Oxygen Records, a brand new Czech Psytrance label bring us their debut compilation that showcases mostly fresh artists from all over the globe. Although the general direction of this compilation is morning full on it remains quite eclectic and doesn’t stick to one specific sound like most of the compilations nowadays. So here’s what you get on this CD.
Mr. Peculiar is possibly the best known name on this compilation. One of Australia’s best known psy producers starts the compilation with a very nice, floating tune with a lot of attention on the atmosphere and tight percussion. Sounds to me like something that would come out if Sub6 would make a tune with FreQ. Kick ass! Setherian is DJ Seth from Brazil and he’s most known for his dark and powerful sound. Not as dark as Psychotic Micro, but more like the old Double Dragon with full on rhythm. This is a nice tune but I think that he can do much better. More variety in sounds could do the trick here. Portuguese Joao Apell, Audialize, is the next artist (T3). He already released an album about 2 years ago on Ketuh records and if you heard it, you should already know what to expect. This is a serious smasher with strong percussion and evolving Goaish melody. One of the strongest tunes here. E-Ject actually is a collaboration between Nir Shoshani (Hujaboy) and Uri Azene. Although I usually like Nir’s output, lately, perhaps because of his joining to the Spun family, he sounds like he’s losing his dark edge. Nevertheless this is a good tune that should do the work on the dancefloor. Gappeq is next with possibly the best tune of the compilation. Gappeq (T5) is the Czech representative on the compilation. And he's not just the token Czech guy. This tune kicks some serious asses. Jiri Tomasek is the name, and you’d better start to learn how to spell it cause what we have here a hit. Solid rhythm that reminds me a lot of 1200 Mics first album (and that’s for only good reasons), accompanied with weird sounds and funny samples and melodies. Good stuff! Vibra, another Brazilian representative on the compilation, continues with strong and grinding vibe. A lot of typical full on sounds with some sci-fi samples in between. In the middle the bassline starts to be more dynamic and a melody is introduced. Definitely an effective dancefloor number. Spectra are up next with Radiation Status (T7), another powerful tune, but for some reason I find it really hectic and not leading anywhere. Sounds like a filler to me. Serbian Alternative Control with Esperanto (a proper name for compilation like that) are next. I heard a lot of good things about Alternative Control prior to listening to this tune and I must admit that those guys indeed have potential. Very melodic tune but with strong beat and bruising bassline. Think of it as Protoculture vs. Logic bomb. Good effort and I hope the future releases will be good as well. For closure we are served with something completely different. Sound Field are an Israeli duo that consists of Andy Yakovlev (aka Prosect) and Liron Atia. They share the ideology of breaking the walls between progressive and full on trance, and this tune is their debut release. Epic, long, evolving tune that has a fierce beat but totally soft pads and leads. Keep your eyes on those guys they surely have a very promising future. |
