Stanton Warriors - The Stanton Session (Original TC Review)

XL Recordings: 2001

(2015 Update:
Another TranceCritic review with an overlong back history of a genre and scene. I wish we hadn't resorted to that so often, giving the benefit of the doubt to our readers they wouldn't need such info, but perhaps it couldn't be helped for a website supposedly dedicated to the coverage of all things trance-tastic. I'm sure readers knew what breaks are, but given the sickly state that scene was in during the mid-'00s, a little knowledge dropped couldn't hurt. And just how dire was things looking for breaks at the time? The Stanton Session was one of TC's first reviews for the genre, coming about two years after the site launched, and only covered by way of a Random Review selection at that. Tough times, though it's seen some rebound in recent years.

Persevering through the dark days are the Stanton Warriors, quietly releasing a couple more DJ mix CDs on the market, then finally getting in on that LP action this decade. Heck, they released a new album just this past month, Rebel Bass. Hmm, how does that sound, I wonder. *hops over to the Spotifies* OH MY GOD, THEY'VE GONE DEEP HOUSE! ...because of course they would. Everyone with ties to UK Garage has.)


IN BRIEF: Bumpin’ breaks from Britain.

Dominic B and Mark Yardly - or Stanton Warriors to their oodles of fans - are a hot commodity again. No, wait... They’ve been a hot commodity in the breaks scene for years now and never cooled off. Rather, they are an even hotter commodity now, with 2006 proving to be a strong year for the Warriors. Chalk it up to being given the reigns to one of Fabric’s DJ mixes, gaining them exposure beyond their core scene again. It’s about time too, but a breaks scene that’s had trouble moving on from the ‘nu-skool’ era has left it difficult for them to gain wider recognition (is it even still regarded as ‘nu’? Why not just call it Brit Breaks?). Since some folks are just cluing into the Stanton sound, let’s bring them up to speed.

(Note: While I’ve looked into the history of Britain’s breaks scene, my perspective is probably still skewed by my being North American, so no blame on any inconsistencies. If you want an opinion from someone who lives in the UK, go bug J’ about it)

At the turn of the century, while trance and house dominated UK superclubs, the renegades of the rave scene were jumping on new forms of breakbeat. Nu-skool, 2-step, garage (speed and UK), and probably a bunch more micro-genres - ultimately if it encouraged b-boy shenanigans, it was the sound of the underground. Of course, the majors soon noted and the mass-market of this sound began, where originators were quickly separated from imitators. Stanton Warriors were such originators.

Already accomplished DJs for a good chunk of the ‘90s, the duo soon began producing material of their own, some of which often made it annoyingly difficult for journalists to tidily lump into existing sub-genres of UK breaks. The reason was simple: Dominic and Mark drew influences from multiple sources, crafting their own unique sound in a growing music scene. Their DJ mix The Stanton Session was their first and expressed their manifesto as fine as any DJ mix could.

(Note 2: There’s actually another version of this release with additional tracks, but since I’ve never heard it I’m going to only discuss this one here... although I will mention it’s amusing to see the liner notes talk about tracks that aren’t even included)

It starts out friendly enough, with some rather commercial takes on the then very popular ‘gair-ehge’ sound in London. But whereas other DJs would often make use of top hits, the Stantons throw their own spin on it. Of course, their rugged remix of Basement Jaxx’ Jump ‘N’ Shout is a fine way to set the pace, but when they throw down a rap acappella over more typical tracks, you quickly realize there’s going to be more to this mix than meets the ear. There’s just something about hearing Busta Rhymes going “one time for your motha’fuckin’ mind, c’mon” over a silly bloopy bassline that makes perfect sense. Mr. Reds’ offering certainly would be a ridiculous track without Flipmode Squad there in support.

As the mix moves along, tracks come and go with good pacing for a breaks set, easing out of the garagey beginnings to delve into some fresh funk. Most of them don’t hang around for much more than three minutes, plenty of time to establish a rhythm and hook. What raises the notch of this mix though, is how diverse these tracks are; each track has a unique flavor to it that allows it to stand out from the pack. And unless you’ve completely memorized this set, each follow-up will surprise you in how different it is from what came before. Yet the Warriors hold things together with crafty skill so things flow seamlessly.

Eventually, our DJing duo lead us into some deep trancey breaks that-

*Dodges things thrown at him by b-boys*

What!? Oh, sorry. I forgot. B-boys hate to have anything of their music called ‘trance’. Fine then. Progressive breaks. Happy now?

Anyhow, the Warriors throw in some progressive breaks, which is yet another intriguing road they’ve taken us on. After all, why do breaks always have to be about bustin’ out moves? It’s nice to hear something more atmospheric after a good work-out. This also allows them to segue into the mellow outro of their mix, where r’n’b vocals and jazzy sounds come into play (their track Da Antidote exempt). UK garage, of the ‘deep house’ variety, I guess. It’s alright for what it is, and serves its purpose fine enough, but isn’t nearly as thrilling to listen to as the rest of this mix has been. But it does come at the end, so it’ll wind you down nicely.

Something else to mention is the additional vocals provided by MC Moose. Like any good MC on a mix disc, he displays necessary leadership to help lift a track to something better, but also welcomed restraint when songs can carry the load themselves. And, aside from the few times he needlessly intones “this is the Stanton sound” (what, the album cover wasn’t a big enough clue?), his lyrics remain fresh throughout. Stand-up job.

So, yeah. Ace mix, f’sure. If you’re a fan of breaks but missed it the first time around, don’t hesitate to check this out, especially if you’re just discovering Stanton Warriors in the last year or so. If not, well, you should check this out anyway. The Stanton Session has held up remarkably well and, while it may not make you a die-hard b-boy, it’s still an enjoyable disc to throw on.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved

Distant System - Spiral Empire (Original TC Review)

Celestial Dragon Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
Somehow, this album grows more captivating with each playthrough, and believe me, it's been playthroughed a pile. I still can't figure out why though. Yeah, the whole space idea is pure catnip, and Mr. Smith crafted an excellent take on the theme, but it's not a unique concept, cosmic music being around since at least Holst's The Planets. And yet, I'm hard pressed to hear anything quite like Distant System, and believe me again,it's not for a lack of trying. For all the psy chill and space ambient I've consumed from his peers, none have replicated the evocative sounds and composition found on Spiral Empire. This is a style Mr. Smith has made his own, and by keeping Distant System in relative cryostasis since this album came out, has maintained a mysterious allure over the project.

This review obviously makes some huge assumptions over Distant System's future, and could have done without the introductory paragraph's broad generalizations about electronic music trends. Guess I was justifying why space themes were so critical to the music's development over the decades, even though that honestly wasn't the case. Really, it's little more than reasoning for my clear bias towards the stuff. Take it for what you will.)


IN BRIEF: Space is the place.

When electronic music made the big crossover towards the end of the ‘90s, it abandoned many of the themes that defined it earlier in the decade. Justifiable or not, trying to market the music to the mainstream would undoubtedly be difficult if such concepts like extreme psychedelia, cyberpunk, big gay happy fun, or jungle militias crossed over. Oh, and space exploration too. Granted, the cosmos still generates inspiration for many electronic producers but not the degree it once did. You’d have whole albums and projects built around such themes in the early ‘90s (Biosphere, Pete Namlook, Spicelab... to name just a few classic examples). I can only assume the reason for this is a sociological one: the mainstream's acceptance of electronic music replacing egged-headed themes like futurism and technological possibilities with popular ones like relationships and trendiness. This isn’t a sociology paper, though, so I’ll spare you any further ruminations on the subject.

Still, it is nice to see there remains room for such albums out there, even if they now tend to sit on the fringes. With a little luck, however, Tyler Smith (aka: Distant System) will get more exposure with this album. More known for his psy-dub project Androcell, Ty-

Eh? You haven’t even heard of Androcell? Oh, right... Psy-dub, that eternally neglected genre of music by the media (unless it’s Shpongle). Heh, fringe music seldom gets a break, does it? You never know, though... it could become trendy the way other fringe music like dub techno and nu-disco have... maybe.

Anyhow, Tyler Smith. He’s been making music for a while, though not in any major capacity; it’s only in recent years his output’s gained momentum. And while being on Hong Kong based Celestial Dragon Records may not lift him out of obscurity, perhaps his newfound association with increasingly ace downtempo label Ultimae will give him a little more exposure (more on this pairing in a bit).

This here album titled Spiral Empire provides a strong case for him to deserve such exposure. Conceptually, it isn’t innovative, as spacey music has been around for years. Yet Smith’s production is remarkably captivating, drawing upon the things that make the cosmos so intriguing to begin with. Synths and soundscapes paint vast, lonely vistas, where you can’t help but feel small and alone amongst the emptiness that is the universe. As bleak as it may seem on the surface, though, subtle melodies and gripping rhythms of varying tempos create a sense of wonderment and awe as you bear witness to it all, providing human humbleness in the face of something so inconceivably limitless.

