stretched-out melodic pads to ensure the balance is kept intact… The groove is relentless in all its chainsaw glory and the Nitzer Ebb-like vocals come as a total surprise… To be honest, I have somewhat of a problem with them… They seem oddly out of place – grotesque even! Yuck! Sad really, coz otherwise this is a pretty solid track – I just can’t seem to get past those vocals…
#04: Got What It Takes
This track was made by Emok on his own… And he got what it takes! Another progressive stomper with a slight electro/industrial feel to it… A long, building intro finally explodes in pure tribal-progressive mayhem after a couple of minutes… The sharp metallic hisses give this track its hard-hitting industrial edge … The rhythm section is simply impressive – throw in a couple of phat reverbs + a funky-ass-hell build-up/climax part and we’ve got a winner… A massive track!
#05: Mi Corazon
My heart belongs to… Hybrid trance? Ahh now this is trippy – this is the perfect blend of psytrance, house and progressive trance! Not since the second Tegma album 002:Avant.Garde have I heard such beautifully fused hybrid trance… This is the perfect mix of the before-mentioned styles… Progressive percussion, housy groovy and rich, trip-tastic psychedelic elementos - ¡Finalmente junto! Another class track!
#06: I’ll Promise You
The pace has quickened and the edges are more serrated now… Yeah, it’s definitely night now and we’re in bleaker, deeper territory… Rich progressive trance with a technoid twist! A marching rhythm section sets the pace and a couple of ethno voice samples are sprinkled about just to piss off the purists… There is also an acid-line bursting with life, bubbling somewhere in the background… Sweet track!
#07: Going Down
And now we’re going down… to ghoul town! Haunting, morphing sounds comprise the intro – trying their best to freak you out! And then… wait for it… A mean-ass, pounding, heavily filtered bassline alongside razor sharp acid-stabs and gritty percussion… Minimal without really being minimal – dark without really being dark…I like the loopy structure here – ‘tis very hypnotizing, but it’s also kinda monotonous and bleak… I could have wished for that little extra touch to spice this up… This is not a bad track at all; it’s just not as good as the rest of this sweet album…
#08: Party
Zombie… nation! …Oh wait, this is a different track! Yeah - now it’s party time… TekKno party! The intro starts in a repetitive mode where the previous track left off – but soon enough more layers are added and the boys engage in some serious knob-tweaking, synth-experimentation, and teKkno-bass-bopping! The heavily vocoded robotic voice doesn’t really do much for me, and to be honest I’d rather party to some of the previous tracks than this one… Again, this is far from being a bad track; it just pales a little in comparison to some of the others…
#09: House For My Spouse
On the last track we’re trying to find a house for the phony wives… As the first word of the title suggests, we’re in housier realms now… Gone are the grim, murky atmosphere from the previous three tracks, and we’re left with a down-right funky piece of filter-house… Reminds me of Superfunk or Kojak or something similar – though with a distinct Phony Orphants touch to it… Bebop-trumpets, house-groove, steel-drums and yeah-yeah vocals… Yeah yeah, we’re definitely experimenting now… The odd-ball track so to speak – it’s all pretty neat, but not exactly my cup of java… But it’s always fun to regain your strength with an experimental tune… ;o)
This was quite a ride through the many corners of progressive trance… From epic, reverb-soaked progressive grooves, over deep, murky technoid night-time trance to fluffy, uplifting filter-house – in nine easy steps! Oh yeah – this is a cross-over as it gets – potent hybrid trance, beautifully executed by the Orphants…This is a really good album that works both as a journey and as individual tracks! There is not a single bad track here - though I didn’t really connect to a couple of the darker, repetitive tracks… But that’s nitpicking really; coz the quality level is damn high here! What’s also cool about this album is that it doubles as both quality home-entertainment and as a valuable DJ tool… And it sounds fabulous both on low volume, but more importantly also when the volume is cranked to the max… Cool!
