DeathPosture
Fingering.Nuns.On.Mars
V/A - Set/4 _Essentials
High-res cover: front + back
Artist: Various
Title: Set/4 _Essentials
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: BOGACD28
Date: February 2005
Track listing:
01. 08’37†Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest
02. 08’06†Perfect Stranger – Nobody’s Perfect
03. 07’36†FREq - Lifeline
04. 07’21†Yotopia - Believe
05. 08’40†Sunseek – Jet Lag
06. 08’48†Cubica – Red Out
07. 07’39†Aerospace - Scatter
08. 07’24†Pixel vs. Ran Shani – Disco Nection
09. 09’29†Zen Mechanics – Ground Control
Review:
Bacon, Lettuce and progressive trance…
This is the fourth opus in the Iboga Set series covering the broad spectre of rich, deep, progressive trance from all over the globe… This time it’s compiled by Yuli Fershtat known also as BLT – and the focus is mainly progressive trance from Israel, though there are also tracks from Holland, Portugal, Denmark and Australia… Anyway, let’s pop this baby in the player and check out the set…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest [135 BPM]
The highly original name Ace Ventura (gulp!) is an alias of Yoni Oshrat – one half of PsySex… This however is far away from the typical melodic PsySex style – we’re on Iboga Records now, so obviously this is deep, progressive trance… After the initial cardiac arrest, we’re exposed to a very clean, crisp rhythm section… Smooth, funky and kinda wobbly – but still with an almost clinical sturdiness to it… The ‘climax’ @ 3’47 has a certain held-back charm to it making it irresistible… The floating pads are also sweet – just like the acid-ridden surprise ending… A very diverse track which seems to grow more and more on me… Sweet! ;o)
#02: Perfect Stranger – Nobody’s Perfect [134 BPM]
The stranger is BLT (Yuli Fershtat) who also compiled this compilation… I’m glad he didn’t stick to his previous declaration of not releasing anymore music – cause this is damn good! Crystal clear, tight percussion – with phat electro elements, tribal percussion and an overall organic atmosphere… There are no obvious climax or take-offs for the first six minutes, but @ 6’34 Yuli tears his goodie bag open… I could’ve wished for even more party atmosphere, but I’m sure that was never the intention with this track… A nice little groover nevertheless!
#03: FREq – Lifeline [140 BPM]
I always introduce Aran “FREq†Gallagher as one of the progressive trance-acts I enjoy the most... And that hasn’t changed…The quality level is impressive, and this is another sweet, sweet funky choon… Again Aran generously sprinkles big, massive melodic leads into the tune – this time with a serrated edge and a pinch of reverb… I can’t wait for Set/6 compiled by FREq + his third album coming in early 2006… Brilliant track!
#04: Yotopia – Believe [141 BPM]
Yotopia is Yoni Rimon & Tomer Dayan from Portugal and they’ve released quite a few tracks on compilations so far… They kick things in gear with a tribally inspired rhythm-section accompanied by razor-sharp synths and playful little melodic pads… A very joyous combination - and ‘joyous’ as an adjective pretty much sums up the feeling of this track… Good, but not amazing…
#05: Sunseek – Jet Lag [140 BPM]
Sunseek is Miki Ocheri – an upcoming producer from Israel… And damn, what talent this guy possesses… The promotional info describes this as ‘a mixture between psytrance and progressive’ and yes, the cross-over appeal is huge! We get the steady, driving, melodic forces from psytrance – combined with the rich, groovy phatness of progressive trance… Awesome combo! The break-down is no less than amazing – I dare anyone not to move to this! Flawless track!
#06: Cubica – Red Out [135 BPM]
Cubica is Mikkel Calum from Denmark… I remember his brilliant debut EP + live show back in 2001 when he was signed to Ayahuasca Records… Also he’s one half of Frogacult who’ve released quite a few progressive stompers + the debut album Something for Sundays on Iboga last year… Anyway, this track is more stripped down than its predecessors – blunt, cold beats and an almost minimal atmosphere… The track itself is ok, but it seems oddly out of place here… AND the 40 seconds of silence before the next track doesn’t do anything to improve the flow either… Wtf!?