Okay, okay, I’d better reign in the hyperbole, lest this review turn into an unintentional fanboy gush; it honestly isn’t quite as rapturous as I’m describing here. However, Smith’s sonic portrait of the cosmos truly is a lovely listen. The opening half of Spiral Empire wonderfully flows from track to track, with pleasing harmonies and pulsating effects weaving about desolate atmospherics; all the while icy-cool beats and throbbing basslines lazily guide things along like some kind of interstellar space cruiser. Smith doesn’t appear to be in any kind of hurry to get anywhere, quite content to casually take in the sparse scenery as he builds his songs.

Heck, this album practically plays as one long song as it is. Once the track Outer Rim hits, the pace briskly picks up, and even makes use of hooks that are more urgent in delivery (if you can call strangled ominous strings hooks); really, it’s about as close to the kind of old school trance the likes of Oliver Lieb used to produce that I’ve heard in some time, and marks the clear climax of Spiral Empire. Bridging ambient sequence Cloud Nebula and sublime melodically-glitchy closer Astromech Starport are perfect pieces of music for the album’s coda.

About the only track that seems at odds with this album’s running theme is, unsurprisingly, Smith’s remix of Time Circles. This is a track produced by Ultimae regulars H.U.V.A. Network (Magnus Birgersson and Vincent Villuis, or Solar Fields and Aes Dana), and the more earthly ethereal tone of many Ultimae releases stands in clear contrast to the rest of the album. Despite clear production techniques that has defined Distant System thus far, Smith can’t hide the fact this is still an out-of-place song. Oh, it’s fine and all, just comes off as a slight detour from everything else. I have to mention, though, that being buddies with the folks at Ultimae has paid off for Smith, getting a final mastering of Spiral Empire that is, frankly, exquisite to the ears.

Still, if the notion of space music strikes you as unappealing, then this album probably won’t be for you, as its theme does remain singular throughout. For those with insatiable curiosity of the cosmos and an ear for the out-worldly, though, Spiral Empire is a superb sonic treat.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved

Olien - Sounded Paratronic (Original TC Review)

Trishula Records: 2007

(2015 Update:
I think Olien ruined psy trance for me. I'll get into more details with these thoughts in my next review - how practical! - but the short version is my expectations for what the dark side of the genre could sound like never again matched what Oliver Bach produced here. I'll grant it was a rather small sample size I took in in the years following, so perhaps I've missed out on a few choice producers lurking the deep underground of the psy scene. Somehow though, I suspect not, the whole sub-genre of dark psy growing rather stale as the '00s went on, then taking a bizarre turn into extreme BPMs as 'high-tek' (or whatever). I'm sure it retains a following as most psy sub-genres do, but yeah, my mid-'00s flirtation was enough for my fix thus far.

Unless, of coarse, Olien makes a comeback! Like so many - too many! - producers, he seemed finished after Sounded Paratronic. As per the traditional story, he's released an odd track on compilations every so often, but has remained relatively quiet these past few years. Such a shame, his brand of sounds and effects still unlike any other I've heard. Like, I'm speeding through some alien metropolitan landscape where cyberpunk anime and pulp splattercore high fantasy dominate the scenery, all while tripping on LSD or some such. How could you not want to hear more music like this!)


IN BRIEF: Quite twisted.

For most folks, there are two kinds of music they look to get: tunes with a catchy hook, or tunes with an infectious beat. They simply have little time for technicalities like musicianship, creativity, and so on. Sure, every so often a song with all these traits will sneak into the public ear, but it’s quite the rarity when it does. So it isn’t surprising when music with other ideas in mind is dismissed as nonsense by Average Jane and Joe. After all, how good can it be if it doesn’t make you hum or tap your foot? Actually, at times it can be quite good indeed.

While only the basics of rhythm and melody continue to appeal to the masses, there’s a wealth of music designed for more specific tastes. Psychedelic music often has the listener’s imagination in mind, using soundscapes to trigger quirky images in the brains of the audience. When producers began making use of synths and sequencers in this vein, even the sky was no longer the limit. Psy trance was born, and has enjoyed its status as fringe music in spite of the ridicule it gets as just a bunch of wibbly noise. Still, ‘a bunch of wibbly noise’ isn’t the fairest description. There are plenty of catchy hooks and nice melodies scattered about this scene. However, there are also many producers out there who like to dig deep into psychedelia, leaving all but the fearless behind. This is Olien’s aim.

Oliver Bach describes his music as ‘layered psy’, and I do find this apt. On the surface, playing his album Sounded Paratronic in the background while I attended to other tasks, very little of his work caught my ear. The odd sonic trick here, a quirky sound there, but I couldn’t describe much afterwards. But when I sat down with the good ol’ Sennheisers... Good God, but does this music ever reveal itself to you! Or rather, I discovered there’s far more of interest going on than first impressions will show.

Make no mistake: there still isn’t much in the way of a catchy hook. And the rhythms, although definitely using different patterns between tracks, are seriously lacking in the funk. What Olien does remarkably well though, is create incredibly warped soundscapes that suck you in and tickles your imagination with twisted imagery. It’s like some sort of synthesis of organic, cybernetic, and alien textures.

Probably the closest comparison that springs to mind would be Oliver Lieb’s The Black Album under his L.S.G. alias. In fact, it would seem Bach gives a small tribute to his fellow Oliver in the opening track Amanit, as a few samples of various Lieb tracks can be heard in it. But whereas The Black Album focused mostly on the darkest of tech-trance ideas, Sounded Paratronic holds back from descending quite that far into madness.

The most intriguing thing I found with this album is just how it keeps your attention. I’ll admit my thoughts can wander when sitting back to music, often due to predictability. But with production geared for twisted imagery rather than typical song structure, Olien keeps you guessing what’s coming next. Granted, a great number of psy does this and I’ve often found myself subconsciously tuning it out anyways because what is offered just isn’t interesting. Not in Olien’s case though. Every stuttered synth, every rubbery bassline, every floating pad, every disembodied vocal sample keeps me hooked; such creative stuff to listen to it is. Hardly ever did I hear any of psy trance’s more annoying clichés crop up, and if they ever did, they were given a clever spin.

And probably the most important factor in making Sounded Paratronic an engaging listen is how it’s never overcooked. Psy often has a problem in trying to be too clever, too psychedelic. Sure, there are a couple times where it sounds like Olien is overdoing it (probably most notably in Cybersphere) but for the most part Bach keeps things focused on the imagery his music creates rather than indulging for indulgent’s sake.

Ultimately though, if you absolutely need to have your music contain typical rhythms and melody, Sounded Paratronic won’t interest you in the slightest. You won’t be singing Granularis in the shower and Calmar won’t have you break-dancing anytime soon (although I’m sure a few cyber-hippies won’t mind flailing to these), but then that’s beside the point.

Sounded Paratronic has a very specific audience in mind, and Olien has produced a well-crafted album for said audience. If you’re after a psy trance album that’ll play delightful things with your head, give this a go.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved.

Sven Väth ‎– In The Mix: The Sound Of The Ninth Season (Original TC Review)

Cocoon Recordings: 2008

(2015 Update:
At the risk of being totally predictable, boy what a difference of six years can make. No longer the scrappy, renegade techno party, Mr. Väth's night had become an Ibizan institution as the '00s wound down, one of the requisite stops for every vacationing punter. As such, the music reflected this change, recognizable anthems replacing underground, fuck-off bangers. It's a small shame that he didn't stay the harder course, but with so much success comes some responsibility in playing to the crowd, and the typical clubber would rather bop and shuffle in place than pound the dancefloor all night long. Ironically, given the bad rep trance had at this time (and still does!) the neo-trance stuff at the tail-end of CD2 comes off more daring and underground than anything from Jonson, Dubfire, or Johnny D.)


IN BRIEF: Something new, something old.

While there are club DJs, rave DJs, and superstar DJs, there seems to be only one Sven Väth, an individual who has seen every walk of European EDM culture since its inception. He’s like that guy who went through a high-school as part of the first graduating class, remained as a member of the faculty, and will probably stick around post-retirement even if it’s as a custodian - he just loves the place so damned much to ever leave. Similarly, Väth isn’t simply a reveler in dance music hedonism - he is hedonism!

Unsurprisingly then, ‘Pappa Sven’ saw something of a rebirth once he established his Cocoon brand in Ibiza at the turn of the century, gearing it as the grittier underground alternative to the high-end gloss the party island had succumbed to from dance music’s commercial success at the time. The emphasis on take-no-prisoners techno and such certainly was out of the ordinary back then, but that outsider’s thinking seems to have paid off: Väth remains just as popular as ever, all without ever compromising his musical intuition. Success!

The yearly Sound Of The... Season series aims to be a reflection of the sounds Sven was favoring in Ibiza each summer, and as such, nine years after Cocoon was established, we’ve arrived at the Ninth Season. While this may seem redundant if you were actually there, in these unforgiving economic times plane tickets can be pricey, so it’s nice to have a snapshot for those who can’t make it. Besides, it’s not like most of the partiers in Ibiza often actually ‘remember’ what even happened there, much less specifically heard. Anyhow, Ninth Season, like most of the previous Seasons in recent years, follows the two-disc format, with each disc having a tagline that reflects that year’s theme; this time, we have Disco and Invaders. For the sake of repetition, here’s yet another paragraph ending with an exclamation mark!

