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Information : Artist : Phobia Title : Adaptation Label : Tactic Records Date : 24 June 2008 Genre : Psy-trance Tracklist : 1. Misconduct 2. Third Stream 3. Mix Shake 4. Grind (Phobia Remix) 5. Plant Yourself 6. Adaptation 7. Night Parade 8. Culture Hall 9. The Rite of Spring 10. Counter Point Review : Phobia, the psychedelic trance project (Don't confuse it with the drum n bass artist), made one, and only one Album, called Adaptation. It has not reach a high succes, however it does not remove anything to the great quality and to the amazing tracks of this album. The most known track made by Phobia is surely Turbulence, which one isn't include in this album. Let's have a further look in this album ! Miscondust : The first track of this album is just A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ! It start with some Piano notes and finish in a whole symphony ! On 1:08, Phobia give the song it's kick and bassline. Fast come background sounds and melodies. The song grow up, than come a break, and so on. All that is greatly done, but the best is coming later. At 3:08, you can clearly hear the main melodies coming up, and on 3:25 the whole stuff is just released. Waouv ! Amazing melodies, never heard such thing in any other Psychedelic trance song. It seriously sound like a Mozart melody, in a modern way, under a psychedelic form. At 4:24 come a break, but fast the main melody come back, this time it sound differently than before, and I've to say this second part of the song is a little bit disappointing. I mean, it's still good, going with build up and break, it kept the great melody, but it isn't as good as the first part of the song. Well anyway, how could Phobia throw it better than he did in the first part ? Anyway, a great song, for sure the best of the album, and one of the best Psychedelic Trance song I ever heard ! Third Stream : The song start with some strange sound, but then come the great bassline with nice kick. Everything is building up and on 1:27, Phobia just release all that to give the song a nice dynamic. Later you can hear a sample and some background sounds. I personnaly like it, it give this song a nice atmosphere, not as deep as an Atma song, but still phobia is doing it well. However, the melodies are less present than it was in the previous song. You have to wait until 5:27 to be able to hear the main melody. But then, it come, and ooh boy, it come very nicely, growning up slowly but surely ! And on 6:00 the whole stuff is just droped. Pretty good song, however the main melody could have been more worked. Mix shake : This time Phobia starts it with a melody, and than the song is growing up. In this track, voice samples are used a lot. I like how Phobia edited the voice samples and played with it during the whole song. Sur, it's not as good as how Infected Mushroom does it, but it's still nicely done. On 2:17 come the bassline and kick, and for sure everyone aren't going to like it, however I do. With the voice sample that come then, it just give this track a nice rythmic. On 3:59, you can hear some acid sounds, which actualy fits well with the song. And at 5:17, you can clearly hear the main melody. Very nice, sounding like if Mozart made it, seriously ! And than Phobia add the bassline, and everything is greatly growing up, with another melody in background. At 6:10, the song is clearly taking another dimension, playing with the melodies, giving the whole track a great dynamic and power. The basslines aren't exceptionnal, it's quite basic bassline, but the melody are greatly done, you can feel that Phobia worked a lot on them. Another great song ! Grind (Phobia remix) : This is a remix of the song "Grind", made by Tactic Mind and Loud. This track sound differently from the other one of the album. It has a darker Atmosphere, with a heavier kick. The song isn't very interesting until 3:23 . Until there, except nice edited voice samples, there's nothing extraordinary. But on 3:23, the song is growing up, and on 3:35 it's just amazing ! Very nice bassline and kick. Another big break, and the whole thing is going on again on 5:15. Nice background melody and nice growing up stuff ! It's on 5:44 that the entire thing is just droped. That's nice, but not as good as in the other track of the album. Overall, a correct track but far away from the first one ! Plant yourself : Again, some voice sample, growing up stuff, and at 0:55 come kick and the nice bassline. As in the other song, background melodies and some acid sounds are used to build the track up. I don't like much the background sound on 2:31, that doesn't sound very well, but except that, there's not much things to say : the track is nicely builded up, but it miss of something big, with a great melody, at the middle of the song. But it's at 5:00 that the song is being great. a voice sample come with a background melody - which is slowly growing up, until reaching it's higher point. And on 5:42, you can hear an amazing symphony, a great combinaison realized with kick, bassline, snare, hat, melodies and spacy sounds...Something that, again, I've never heard in any other Psychedelic Trance song, except