Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist (Original TC Review)

Planet Mu: 2008

(2012 Update:
This was one of the albums that helped get me out of a writing funk I had in 2008, where I went nearly two months without contributing anything to TC. I think I made a big, melodramatic deal about not "having anything left to say" or some bullshit like that to explain my absence.

Detrimentalist has gone on to be a handy bit of ammunition for many forum arguments over 'awesome intense musics'. I've put many a bro-stepper into place by throwing Eurocore MVP and such in their faces. y0 betta' recognize, son!)


IN BRIEF: You thought this shit was easy?

As Venetian Snares, Aaron Funk has spent the last decade assaulting ears with all kinds of noisy glitchcore, gabber, and drill’n’bass productions, in the process building up a sizable following of aficionados for that sort of thing. Thus, whenever the curious inquire about the genre, Funk’s name is one that is oft repeated. What they’re usually stunned to discover, though, is there is more to the Venetian Snares moniker than distorted beats and scattershot rhythms. Modern classical compositions, chip-tunes, sprinklings of trip-hop and whatnot – it’s certainly an eclectic discography, and with something like “332” disparate albums (though realistically more like a dozen), trying to dive into Venetian Snares new can seem like a terrifying proposition.

So it’s just as well we bring our attention to his latest full-length, Detrimentalist; after all, if you’re looking to get your feet wet, it might as well be something relatively current. And fortunately for the fearful, this album is probably among his most accessible. Like so many, Funk has been bitten by early 90s nostalgia. And like his fellow IDM screwbars and nutballs, this also means dedication to old school hardcore rave. Ragga jungle! Hoovers! Big riffs! Oh shit, yes!

But allow me to reign in my unapologetic enthusiasm for the moment, as there’s more going on here than a simple love-in. This is, after all, Venetian Snares, and the project from Winnipeg never would have gained a well-deserved reputation without providing music that’s oftentimes compelling head-music. For sure, Dentrimentalist has old school vibes bursting at the seams, but when coupled with glitchy noise, confounding time signatures, and spastic breakcore, you have something that’s wholly unique in the process.

To put it bluntly, this some next level shit, motherfuckers! Ragga rave-jungle squared. Beats and patterns that are at once chaotic and infectious. An audio assault you can barely handle, yet crave more once the track ends. There’s acid, hip-hop samples, rhythmic drops that’ll have you moving like you’re suffering from an epileptic seizure. Leonard Nimoy going on about how his eyes and heart are flame (Koonut-Kaliffee lifts a nifty lengthy sample from an old Star Trek episode; the use of “I burn” is especially mint!). Screechy gabber will bludgeon your brain and you’ll thank Funk for it. One of the most common clichés in dance music reviews is that a track will “destroy a dancefloor” but some of the material off Detrimentalist could probably cause mass chaos, were it not for those good-time ecstatic rave riffs keeping a smile on your face.

Eh? Is all this talk of intense rhythms too much for you? Well if so, you could always scurry over to the deadmau5 stage, where you’re guaranteed a clap every second beat and not much else. Still, despite Funk ably holding his frenetic beats together, there are points where it does fly off the rails, and you begin to wonder if he’s about to loose all sense of direction. Flashforward in particular comes off wholly wayward, not only sounding misplaced on the album but directionless overall; as though Funk couldn’t resist throwing in a ‘breakcore-for-breakcore-sake’ track. Detrimentalist needs more of those snappy reggae notes found in Eurocore MVP, not less.

The final two tracks also stray from the general theme Detrimentalist tends to maintain, in that they are more along the lines of some of Venetian Snares‘ previous material. Bebikukorica Nigiri is all chip-tune bleeps, classical chords, and skitter-breaks, and fun in its own unique way. Finally, Miss Balaton dips into analogue ambient waters and orchestral strings before engaging us with rather subdued breakcore, providing us with a relatively soothing bit of music to ease us out of the intensity the rest of the album bombarded us with. Allow me to just add here that I am continuously amazed by these IDM producers’ yin/yang capabilities - they create some of the most ruthlessly noisy music out there, yet will often deliver incredibly gorgeous synth textures within the same album.