Disco is typical Väth: willfully erratic, yet compelling all the same. Heck, the opening track from Mathew “Not Dear Or Edwards” Jonson could be construed as typical Väth in itself, as it jumps from mournful woodwinds to thumping techno to wonky experimentalism in the course of its ten-minute running time. Another example: following Sasha’s futuristic groover Mongoose is the Afro tribal-techno Buiya from Ahmet Sisman, taking you right back to pure primal roots after cruising the streets of neo-Tokyo. Okay, so there really isn’t anything that amazing about this transition but in terms of set flow, it’s unexpected and keeps the rhythmic tempo on the climb, which is always a plus.

As per its title, CD1 is mostly geared for the discotheque, so you get a lot of big-room techno thumping about. While I’ll admit I preferred Väth’s techno when he was slamming out the tracks a dozen BPMs higher, the cuts on Ninth are still serious movers. Heck, even if it’s played-out, Dubfire’s remix of Radio Slave’s Grindhouse remains a great peak-time tune, indicating the prolific remixer has merely been working the Law Of Averages this past year - mind, it probably helps that Väth also cuts out some two-and-a-half minutes of useless twiddle. Unfortunately, Disco ends on a rather limp note, as Prydz’ remix of Total Departure is an overlong tension builder that never offers a release, and Väth’s own Trashbindance with Alter Ego man Roman Flügel is too plinky-plonk to do the trick as a follow-up. Still, this disc is a fun romp through familiarity, which is par for the course where Ibizan-themed compilations are concerned.

CD2 is more of an afterhours affair, with deep tech house dominating much of the first half. As usual, the chill groove of this sound is pleasant enough, but tends to be mostly a flatlined listening experience. About the only track that leaps out is, of course, Johnny D’s Orbitalife, if only because it was one of those omnipresent tunes you couldn’t ever escape. Hearing it here again is fair play, but still doesn’t lift the opening chunk of Invaders above anything more exciting than lounge vibes.

Things pick up with the pure acid trance vibes of Waiting For You Again from Sven Tasnadi. Don’t give me that look, you insufferable trendster. If you don’t recognize this as trance, then you clearly don’t know your EDM history; get back to me after you’ve listened to some classic cuts from Väth’s original Harthouse label. For everyone left, Invaders continues down the loopy hypnotic road, perhaps suggesting that classic trance is due for a proper resurgence in the coming year, provided folks call it what it is rather than lumping it with ‘minimal’. With Joris Voorn’s remix of Dark Flower offering a prog-house type of climax - at least in the way Väth uses it - and the quirky world beat vibes of Spirits providing a wonderful coda, CD2 ends far more strongly than CD1.

Ninth Season definitely has more things working in its favor than against; the strength of the music on hand is always beneficial. The unfortunate thing, however, is it doesn’t come across like a necessary pick-up. Unlike, say, Third Season which had the tag-team of Hawtin and an overall ‘night-out’ theme running, or the DVD package of Fifth Season, there isn’t anything unique here to differentiate Ninth from the rest of the Sound Of… series beyond the selection of tracks. And even then, a number of them have been featured on several other compilations since the summer - as such, should you already have a bunch of these tunes, chances are you’ll be more willing to give this one a pass. If not, though, or you have no problem with Väth mixing together a bunch of well-rinsed techno records for your home enjoyment, then Ninth Season should find a comfy home in your collection.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (Original TC Review)

DFA: 2007

(2015 Update:
Even though this review is nearly one-thousand words long, I feel it doesn't say much of anything anymore. Regarding how the music sounds, it isn't terribly informative, as I was desperately avoiding all the talking points and namedrops every other rag (printed and online) were throwing out; so, for all you completists, here's "Talking Heads" finally. My opening angle comes off silly now, given 'EDM' actually found its way back to the covers of rock magazines. Hell, Spin named Skrillex one of the Top 100 guitarists of all time, a feat that makes their Prodigy front-cover look positively quaint. Lastly, the writing's just clunky overall, my enthusiasm for the album sending me into ramblematic mode all too often.

But who cares about the content of this old review. Given the faddy hype that propelled LCD Soundsystem to the talk of tinsel town is well in the rear mirror, does Sound Of Silver hold up at all? You bet, guy, though more for the themes James Murphy supplies than the music itself (does new wave punk ever date though?). Thoughts of an ever-changing music scene passing you by is a notion any fan can relate to, and coupling that with general trepidation of growing old makes for a bittersweet collection of songs, one that becomes more poignant the older you get. Ah well, at least we can still rabble-rouse with fellow North American scum.)


IN BRIEF: Stunning sophomore effort from the Soundsystem.

For as long as the indie rock media had to acknowledge ‘electronica’ as legitimate music, it’s been begrudgingly so. Granted, they by no means feel synths and sequencers are the bane of all music, and some of the more eclectic names have earned well-deserved praise. However, it’s been plainly obvious the electronic scene at large holds very little appeal to them. What, after all, is so exciting about watching a guy play records? Seeing a marginally talented rock band giving their all is far more electrifying than some guy jumping around behind a rack of gear as a couple of oddly-haired MCs shout nonsense (oh yes, you know Spin Magazine is still kicking themselves over their Prodigy cover story).

Which is why James Murphy has been a godsend for the indie rags. Here is an individual who embodies everything you’d expect in a Gen-X hipster, taking the very best qualities of disco dance and punk partying, and fusing them into his LCD Soundsystem project. His sound captures the spirit of rock better than any of the ‘electronica’ bands did, purely for the simple fact Murphy’s as much a part of New York City’s underground punk scene as he is the dance club circuit. Although he’s still more of an ambassador for EDM, he hardly feels constrained by that scene’s commandments.

For his sophomore effort, Murphy decided to blend styles even further rather than repeat LCD’s debut. If you’re looking for a tidy genre to lump Sound Of Silver in, you’ll leave a broken man. Disco punk is welcomed back to the party for sure, but funk, glam, house, acid, and even lounge are brought along for the ride this time. Nothing is too outlandish if Murphy feels it suits his muse.

Example? How about the first track Get Innocuous then? It starts out sounding like some sort of muffled techno, but as the song gets underway, loops of stuttery synths and pianos are added, with building crisp percussion injecting infectious vigor as it progresses. And then, once everything’s chugging along nicely, in comes Murphy, sounding like he’s tapping into some kind of Bowie inspiration. To top the track off, off-kilter orchestral arrangements swell as Nancy Whang - the female backing vocalist for LCD - speaks some dialogue to the rhythm. It’s definitely a strong opener, equally able to stand on its own but also builds the anticipation for what kind of eclecticism Sound Of Silver will bring next.

And Murphy does not disappoint. The snappy funk workout of Time To Get Away keeps this party going, followed with the lead single North American Scum, an unapologetic rabble-rouser much in the same vein of previous DFA disco punk offerings. Although it may hint at a dissatisfaction of having to deal with New York’s less-than-stellar party scene, Murphy seems to shrug it off and encourage his fellow continent-men to celebrate their scummyness nonetheless. After all, why should the Europeans have a monopoly on hedonism?

Most of the tracks from here show no compromises in eschewing conventional song forms. Some are mellower, some rowdier, and sometimes wildly disparate form beginning to end. If there is any kind of predictability to them, it’s they often start out simple and build to a riveting climax. Of course, this isn’t an uncommon method of song writing, and was even apparent in the previous album. However, the sound collages on this album are far more unique than the ones on LCD were. The addition of Tyler Pope (from !!!) into the writing mix along with Patrick Mahoney certainly can be felt from this.

What really sets this album apart from its predecessor though, is a sense of maturity in Murphy’s lyrics. They tend to be more reflective, even somber at times, often painting a picture of “A Day In The Life Of...” with his musings. This combination with the already strong instrumentation creates an enthralling listening experience as you can often hear his voice cracking under his attempts to reach the notes his emotion reaches for. Fortunately, Murphy wisely keeps his tongue in cheek, balancing things with his sense of playfulness so the songs don’t drown in melodrama.

As Sound Of Silver heads into the final stretch, Murphy provides a pair of tracks that will appeal more directly to his two main fanbases: Watch The Tapes for the punks; Sound Of Silver for the clubbers. And to cap the album off, he does a quaint serenade to his home city. With its unassuming start leading into a cacophony of aggression, New York, I Love You... is a fitting exclamation point on this spirited release.

Normally at the end of these Recommended Reviews, we will throw in some justifiable reason as to why, if you aren’t a fan of a particular genre, you should check out the album anyway. In Sound Of Silver’s case though, I don’t even have to do this. Sure, some of the anally retentive genre-whores may scoff at the idea of LCD Soundsystem’s ‘rocktronica’ nature having actual appeal to them, but I’m sure that would change the moment they throw this on. Murphy’s sound encompasses such a wide palette with irresistibly catchy music, fans of good-natured tunes will enjoy this regardless of their dedicated following.

If there can be one complaint, it’s that the album is a bit short. Oh, not in the sense that he needed to pad this out with filler or something. Rather, Sound Of Silver feels like a party that you wish could have kept going longer, had the cops not come in and busted it early... here in North America...

