PhasePhour - ...Boiing & Zipp

PhasePhour is Eldar Von Essen and John Robert Egeland. They are one of just a few psytrance groups in Norway. They have amazed us with several great live shows, full of energy, funny details and positive vibes, in Sweden and in Norway the last couple of years. They run their own label called Freetransform Records, based in a fantastic studio in Spydeberg, Norway, which is a little place right outside Oslo. They are probably still pretty unknown around the world, because they have only released a few tracks (two 12” inches) on their own label. Here they are out with their debut album on Freetransform Records.

The first track starts with an atmospheric floating sound, and a nice little melody, before some totally deep, heavy rhythms starts pushing. Stumpy as hell, with psychedelic sounds jumping around the heavy bass line. Nice and crunchy. Now and then the atmospheric vibe floats back into the track and we get a really trancey vibe. In the middle of the track we get a little break, before it builds up again and become totally full on madness. Track 2 has the album title, and is actually my favourite track on this album. The sounds give me some kind of mystic vibes. The beats are really hard pushing, and the melodies sounds dark. Definitely one of the better full on tracks I have heard. After a while, a great melody comes in, and things become much lighter, without becoming cheesy. It builds up and we get variation all the way. This is how full on should be in my opinion. Melodic and dark at the same time, with so much variation that you can never go tired of it. Track 3 is a remix of a track they released on one of their 12 inches. This one is much darker. Drifting, hard, rolling rhythms all the way, with dark psychedelic sounds dancing above. This one is also melodic, but the melodies are a bit more hidden. Track 4 is another groovy, heavy floor stumper, with a bit slower tempo. The psychedelic sounds we get here are really great, and swirls around the heavy bass line. It builds up and become more and more full on during the track. The melodies that comes in after a while is really great. Another one of those full on favourites of mine.

Then we get a little rest with track 5, which is a chilled down tempo track. It has a really floating, beautiful vibe. Here we also get some female vocals between the floating sounds. Very relaxing and nice after four full on tracks. Track 6 goes back to darker, full on vibes. A rolling, dark heavy bass line. Very pushing with some funny sounds jumping in and out of the track. The breaks are nice, and when the beat starts pushing full on again, it sounds totally massive! This one is more noisy and dark than the previous tracks. Track 7 is one of the most groovy tracks on this album. A really deep bassline, with psychedelic sounds jumping and swirling just the way I like it. Dark, full on trance, still with melodies hidden in the madness. This one also builds up like several of the other tracks on this album, and becomes really massive. Track 8 is a fast going, pumping track. This one is a bit darker all the way through than the other tracks, and the sounds we get here is pretty spaced out. About as full on as it can get. After these heavy tracks, we finally get the finish on the album, which is a slow down tempo track. A chilling, melodic track with a lot of variation. This track has some kind of happy vibe that will fit perfect into your summer chill in the sun...

PhasePhour delivers a really strong debut album. I'm sure these guys will surprise many psytrancers out there with this album, and you will for sure hear more from them in the future. If you haven't seen them live yet, I will strongly recommend you to do so. With their colourful clothes and physical energy on the stage, they give you a great live show. A good album full of nice variation. Recommended!