V/A - Sonic Pantomime

[DeathPosture]

V/A – Sonic Pantomime

 

Cover-art:

 

 

^Clickable thumbnails^

 

Artist: Various

Title: Sonic Pantomime

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Ketuh Records (Portugal)

Cat. #: KTHCD005

Distribution: Wirikuta

Date: 23 August 2004

 

Track listing:

 

01. 07’15” Gappeq – 3bk1

02. 08’06” Killer Buds – Fungus in My Banza

03. 09’20” N3XU5 – Evolution (Remix)

04. 07’47” Triskell – Concept (Remix)

05. 07’50” Phyx – Sub Zero (Remix)

06. 06’58” Gappeq – Genetically Dirty

07. 08’14” Lemurians – Who Shot The DJ?

08. 07’44” Rastaliens – Jungle Explosion

09. 06’49” Spectra aka Shrink – Tribal Dance

 

Review:

 

An entranced pantomime – induced by sound, guided by vision!

 

Portuguese/Austrian label Ketuh is out with their fifth release… This time another compilation compiled by label guru P_Mac with the help of DJ TV from the Czech Republic… I got a taste for Ketuh releases with KTHCD004 “Suspended Reality” which had handful of really great tracks, and I’m hoping this one will too…

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: First up is Gappeq from the Czech Republic with a hard-hitting, evil track composed of spacey, metallic, electro sounds, badass basslines and some really cool, sharp acid riffs that’ll haunt you for a while… I like the orchestral composition this track has… It’s been called ‘deep and futuristic’ and that’s a fitting description… Nice track!

 

#02: Next up is Ketuh regulars Killer Buds from Brazil… And they have fungus in their banza – whateverthehellthatis!? A promising intro indeed, but I’m slightly disappointed by the ‘standard bassline’ that is present throughout the track though… The Buds make up for it though, with some very tasty, yet sick side orders – The synth work is indeed impressive here and I’m a sucker for nicely done build-ups and stomping climaxes… And in that sense, this track delivers – in fact, for the second part of this track, you almost forget about the copy-paste bassline as your senses are bombarded with a phat wall of psychedelic madness… Sweet! ;o)

 

#03: And now, for the holy trinity of remixes… Portuguese N3xu5 kicks off with the well-know Professor Xavier quote from X-Men: “Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. […] This process is slow, normally taking thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward” … The quote itself is cut-up and parts of it are repeated… The track itself has a lot of power, lurking below the surface waiting to be unleashed, but it is not before after the 5 minute mark that we are truly exposed to the blasting sound of N3XU5 – after the ‘fake ending’ the track takes a slightly different direction – with the emphasis on flaring, yet subtle acid-riffs and synth melodies… Not bad at all!

 

#04: Parts of this track annoys the hell out of me… Like the distorted ‘what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-my-stereo?-intro’ and I’m not sure what to make of that screechy acid line and the bizarre voice-samples… But luckily the annoying parts are only temporary – most of the time, this is some funky ass-wiggling stuff… But I could’ve done without the weird parts – decent track!

 

#05: And now: The heartbeat track! Phyx from South Africa which delivers a tribal stomper seasoned with aciiiiiid…Especially for the second half of the track… Rolling, pointy acid-riffs that cuts through air… Very hypnotizing this one – it builds and builds, all the way through - I dig it! Brilliant!

 

#06: Second instalment from Gappeq calms things down again… The title may be Genetically Dirty, but in fact this track is digitally clean… Well – compared to the rougher/more gritty sound of the previous 5 tracks at least… I like the sterile approach – and especially the well-structured nifty little melodies made up by simple bleeps… Nice percussion work too for the last couple of minutes… A different track, but interesting nonetheless…

 

#07: Shiva Space Technology regulars Lemurians makes a surprise appearance here, with the urgent question; “Who shot the DJ?” … This strays off their usual path, being darker and has an eerie, haunting atmosphere… Crisp production, razor-sharp synths and an overall phat groove… Nice track!

 

#08: We stay in Germany, this time to the sound of Rastaliens, who treats us to a wicked tune with their trademark, tribal Rasta-sound… The percussion arrangements are impressive as always, and the ‘Panjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke’ part actually sounds cool with some psy-elements to back it up… Straightforward tribal and melodic morning trance here – Tasty!