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved

John O'Callaghan - Something To Live For (Original TC Review)

Discover: 2007

(2015 Update:
This was something of a flashpoint review for yours truly, where my bitter resentment of gratuitous Dutch trance and all its associated marketing and such started to wane, allowing my tentative steps back into covering the world of eurotrance. Good thing too, since that was kinda' the point of a website called TranceCritic anyway; plus, I don't know how much more dark, twisted psy trance our readers could take anyway. You can still see some of my cynicism come through, especially when I get to DJ Governor's remix of Exactly, but I was definitely more forgiving of O'Callaghan's sappier moments on this album. What's funny is I've rather softened on the remix, while I don't much care for the original Exactly anymore.

That's generally the case with much of Something To Live For though. A few moments do continue tickling the nostalgia endorphins, but the production comes off more amateur and sloppy now, especially with the all-pervasive Discover Kick. Man, a lot of trance guys were going hard with their kicks around that time. All said though, I still like this one far better than the tepid tunes off O'Callaghan's second LP, Never Fade Away. Assembler chews up Big Sky and spits it into the gutter drain, yo'.)


IN BRIEF: Quite nostalgic, I have to admit.

Trance seems to be migratory. A favored sound will spring up somewhere in Europe and that region’s style will dominate for a while. Eventually, a new region will repeat the process, usurping the previous one as the leading tastemaker, and so it goes. For a long time though, the Dutch dominated trance when they outshined (and out-market) the British, the former leaders. But as the Dutch empire begins to crumble around them, other regions have started to scramble for the coveted prize as trance’s tastemaker. At first it appeared the Germans were poised to retake their thrown after years of playing second fiddle to other nations, but their victory parade may need to be put on hold for a moment. For an unlikely upstart beckons from the northwest: the Irish! ...kind of.

Okay, really it’s just Discover Records, and half their roster is made up of Englishmen anyway. But their associates form the Isle Of Guinness Ale were responsible for a hefty chunk of the big trance singles of 2006, and you can be assured they’ll use that momentum to carry them through this year. The reason for their success is simple - or rather simplicity. They aren’t interested in grand theatrics or overwrought compositions. Discover’s trance is only out to supercharge the party with simple hooks, driving rhythms, and ‘no bullshit’ attitude. Oh, and that kick! It punches hard, and overpowers everything in its path. They’ve certainly gotten plenty of mileage out of it.

Leading the charge of Irish producers is John O’Callaghan, who through various aliases, collaborations, and remixes has built up a sizable back-catalogue these past few years. Time for a full-length album then, eh?

Opting to provide as much old and new material in this release as he can, John offers two discs: the pretentiously titled Concept CD, and a Club CD containing extended, alternate, and additional tracks, mainly for DJ usage. Since Concept is the main show though, let’s dig into that first.

Straight up, there is very little concept going on here. O’Cally has simply taken his tracks and made a makeshift DJ mix out of them. And he even doesn’t do much in that department either, only using quick cross-fades for his transitions. And in an act that will probably annoy his fans, the tracks aren’t given much breathing room, usually left in the dust in under five minutes. Yeah, basic ideas going on here. If you want a trance album with some actual concept behind it, try some L.S.G.

However, where Something To Live For succeeds is in track arrangement. Aside from the first few songs, the flow on this album is quite good. Sure, the transitions are often herky-jerky, but most of the tracks go well one after the other. Stretches of John’s techier bangers are every so often broken up with a welcome slice of epic trance, allowing their melodies to shine brilliantly. And for all you young DJs out there, this is a GOOD THING! Don’t let an epic moment be wasted by drowning it with redundancy in your mixes, kids. Space those peak tracks out.

Of course, plenty of O’Cally’s previous gems are included here: The Chamber, Vendetta, Elevator Dance-Off, and, naturally, Exactly. As for the new stuff, most of it seems made to complement this disc’s flow rather than stand out on its own; they don’t get much of a chance making an impression with these short running times. Fortunately, most of the better offerings can be found on the Club disc. How are they, you ask? Space & Time spaceily chugs and bangs, Sunday 1am tranceily drives and bangs, and Assembler grimily really fucking bangs. Er... yeah. They do bang a lot, these tracks. All of them, for that matter, and if you want more to your rhythms than pumping energy, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

This is John’s style though: simple bangin’ tech-trance. As mentioned, the kick pounds, and he’d be foolish to try and out-match it. Instead, he makes ample use of working around it with effective rhythms and supplies subtle trancey hooks or throbbing riffs to complement them; the few times any melody takes the lead is usually in a collaboration. And none of this is terribly innovative either. In fact, aside from the better production values (re: shit be louder, son!), a great deal of the material on Something To Live For sounds like it could have been produced in 1998, right down to the same synths. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was some kind of throwback album, right down to the cheesy cover.

But you know what? Even though I’ve often been critical of others for not moving with the times, it’s actually okay here. If you’re going to tap a former year of trance for your inspiration, you could do far worse than 1998. Trance in those days was doing just fine: hooks were catchy, rhythms had power, and breakdowns were far from the ridiculous lengths they would become. John seems to be fully aware of how important keeping some semblance of momentum in your tracks is during a lull. This is probably how trance would be sounding had that whole Dutch wave never occurred (incidentally, not that different from Paul van Dyk’s older style, so I guess the Germans are still poised to take over after all).

If you need proof of how much better this simpler form of trance is over the bloated forms that would come later, look no further than the big hit on here, Exactly. The original produced by O’Cally and Bryan Kearny is a classic epic tune, with a simple catchy melody introduced without dawdling on the way to get to it, and neither milking the moment with grotesque theatrics. And on the Club disc, we have DJ Governor’s remix, and it’s a bloated beast indeed. Like so much Dutch trance, there are tons of extraneous whooshes and washes all over the place, very little of which serves much purpose. Eventually the full-stop breakdown starts, and it lasts a long time before we’re back into the action - I lost count after the three minute mark. During the breakdown, Governor introduces an additional wanky guitar bit that is horrid. His remix is only salvaged once Exactly’s main hook is finally - finally - brought in during the build, and even then all the fluff dilutes its effectiveness. This is a pompous piece of trance bombast that anyone with a clue will see right through. *whew*

So, with all this in mind, should you get John O’Callaghan’s debut album? Simply put, he doesn’t overreach his bounds, and serves up his bangin’ trance as is; it’s a fun disc to throw on if you prefer the simpler techier side of trance. So long as you don’t think too much about The Big Picture and let the beats to do their job, Something To Live For will serve you fine.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved

Kiko - Slave Of My Mind (Original TC Review)

Play It Again Sam [PIAS]: 2008

(2015 Update:
I keep thinking Slave Of My Mind will wear off on me, the attributes I found charming back in 2008 finally sounding campy or derivative. I keep thinking the only reason I gave it such praise was for its lack of things I disliked back then - the electro-fart nonsense, the minimal plonk-wank, the stoopid-club fodder. It never happens though, the thin line between tasteful and wack continuously toed with finesse. This is a fun album for a mild bit of brooding dance music, and is a shame Kiko never followed up on it.

Not that he hasn't been busy though, still cranking out singles by the cart load. Taking in a few of his more recent ones, it seems Kiko's gone the way of house music again. Tech-house, deep house, a little techno on the side - all the usual sounds you'll find in typical underground clubs I guess. Aww, why you no darkwave no more, Keekee? It's bound for another resurgence in the near future if nu-new retrowave movements have any momentum going for them.)


IN BRIEF: A misstep, or misunderstood?

Christophe Dallaca, or Kiko as he’s more commonly known in the clubbing community, had a promising leap into recognition during the first half of this decade. A part of the French techno connection that was injecting elements of italo and New Beat into their music, he was amongst the early adopters of electroclash, and even survived the backlash with subsequent acid hits such as Jack In The Box. Yet, while compatriots such as The Hacker and Vitalic have maintained a respectable profile as the years went on, Kiko seems to have faded off.

Do I have an answer for such occurring? It could lie within his second album, Slave Of My Mind. It would seem, as with so many others this past year, the Frenchman’s been influenced by the German aesthetic. Not to say Kiko didn’t have an inclining for moody minimalism in the past but not to the degree we have on this album. Gone is the italo, and even his native country’s influence is mostly absent; as such, so is much of what made Kiko… well, Kiko.

And unfortunately for Monsieur Dallaca, he isn’t adding anything to the German sound that hasn’t been touched upon for the last couple years. When everyone from Dutch trance producers to UK prog jocks to nearly every house producer under the sun are taking a stab at it, Kiko would have had to do something utterly revolutionary to stand out from the glut. Sadly, Slave Of My Mind doesn’t have anything close to that, and as a result we are left with a collection of tracks that are nicely produced but difficult to distinguish from the pack. Thus, Kiko fades from public consciousness.

That said, Slave Of My Mind does venture into territory few seem willing to frequent: darkwave… of a sort. The titular track and World End Rock Up reach into the gloom that made up much of the industrial-goth sound that’s been quite popular in German circles, all the while using melodramatic-yet-slight synth strings to sell the vocal angst. Wrap it up in techno beats, and you have a pair of tracks that’ll probably come across a bit too ‘hands-up’ for serious crowds, yet too dismal for general audiences. This easily makes Slave Of My Mind and World End Rock Up the best tracks on Kiko’s album, as they aren’t blatantly pandering to any group in particular, and are infectious dance numbers to boot.