#07: Aerospace – Scatter [136 BPM]
Aerospace is the progressive outfit of GuyShanti from EvilDrugLords… The scatting intro is fun, but the rest of the track doesn’t really do much for me… It’s simple, laidback progressive trance – but unfortunately not much happens… Decent track!
#08: Pixel vs. Ran Shani – Disco Nection [134 BPM]
Pixel is Eli Biton and he released his debut full-on album Reality Strikes Back on HOM-Mega in 2004… This track was also on that album, but it’s notably different from the other tracks… He’s joined here by Ran Shani on a hybrid choon somewhere in border country between progressive, electro and full-on… I really like the cut-up Shpongle-like voice samples and the overall playful electro bits here… A hybrid track – and a good hybrid track!
#09: Zen Mechanics – Ground Control [136 BPM]
Ahh, ZM is Wouter Thomassen from The Netherlands… I really liked his spacey chill track on last year’s Aleph Zero compilation Natural Born Chillers… This is his first venture into progressive trance though – and let’s hopes he keeps it up… This is good! I dig the slow, lazy beats and the well-programmed percussion… I definitely recognize his chill-background, as this track is soaked in atmospheric world-music influences… The vocals are awesome here - rumours have it that it’s Bowie!? Brilliant track to finish of a brilliant compilation!
Another fine Iboga compilation here… Not the best I’ve heard this year, but its high quality nonetheless… There are a handful of very nice tracks here – unfortunately the flow is kinda lost for a couple of tracks halfway through – and the 40 seconds pause is really weird!? But generally this is good, high quality progressive trance – with hints of psy, electro and world music tossed generally around here and there… Nice!
Iboga fans will not be disappointed – neither will fans of cross-over progressive trance… It will come in handy both as a DJ tool and for home-listening… Check out this compilation if you haven’t already… It’s well worth it! Enjoy!
Favourites: 1(!), 3, 5(!!), 8, 9(!)
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga: http://tinyurl.com/bvoom
Juno: http://tinyurl.com/8acsm
Loud: http://tinyurl.com/bdgv9
Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/8w9xv
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/b677h
Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/7e6wl
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/96zon
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/7azkp
Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/9w38s
High-res cover: front + back
Artist: Various
Title: Set/4 _Essentials
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)
Cat. #: BOGACD28
Date: February 2005
Track listing:
01. 08’37†Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest
02. 08’06†Perfect Stranger – Nobody’s Perfect
03. 07’36†FREq - Lifeline
04. 07’21†Yotopia - Believe
05. 08’40†Sunseek – Jet Lag
06. 08’48†Cubica – Red Out
07. 07’39†Aerospace - Scatter
08. 07’24†Pixel vs. Ran Shani – Disco Nection
09. 09’29†Zen Mechanics – Ground Control
Review:
Bacon, Lettuce and progressive trance…
This is the fourth opus in the Iboga Set series covering the broad spectre of rich, deep, progressive trance from all over the globe… This time it’s compiled by Yuli Fershtat known also as BLT – and the focus is mainly progressive trance from Israel, though there are also tracks from Holland, Portugal, Denmark and Australia… Anyway, let’s pop this baby in the player and check out the set…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest [135 BPM]
The highly original name Ace Ventura (gulp!) is an alias of Yoni Oshrat – one half of PsySex… This however is far away from the typical melodic PsySex style – we’re on Iboga Records now, so obviously this is deep, progressive trance… After the initial cardiac arrest, we’re exposed to a very clean, crisp rhythm section… Smooth, funky and kinda wobbly – but still with an almost clinical sturdiness to it… The ‘climax’ @ 3’47 has a certain held-back charm to it making it irresistible… The floating pads are also sweet – just like the acid-ridden surprise ending… A very diverse track which seems to grow more and more on me… Sweet! ;o)
#02: Perfect Stranger – Nobody’s Perfect [134 BPM]
The stranger is BLT (Yuli Fershtat) who also compiled this compilation… I’m glad he didn’t stick to his previous declaration of not releasing anymore music – cause this is damn good! Crystal clear, tight percussion – with phat electro elements, tribal percussion and an overall organic atmosphere… There are no obvious climax or take-offs for the first six minutes, but @ 6’34 Yuli tears his goodie bag open… I could’ve wished for even more party atmosphere, but I’m sure that was never the intention with this track… A nice little groover nevertheless!
