• Contributed Releases (3)

• Browse Collection (350)

• Browse Wantlist (111)

• Contact

Buyer Rating: 100.0% positive (11 ratings)

antic's groups (1)

• Goa / Psy-Trance

Error Corrective - Fade Instinct - 01-May-07 12:06 PM
After hearing Error Corrective's tracks on compilations (from Transient, Organic Rec. & Wildthings Rec.) I was eagerly awaiting their debut album, as one of the most promising acts in the realm of full-on.

When I finally put my hands on it, I was slightly disappointed about the artwork, because instead of colourful kaleidoscopic collage I got used to from Wildthings Rec. I got a black & white picture of an Indian / android guy (?!). It is clean, slick & well designed, but the fact is it's not as eye-catching like the label's previous releases. But let's not judge the book by its cover, right?

The characteristic feature of all EC's tracks is the layering – they do not (mostly) use melodic or acid lines in long passages, but instead they treat them as "brushes" or "templates". One stroke here and there, with some delay or reverb added for variety, most of the time echoing for a couple of seconds to create a melodic / musical effect. Their tunes are always filled with sound FX, starting from simple increasing / decreasing noises, through acid burps to modulated quasi-analogue rich textured patches. Despite not using any melodies per se, their tunes are still very musical, due to skilful placement of simple chords or short melodic passages and key-changes (yes! they DO work here). It IS full-on, but a damn clever one!

The albums starts with "Corrective Theme", a track that apparently (judging by its name) should be a showcase of EC's style. It starts (and ends) with some East-influenced chord progression, then adds kick & bass. The bass line is a simple full-on 16-notes rhythm, with a key-change at the end of every 4 bars. It's simple, but deadly effective if you ask me. I especially like the hi-hats in this track – there's at least 3 or 4 samples used, varying in tone, length & character. At 1:44 there comes a brilliant, tiny off-beat acid sound that makes the track sound twice as fast and a bit funky. Few melodic hooks later, there comes a breakdown and you get stabbed by acid sounds accompanied by usual full-on squelchy sounds. The peak of the track starts at 5:00 minutes mark, where a screechy, chopped up acid line comes in and drives the track for 30 seconds. Too bad that part was so short, as it is clearly the high point of the tune – it starts very good, gains speed but then looses some of the energy and is never really able to pick it up for long enough. OK track.

"Toymakers" starts with a melodic riff, similar to that spooky, killer-clown tunes we've heard dozens of times in B-class horror movies, but better. Again, the beat's quite simple but the way it is layered makes it stand out from other current releases. The track builds for couple of minutes, adding layer after layer of squelchy madness and at 2:45 introduces – again, very simple but incredibly catchy – melodious acid sound, that hovers above the groove. The overall mood of the track really fits the title – don't know why exactly, but the way that the melodies progress, shift & turn really make the impression of the listener being inside the crazy toy-maker's workshop! After a short break at 4:30-ish, the main 'melody' appears even stronger, this time even more manic and twisted. Lovely track, with clever progression and wicked, captivating atmosphere!

The next one, "Drugability", was already released on VA "Alpha Rhythms". It starts simple, with few sounds repeating over a steady full-on beat and – for the next 3 minutes – …yeah, you guessed it: adds more & more layers! At 4-minutes mark, when you think it can't possibly get anywhere further, it shifts gear up once again and does it so well, that it sends shivers down my spine every fucking time! It's not overly melodic, there's not much acid-lines, but the way those waves of squelchy-ness evolve and interact is simply brilliant!!!

"Optic Lock" is one of those tunes that you have to learn to appreciate. At first I found it below average, especially because of that oscillating up & down melody that appears at 2:25. It is not bad, but somehow doesn't fit very well into the tune. However, what happens next is simply stunning. We get some rave sounds (a'la Broken Toy) in the background and at 3:30, some clever key-changes in the bass line and then, at 4:35, a marvellous acid line twisted in all possible directions. An echoing chord progression appears few seconds later, leading to one of the best album's climaxes. Despite being quite melodic, it is at the same time one of the heaviest tracks here, because of the thumping, electric bass line. It literally is able to blow your speakers. Amazing tune!