Aside from additional vocal number So Time, which is a relatively average stab at injecting angst into a typical electro-house tune, the rest of the tracks don’t venture far off the murk-techno path. And although this is nothing any connoisseur of techno wouldn’t have heard before, Kiko still manages to craft hooks that are quite infectious despite being comparatively subtle; it’s difficult writing off stuff like PH-1 and Sunburn when they so easily get lodged in your head. He even takes a competent stab at that ambiguously named sub-genre neo-trance, throwing spritely glitch-melodies in Preludia and Alone In The Dark; it’s what Sander van Doorn’s album could have sounded like if the Dutchman had made a point in his tracks rather than dickering around with go-nowhere ultra-effects builds.

What Slave Of My Mind could have done without, however, are the three ambient doodles thrown about the album. They aren’t altogether awful, mind, just rather pointless; I’d have preferred seeing one of the b-sides to the singles show up instead (Maximale would have made for a killer contribution!).

I’m sure there are a number of folks out there that would disagree with my assessment of Kiko’s latest; after all, he’s no longer the Kiko most enjoyed years back, nor will he win much favor with the ‘I are serious techno serious fan’ groups. Damn it though, this is my review and despite the rough edges, Slave Of My Mind is quite enjoyable. You won’t be blown away by it, but it’s still entertaining from start to finish, which is more than can be said for most albums on store shelves. Put this one in the front-running for the Unduly Neglected Albums Of 2008 category.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved.

Ott - Skylon (Original TC Review)

Twisted Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
Nothing helps appreciation of an album grow like being exposed to inferior examples of the genre. Not that I didn't enjoy Ott's second LP way back when, but I felt his production a bit too slick for a trippy style like psy-dub. What he does have, however, is flow, sounds and samples making sense in their utilization. Since Skylon dropped, I've heard all manner of tracks that throw in so much wibble, it renders tracks nearly unlistenable, and the advent of dubstep mid-range random wobble often made matters worse. Less really is more in some cases, y'know.

Ott hasn't been up to much on the production front since Skylon. He released another LP in 2011 called Mir, which I haven't heard because rumor mill contends he also went a little dubsteppy on that one. *sigh* No one could escape it that year, so I don't blame him catering to the festival market a little. Maybe I'll give it a check sometime, but considering I've yet to even hear Blumenkraft in full, I'm not in any rush for more Ott music. Skylon's plenty for the time being.)

IN BRIEF: Warm fuzzy feelings.

As my fellow writer [Jack Moss] said, “Another psy-dub album?” I suppose he has a point - for a genre of music that maintains a highly niche following, we do tend to cover a fair amount of it. However, the enigmatic Ott has garnered himself a higher profile than your average psy wibbler, having provided studio production and engineering for several rock bands before delving heavier into electronic music. It was his pairing up with psy legend Simon Posford for the Hallucinogen remix album In Dub that gained Ott the most critical notice though, and has since often worked with as collaborator on several high-profile releases (Shpongle and Dub Trees, to namedrop just a couple).

Having fiddled away in studios for most of his career, it came as something of a welcomed surprise when Ott released a full-length album of original material way back in 2003. Although Blumenkraft didn’t receive huge recognition beyond the genre’s faithful, it did cement the reclusive producer as one to keep an eye out on for future releases. Half a decade since that solo debut, Ott provides his follow-up in Skylon.

And where do we find The Ott (yes, this is the only name he provides) in this year of 2008? Not moving that far, to be honest. Much of his psy-dub execution remains unchanged, within his sonic scope and the genre as a whole; anyone who’s had a passing familiarity with this kind of music since even the Megadog era won’t find much innovation. Reggae rhythms, trippy atmospherics, cultural-fusion, ethnic samples... stop me if you have heard this before.

What Skylon lacks in inventiveness, however, Ott more than makes up for in musicianship. Mellow melodic moments that move the mind and soul? Yep. Catchy chants that hook into your mind? You bet. Intriguing effects-play that tickle the ol’ psyche in imaginative ways? Ya’, guy. Beats and bass giving your feet a case of the funky shuffles? F’sure. There may not be many songs offered on this album, but each one delivers in a way that is quite satisfying as the CD plays through.

In case that broad stroke of a description isn’t incentive enough for you to check Skylon out, here are some highlights to pique your curiosity further: The Queen Of All Everything, after lazily cruising along with melody, hits a lovely little synth climax - not to be outdone, dub-cut Signals From Bob pulls the same, with results that are thrilling for the ears; Daisies And Rubies is quite the free-flowing bit of spacey dub, with musical indulgences to spare, but the theremin towards the end is a delight to hear; if Ott was ever given the opportunity to cross over, the bhangra-influenced Rogue Bagel proves he definitely has the chops to pull it off; just as potent a dancefloor weapon is Roflcopter, where dubby breaks, cheeky samples, and trippy effects make this track a potent weapon for those outdoor parties.

Lowlights, then? None, really. About the only fault one could be nitpicky about is sometimes Ott’s production can come across as too polished. While it never seems as though he’s unintentionally stripped the soul of his music in the way other studio-obsessives have, nor does Skylon really have any of those pure unpredictable psychedelic moments that some of the best psy-dub albums of the past contain.

Of course, there’s also the argument this isn’t the kind of music that everyone will enjoy, but if psy-dub isn’t your bag then chances are you haven’t even read this far to begin with. Besides, Ott has managed to produce an album that should be appealing to those looking to get their feet wet. Although long-time connoisseurs of the genre may come away somewhat underwhelmed, Skylon offers more than enough infectious rhythms, pleasing melodies and engaging harmonies to please all parties.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved

Atomic Hooligan - Sex, Drugs And Blah, Blah, Blah (Original TC Review)

Botchit & Scarper: 2008

(2015 Update:
I've made no secret real life events often have an effect on my initial impressions of albums - times when I've felt mighty low have resulted in some rather cranky-ass reviews in the past. On the flipside, overly positive reviews for unexpected items have occurred during happy funtime months, and I sometimes wonder if such was the case in Atomic Hooligan's second LP. There are things here that, by all rights, should have pissed off 2008 Sykonee, including the sounds in Electro Ain't Electro, yet I gave it all a pass, instead praising the UK duo throughout. Oh, right, it's because that song totally called out my jaded presumptions on electro house, and Atomic Hooligan deserve all the props for that. It also doesn't hurt that Sex, Drugs And Blah, Blah, Blah honestly is good, holding up remarkably well for such a trend-jumpy album. Shame it didn't do much for Atomic Hooligan's career.

Seriously, following this, their Discogian profile dries up, and Last.fm doesn't offer much else either. They toured a little in the years after, managed two forgotten singles in 2010, and a fun, recent single called Bass Crazy, but that's mighty sparse pickings for a duo that seemed primed for a lengthy, successful career. It's baffling, but maybe 'breaks-apathy' really did do them in for a while there. Well, breaks are making a small comeback, so no more excuses, Atomic Hooligan!)


IN BRIEF: Don’t let breaks-apathy hold you back.

Far be it of Misters Welch and Ryan allowing genre-pigeonholing to stand in the way of ambition. Even though they shared the same label with breaks-for-life names like Freq Nasty and B.L.I.M., these Atomic Hooligans were determined to produce a debut album that threw plenty of musical influences into the mixing bowl, settling for nothing less than a breakbeat long-player that could be enjoyed by all. They succeeded too, with You Are Here enjoying proper nods of approval from press and breaks fans. One problem though: no one else seemed to care.

Was it being tied to label Botchit & Scarper that hobbled their potential success? Possibly, as You Are Here never left the realms of the UK for wider distribution. Or perhaps the breaks stigma was just far too strong to shake off; despite strong followings of fans scattered about the globe, there hasn’t been much interest in the genre for years now. Whatever the reason, were you to ask a regular clubber how that new album Drugs, Sex & Blah Blah Blah is, you’ll more than likely be met with a puzzled look and the reply of, “Atomic Hoo’s-it’s-now?”

Or maybe not. As said, Atomic Hooligan are an ambitious duo, and they aren’t about to let a little thing like breaks-apathy prevent them from firing off an album that should hold them in the same league as The Chemical Brothers and Bassment Jaxx. There’s plenty on this here release that will easily appeal to a broad listener base, provided they have it within their feet to get wild and crazy when the party starts.

Fact is Welch and Ryan are excellent producers. No sonic space on this album feels like it’s gone to waste, with rhythms, melodies, and harmonies complementing each other in wonderful ways. Every guest vocalist - and there are plenty - is part-and-parcel to the track they appear on, seldom sounding out-of-sorts. Tracks are loose and fast, with none of the soul-stripping overproduction traps other studio experts oftentimes fall into. And yet nothing ever comes off messy or jumbled, but rather a kind of ordered chaos; Atomic Hooligan display a fine sense of just what it takes to get crowds worked up into a frenzy.

