MISTiCAL* – The Eleventh Hour

In the end, the only full length of Intalex, Calibre and ST Files together. There are elements of the three spread out in all the tracks, and it is always fun on these experiments to think which part is whose. DRS, a pretty close friend of all of them, opens the ceremonies in a meta way, and Robert Owens closes them with his usual aplomb.

Maybe my favourite parts are the ones where I feel the Calibre output closer: "Natasha" is similar to his downtempo tracks like Latin Ways, "Losing Ground" has that dub feeling that is so 100% him, and the vocal tracks never allow the drums to get in the voices. However it may be "Secret Love", a perfect blend of the Calibre dub and the Kaye way of approaching 4/4 what is the highlight here. I could not get too much enthusiasm out of this album when I bought it back in the day as it went from style to style and the tracks felt as if the six hands were constantly looking for a compromise, but I like it now as I feel that it is not compromise but communication what propels them.

Amazing album. Timeless. Marcus may be gone, but the music will live forever.

Amazing LP from the MISTICAL guys! must have! 5/5

Overall this is a mixed bag and yet the highlights are so blindingly good that it is worth getting for these alone. Memory Jog is the kind of track that strikes me to the core of why electronic and dance music define my listening taste for the past decade. Sheer exuberance, delight, intensity and complexity. The drum and bass elements are subtle and intelligent enough to work for a diverse crowd. I felt let down by the stumbling bass and rap that opens this disc but overall this is a class act and I would snap up a new disc. Check the marcus intalex fabriclive 35 for further intelligent and life-affirming electronica.