The cover art is stylish as always with Iboga, so you really get your money’s worth on this one! That’s right – Iboga continue to distance themselves as the world’s leading record label for progressive trance in its many forms… This is benchmark material and this album is a strong contender for best progressive album of the year. It’s right up there with the Tegma, Jaïa and Beat Bizarre albums… Fans of intelligent hybrid trance should not be without this gem… Enjoy!
Favourites: 1, 2(!), 4, 5, 6
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/8oncb
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/eyplh
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cx9wp
RecRec: http://tinyurl.com/8mt6d
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/96zon
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/dplor
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/7qnac
Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/889ot
Note: For info on the 2 x single vinyl version please visit the Iboga website…
Hi-res cover: front
Artist: Phony Orphants (Denmark)
Title: [it’cetra]
Format: CD (jewel case/w six-page colour booklet)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: IBOGACD32
Distribution: twohandsdistribution.com
Date: 4 October 2005
Track listing:
01. 09’52†Rise
02. 06’37†Sex, Drugs..
03. 07’38†I Want To Feel
04. 08’22†Got What It Takes
05. 07’50†Mi Corazon
06. 08’09†I’ll Promise You
07. 06’55†Going Down
08. 06’55†Party
09. 07’43†House For My Spouse
Review:
Shizzle dizzle progrezzle!
This is the 32nd CD-release by Danish the Danish power-house label Iboga Records – and this time it’s none other than the second album by Phony Orphants – oh, happy day! P.O. is a Danish producer duo, consisting of Mikkel Dahlgaard (Emok) & Jeppe Ørnkilde and these guys have been progressive stars since the late 1990es… Their debut album Symphony is still regarded as one of the most important progressive trance releases of 2003, and the guys have released countless compilation tracks to much acclaim… After a couple of delays, the oddly named album is finally here… Let’s dig deeper…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Rise
Time to rise up – get up – and start grooving! A majestic intro of gargantuan dimensions sets the mood – holy shit, we’re in for quite a ride it seems… Atmospheric, floating background pads alongside a naïve melody and a mean ol’ bassline lurking under the surface… And then BAM – @ 2’26 all hell brakes loose and we’re exposed to a crisp, lush, plush Son Kite’esque groove… And groove is the keyword here – this is more uplifting than your trusted morning wood… The perfect track to play when the first rays of light soak up the dancefloor in the morning… It has clubby parts for sure, but the phat rhythm section and the neat electro parts make sure we don’t cross over to club-trance completely… A brilliant, groovy track!
#02: Sex, Drugs..
… And rock n’ roll!! Yeah, we crank the old trip-meter up a couple of notches and dig deeeeeep into rich, groovy and totally funky progressive trance… Sex, drugs and progressive trance drenched in the sweet reverb I like so much… Yeah, this is kinda FREq’qy – without getting close to plagiarism… This is oh-so-bouncy, and will work absolute wonders on the dancefloor… And with its distinct groove it’s perfect for home listening too… A corker!
#03: I Want To Feel
The intro here is pretty straight-forward with an old-school bouncing bassline… Pretty bleak actually, and not very funky… Slowly industrial FX are added alongside sharp, stretched-out melodic pads to ensure the balance is kept intact… The groove is relentless in all its chainsaw glory and the Nitzer Ebb-like vocals come as a total surprise… To be honest, I have somewhat of a problem with them… They seem oddly out of place – grotesque even! Yuck! Sad really, coz otherwise this is a pretty solid track – I just can’t seem to get past those vocals…
#04: Got What It Takes
This track was made by Emok on his own… And he got what it takes! Another progressive stomper with a slight electro/industrial feel to it… A long, building intro finally explodes in pure tribal-progressive mayhem after a couple of minutes… The sharp metallic hisses give this track its hard-hitting industrial edge … The rhythm section is simply impressive – throw in a couple of phat reverbs + a funky-ass-hell build-up/climax part and we’ve got a winner… A massive track!