Take lead single Papercuts: it’s everything that a killer cut of breaks should be. The basslines are forceful and catchy, the vocals soulful and sassy, and the supporting layers add gusto to spare. Granted, the more ‘farty’ bits may have the naysayers rolling their eyes but chances are such folk aren’t terribly into the whole breaks vibe to begin with. Other party jams like Dirty, grimier Spread Good Vibes, and instrumentals Who’s Ya Daddy Now? and Weed are just as effective.

Then there’s the psychedelic edge to much of this album. Whether instrumental (er, Weed again), rockier cuts like Safeguard, big-band funk like Blah Blah Blah, or sun-kissed summer festival moments like closer Too Late To Be Afriad, you get the feeling Welch and Ryan had ‘60s hedonism in mind when letting their influences guide them through.

At the same time, though, they realized they have to appeal to modern tastes if they’ll get any kind of recognition beyond the breaks faithful. As a result, we have disco punk (I Don’t Care), nu-electro house (Electro Ain’t Electro), and riot-grrl rawk (Thief) scattered about. Honestly, these aren’t bad offerings of their respective styles - Electro Ain’t Electro is definitely a welcome surprise, easily one of the better examples of ‘fart’ house I’ve heard in some time (having tongue-in-cheek lyrics going “Electro ain’t electro no more / We don’t care, get your ass on the floor” certainly helps). Unfortunately, they also scream of trend-jumping, and will effectively date this album once these musical fads have passed. Hmm., well, perhaps not so much Thief, as it has more in common with Fat Of The Land-era Prodigy than anything current. Still, such tracks will most likely impede long-term enjoyment for the casual listener, so chances are any kind of future review of this album will have a slightly lower rating than it’s getting now. Heh, testy, these trends, eh?

Beyond such quibbles, however, Drugs, Sex & Blah Blah Blah is a strong sophomore effort from Atomic Hooligan. This is about as good as party-starting breakbeats get and with a little luck should help lift this promising duo to higher pastures.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved

Various - Sessions: Steve Angello (Original TC Review)

Ministry Of Sound: 2006

(2015 Update:
Another review with a lengthy preamble attempt at defining genre terms and all that - 2006 Sykonee sure did that a lot. He also wasn't accurate in his prediction that trashy electro house had its day in the sun, though the imminent rise in minimal definitely curtailed its trendiness. He/I was bang on, however, in pointing out how much of a time capsule this mix turned out being. No one plays out tunes as dull as those found on CD2, thank God, and even that dirty Swedish sound fell out of favor when the SHM shifted their sound to the headline festival circuit. Clap-along anthems are in, thump-stomp farting basslines are out.

As for Mr. Angello... hoo boy, there's a mouthful. I don't think anyone could have predicted just how big he and his Swedish House Mafia cohorts would get, even with the level of fame he'd already achieved by the mid-'00s. Gotta' give him credit for making such bank with so little effort, but it feels like his success inadvertently left a scorched earth in his wake. Get money, get fame, get crowds, and who the fuck cares about its lasting impact on electronic music at large. Like, it's not his fault so many producers tried copying his stuff, diluting the scene with absolute rubbish so many years after. Or maybe I'm giving the guy far too much credit.)

IN BRIEF: ‘Elect-' no, that’s not right at all. Hmm... dirty tech...?

The dust has settled, the hype has passed, and we’ve now had time to reflect. What at the time seemed reasonable is now regarded by many as a mistake, an obvious ploy to tag an already hot buzzword to something it really wasn’t. Yes, folks, it’s true. It would seem ‘electro’ house - the simple gritty throbbing offspring of tech house - is finally falling out of favor as that music’s unofficial title. I doubt anyone was entirely comfortable with the name but with no one coming up with something more concrete, promoters ran with it, anxious to capitalize on the sound. Now that ‘electro’ house’s popularity is waning, perhaps we can finally figure out what to properly call it (as was done with ‘techno’- sorry, euro dance).

As an unlikely source as it may seem, I think Ministry Of Sound nailed it on the promo sticker of their Sessions release featuring esteemed Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello: “fuck-off dirty house music”. That captures the spirit of their sound perfectly! Those raw basslines are as dirty as it gets, like a synth dragged through analogue gravel. And funk? Soul? Hell no. This is house music with punk attitude, designed to get your head bangin’ and your body moshin’. Fuck off with those pretentious designs; we’re here to raise a ruckus. Well, maybe the ‘fuck-off’ bit can be done away with if you’re feeling prissy, but dirty house... yeah, I likes that. Loads more than ‘electro’ anyways.

Unfortunately, it matters little now, as the music’s already had its day in the sun. When you base an entire style around a single attribute (those basslines, duh), it quickly falls into the novelty trap: producers figuring the gimmick is enough to have any ol’ hit without writing a decent song, or even a catchy hook (I’m looking at you, Dreamcatcher). Dirty house (yes, that’s what I’m unofficially calling it from now on, until something more official and less half-assed than ‘electro’ replaces it; deal with it) quickly fell into this trap, tons of knock-off imitators plaguing the shops, diluting a good, if limited, idea. One year ago, this was the hottest sound bubbling up; even trance jocks were jumping on it. Today, a respected DJ only uses it sparingly (as they should), a token gesture towards those who still demand stomping farty basslines.

This DJ mix captures dirty house’s apex. At the turn of the year, it was fresh, exciting, and storming dancefloors. Angello and his partner Sebastian Ingrosso were a pair of the hottest names around. That time has long since passed though, and all the fever over a release such as this has quietly receded to the back corners, some even too embarrassed they were head-over-heels over something so obviously gimmicky. Is this what Angello’s Sessions is though, nothing but novelty? Or did this Mafia member put together a compilation that folks down the road can throw on and enjoy when dirty house has finally gone the way of speed garage?

Angello quickly says yes, proving to us he’s more than a one-trick pony in the house scene. The opening chunk of disc one sees a nice assortment of styles to warm us up: disco, italo, Latin, and even an unashamed ‘reach-for-the-lasers’ track with Stoppage Time. Nothing groundbreaking of course, but house heads will be pleased with the variety maintaining a building flow.

And then those basslines appear.

Actually, some of the farty sounds were in the former tracks, but they complemented rhythms rather than lead the whole. From Not So Dirty on though, it’s a distinguishing characteristic, and your enjoyment of disc one will depend entirely on how much you dig the dirty house sound.

For what it’s worth, Angello does provide a decent amount of variety between these tracks. Even if most of the hooks are predictable as fuck (dun, dun-dun, dun, d-d-d-d-dun-dun, and so on), a different synth patch each time does wonders to maintain interest. I’d even consider Angello’s own Chord - a track which brings this set to a peak - electro proper, as it has that robotic Neo-Tokyo vibe going for it. And yes, the rhythms pound along just fine; drunkenly and disorderly, sometimes with hints of funk too. This is house music best enjoyed with copious shooters and played really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really loud. Listening to this disc though, you get the impression even Angello realized the limited potential of this sound; it begins to bore towards the end and his final two tracks feel like tag-ons that have little to do with the rest of the set. It doesn’t help they plod along without any of the energy the previous tracks provided. Sadly, they hint at things to come in disc two.

His second set in this double starts interestingly enough. Opening with the moody minimal sounds of Mandarine Girl, then turning on its head with the kitschy Sexy As Fuck, it appears Angello is taking a stab at trashy electroclash and pulsing techno. Fine and dandy for a bit, and it even gets a nice peak with Trentemøller’s remix of Röyksopp's What Else Is There?

And then he goes minimal. Very minimal. Tediously minimal. Annoyingly minimal. Man, I know this stuff’s hipster points are through the roof right now, and jumping on this sound earlier in the year would have been considered a daring artistic choice, but not when it’s this boring. The end of disc one may be plodding, but it’s a Clyde Stubblefield solo compared to the tracks Angello lays down for most of disc two. Some hope of lifting us out of this ketamine daze appears at points, notably in Alto Voltaje, but the set always falls back to square one; many teases, no payoffs (Ingrosso’s own remix of Moby’s Dream About Me is brutal at this). I don’t expect minimal to be exciting or funky or contain huge riffs, but there should at least be something for my head to dig on, of which there isn’t much. The atmosphere, minimal’s make-or-break attribute, has no life. Few of the sounds bubbling about are interesting to hear, and when the only form of dancing one can do to this set is the Zombie Lurch, it makes for a very boring hour of music. At least Holden’s remix of The Sky Was Pink gives us something kind of melodic to end off on.

So, does Angello’s Sessions mix have enough charm to be enjoyed outside of its time? The first disc certainly does, although the phrase ‘this is sooo 2005' will undoubtedly be running through your head as it plays. The second disc... um, not so much. If anything, it’ll provide future music geeks with evidence why the minimal movement was perhaps a mistake - not that I think this to be true, mind, as there has been some quality in this style; just very little here. If you can find this double-disc on the cheap, it’ll serve as a nifty time-capsule in your music collection.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2006. © All rights reserved.

Sasha - The emFire Collection (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
Ugh. This review's clunkier than I remember, and unfortunately suffers from an opening paragraph dependent upon reading prior material on TranceCritic. I don't even recall specific details regarding Sasha's short-lived label now. I think it was intended as a means of officially releasing Coma after enough interest in it grew when it was a self-titled white label, but my memory's hazy on that. Whatever the case, it seems the emFire portion of Sasha's career has been reduced to a mere footnote, a blip of information in what he was doing during minimal deep-tech's era of clubbing dominance. It sure didn't do the music on here any favors.

