This is Trancelucent's first compilation, after the releases of Perplex's debut & Plexus album. Homsy, the label manager, is Japanese-born, and created a disc with a very original concept, including Japanese sentences spoken in between tracks, sentences full of wisdom and beautiful meanings. As for the music, it is a blend of most things new in the Israeli scene these days. Full of new and sometimes refreshing artists, showcasing an array of skills in varied styles such as full on, progressive and downtempo chill music. So, besides being a very well conceived, carefully built package, it is also a stage for introducing new talent, which will, hopefully, grow bigger in the future.
It starts with a short and soothing intro by Ambrosia, which is just the right beginning for everything to come. It's like a build-up for the beginning of Perplex's Empty Hand, which gives us a morning blissful sound, good groovy bass, kinda progressive but with a full on vibe, much like his previous works. Great on open air dancefloors definitely. Next up Molecular with one of the best samples ever, funny as hell, and a different sound from their previous releases, not as clubby, a little faster, lots of melodic lines, very few sound layers, which sit very tight together. All in all a nice track, I miss some of the Feel the Heat groove, but it works just fine. After that we got the first of two Misted Muppets works, and we're riding into full on territory, dancefloor material. More nightish, driving bass, nice sound games, but it fails to really get me going, it seems to me the story got lost midway through it. Next up is Side Effect, a slower track than the previous one, it just feels very emotional, great soundwork. The sample works nicely and there's a good groove in it. Some synth lines are a little old-school sounding, but it sounds real good all in all. Then we got Alo Malo- who compiled the CD- together with Vortex, powerful sounds, 3D Vision-styled bass, and lots of powerful guitar riffs in the middle of it. Well executed, this will probably rock a lot of dancefloors, though it's not really my cup of chai. The we got the Muppets back on, same style as their previous track, driving bass, but this one works better, its more tightly knit. Nice uplifting track, including children voice samples which are very well used, loved them. Then we got Maze, making his first of two appearances here, with another power track, though a little slower than the previous two. Very neat soundgames, trippy- feeds your brain really nice. The atmosphere is mostly nightish, but it makes for a good transition to the morning, which is what we get with Evil Drug Lords (damn I love that name) and their 'The More Things Change the More they Stay the Same'. My absolute favorite here, a progressive track with a full on vibe, A-level dancefloor material, puts a smile on my face and makes me dance from beginning to end. Nothing left to say: a real gem. All layers are in the right place, just the right amount of groove to get your hips moving. And after that we need some chill, and Maze provides just that with an airy piece, very nice sounding though beatless for a good part. The right amount of relaxation to close things up. |