#05: Mi Corazon
My heart belongs to… Hybrid trance? Ahh now this is trippy – this is the perfect blend of psytrance, house and progressive trance! Not since the second Tegma album 002:Avant.Garde have I heard such beautifully fused hybrid trance… This is the perfect mix of the before-mentioned styles… Progressive percussion, housy groovy and rich, trip-tastic psychedelic elementos - ¡Finalmente junto! Another class track!
#06: I’ll Promise You
The pace has quickened and the edges are more serrated now… Yeah, it’s definitely night now and we’re in bleaker, deeper territory… Rich progressive trance with a technoid twist! A marching rhythm section sets the pace and a couple of ethno voice samples are sprinkled about just to piss off the purists… There is also an acid-line bursting with life, bubbling somewhere in the background… Sweet track!
#07: Going Down
And now we’re going down… to ghoul town! Haunting, morphing sounds comprise the intro – trying their best to freak you out! And then… wait for it… A mean-ass, pounding, heavily filtered bassline alongside razor sharp acid-stabs and gritty percussion… Minimal without really being minimal – dark without really being dark…I like the loopy structure here – ‘tis very hypnotizing, but it’s also kinda monotonous and bleak… I could have wished for that little extra touch to spice this up… This is not a bad track at all; it’s just not as good as the rest of this sweet album…
#08: Party
Zombie… nation! …Oh wait, this is a different track! Yeah - now it’s party time… TekKno party! The intro starts in a repetitive mode where the previous track left off – but soon enough more layers are added and the boys engage in some serious knob-tweaking, synth-experimentation, and teKkno-bass-bopping! The heavily vocoded robotic voice doesn’t really do much for me, and to be honest I’d rather party to some of the previous tracks than this one… Again, this is far from being a bad track; it just pales a little in comparison to some of the others…
#09: House For My Spouse
On the last track we’re trying to find a house for the phony wives… As the first word of the title suggests, we’re in housier realms now… Gone are the grim, murky atmosphere from the previous three tracks, and we’re left with a down-right funky piece of filter-house… Reminds me of Superfunk or Kojak or something similar – though with a distinct Phony Orphants touch to it… Bebop-trumpets, house-groove, steel-drums and yeah-yeah vocals… Yeah yeah, we’re definitely experimenting now… The odd-ball track so to speak – it’s all pretty neat, but not exactly my cup of java… But it’s always fun to regain your strength with an experimental tune… ;o)
This was quite a ride through the many corners of progressive trance… From epic, reverb-soaked progressive grooves, over deep, murky technoid night-time trance to fluffy, uplifting filter-house – in nine easy steps! Oh yeah – this is a cross-over as it gets – potent hybrid trance, beautifully executed by the Orphants…This is a really good album that works both as a journey and as individual tracks! There is not a single bad track here - though I didn’t really connect to a couple of the darker, repetitive tracks… But that’s nitpicking really; coz the quality level is damn high here! What’s also cool about this album is that it doubles as both quality home-entertainment and as a valuable DJ tool… And it sounds fabulous both on low volume, but more importantly also when the volume is cranked to the max… Cool!
The cover art is stylish as always with Iboga, so you really get your money’s worth on this one! That’s right – Iboga continue to distance themselves as the world’s leading record label for progressive trance in its many forms… This is benchmark material and this album is a strong contender for best progressive album of the year. It’s right up there with the Tegma, Jaïa and Beat Bizarre albums… Fans of intelligent hybrid trance should not be without this gem… Enjoy!
Favourites: 1, 2(!), 4, 5, 6
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk
TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/8oncb
Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/eyplh
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cx9wp
RecRec: http://tinyurl.com/8mt6d
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/96zon
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/dplor
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/7qnac
Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/889ot
Note: For info on the 2 x single vinyl version please visit the Iboga website…