#03: FREq – Lifeline [140 BPM]
I always introduce Aran “FREq†Gallagher as one of the progressive trance-acts I enjoy the most... And that hasn’t changed…The quality level is impressive, and this is another sweet, sweet funky choon… Again Aran generously sprinkles big, massive melodic leads into the tune – this time with a serrated edge and a pinch of reverb… I can’t wait for Set/6 compiled by FREq + his third album coming in early 2006… Brilliant track!
#04: Yotopia – Believe [141 BPM]
Yotopia is Yoni Rimon & Tomer Dayan from Portugal and they’ve released quite a few tracks on compilations so far… They kick things in gear with a tribally inspired rhythm-section accompanied by razor-sharp synths and playful little melodic pads… A very joyous combination - and ‘joyous’ as an adjective pretty much sums up the feeling of this track… Good, but not amazing…
#05: Sunseek – Jet Lag [140 BPM]
Sunseek is Miki Ocheri – an upcoming producer from Israel… And damn, what talent this guy possesses… The promotional info describes this as ‘a mixture between psytrance and progressive’ and yes, the cross-over appeal is huge! We get the steady, driving, melodic forces from psytrance – combined with the rich, groovy phatness of progressive trance… Awesome combo! The break-down is no less than amazing – I dare anyone not to move to this! Flawless track!
#06: Cubica – Red Out [135 BPM]
Cubica is Mikkel Calum from Denmark… I remember his brilliant debut EP + live show back in 2001 when he was signed to Ayahuasca Records… Also he’s one half of Frogacult who’ve released quite a few progressive stompers + the debut album Something for Sundays on Iboga last year… Anyway, this track is more stripped down than its predecessors – blunt, cold beats and an almost minimal atmosphere… The track itself is ok, but it seems oddly out of place here… AND the 40 seconds of silence before the next track doesn’t do anything to improve the flow either… Wtf!?
#07: Aerospace – Scatter [136 BPM]
Aerospace is the progressive outfit of GuyShanti from EvilDrugLords… The scatting intro is fun, but the rest of the track doesn’t really do much for me… It’s simple, laidback progressive trance – but unfortunately not much happens… Decent track!
#08: Pixel vs. Ran Shani – Disco Nection [134 BPM]
Pixel is Eli Biton and he released his debut full-on album Reality Strikes Back on HOM-Mega in 2004… This track was also on that album, but it’s notably different from the other tracks… He’s joined here by Ran Shani on a hybrid choon somewhere in border country between progressive, electro and full-on… I really like the cut-up Shpongle-like voice samples and the overall playful electro bits here… A hybrid track – and a good hybrid track!
#09: Zen Mechanics – Ground Control [136 BPM]
Ahh, ZM is Wouter Thomassen from The Netherlands… I really liked his spacey chill track on last year’s Aleph Zero compilation Natural Born Chillers… This is his first venture into progressive trance though – and let’s hopes he keeps it up… This is good! I dig the slow, lazy beats and the well-programmed percussion… I definitely recognize his chill-background, as this track is soaked in atmospheric world-music influences… The vocals are awesome here - rumours have it that it’s Bowie!? Brilliant track to finish of a brilliant compilation!
Another fine Iboga compilation here… Not the best I’ve heard this year, but its high quality nonetheless… There are a handful of very nice tracks here – unfortunately the flow is kinda lost for a couple of tracks halfway through – and the 40 seconds pause is really weird!? But generally this is good, high quality progressive trance – with hints of psy, electro and world music tossed generally around here and there… Nice!
Iboga fans will not be disappointed – neither will fans of cross-over progressive trance… It will come in handy both as a DJ tool and for home-listening… Check out this compilation if you haven’t already… It’s well worth it! Enjoy!
Favourites: 1(!), 3, 5(!!), 8, 9(!)
DeathPosture
External links:
Iboga: http://tinyurl.com/bvoom
Juno: http://tinyurl.com/8acsm
Loud: http://tinyurl.com/bdgv9
Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/8w9xv
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/b677h
Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/7e6wl
Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/96zon
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/7azkp
Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/9w38s