Coma remains a blinder of a track, and I've developed some appreciation for Who Killed Sparky?, but Mongoose and Park It In The Shade are wholly forgettable. Compounding the problem is the utterly pointless CD1. Slam's remixes were fine for Slam remixes - you kinda' know what you're getting with their brand of techno - and The Field's second remix holds up by feeling so old school. Audion and Radio Slave though, dear God are their rubs balls out boring. And while there's nothing musically at fault with New Emissions, the lack of indexing for all the various pieces holds back whatever potential repeat plays it may have had. I was entirely too kind in my conclusions to this double-discer back in the day. Sasha productions are rare enough, and The emFire Collection feels like such a waste of studio time now.)


IN BRIEF: Better than a stopgap.

Right. No sense in getting into the background particulars of this release then. You should all know who this Sasha character is, and, fortunately for me, the history of emFire was already covered by J’ [2015 Edit: whoops, that review’s gone]. All I have to do now is tell you whether all those remixes are worth your attention and fill you in on the details of that forty-minute long track that’s undoubtedly caught your attention. Eh? You want more than that? *sigh*

Thing is, even though you’ll find this filed under ‘Sasha’, The emFire Collection isn’t a fully fleshed-out release from Mr. Coe and his production associates. It would seem, as with the vinyl editions of his four recent singles, Sasha wanted to do something a little extra special for the CD release of them. He didn’t have enough material to make a proper album, yet an EP release like Xpander wouldn’t do either. So, he called up some of the hottest names in contemporary club culture to provide remixes. Par for the course where dance music is concerned but somewhere along the way, the idea was planted the remixers should flex their muses as well with two versions on their chosen emFire single: one for the dancefloor, and the other something more for the home-front (re: experimental). The result is a full disc’s worth dedicated to this project, with Sasha’s originals now shuffled off onto a second disc.

So, we have neither a true artist album but more than just a remix package. This places The emFire Collection somewhere in leagues with The Qat Collection when one glances at Sasha’s discography. All that’s left to answer is whether this Collection is worth your hard earned coin to place in your collection. That entirely depends on what you’re looking to get out of these CDs.

If the remixes were the first to grab your attention, you may come away rather disappointed. Even though names like Matthew Dear (as Audion), Matthew Edwards (as Radio Slave), and Axel “not Matthew” Willner (as The Field) have earned plenty of critical praise this past year, their minimalist musical styles are quite in contrast to Sasha’s enveloping atmospheric productions. The experimental rubs have some intriguing sounds on offer - Edwards turns in an agreeable dub techno go at Who Killed Sparky? - but are hardly essential either; Dear in particular spends over a dozen minutes going nowhere with his minimal dub loops. On the other hand, Edwards goes overboard on his Panorama Garage Mix, with a techno rework that is appropriately sinister and atmospheric but lasts a good three-to-five minutes too long; meanwhile, Dear’s dance-rub of Park It In The Shade is a nifty little groovy-woozy thing. And as for Slam, well, they do Slam with their takes on Coma: fine for the ambient/tech-house offerings they are but nothing groundbreaking. Ultimately, though, very few elements of Sasha’s originals are utilized in these remixes, beyond effects and traces of atmosphere; if you’re hoping for creative takes on Sasha melodies, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Aside from Willner’s Disco Mix of Mongoose, that is. The original was lodged somewhere between Shade and Sparky in terms of how it sounds but in Willner’s hands, it comes across like some long-lost Underworld groove complemented with classic trance execution. Long time fans of Sasha’s sound will undoubtedly enjoy this one the most.

Still, such folks are going to be more interested in the second disc anyway. Even though tracks like Shade, Sparky, and Mongoose are sparser than the types of tracks most expect from Sasha, there’s still more vitality to them than anything to be heard on the remix disc. And Coma remains a lovely slice of melodically lush atmospherics, once again proving Misters Coe and May are a potent team in the studio whenever Sasha feels the ol’ muse tickling his noggin.

However, in a move that will probably irk those who held out on the vinyl and MP3 versions of these emFire singles for a copy on CD, the tracks are edited; honestly though, this does make better sense from a home-listening standpoint. And besides, if Sasha hadn’t pared them down a little, then he wouldn’t have been able to fit that little film score onto this disc. Yes, finally I’ve gotten around to that. For those not in the know New Emissions Of Light And Sound is a DVD featuring surfers. I haven’t seen it, nor can I say I’m particularly inclined to do so anytime soon; however, the music Sasha made for it is definitely worth your attention.

Not the first time Sasha’s done soundtrack work (he provided music for WipEout 3, remember? Oh, you don’t. Never mind then...), the music he’s made is somewhat simpler than his usual output. Still, a ‘simple Sasha’ tends to be far more intuitive than a good eighty percent of electronic musicians out there, and New Emissions is a lovely listen. There’s blissy ambient passages, moody funky moments, gentle synth washes, Coma, and brief stabs at experimentalism too. And although I can easily picture waves and beaches and surfers set against sunset backdrops as this plays, it could work just as fine for any number of scenic pieces. The only gripe about New Emissions - and it’s unfortunately a serious one - is that none of it is indexed. There are definite individual tracks on this, with names like Gothic Mood, Rooski, and Stars, but instead of being able to skip to the bits you’d like to hear at any given time, it’s all arranged into a continuous mix with obvious transitions.

And really, that kind of sums up emFire Collection as a whole. There’s a fair amount to enjoy here but it’s presented in such a way that leaves something to be desired. Honestly, given how disparate everything is on here, I’m not sure Sasha could have made this a fluid sounding release across two discs. I’d still call this a welcome addition to anyone’s music collection but compared to other releases with Sasha’s name on the cover, it probably won’t get as many plays.

Benny Benassi - Rock'N'Rave (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
I recall hating this, but upon re-listening to Benassi's sophomore effort, it wasn't as bad as I remember. Surely it was within the review itself that my bile had been expunged, snarky quips galore shot upon one of dirty electro's founding fathers. Nay, t'was not here either, generally positive things said even while remaining properly critical. Hell, I even gave some praise to I Am Not Drunk, and that song's awful. Maybe taking on a temporary douche-bro mindset truly does help in seeing things from the other side, an appreciation for the trashy dumb-fun aspect of club culture. That, or I suspected things would only get worse with the advent of disposable EDM in the following decade.

Speaking of, no surprise Benassi's hitched another wagon onto the festival anthem house scene. His recent singles could be any number of Guetta/Hardwell clones though, not even retaining the sleazy charm that marked his early work. Makes some of the tripe on this album come off far more original. Still, if you've got a hankering for the old Ed Banger 'maximal' sound, stick with Boyz Noise.)

IN BRIEF: Marginal satisfaction.

Oh dear, we aren’t actually going to do this, are we? Oh yes indeed we (or at least I) are (am). After so many months of giving the collective nu-electro house scene the thumbs down, we’re going ahead and reviewing the new album from the man that propelled the sound into the stratosphere of popular taste with his hit single Satisfaction. No good can come of this, right? Tsk, you wound us with your petty assumptions.

Thing is, most of our criticisms of the genre tend to fall upon the stagnant Swedish side of things, where farting basslines dominate; but we here at TranceCritic have remained rather neutral where Benassi and his sleazy side-chaining clones are concerned. Chalk it up to a kind of love-hate relationship with Benny: he has undoubtedly produced some fun house music, but due to his catering to the tastes of mainstream lowest common denominator, not much of it holds up when placed under scrutiny. Still, he knows his role, and we know he knows his role, so we often let his brand of nu-electro go; let him enjoy his success while the sound is hot.

Popular trends are fleeting, however, and a little over two years ago, when last we talked of Benassi [at TranceCritic], we predicted the sleazy side-chaining gimmick would be wearing out its welcome. Sure enough, Benassi's nu-electro has been usurped in clubbing circles for a thrashier trashier kind of sound, feeding off the arena rock vibes acts like Justice brought to the forefront of dance music. Never being one to innovate but always one to capitalize upon a hot trend, Benny’s hopped on this latest bandwagon, and offers us his second album titled Rock‘N’Rave.

And he (plus producing partner Alle Benassi, remaining in the background while his brother Benny’s grabs the spotlight) does whip up some suitably rowdy numbers that’ll work perfectly fine in your typical weekend club; however, when stacked against much of the dance-rock material released this past year, it pales in comparison. Far too much of it sounds like Benassi approximating what he figures to be the Ed Banger aesthetic, hitting you with blunt out-of-tune riffs permanently cranked into the red; sometimes it works (Rock‘N’Rave, U Move U Rock Me) but most of the time it’s a noisy annoyance - which has often been the main criticism of this genre right from the beginning anyway.

Benassi hasn’t completely abandoned his bread and butter, though, and whenever he brings the harlots and side-chaining out, the tracks surprisingly fare better. I Am Not Drunk, for example, is a fun bit of boozy-woozy hedonistic-dance indulgence. And then there’s My Body and Who’s Your Daddy, which prove Benassi a capable producer when he plays to a chick’s sense of tease. Unfortunately, they also have their problems: despite My Body’s fun rowdy nature, the side-chaining in its main melody is atrocious, some of the worst I’ve heard in a while; and compared to the original version of Who’s Your Daddy, this Pump-kin mix lacks spunk.

