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Artist: Android Spirit Title: Synthetic Organism Label: Timecode Records Date: January 2014 1. Omdma 2. Kirobo The Robot 3. Swirl In Unity 4. Born In The Desert (feat. Distant Touch) 5. Targaryen Blood 6. High As A Kite 7. Freedom South Africa 8. Tokolojoe 9. Remember (Android Spirit edit) - Tickets Timecode. "B*itch get down here! Sh*t! This motherf*cker is heavy! Do you know how many D batteries I had to buy!?!" Really think Apple missed the boat not using that as their slogan. Anyway, Timecode. The very name makes my windows rattle with anticipation. This label has been releasing albums true to the night time South African sound for over a decade. Trojan, The Turning, New Blood, both Retrospectives...and that's just some of the compilations. They're the Suntrip of the dark continent where each album is an almost instabuy. Having spoken at length with the guy who runs Timecode these days I can tell you that he is exceedingly nice and seems to have a direction for the label. And that's good. But in the world of psytrance where you're only as good as your last release what is in store for us the listening public? Android Spirit is the teamup of Timecode mainstay Tickets (Josef Summs) and that very polite label manager Till Daksinamurti. If I'm being honest I would tell you that I'm unfamiliar with this project. Can't catch all the releases now can I? Do they bring back the glory days of Timecode or are they forging a new path? Omdma- Chants. lasers, and eerie piano? Pretty cool and that's just the first track. Kirobo the Robot- "Kirobo the Robot was exposed to zero gravity before being blasted into space." And wouldn't you know it the f*cker left before paying the cable bill. This is dark with a chip on its shoulder that undergoes several twists. It has that massive Tickets sound all over it. Now we're talking. Swirl in Unity- "No barrier, no boundaries...nothing to hold us down." The acid is here so a good track, but not as engaging as some of the others. Perhaps a little too generic. Born in the Desert- "If we ride together, we ride for justice!" Apparently the sample was better than the Lone Ranger movie. With a Principles of Flight symphonic quality it's another dark and powerful track. Targaryen Blood- "..." Yeah, I have no f*cking idea what he was saying. Probably something about porn cause it's always about porn. Thumping like a migraine the leads echo with aggressive attitude. There is mucho adrenaline to be found here. This is what it would sound like if Leonidas was behind the decks. High As a Kite- "You're high as a f*cking kite!" "Oh man...I have no idea what's going on. So f*cking high right now. Are you going to the beach? Don't forget to...oh man...I don't remember how that goes." *Brushes self off* "Do I still look high?" This one goes out to fans of Pineapple Express. The samples make it as it builds momentum and becomes a good rumbler. Freedom South Africa- "It's easy to love people that's a long ways away from us. But can you love yourself?" More rolling leads, lasers and thumping beats. This is what Timecode does and they do it well. Tokolojoe- Ah the wild and unrestrained chaos is front and center with this juicy blaster. The layers coalesce into a nice yummy powerful track. Remember (Android Spirit Edit)- "Time erases everything." There are not enough f*cking erasers in the public school system to...Look, I'm no vet, but I think you're gonna need a lot more Conan. The closer had rapid leads that were squeezed for all they were worth. As usual the bass was punchy and the acid splashed in nicely. I was wondering if they still had it. Had some of the luster come off this diamond? The last few albums from Timecode weren't the bombastic breath stealers that were their trademark years ago. But times change and if you don't change with it your risk becoming a fossil and a relic. This release holds on to a lot of the stuff we love about the label. Great samples, hard beats, and acidic energy. Tracks were full and there wasn't much dead space to endure. The middle of the album flirted with some melodies that had me thinking about the beaches of goa. Don't know if that was intentional but perhaps that is a wrinkle to explore further. As a Goa lover I would appreciate that of course, but what this album did was to solidify their position. It's a quality release that hits hard and isn't mindless. While not perfect it still keeps them near the top of the game. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Rabdom L Title: Augment EP Label: Nexus Media Date: May, 2012 1. Daywalker (Rabdom L Remix) - Cybernetix Vs. Rabdom L 2. Master of the Krusha (Rabdom L Remix) - Khopat Vs. Rabdom L 3. Ionosphere (Rabdom L Remix) - Deliriant Vs. Rabdom L 4. Firestorm - Rabdom L This is Craig Hudson who is 1/3 of the Twisted System project (time for a new album wouldn't you say gentlemen?) with his 2nd EP on Nexus Media. If it's Nexus media, the style is atmospherically dark and thumping. What we've got are 4 tracks three of which are remixes of his own stuff. The promo on Beatport says a chunky blast of sounds and colors. I like chunky. What's that? Oh. It said crunchy. Well I like that too. And you get that static electricity crunch that stays true to the Nexus Media model. Daywalker (aren't we all daywalkers?) is from the Tevatron EP by Cybernetix back in 2010 and I can't tell them apart. Kinda like if you look at people from the third floor of a Tokyo building. Unless you're talking about the young kids with their psychedelic hair and just to be different dress, but the ninjas and samurai walking the street hate them anyway. The original was good so by the distributive property this is also. Master of the Krusha is from 2011's Aricebo Chronicles and as I mentioned when I reveiwed that album I would swear he lifted parts of it directly from the Nightmare Creatures video soundtrack. In which case we can arrange a deal for my silence. Once again this is like looking in a mirror. If there are differences between the tracks they appear to be slight. Maybe the original sounds gritier and more aggressive so I think I prefer that one. I don't know where Ionosphere is from but it's more of the same acid and laser combo which I usually really like. Not bad, but not great either. Firestorm is the only one that isn't a remix. Good eerie setting that brings back the days of acid rain deluging you in buckets. Not quite that good, but closer than further. I liked it but if you have the Tevatron EP, or Aricebo Chronicles there really isn't a reason to purchase this EP. The third track was ok and the fourth was good, but if you're looking for Twisted System insanity better cue up your old Dealers album. However if you don't have any of those, then by all means you'll get your acid fix. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Dreamshadow Label: Ektoplazm Date: April, 2010 1 - Septagram - Omerta 2 - Progress - Trails 3 - Tsabeat - New Technologies 4 - Cream Corp - Tesseract 5 - Mutalisk - Chicks With Glowsticks 6 - DoHm - No More Autumn 7 - Clone - Invasion 8 - Rigel - Dodecahedron 9 - Oxya - Mindhunter 10 - Wizack Twizack - Welcome To Knutby (The Return) I've had this for quite some time and just never got to it. This is a night time journey compiled by Mr. Ektoplam himself. Not being a darkpsy aficionado like some of you, most of the artists are unknown to me. Because of that take this review with a grain of salt. As you should with all reviews. Let's face it, I'm just a guy in front of a computer with some free time trying to entertain. And the biggest pair of balls you've ever seen! That monkey is straight ballin'! Omerta- "All I leave behind me is smoke, death, and desolation." Sounds like somebody ate at Arby's. Well the black death is sticking with you Septagram, because this track embodies most of what I hate about darkpsy. Monotonous bass line with zero change, total lack of melody, and scratchy abrasive leads. No depth and thin as f*ck, which is surprising since you just came from Arby's. And all the fat white chicks say "YEAH-UH!" "Must...make it...to...Arby's!" Trails- "This is all the power you ever had. Now it is mine. Pity...there is not more time for us." If you don't mind taking my kid to school and doing a few loads of laundry we could make some time if you know what I mean. Thumbs up for the use of a Crow sample. I watched that movie over a hundred times. This one is a workout. Straight ahead with eerie sounds that make you feel like you're hallucinating or you're a prisoner in some dank dungeon. There is of course the metallic sounding synths raging across the track but what would a darkpsy track be without that? Cries of alien animals that are searching for food ring out. I liked this one. New Technologies- New technologies are great, but with all the new technology out there, this was rather underwhelming. Scratchy synths with no twists or turns. You gotta step it up. Even my daughter is getting proficient with the new stuff that's out there. "Oh hell naw! I know that b*tch didn't just unfriend me!" Tesseract- Not to be confused with the waaay better PharaOm album of the same name, this is by a fairly new project. This is a little more appealing though complete with pumping bass line, terrified female sounds...but it still sounds like the same old same old. And at almost 8 minutes it feels even longer when the track doesn't go anywhere. Darkpsy should have a time limit. For me the quality would skyrocket if they were all under 5 minutes. Of course the crap on the radio is under 4 minutes a track and I still want to drive over the elderly. Chicks With Glowsticks- "Let me know when this gets your attention." You have my attention. Instantly better with eerie sounds, but now the compilation seems to be in twilight mode. It bubbles and sounds like the old nightmare creatures video game I used to rock on the Playstation. Playstation one. Don't act like you didn't have it. At almost 9 minutes maybe it also went on a little long, but at least there was some evolution in the track. No More Autumn- DoHm has been a staple on a lot of free forest comps and is one of my favorite in the genre. That said, how the hell do you dance to this? It's spooky with lots of twinkling and rushing sounds creating a pretty good atmosphere. Is, is that...is that a car stereo in your hands? What the f*ck? Invasion- "Waitaminute man, get me outta here!" Clone has done some decent work going back to their Real Eyes EP and they make an appearance with another track clocking in at almost 9 minutes. It's funhouse style with people in the dark laughing and undulating waves of eerieness. Not bad, but it suffers from being too long without a lot of changes. Stop me if you've heard that before. Dodecahedron- At first I thought it was pretty thin, and I still do. But at the end when the arpeggio came in it seemed to get it's legs. Just took too damn long. Like all the rest it's dark, but for me it will be quickly forgotten. Mindhunter- I really like this one. No, it has nothing to do with it being the least aggressive track on the album. Are you going to take my big balls card away? It has a bit of everything. Layers, eerie feeling, and horror movie melodies. But it doesn't forget it's a trance track either. You get a lull near the end, but then that razor sharp lead comes back to cut you. Welcome To Knutby (The Return)- Tommy Boy! Not that one. But RIP buddy. Nope, the reason I probably downloaded this pig in the first place is I am a fan of Tommy Axelsson's dark music. This is a remake? of a track from his Dead End album. It's pretty good. I didn't like the combination of the two samples during the very short break as it came away a little garbled, but other than that it no problems. He's always been good at layering a thick track and that hasn't changed. I don't know if it's better than the original or even if it's supposed to be. What am I, a referee? As far as comps go, this one isn't going to be a classic. It's dark and undergoes a switch from the heavier amelodic darkpsy to the edgy night time full-on style. Couple of good tracks, but there's a lot better out there. It's free so you don't really have anything to lose. I try never to complain much about the free stuff from Ekto because he has done such a service to psytrance and the vast majority of the releases are pretty damn good. Ektoplazm Mdk