Next we've got the title track – "Fade Instinct". The first thing that caught my attention was the – I don't really know how to call it – 'hairy', 'fuzzy' bass line. It is incredibly fat, but at the same time it has those delicate, fluffy overtone sounds that make it unique – at least I've never heard a bass line like that. And as usual, the track's built with simple elements being added one at the top of another. There's this wonderful windy / whistling acid sound going in and out of the mix, which really adds to the character of the tune. There's no really a climax here and the track is built around a very pleasant, yet simple key-change. To sum it up, the whole appeal of this track stems from the innovative sounds used (for the most part, of course) and – again – the impeccable layering. Another wicked tune!

I have no idea what "Grem Vib" means, but to me it sounds like it is a 'cool' way of spelling "Grim Vibe" – at least that's what atmosphere of the tune suggests. This one is again driven by a full-on bass line, squelchy sounds & acid stabs in the background. What I really like here are those very short (like half a second), melodic sequences echoing throughout the track. At 3:10 we are introduced to some sort of old-school techno synth line, coupled with a sinusoidal acid squelch in the background. Then a short break (the 'Grim Vibe' part) and we're catapulted into space with a beautiful sequence of noisy, screeching acid line, sounding a bit like a stretched out foil used for dairy products (?!). That's what I call a good full-on!!!

"Tabula Rasa" is similar to the title track in a way that it also doesn't have a distinct climax section. It just drives along a chord progression, with some cool sounds being used – I especially liked the Cosmosis-like deep acid sounds appearing in the first half and that ehm… "uuuaaahhhh!" sound preceding every 4th bar. The final run is enjoyable, although it could use some more tweaking I suppose. As it is however, it's still a very, very good track.

Don't know why, but "Love Fader" reminds me one of old Slide's tracks ("White Nights"). It is not the sounds, but rather the atmosphere and that impression of it being an improvised, sort of jazzy tune. Don't know where I got that feeling from (might be the break part, though), because this is obviously still a full-on track. Anyway, it is similar to "Optic Lock" to some extent, because it also uses that very heavy acid stabs. What I like here the most are the background strings & key-changes, creating some sort of melancholic, sad atmosphere.

The last tune on most of albums nowadays is a down-tempo / chilled stuff. "BFG 9000" is not. I got to admit that this one has deceived me. At first I thought it received the last place because it is the least interesting. How wrong I was! The track begins with some industrial noises, few voice samples and atmospheric strings. The kick is relatively soft & squashed but punchy which gives the impression of the tune being delicate & calm. Because it is the longest track on the album, it takes its time to build and in this respect is quite similar to old Orion tunes from "Metamorpheus" albums. Around 5:30 mark an initially quiet & delicate flowing acid line appears, which then gets more and more presence with every passing second. This time the good stuff isn't cut after few seconds and we're treated with over two full minutes of it. Superb!

The bottom line:

So, there you have it. It should be obvious by now that I enjoyed this album very much and in my opinion this is one of the best full-on albums available at the moment. It represents everything I love in psychedelic trance – the funky grooves, broad array of acid sounds & effects, intriguing atmospheres, clever musical arrangements and innovative ideas. The production is flawless: the sound picture is clear and wide, with enough punch to shred your car audio and enough detail & headroom to be enjoyed at home in headphones.

It won't revolutionise the genre, but let's be honest – at the end of the day not every new CD has to. This instead is proper dance music of the highest possible order!

Various - Alpha Rhythms - 12-Oct-06 06:03 AM
When I heard first Wildthings Rec.’s releases in 2005, their sound has immediately caught my attention – full speed acid-drenched psychedelia, with sharp, metallic sounds, deep bass and lots of attention to the detail. It’s not melodic in a direct, old-school fashion, but it’s still musical in the way that certain layers of sound interact with each other, creating rhythmical & melodic patterns.

They’ve set the quality level very high with their 2005 debuts: V/A - “Wild Rumpus” and EVP’s “Harmonic Module”. Could they possibly move it even higher?