Still, those bratty girls are far more entertaining than most of the guest vocalists Benassi has brought in. Aside from Come Fly Away, which features euro-dancey pop lyrics courtesy of Channing complementing old-school rave riffs (sweet! ...until you realize the track doesn’t really go anywhere), it seems we’re in an emoting boy-band audition session. Good god, it’s bad enough we’ve been having to hear it in bad euro-trance, but now in dance-rock too? Enough already.

Ah, hell. I’m getting too critical over this music, aren’t I. That’s not the right frame of mind at all for Benassi’s type of music. Hold on a moment while I slip into something a little more suitable...

*Downs half-a-dozen jagerbombs; shot-guns a Rock Star; rails a line of blow off the ass of a trampy twenty-something gal wearing tacky sunglasses; spikes hair into frosted tips*

So, bro! This Benassi shit, man! Fuckin’ killer shit, eh bro? Oh fuck ya’, man! Listen to those fuckin’ FAT beats and... oh fuck! Dude!! Check out those two sluts fucking frenchin’, bro! That’s fucking AWESOME! Yeah, you go, bitches!! Wooooo!!!!! Oh, hey, bro! Benassi’s fucking the SHIT, man! Look how he gets those skanks wet and horny. Damn, I’m gonna get me some pussy tonight, I shit you not, bro! Benny Benassi, woooo!!! This shit’s off the HOOK!

Hey, bro, got any blow?

*sobers up*

Ugh, what happened? Where was I? Ah, right. Guest vocalists. If you like your male vocalists sounding overly emotional and earnest, you’ll probably enjoy the guys on Rock ‘N’ Rave. And I have to admit Shocking Silence isn’t too bad of an offering, even if it’s merely style-biting Marco V’s False Light.

The second disc is mostly remixes and some of Benassi’s ‘vs’ projects assembled together. None of the remixes are worth your time (Eclectic Strings is a dub of My Body, and sounding woefully inept without Mia's skanky vocals). The rest sounds like Benny’s attempt to replicate the success of Bring The Pain by capitalizing on some other current trends (classic house revivalism in the case of Black Box, and punky indie rock in the case of Iggy Pop); Bring The Pain actually is some fun, even if I can’t help but be reminded of Jason Nevins and Run DMC, but the other two are wholly unnecessary and uninspired reworks, making me just want to listen to the originals instead. Pretty much a toss-off, CD number two is.

So, perhaps this was to be expected after all. There’s no doubt Rock ‘N’ Rave has moments that’ll entertain, even if it’s mostly in a drunken-dumb kind of way. As an album, though, it isn’t the kind of thing you’ll be playing much from front-to-end. While you may whole-heartedly accept Benassi’s change of direction, his execution of it all sounds uncertain, as though he’s only doing this in order to keep up with contemporary clubbing consciousness. Whether his fanbase picks up on this remains to be seen but, in the long run, finding any kind of Satisfaction on here will be difficult. Oh yes, I went with the bad pun; deal with it, bro!

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved.

Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album (Original TC Review)

Warp Records: 1996

(2015 Update:
Oh God, there's such a glaring hole in this review, a critical piece of information I left out. Or forgot. Or didn't bother researching for some lazy reason. Richard D. James Album is officially the first album Richard D. James produced using soft-synths as his primary music hardware, which should be totally obvious by the tonal shift in these tracks. The tickity-tack sounds, cut-up rhythms, micro-sliced sampling, and braindance glitch is common for compositions by way of computer trickery, of which this album his filled with. His prior work, still on analog gear, is more straight-forward in their arrangements, though filled with their own sonic oddities because it's Aphex. Even if that distinction is obvious though, it's an important piece of RDJA's make-up, an essential piece of music journalism I neglected.

Speaking of, man does this review ever read like a stock 'music journalism' piece. I guess that's sorta' good, in that in TranceCritic's late run we were finally coming off polished and professional. Can't say I like reading it now though, much of it feeling functional while sandpapering personality off. Probably didn't like it much then either, at least on a subconscious level. Two year hiatus was nigh.)


IN BRIEF: Aphex-Pusher? Or Square-Twin?

After so many years of being an eccentric pioneer, the perpetually creepy-grinning Richard D. James suddenly was not. Rather, he started following the lead of another eccentric pioneer, Tom Jenkinson. Legend goes James was so impressed by then-unknown Jenkinson’s live show that he quickly signed him to his Rephlex label and released the first Squarepusher album. Then, James himself went and started making tracks with similar aesthetics, where frenetic jazz-fusion rhythms were thrown into a mixing bowl of real-world noises and samples for use in sound banks.

For the Aphex Twin moniker, this was quite new. Granted, there were dabblings here and there (most famously Didgeridoo), but James had carved out his name with gritty drill’n’bass beats, strange yet lovely ambient textures, and, most famously, unique sounds that only he seemed able to create –which is no surprise since the Cornwall native's hobby was gleefully dissecting and experimenting with equipment like some kind of evil vivisectionist. Why would a guy who made a career of sounding like no one else suddenly make music that potentially did (and would when others followed his and Squarepusher's lead)?

Well, aside from the aforementioned Jenkinson influence, fact of the matter was electronic music in general was in transition in the mid-90s, and James was no exception. As a part of the old guard of rave musicians and partiers, he, like so many others, found himself at a crossroad once the original rave scene finally crumbled into separate niches: either find a way to become highly successful in the music industry, or retreat the other way to satisfy the muse. If this album is anything to go by, his initial gut reaction was to retreat – let the other guys (Orbital, Prodigy, et al) have their mainstream. Ironically, the Aphex moniker too would see mainstream success, thanks in huge part to a series of Chris Cunningham videos, but that came later.

Back to the album at hand, it isn’t nearly as over-indulgent as you might expect from the likes of James. It is, however, somewhat jarring on first listen, if for no reason than opening track 4 has some of the tinniest, blunt percs offered from any Aphex Twin tune. Sure, the melody is charming enough, but where are those trademark big crunchy beats, eh? Not here, my friends, and nowhere on this album either. The early-90s Aphex Twin has moved on.

Fingerbib aside, the first half of Richard D. James is probably going to sound like a bunch of glitchy, abrasive, noisy nonsense for those uninitiated to IDM’s more screwy, intense drum programmers. Granted, we’ve had over a decade to get accustomed to such screwbars and nutballs (Venetians Snares, Bogdan Racyzinski, to just name-drop a couple we’ve already covered [at TranceCritic]), but way back in ye’ old 1996, this was some radical sounding stuff. Poor folks were coming into this album looking for more ambient bliss like Blue Calx or drill’n’bass delights like Come As You Mean To Go On, and instead get bizarre metallic clanging in Peek 8245yadayada or contortions of modem dial-up squawks in Carn Marth. You could still hear some of those old Aphex tropes littered about - the melodies James came up with, no matter how distorted or buried they got, still sounded great - but you had to give this album repeated listens to actually get it. Aphex Twin had always been a bit challenging in that regard, but he at least could be counted on cuts that you could easily digest in one sitting. Not so much here though.

Moving on to the second half in short time, James leaves behind most of the harsh sounds in favor of cute’n’cuddly silliness. Result: something far more accessible for those untrained IDM ears out there, and a good load of giddy adulation at the cleverness of it all from the rest. For instance, the brilliantly titled To Cure A Weakling Child splices together pieces of children singing along with infantile melodies (and, of course, intense clippity-cloppity skitter-beats), creating something that’s ridiculously twee, yet very disconcerting whenever James goes into a ‘drum solo’. Yellow Calx aside (which has more in common with older Aphex material due to the synthy backing melodies), Richard D. James wraps up on such silly charming sentiments, even going so far as to include a slide whistle in the final track. It does work wonderfully in a track like Girl/Boy Song, bringing nutty grins to your face in spite of the frenetic drum work, but is simply wacked in Logan Rock Witch, which seems to be James messing around with a bunch of left over samples.

Whatever the case, Richard D. James Album is definitely one of those Must Have releases for connoisseurs of IDM. Along with Squarepusher, it set a precedent for the future direction of this wildly eclectic genre, as several others began following suite and diving off the deep end with such experimental albums (unfortunately to ever-increasing patience-trying results).

For the rest, though, I can sense a little trepidation, especially considering the short running time (finishing out at just under thirty-three minutes). Frankly - and I know this point has been hotly contested over the years - this isn’t the best starting point for Aphex Twin material. Actually, I’m not even sure which album would be, but Richard D. James Album definitely is not it. Due to the very short running times of most of these tracks, the album comes across more like a collection of jingles than songs; great jingles, mind, but jingles nonetheless.

Unless you’re already well versed in IDM sample-skitter-step, I’d hold off on this album until you’ve already taken in one or two Aphex Twin releases. You will eventually enjoy Richard D. James - if not for the eccentric attributes, then for discovering the warmth underneath the eccentric attributes - but at least this way you’ll soften that initial “WTF?” blow to your ears.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved.