Luminus vs. Perplex - Plexus

This album is the result of the cooperation between Luminus (Amir Dvir aka Illumination) and Perplex (Ronen Dahan). It's not totally full on, and good for home listening as well. You won't find stomping beats and killer breaks and entrances, but rather a story beginning at the first track and ending at the last. A story that has three sides according to the cover.

The first track, Final Cut, opens with a guitar style Infected's Never Ever Land, but don't be fooled, this isn't Infected Mushroom at all, no boom boom boom here. A mild kick with a simple yet groovy bassline, together with delay effects give a relaxed feeling to this track. The strings and pads are absolutely amazing! They add a lot to the atmospheric feeling. The use of guitars is not full on, but oriented towards the more melodic way. After the moody opening with Final cut we get Crystals (also released on Full On 5). The beginning of it I don't like- very simple "boom-ehh boom-ehh" bassline and wierd noises that resemble the crackling on a dirty vinyl. The middle is not very exciting as well, boring and annoying melody using a buzzing sound. The end gets a little better thanks to the stretching melody, but still not to make this track a good one in my opinion. Then it's Solar Plexus (T3) which is far better. Many synth lines blending into each other, but not enough to make a rich warm sound. I like here that country melody, and the use of breaks. The next track is buzzing and fuzzing- Buzz N' Fuzz (T4), starting with a sample and then the beat entrance, which sounds very bad. This track is full with stretching sounds going all around in the stereo field. Nice use of the sample together with some noises. Perplex co-operates with Ayawaska to produce Dustadly Danny (T5), A clubbish opening and a not-so-well-done entrance (once again). This track is different from the rest of the album- it's a bit minimal and housey with clubbish melodies here and there. The next track is The Other Vision (T6). This time we explore the psychedelic side of this story- a lot of psychedelic elements here. Weird sounds, resonating lines, trippy hi-hats and a short high-pitched kick. You need a few listens before you really understand this track. The beginning of the seventh track, Supreme Beings, resembles Oforia a bit but soon takes you into another direction. Groovy beat, delayed sounds that come and go. I also liked the snare rolls- a characteristic of old Goa trance, nice to see it in here as well. The album ends with Midday Breeze (T8). The calm beginning and the name might fool you- this is not ambient nor chill-out. This is a combination of groove together with beautiful melodies accompanied by wonderful pads. At some points this track has really awkward sounds- maybe even a little funny. An extraordinary finish for a terrific album.

Recomendation:  This is MUSIC. Trance music taken into a new direction. It feels to me as if a few more weeks in the studio could have given us a much better album, maybe even one of the best of 2001. Most of the tracks are very good except one or two, which ruin the fun a little. My Favorites: 1(!), 3, 6(!), 7, 8(!!).