in the other track of this album. A good track, but why do we have to wait so long to realize that the track is so amazing ? Could be better if the first part of the song included more melodies ! Adaptation : Another song with some good melodies ! However, in this one, except the good melodies, there's nothing that stand out of the track ! It's still nicely going on, with good ascents and break, but the track isn't amazing. Not a bad song, but the worse one of the album. Night Parade : The song start with a strange sound, I don't really like it. Then, as for the other track, come the kick and bassline. It's not bad, but it's a bit getting repetitiv. I means, the bassline isn't amazing, backgrouds effects sound are still made of good quality, but there's nothing exceptionnal. But the "second" part of the song (I means after the big break at the middle of the song), at 4:20, changes everything. It's slowly but surely growing up, using a voice sample from the famous film "8 Miles" (I was watching this film the other day, when suddenly I heard someone speaking in the film, and my brain was like "Oooh I already heard that in a psychedelic trance song !"). And on 4:59, Phobia is giving all the stuff he got, to give this track a great dynamic, with nice melodies and background sounds. But here again, why do we have to wait all this time to be able to hear this nice builded up stuff ? So, not a bad song, but I would say that the first part of the song isn't very good. It's in the second part of the song that things are good ! Culture Hall : This song contains some french samples, which you do not often hear in Psychedelic trance song (Except in some Jaia's song). It uses nice effects and background sounds, but as for the other song, the first part of the track isn't very amazing. It's when come a big break, at the middle of the song, and especially when everything is dropped, at 4:39, that this track is getting awesome. At 4:39, there's a very nice bassline with nice melody going on in background. At 6:25, the song reach it's higher point. This is at this moment that the whole symphony is going on, with good kick and bassline, awesome background effect and a great melody ! A good track, but the first part of the track still need few improvements. The rite of Spring : One of my favourite song of the album, because you don't have to wait the middle of the song to hear something exceptionnal. During the whole song, Phobia use edited voice samples and some melodies to build up this great track. On 1:56, by example, the voices samples goes very well with the rest of the song. I've to say the kick is very powerfull and the bassline is quite good. Sure, that doesn't sound like any other psychedelic trance track, but this is also what make this track so original and pleasant to listen. There is always something different going on. By example, at 3:17, a nice melody grows up in background. There isn't any moment where you find it repetitiv, Phobia always give you something awesome to listen. On 3:56, it's just amazing how the melody sounds good ! Counter Point : Here we go with last track of the album. Another song with many melodies, accompanied with nice bassline and kick. I've to say that at the beginning of the song, it contains the melodies that I do like the less of the entire album. It's correct, but it could have be better if the melodies were simply different at the start. However, this sound like something fresh in the psychedelic trance genre, something that I've never heard before, and this contribute to make this album so particular. In the second part of the song (starting at 5:30, slowly building up and going to a very nice melody !), you can hear a very nice melody with nice background sounds. And on 6:09, you have another great symphony, with amazing melody, later accompanied with samples that fit it very well. A very nice track, not one of the best of the album, but still a good one ! Overall : Adaptation is definitly an amazing psy-trance album ! Every track sounds like not any other psy-trance track does, which make it very fresh and pleasent to listen. Almost every songs contain incredible melodies, with great ascents and break, leading to awesome symphony ! Just damn it that for a lot of track, the second part, when everythings stop and when come a big break and then when the song build up again, is the best part of the song. Often, the first part only lay the foundation of the track with the kick, the basslines and some backgrounds sound. A lot of track could have been better if the main melody were use since the start of the track to build something big. The first track of the album is a great example : since the debut of the song, you can hear the main melody, but it's only at the middle of the song that you hear this melody at it's best point, when it's totally developped. Sure, it's also a question of personnal taste, and everybody aren't going to be agree with my opinion, but this is one of my favourite psychedelic trance album. I never ever heard such symphonies in any other Psychedelic trance song, that what make this Album so good. Best track : 1, 9 Worst track : 6 Rating : 9/10 To buy it : Psyshop Discogs Amazon