V/A - “Alpha Rhythms” features ten brand new tracks. We start with two tracks (“Twisted Reality” & “Feedback Therapy”) by Reality Grid, which is a collaboration of Alex Diplock from EVP and Leon Kane from Avalon. Both tracks are very similar, based around deep bass line and slowly evolving, flanged acid lines, coupled with random squelches & burps. Unfortunately, there’s something missing in those tracks. The bass sound seems to be slightly out of tune, creating a weird, disjointed feeling. Also there is nothing really happening there – they build for 3-4 minutes, then there’s a 1 minute-long acid riff (a really good one at that, I have to admit) and a wind-down… The second of the two tracks is slightly better, with more interesting arrangement and it has its moments, but still it does not impress as much as their debut tracks on V/A - “Wild Rumpus”. I guess in this case we have some kind of negative synergy effect, because those two artists write much, much better tunes when working alone.

The next track, Avalon’s “Stars”, seems to prove my theory. It’s totally different stuff, faster and more powerful, but still with that Wildthings Rec. underground edge. There’s a rolling bass line with melancholic accents every 2 bars, some generic squelches and simple 4/4 drum loop. But then, right in the middle appears a wonderful, twisted melody, played with very fat & drill-sharp lead sound. It gets even more FX treatment at the end of the tune, where it bends, twists and turns in all possible directions. Great track, with much more emphasis on melody & arrangement than the first two. Simple, yet deadly effective!

Next one is a tune by DJ Beardy (the label manager) & Nick Howdle-Smith from Error Corrective. From what I heard so far, DJ Beardy is more into dark stuff than the rest of his crew, and it’s evident in the title track “Alpha Rhythms”. It doesn’t waste time for long introductions and immediately gets down to business. It’s dark & spooky with all sorts of ghost-like voices, strange noises and awesome spoken samples right in the middle. But what is best about it, is the acid melody (well, it’s simple riff really) that appears before the break and at the end of the tune. The sound they used for it is simply incredible – very dry & “thin”, but at the same time it feels like it could tear the paint off the walls if it was played loud enough! Kickin’ tune - the best one so far!!!

As DJ Beardy went out to take care of label’s business, the guys from Error Corrective (Nick Howdle-Smith & Dan Warburton) took the studio over and created “Drugability”. This one is slightly similar to Avalon’s track described above, in a way that it features a full-on bass line and therefore seems smoother & much faster. However, it’s not the kind of full-on we’re tortured with by Israelis nowadays. This here is a fine example of UK’s psychedelic techno – it builds for 3 minutes, adding layer after layer of squelchy madness. At 4-minutes mark, when you think it can’t possibly get anywhere further, it shifts gear up once again and does it so well, that it sends shivers down my spine every fuckin’ time! It’s not overly melodic, there’s not much acid-lines, but the way those waves of squelchy-ness evolve and interact is simply brilliant!!! Guys, bring out that album already!

Hoodwink (Kelton Jones) takes the driving wheel now and presents two new tracks: “Monomaniac” & “Prismism”. His music is a bit more minimal than other stuff here – I’d say it’s similar to GoW & Metaloids’s “Tits on fire”, in that it rarely gets melodic, more often it relies on weird noises, screechy acid-lines & alien atmosphere. But that’s not a bad thing at all! In fact, both tracks are extremely good, with a funny sample from “12 Monkeys” in the first track and lots of tiny, wicked & brain-melting noisy acid-lines going in and out of the mix, attacking you from all the directions. What I especially liked here, are the break-beat drum loops he used in both tracks – I’m a sucker for breaks in psy-trance... Essentially, Hoodwink’s music may seem a tad bit slower & more laid back than the rest, but it’s powerful nonetheless. Amazing work!

