stub004  Add Friend
Member Since: Apr 02, 2007
Rank: 504
Average Vote Received: Correct (3.61, 79 votes)
  last 10 days: Correct (3.81, 36 votes)
Rated 72 releases, average: 3.72
Location: Australia
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Presidents Of The United States Of America, The - The Presidents Of The United States Of America - 16-Nov-09 05:43 PM
This album is as good as it is stupid. There is not a single 'serious' track to be found, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Though they never showed much knack for playing their instruments particularly skillfully, The Presidents were good at hooks and catchy vocals. If you are going to listen to pop music, then this isn't a bad choice. Every song is a good sing along. My favourite is the little-known 'Candy'.

Steve Angello - Acid / Euro - 16-Nov-09 05:21 PM
What a shame that such a stunning A-side is let down by everything else.

While these days Eric Prydz is well-known for his ability to loop small musical sections for a seemingly infinite amount of time backed by very little else, this track was released nearly a year earlier than 'Aftermath', arguably Prydz' first track to consciously employ this structure. Angello uses only four main elements to weave this gem: lead, kicker, pad and hi-hat. Simplicity never sounded so good. It's hard to believe that someone producing such rubbish post-2006 also produced this.

'Acid' begins only with kick drum and sustained pad. Rapidly brightening, the pad is reminiscent of early techno, or more recently, Deetron and Redshape's work. Angello quickly adds flavour in the form of hi-hats before thumping listeners over the head with a fatter drum. The main melody is nothing more than five or six rapidly repeating notes, but their hypnotic feel never tires. Like Prydz' work, the tension in the track is built through extensive usage of effects - gradual shortening or lengthening of notes, delay, reverberation, et cetera. The only difference is Angello's harsh edge. Where Prydz' tracks are always soft and approachable, this has a harsh, gritty feel.

While some might find this track overly simplistic and 'clubby', for me it works in exactly the same way as any of the ultra-repetitive tracks from techno dons Surgeon or Robert Hood. The only thing that stumps me is the title - this track doesn't really seem to contain any noises reminiscent of that beautiful box known as the TB-303.

Solar Fields - EarthShine - 22-Oct-09 05:19 PM
There’s an epidemic plaguing the electronic music world – a wave of producers who know how to work computers yet have no musical talent. If you can lay down a kick, clap and hi-hat, you’ve got the basis for a track, then all it takes is a couple of random melodic notes sprinkled here and there to keep it interesting throughout. That seems to be the mentality anyway.

Enter Birgersson. Ambient producers can’t rely on beats to give an otherwise poor track legs. Birgersson’s first full-length foray into the world of upbeat music proves this with startling aplomb. Each track is an exercise in storytelling, employing a coherent melodic theme from start to finish with a natural feel that few other producers are able to achieve. His basslines and percussion are surprisingly good too. This is progressive trance as it should be: euphoric, danceable and entrancing, but never over the top. The length of each track ensures a long build of tension that is often only released in a gorgeous flurry of melody in the final minute.

However, the best part of this album is Birgersson’s undeniable attention to detail. Some particular noises or sounds only appear once in each track, leaving you hanging for them the next time you listen. It’s nearly two years since this album was released and I’m still fascinated by the layers of melody which I’m yet to mentally unfold. Highly recommended.

Cirez D - Knockout - 13-Oct-09 11:04 PM
When this was released it was HUGE. The A side was being hammered everywhere - commercial house nights, progressive gigs and techno events.

'Knockout' is a very unique track consisting of electro-house stutters and starts, plenty of scratching and a variety of random sound effects. The closest alternative I can think of is Alter Ego's 'Rocker'. It's a great club track - completely cheese free yet definitely memorable to the masses.

However, while the A side may have been the crowd favourite, for me, the B side is an absolute killer that never got the respect it deserved. Like fellow Swedes Adam Beyer or Jesper Dahlback, this track shows what Eric Prydz can do with techno. It features a thumping bass line, cacophonous, energetic percussion, a repetitive but never-tiring vocal snippet (UPTOWN! or perhaps UP, DOWN!) and not much else. It's just a pure four to the floor floor stomper for your body - not intelligent, but definitely danceable and memorable for a few years to come.

Alphazone - 13-Aug-09 10:55 PM
Alphazone are one of the greatest hard trance acts of all time I think. Perhaps their only weakness was a certain sameness between tracks, but then again, hard trance has never been the most creative or diverse genre. However, to me, the Alphazone sound is one that's instantly recognisable and subtly unique from similar acts of the time. Nearly every single or remix they produced was a monster in it's own right, with pounding drums, chunky bass, energetic percussion and ridiculously in-your-face uplifting melodies with that distinct 'euro' tinge.

Alphazone's greatest strength was undoubtedly their bass lines, which were always energetic and a bit more complex than the usual trance fare. It seems that somewhere around 2005-06, a lot of hard trance producers stopped going for strong bass lines and instead began to focus on booming kick drums, which is more of a hardstyle thing. For me, many tracks lost a lot of energy and dance appeal because of this. May Alphazone's tracks live on as a testament to what thumping, uplifting club trance should sound like. Their sound is truly inimitable, which is an adjective that can be applied to very few producers.

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