So, if you’re still wondering whether Detrimentialist is worth your time, the answer is a definite yes. Even if the notion of drill’n’bass and breakcore seems scary and absurd, this here new album from Venetian Snares should cure you of such concerns. Funk has thrown in more than enough inviting classic EDM conventions to draw in the most cynical of IDM detractors, all the while maintaining his signature complexity throughout.

Kraftwelt - Deranged In Space

Hypnotic: 1996

If you got through some of my earliest shit reviews, you may have noticed a minor gush over the name Audio Science. A four-piece group from Germany, they were one of the better hard trance acts of the early 90s, and seeing their name crop up on a Hypnotic Records release suggested at least some quality would be found within. They had another project too; an electro act named Kraftwelt that very much was inspired by that other ‘kraft’ German group that made it big in the 70s.

Electro was going through some lean times in the middle of the 90s. Though a few acts like Jedi Knights and Aux 88 kept it afloat, it’d take until the latter end of that decade before a proper revival occured. I can see Kraftwelt treating their project as nothing more than a fun tribute side-project but, for some reason, Hypnotic Records got behind it to an almost unprecedented level. Maybe they just really, really loved their covers on the Tribute To Kraftwerk CD?

So a whole album of fresh material was commissioned, and to promote it Hypnotic released this disc as the lead single. Fair enough, but were a dozen remixes necessary? Good lord, even the classics of dance music take years to acquire that many to their name, and here’s Hypnotic tossing out twelve in the first shot.

As you can imagine, Deranged In Space isn’t a great package. Hypnotic relies on artists signed to them (or parent label Cleopatra), and few were major names, even within the niche genres they covered. Kinder Atom, Zero Gravity, Surface 10, Coercion, and Space Ship Eyes mostly stick to spacey electro, while Leæther Strip and Virex take the EBM road. The remixes are fine for the most part, but it does grow tedious repeatedly hearing the same samples and pieces culled from the original Deranged.

Three cuts do stand out though. First, The Path is a totally different track, sounding like a proper nu-Kraftwerk track that suites the whole project. At the other end of the spectrum is the Controlled Bleeding remix, a glorious mess of a cut that befits the noisy bastards they are - it’s like hearing Deranged fed through a number cruncher, then expunged back into your face as digital vomit. Awesome! Finally, Überzone provides a rub, doing his chemical breaks thing, though rather subdued for his style (the Interfaith Super 8 Remix is probably closer to what folks would expect). ‘zone’s done better, but it did get featured on the old MTV show Amp, so there’s that. Man, Hypnotic must have pushed the hell out of this single.

If you’re curious about this project, you’re likely better off picking up one of the two Kraftwelt albums instead of picking up Deranged In Space. It could have been a respectable EP with half the content, but trying to milk a full remix album out of one relatively unknown song is bonkers. Oh, Hypnotic, always doing more than you should.

Scott Stubbs - The Depths Of Progressive Trance

Topaz: 1999

When starting a new dance label, it's usually a good idea having a prominent DJ or two as a figurehead promoting releases. Sometimes, like John Digweed or Markus Schulz, they'll double as management. Other times, the DJ will simply be a hired gun, like Ferry Corsten was for Ministry Of Sound, or Scott Stubbs was for Topaz Records. Wait, who?

Apologies for that lame lead-in, but those were the thoughts swirling in me brain-pan while re-listening to this CD, and dammit, I only have an evening to write these. I can't be bothered to do that much back-checking into the relationship between Stubbs and Topaz, so I'm going with a gut feeling, on account ol' Scott had several mix CDs released on the label when it started out. I assume he was a hired gun, as info regarding Topaz has dried up when it folded around 2005, whereas Stubbs' career as a Las Vegas resident has carried on regardless.