Alex Diplock is next, with two brand new tunes under his EVP alias. Those tracks are similar to what he already has shown on V/A – “Wild Rumpus” and his debut album. It also shows, that he’s the most experienced from the bunch – there’s this self-confidence in his music that makes it all sound so effortless & easy. The first track is similar to Error Corrective’s tune – it builds & builds, adding layers of sound, but here it’s all even more melodic and tortured by FX-units, with more variations of tone and texture. At points, EVP sounds like modern-day Cosmosis, with plenty of delightful acid runs, mixed over powerful drum & funky bass groove, surrounded by an array of squelchy noises. And you got to love that “I hate those fucking hippies, man!” sample. The second EVP’s track slows things down a bit – it’s more experimental than driving, focused on textures and sounds rather than groove. It has all the required ingredients, but somehow pales in comparison to the first one.

And the last, but not least is a new kid on the block – Psymmetrix with “Universal”. I couldn’t be bothered to check it, but it seems like it’s the fastest track here. At first it appears pretty simple in structure and I was a bit annoyed because of that, but it gets more & more interesting with every single passing minute. Plain acid sounds get heavily distorted, the bass line is thrown in different directions, simple 4/4 drum beat has a break-beat loop added and so forth... All this constantly evolves shifts & morphs, creating a sort of claustrophobic feeling, like you are being held against your will in some unfamiliar & hostile place. Even though the sample says “You are free”, you feel like it’s not safe to go anywhere, when all you can hear around sounds so alien & frightening. Marvelous track, mainly due to the suggestive atmosphere it creates!

------------------

So, to sum things up I can safely say V/A - “Alpha Rhythms” met my (very high) expectations. It’s a bit more melodic than their debut compilation, but the style has not changed that much - it still sounds very British & underground, with lots of techno influences & enormous dose of energy. No cheese in sight! I’m not sure if it’s better than V/A - “Wild Rumpus” though. The tracks there were all equally good and here we got some proper belters (#3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10), mixed with couple of average tunes. But there’s one thing that has improved for sure – on their debut compilation Reality Grid’s tracks were quieter than the rest and Error Corrective’s were louder. Here, it’s all perfectly mastered and production really shines – it’s crystal clear, pumping & meaty, balanced and without unnecessary compression.

If you liked their previous releases, you should get this one immediately – it’s more of the good stuff. If you’re not familiar with Wildthings Rec.’s sound, you should get it as well, especially if you’re into dark-psy or full-on, as this one is somewhere between those two sub-genres. It might be a bit to hectic for prog-trance people, but you never know until you try…

Darshan - Spectra - 07-Sep-06 09:59 AM
This here is one of the more underestimated psytrance albums ever IMO. Why? I think it's because of people's expectations after their debut album 'Awakening' released a year before.

Most of reviewers thought the new one will be similar, with lots of layered acid lines, high tempo and sci-fi samples. Well, they were wrong. And I think it is a good choice for Darshan to change their music, because - to some extent - most of the tracks from Awakening sounded similar, and if they would do another album like it, then it would just be too much. 'Spectra' is more chilled (though not slow at all), more focused on atmosphere, background sounds and effects rather than on leads. While 'Awakening' was full of hits you could play in a DJ-set, this one should be listened and considered as one, 76-minutes long tune.

The album starts with a very strange, heavily distorted, slow techno-like track, that speeds up in the middle to over 160BPMs. 'Excursion' & 'Phased Transition' are both similar - they're based around steady kick, deep bassline and complicated drum loops, sent through all possible effects one could imagine. There's no melody there, just some chords and atmospheric pads in the background, with occasional short acid-lines here and there.

'Spectra' is a down-tempo, melodic, mysterious tune with incredible sounding break, wicked drum work and some fine tweaks along the way. With 'Nexus Plexus' we come back to faster music - first part is very similar to tracks 2 & 3, with straight rhythm, detailed drums & acid tweaks, but the second part is completely different - the track slows down and a beautiful, melancholic melody appears.

The 'Irrelevant Elephant' (what a title!) is a very fast, drumloop-driven tune, that evolves into a dark, acid-laden monster in the second half. The last two tracks '1 Ohm' & '0g' are similar to 2, 3 & 5, but a bit more melodic and crazy, with some cool ideas and transitions.

To sum this up - it's not amongst the cream of psy-trance albums, but it's definitely worth having.