Topaz itself began as a promising American-based label featuring trance, back in the glorious time when trance was at its commercial peak (that's the year 2000, kids). They roped in a few other well-regarded names like Blue Amazon and some Platipus distribution, but their primary focus was centred around US DJs that were just as good as any of the big UK jocks at playing out progressive trance. Noble intents for sure, and their first few releases hinted they'd offer competition against the likes of Renaissance. Sweet deal for those tired of paying import prices on such music!

This debut mix for Topaz and Stubbs catches progressive trance at the flashpoint of the genre's shift into the dark, dubby sound that would come to encompass 'prog' in the early '00s. Not surprising, as the opening clutch of tracks feature names largely responsible for that direction (Mara, Dominion, Bill Hamel, and Chris Fortier). The mix does pick up midway though, bringing in proper hooks for all your trance needs. Nothing cheesy or overwrought; just solid, energetic tunes offered by Expansion, Arrakis, Trinity Sight, and Dream Traveler. And say, do I see that Markus Schulz fella’ in a remix credit there?

Overall, it’s the sort of mix you’d expect to hear Heaven Scent near the end of, had Topaz managed to clear the rights for it. Guess it was just a bit too new when this one was released, so only ol’ Diggers got to milk it that year. Arrakis’ Medusa is an alright substitute, almost a missing link between the Bedrock classic and a prior anthem like Café Del Mar.

Scott Stubbs as a DJ then? Fine, I suppose, though certainly no Digweed (not even a Dave Seaman, to be honest). It lacks silky smooth transitions and the mixdown sounds flat, but there aren't any embarrassing flubs either. Promo mixes of similar quality were plentiful around that time, so there’s no reason to shell out major dollars for this CD.

Fear Factory - Remanufacture (Cloning Technology)

Roadrunner Records: 1997

Nah, fuck it! I get to invoke a reissue loophole here, in that all the remix material was bundled on a second CD of the Demanufacture package (plus a couple extra tagged on the end of CD1). Thus, Remanufacture is technically labeled as CD2 of its parent album in my media player list. Since it was initially an entirely different release though, I’ll talk about it separately.

Story goes Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb were commissioned to do remixes of material from Fear Factory’s first album, Soul Of A New Machine, which led to Fulber becoming the band’s unofficial fifth member. Rather than making another EP length remix album, it was decided to give the full remix treatment to Demanufacture, each song having a re-rub to itself. Fulber was tasked with the bulk of the work, but several other tunes were sent to other producers, giving some much needed variety to the project.

I know what you're thinking. Remix albums suck, for the simple fact there's no cohesion or communication among the various remixers. Agreed, which is why having only four keeps things musically tight and flowing from track to track. They aimed to make Remanufacture just as solid of a standalone album as the parent one, and though it's not quite as good, it's still a fun ride.

Unsurprisingly, Fulber takes his remixes fully down the industrial road. Though he throws a couple surprises here and there - Zero Signal is turned into a bass-sludge EBM work titled Faithless - his work mostly retains the originals' pace and attributes. It's as though he's now the main attraction with Fear Factory backing him rather than the other way around on Demanufacture. The other remixer of note was Junkie XL, who provides two cuts for Remanufacture, and a few additional ones that initially only appeared on the Burn single but are included with the reissue as well. I've always felt he's best at block-rockin' big beats, and he's in as fine of form as ever here.

The show stealers, however, have to be Kingsize and DJ Dano. The latter goes full-on gabber with T-1000, outclassing all the other gabber remixes that were done for New Breed overseas (and yes, they're also included on the reissue). Kingsize's remix is utterly bonkers though! Titled Cloning Technology, it brings all the best aspects of big beat while making brilliant use of Fear Factory's thrashier side. Just when you think this track can't get any more headbangin', he adds another layer of intense mosh, over and over again. Some out there might be miffed that Replica's morbid theme (about a person born from rape) is essentially wiped away for the purpose of ravaging dance floors, but then that argument can be made for most of Remanufacture.

It does make me wonder how many within the metal scene appreciated these remixes. They certainly enjoyed Demanufacture enough to hail it a classic, but I don’t hear much mention of this one. Their loss, then.

Fear Factory - Demanufacture

Roadrunner Records: 1995/2005

Future Shock Week continues with Fear Factory’s Demanufacture! Huh, you didn’t realize we’re in the middle of a themed review week? Neither did I, until I noticed this trend starting with The FSOL’s post-apocalyptic Dead Cities. Of course there was Deltron 3030 just now, and Deepwater Black’s based around a future where humanity’s wiped out by a global pandemic. Even Deep Forest could count, hinting at a future where society has gone tribal again! Or maybe I just like Future Shock music, and it’s a total coincidence that we’d get a run of them in alphabetical order. Yeah, that's it.

I admit having almost no experience with this genre. I'm not Metal Mike nor Johnny Thrash, though I've had the odd roommate that was. There are undeniable classics to be found within that scene but very, very few I’m compelled to get for myself. This is one of those exceptions, as Fear Factory appealed to the 'techno boy' in me with their industrial leanings. Plus, what teenager of the 90s could resist Zero Signal, as featured in the classic Mortal Kombat soundtrack?

Demanufacture is a rarity within the death metal scene, dealing with futurism rather than historical fantasy and the like. The topics sung, growled, and bellowed by lead singer Burton C. Bell, though often covering contemporary issues (at least, contemporary for the 90s), work just as well if envisioned in an apocalyptic landscape like something out of the Terminator franchise; in fact, the band very much used Terminator 2 as inspiration. Helping them out with this was Rhys Fulber (of Front Line Assembly and Delerium fame), adding synth backings and industrial textures to complete the future shock vision. Fear Factory still dominate, but Fulber's touch greatly enhances tracks like Zero Signal, New Breed, and Pisschrist.

So the music's all around solid stuff, but I’m astounded by how good of a headphone experience it is, something I never thought I'd say about death metal. As long as you go for the ride, you’ll be swept up in by Demanufacture's atmosphere. It's like watching the opening scene of T2 for the whole damn album. The gatling gun drumming (double kick pedal!), the grinding machinery of the bass, the encompassing guitars and synths; the triumphant highs and the suffering lows, everything. I know I keep saying this about such albums, but it really does reward a full play though. Everyone should immerse themselves into it at least once, even if you don't like metal. Well, so long as you don't mind the thrashing side of rock anyway.

Sadly, it took me years to properly do that, despite knowing about the band since, um, the Mortal Kombat movie. Truth be told, the only material from Fear Factory I had was the remix album, Remanufacture, and burned from an aforementioned roommate at that. Not until Demanufacture was reissued with the remix CDs did I finally hear it in full. I’d talk about those too, but they come out of alphabetical order, so…

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030

75 Ark: 2000

After years of speculation, anticipation, teases, and delays, the sequel to the underground classic Deltron 3030 was to hit the streets this month. And now Deltron Event II has been postponed again, until next spring. Ergh, argh! I cannae take this anticipation any longer. Maybe I shouldn't have stumbled upon this album after all.

Oh, who am I kidding? It was an eventuality that I’d hear the project of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan The Automator, and Kid Koala. When I did discover Deltron though, it was quite a fluke, coming at a time when personal purchasing power was pathetic, made more so by the lack of options in a backwards interior BC town I briefly lived at. How this CD came to be at that lone music store, I have no idea, but lo’ it was a true blessing I saw it at a time I had rare spending cash. I was already familiar with Del’s work with his posse Hieroglyphics, and you couldn’t escape the Gorillaz hit Clint Eastwood that year either, so seeing his name on the wrap sticker of an intriguing cover, I took the gamble and bought it blind.

I'll admit to some jadedness regarding first impressions, rarely blown away within the first couple songs of a CD. Not so here. The opening mournful tones of 3030, Del's fiery future lyricism, and Koala's subtle scratching instantly won me over, but when that chorus hit in grand operatic fashion, I knew I'd be in for a proper ride. 3030, though brilliant, was just a tease, as the album kept getting better and better with every track! (except Upgrade, but few album's are that perfect).

The appeal lies in the concept. This is definitely a future-shock album, but all is not so bleak as most artists go (hi, FSOL!). Corporations run rampant and unchecked, the underclass struggles, and it's up to Deltron Zero to bring the fight in this era. Fortunately, he also finds time to partake in intergalactic rap battles and chill out after a hard day's endeavors. It doesn't hurt most of the skits keep the outlook humorous and tongue-in-cheek; yes, there are problems, but we can laugh at the absurdity too. By the end of it all, Deltron's world seems more akin to Futurama than the dystopia suggested at the start.

Deltron 3030's gone down as a classic of the niche 'nerdcore' micro-genre, where lyrics and themes focus on geek culture, scientific jargon, and sci-fi settings. It's also a rare feat of musical craft, maintaining a consistent motif throughout while appealing to any casual fan of undergroun hip-hop, clever production, or unique music in general. Del was on a creative tear in those years while Dan The Automator cemented his place as a producer to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, some guy named Damon Albarn, who guest-warbled on Time Keeps On Slipping, took notice of this duo's brilliance, and got them to make a couple tracks to launch his Gorillaz project. That turned out pretty good too, apparently.

Pete Namlook - The Definitive Ambient Collection: Volume 2

Rising High Records: 1994

Pete Namlook’s discography remains a daunting one to dive into, thanks in no small part to the deliberate scarcity of his early work. Story goes he never intended his Fax+ releases to attain any level of commercial success, pressing limited runs of 1,000 whenever he invited someone over for a jam session in his studio and leaving it at that. It strikes me as a crafty entrepreneurial tactic within the ambient scene at large, all these limited run releases. Few things make tangible items more alluring than rarity.

Musically, one must consistently deliver for hard copy hunters to willingly lay down that extra cash, and Namlook’s output featured a plethora of classics and gems for early 90s ambient and techno enthusiasts. There was also a lot of middling dross, in that he and his collaborators seldom had specific visions in mind beyond broad ideas. Much of their output comes across like jazz for ambient heads: plenty of ingenuity and enjoyment for the die-hard, but noodly wank for anyone else.

Rising High Records did most of the UK legwork for Fax+ distribution, several releases appearing on assorted albums and compilations. Namlook was assigned the task of gathering leftovers into these Definitive Ambient comps, which doesn't make these terribly definitive, does it.

Though lacking any of the true Namlook classics, this second volume does feature some of his more memorable projects: Silence (with Dr. Atmo), Dreamfish (with Mixmaster Morris), Escape (Dr. Atmo again), Sequential (with DJ Criss), and Hearts Of Space (with Pascal F.E.O.S.), plus his solo work as Air. Not a bad roster, but the track selection's wonky, ultra-long pieces interspersed with short sonic doodles. Confounding the listening experience is, despite Namlook's presence throughout, there's little similarity between these collaborations, thus the flow's bizarre.

Case in point: the 22-minute long Garden Of Dreams, sitting at the third position, and surrounded by three musically unrelated tracks not even reaching the same length in total. The track itself is incredibly New Age, relying on soft crystalline pads and voices for half its run time before meditative percussion emerges. Despite its ambient nature, it leaves you exhausted, and you forget there's still over half a CD to go through. Saturn Cruises, just two tracks later and fifteen minutes long, leaves you in a similar state, though I can vibe on its slow space acid groove much better (plus, anything involving Saturn’s fucking awesome!). Fishology's position at the end is much better for a long track, capping the album off with fun bleepy ambient techno. Such behemoths unfortunately render nearly everything else forgettable, even though tracks like Duane Sky and 1st Impression are fine tunes.

This is far from a classic compilation, most of these cuts available on the original albums from which they were culled. Even the Pete Namlook ‘mix’ isn’t much of a hook, very little blending occurring between tracks. Get it if you find it cheap, but the odds of that happening are low.

Various - Deepwater Black: Inclonation Vol. One (Original TC Review)

Koch Records: 1997

(2012 Update:
This one again? I swear I've given this compilation more attention than anyone else. Or maybe it just feels that way since I've gotten a lot of mileage out of these tunes for one reason or another. Still a recommended CD if you find it super-cheap. And hoo boy, I really did get my geek on with this review, didn't I? No shame.)


IN BRIEF: Obscure tie-in compilation for obscure sci-fi TV show.

Far be it for us to occasionally review unknown EDM releases, but now we’re also covering unknown TV shows too? Hardly, but these Random Reviews do have a tendency to drag along quirky fun-facts from other fields. Here’s what we have in this case.

Deepwater Black - or Mission Genesis in parts American - was a short-lived Canadian-filmed TV series based on a trilogy of books written by New Zealander Ken Catran that aired in the latter half of ‘97. It holds the somewhat dubious distinction of being the first original series produced by the Sci-Fi Channel - ‘dubious’, because Sci-Fi Channel has an unfortunately long history of under-produced, somewhat cheesy original shows. On the other hand, this was at a time when television sci-fi was quite popular, so there probably wasn’t much harm in at least trying it. Just keep the cast small and unknown, the CGI special-effects video-game level (hey, it worked for Babylon 5’s first season, and that show went on to be critically hailed as one of the best sci-fi shows for most of the 90s), and your stories somewhat compelling for sci-fi, and you really couldn’t go wrong.

For what it’s worth, the show did have a strong premise: a sextet of young adults emerge from cryogenic sleep on a starship, discover they are in fact prematurely awakened clones designed to repopulate a decimated human population, and thus head back to Earth to do so, getting into adventures along the way. To the show’s benefit, the writers of the series decided to go the ‘bleak sci-fi’ style, which resulted in some fairly grim stories - when your backstory involves a virus wiping out the human race, how could you not? Oh, and irresistibly-cute Nicole de Boer was one of the leads (her pre-Deep Space 9 role - god, am I ever getting my geek on here…); even if the show was utterly lame, I could watch her any day!

Fortunately, Deepwater Black wasn’t lame, though it was obviously produced on the cheap and didn’t last long. Plus, it was just a little too youth focused. Mind, it’s understandable that it would be, as Canadian network YTV (no, I won’t tell you what that stands for - it’s really, really obvious) was a co-producer of the show, but that did effectively limit the potential audience since most teenaged sci-fi fans would have probably been more dedicated to shows like Trek, B5, or Xena anyway. Still, 13 episodes aired, and it’s retained cult status for the curious, at least at a level of any second-tier anime series.

Oh, and they also released a CD in conjunction with the show.

Actually, it was this CD that even clued me into Deepwater Black, as I saw it floating about in the racks at the music shop I worked for at the time. Naturally, my, er, ‘raver curiosity’ was intrigued by the tracklist. My manager seemed to be the opposite: “Oh yeah, that’s that show that has those kids with the funny hair,” he mentioned (huh?). I had no idea what he was talking about, especially so since Deepwater Black had been cancelled for a year by then, but any show that featured as varied names as The Prodigy, Delerium, Jonny L, and Gary Numan couldn’t be all bad, could it?

That’s the quirky thing about this CD though: aside from the Fred Mollin-penned theme song (Inclonation), none of these songs were ever in the series. Rather, and I quote from the liner notes: “These tracks do not necessarily appear in the Deepwater Black series, but do represent part of the producers’ dwb psyche.” Like, how, exactly? They were listening to these tracks while writing and filming the show? They just took the opportunity to make a kind of mixtape for fans of the show? Yet another excuse to milk an ‘electronica’ compilation (this was, after all, 1997)?

Still, even if you were to go with the cynical option, this is a surprisingly varied CD that manages to retain a decent spacey theme. The only track I’d really pin down as being an ‘electronica’ compilation cliché is Emperion’s Narcotic Influence; and maybe Delerium’s Euphoria (that one was getting all the promotional buzz on the heels of the album Karma), but the rest do manage to stand out from your standard ’97 ‘electronica’ glut. For instance, of all the Prodigy tracks to choose from, The Heat? Really? That’s… unexpected. Then you get spaced-out drum’n’bass from Jonny L’s Treading, Underworld cool-groove from Moonshine big-beat heroes Cirrus, the earliest of early productions from broken-beat producer Moonstarr (tripped-out acid jazz in Imperial Starr Cruiser’s case), underground hip-hop from Toronto act Mood Ruff… essentially a lot of psychedelic break-beats and chilled-out trip-hop to be had here. Then finally, of course, Gary Numan’s Metal - the original thirty-year old version. Talk about your musical swerves.

The association this CD has with Deepwater Black is fleeting at best (space-themed show - space-themed music?), but it’s a fine EDM compilation in its own right. Varied yet consistent, familiar tunes rubbing shoulders with overlooked gems, plus a sense that whoever did gather up these tracks, it was for a love of the music itself rather than trying to cash-grab with obvious hits. Granted, it’s yet another one of those releases that you won’t miss if you don’t pick it up (on the cheap, of course), yet nor will you be disappointed should you decide to check it out anyway.

Much like Deepwater Black itself, really.

Deep Forest - Deep Forest

Columbia: 1992

Deep Forest was far from the first to do ‘ethnic samples with a dance beat’, but no one else had as much commercial success with it as Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez on their self-titled debut, including themselves. For better or worse (mostly worse), it kicked off the pop side of world beat (‘global pop’?) flooding the Easy Listening sections of music stores with Pure Moods compilations and such bilge. For every half-decent tune that’d emerge from that scene, there’d be dozens of cheap knock-offs cozying up with New Age and smooth jazz composers. *shudder*

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. In 1992, ethnic sampling was still fashionable and Deep Forest happened across a few such samples that provided them with the blueprints to make some pretty decent music. Much like that other French guy who was behind Enigma, their initial success lay in appealing to club culture first - the crossover fame came later. Over half the album is uptempo and dancefloor friendly, well-worn drum loops and tribal grooves dominating their wordly vision. It’s almost a shame Deep Forest’s primarily known for chill out music, as the beats provided in Deep Forest, Savana Dance, and White Whisper give most mainstream club rhythms of the time a run for their money.

But yes, it’s the pygmy chants that stood Deep Forest out from the crowd. I’d hardly call what they do with their samples unique, but they are creative and memorable. Whether as full verses or snippets to form parts of backing melodies, these voices from Africa (and the Solomons) worm their way into your ears such that you’ll be humming the words along despite not knowing what’s being said. Their technique was so effective that Sweet Lullaby became an international sensation. Yay global unity!

For the electronic geek in me, two other things make Deep Forest especially enjoyable. First, pads. Oh yes, pads again. Even when there’s a vigorous beat or emphatic chant, so many lovely, calm ambient textures flow through this album, never devolving into New Age noodle-pap, a remarkable feat considering the musical context. Also, though obviously dated by current standards, Mouquet and Sanchez make ample use of stereo effects, samples and percussion weaving back and forth across the channels, turning this into a fun little headphone album.

Deep Forest was re-released a couple years later as World Mix, which added an additional song Forest Hymn and assorted remixes (including a couple from Apollo 440, whereby Deep Forest returned the favor by remixing Liquid Cool, appearing on that Sasha & Diggers mix). I’d imagine this version’s the cheaper of the two just for this fact, but it’s not like either are rare. This was a multi-platinum album and despite some dated artifacts of the era it was produced, still holds up well enough. It has none of the sap you’d expect from mainstream world beat, and never oversells its intents. It’s global music at its charming best.

Human Blue - A Decade Of Dance: Best Of - Part 1 (Original TC Review)

Transient Records: 2008

(2012 Update:
The good news is Spiral Trax is still operating, though in far lesser capacity than years past. The bad news is ol' Dag hasn't released much of anything since these retrospectives. I don't know whether he called it quits or is simply taking an extended break from production. Guess check back in half a decade for a 2016 Update?)


IN BRIEF: Only a taster.

Human Blue isn’t obscure. In fact, Dag Wallin’s project has a few albums to his name, not to mention been featured on several compilations over the past ten years. Considering the incredibly high turnover ratio of psy trance producers, he’s actually done quite well for himself to keep plugging along. Yet were you asked to name off the top of your head a ‘Human Blue classic’, chances are you’ll be hard pressed to respond with anything immediate. That lack of any recognizable hit singles has kept his profile out in the fringes of trance-land, which some may say has been for the better. Less corruption from popular trends… keeping trance ‘real’… those sorts of reasons.

Truthfully though, the reason Human Blue didn’t break out the same way others have is due to the very nature of his music. He’s primarily a progressive trance producer, but when he was releasing his first singles in the late 90s, Wallin didn’t follow suite with what the superstar UK DJs were pushing as that sound – rather, he decided to draw influence from psy trance instead. For better or worse, this instantly ‘ghettoized’ his work (that is, if you consider outdoor parties surrounded by a bunch of hippies as ‘trance ghetto’, heh), which is a shame because there are many tracks of his that could have fit snuggly into trance sets from that time.

So, Wallin wasn’t really progressive trance, but nor was he really psy. Sure, there were some elements here and there, but for a form of music that has long been characterized as busy and, er, psychedelic, Wallin’s tunes were comparatively simple; few superfluous squiggly bits and such. Rather, it was more groove orientated, with attention paid to building upon rhythmic layers rather than messing around with head-fuck effects. It became known as a distinctively Swedish take on psy trance, a sound shared by other prominent producers such as Vibrasphere and Atmos, and nurtured on the label Spiral Trax. It was progressive, yet also psy. It was… prog psy!

With prog psy being heralded as the last refuge for pure trance lovers in recent years, folks who fancy the stuff should be pleased that one of the originators of the sound has now released a pair of retrospective collections. When Spiral Trax folded in ’06 (though they’ve since re-opened), Wallin signed with long-time psy tastemaker label Transient, and promptly decided to gather up a bunch of Human Blue tracks that have grown increasingly difficult to procure. Why, though, spread it out over two independent CDs rather than release it as a double-disc set? Senseless, I says.

The reason for us choosing to cover Part 1 of A Decade Of Dance is purely arbitrary; similarly, so seems the consideration behind the track selection. There really isn’t much to differentiate the two releases, as they both equally cover the same time period, and the stylistic variation between them is nil. That said, Part 1 follows mostly a chronological selection, and you can notice the ever-so gradual shift in Wallin’s work as he moved from a pure prog trance sound to something a little more groovier. Only two tracks fall out of the Human Blue timeline, the unreleased Space Blues (probably the most rhythmically intense track out of the bunch here) and Breaking Limits, from the ’99 album Ice - you can definitely hear the early goa influences with this one. Everything else follows a similar pattern: basic beats and tones are laid out early, gradually building in rhythmic energy before some minor melodic ideas are introduced, finally capping off with everything coming together. Fortunately, the strength of Wallin’s production keeps things fresh through each tune, if not exhilarating.

And yes, the lack of variation is a chief quibble to be had with this CD. Part 1 is by no means a dull playthrough - I’d only rate Virtual Turnaround as a weak link - but the relative sameness throughout the disc keeps its overall rating mired in that annoying six-to-seven range so much music ends up; it’s just not quite a solid seven, but certainly far better than a six. Were we to utilize PitchforkMedia’s rating system, Part 1 would be something like 6.8473π²÷10 , but since we here at TranceCritic aren’t twits, I’ll just round it up to 7.

If anything, this is a nice little primer into the Human Blue discography. This or Part 2 (should you have picked that up instead) is easily enough to get you started on what Wallin’s music is all about, with just the right amount of potential tease to tantalize you further should you be curious enough to dig deeper.