 

#09: My first encounter with Shrink was on the last Ketuh compilation “Suspended Reality” – which was very nice tune taking into consideration it was their debut… And this track by the Portuguese duo is even better… This is morning trance, with floating, almost epic melodies lain on top of foundation of rich, funky basslines and groovy percussion… Well-polished, and a very nice ending to this compilation…

 

Overall, this is a nice compilation… The not-so-good tracks are outweighed by the good tracks… I’m not sure whether I like it as much as I like “Suspended Reality” but it’s a damn close race… Depending on your point of view, the lack of cohesion between tracks (stylewise) could either be a problem or a refreshing approach – I’m inclined to the latter, but I’m guessing that some of the hard-core Ørebro-goons will complain about the ‘missing’ flow… I’m not complaining though, as I like my trance in all shapes and sizes… ;o)

 

If you like your psytrance with a dark and oddball twist – and the occasional acid riff and stomping night-time bassline … Well, then you’ll most likely like this compilation… Check it out while we wait for the next Ketuh compilation “Peacemaker”which should be hitting the airwaves in October!

 

Favourites: 1(!), 2, 3, 5(!!), 7

 

DeathPosture

 

External links:

Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/kth/kth1cd005.html (Audio samples available!)

Saiko Sounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4098

Chaos Unlimited: http://www.chaosunlimited.co.uk/cgi-bin/pr....asp?LR=kthcd05

Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detai...howDetail=49863

Juno Records: http://www.juno.co.uk/IP/IF156527-01.htm

[Nefarious]

Nice one DP. Pretty much agree with your take on this. The last 3 comps from Ketuh have been cool, trax from Parasense,Neuromotor, Silicon Sound, Dark Nebula,Penta,Kluster, Azax Syndrome, Audialize etc And a bunch of other great artists that made these comps great.

 

This one is fairly good, with the standouts for me being the Gappeq trax. Bloody brilliant. Haunting, spacey, really trippy! Worth it for those 2 alone.

 

The Phyx track is another highlight, as always.

 

Bit dissapointing but a solid release from a tasty label. They have more comps and albums in the works so the future looks bright for Ketuh.

 

5.5/10

[Alek]

A solid release, but nothing special... I always feel Ketuh has so much potential, but they never fully deliver! Ah well, I guess it's too much to ask for a reprise of Radical Simplicity :/

 

Anyway... there are still a few good tracks to be found here... Gappeq seems to be news of the week... will see how the sound develops as it matures... my expectations are high

[Guest Le Lotus Bleu]

V/A Sonic Pantomime (Ketuh)

 

Sonic Pantomime is Compiled by Dj P_Mac (Portugal) & Dj Tv (Czech) & mastered by Audialize (Joao Apell)

 

Tracklist :

 

1. Gappeq – 3bk1

Gappeq (Jirka/Czech) is exactly what everybody would like to listen from compilation, a newcomer from an emergent trance country with a serious psy potential. Don’t expect here the dominant dark psy & hard kickin but

something slighlty more colourful & let’s say softly crazy like after 5’20 with a funny metallic backlead.

 

2. Killer Buds – Fungus In Banda

Killer Buds (Enzio & Marcello/Brasil), contrarily to what i was saying previously, is the classical example of night psytrance stuff, you know the kind of things better to listen in a party than for domestic purpose. So will for sure results better in a mix than i’m enjoying currently, nevertheles i’m not fully convicted by the originality of the track & his effectiveness. Just an average one for me.

 

3. N 3xu5 – Evolution rnx

Approximatively i could say the same comment about the N3xu5’s tune (Luis Miguel Lopes/Portugal) but it wouldn’t be excact as this one is much more nervous & pumping therefore more catchy despite it’s not very brainblasting yet. Averagely good.

 

4. Triskell – Concept rmx

Triskell (Fred Sauvand/France) starts his track with someone speaking in german.

I’ve noticed also some autotune effect, what a pity, i get really bored about this trick which i was thinking producers have understood it got old-fashioned. Except also the guttural aspect (very personal feeling)

coming from the sample from what i must admitt i’m not a fan at all, there’s a good harmony & nice night dynamic energy in this song.

 

5. Phyx – Sub Zero rmx

If you’ve heard recently The Twisted System’s album & liked it like me, so this solo track from Phyx (Ian Summs/South Africa) is definativly for you, based on pumping mettalic shrill tones &

pachydermic psybeats. Indeed this one looks like the Twisted System’s track from their recent album i dig the most,maybe without the extreme apocapyptic environement, that’s the only & main difference at the same time.

 

6. Gappeq – Dirty Genetics

 

New tune from Gappeq, it’s my favorite between the 2 due to a bigger doze of madness contained in the sounds., & a rythmic more slamming like after 3’00, the little diversity & quite originality of the sounds

employed for a psychedelik stuff. Actually let’s just say there’s much personality here (something getting nearer from Weardo Beardo) surely got his impact on the result quality too.

 

7. Lemurians – Who Shot The Dj ?

The Lemurians (Andy & Janosh/Germany) have made some dull production with their specific technoish influences skills, it’s an hypnotic tune too. Let’s warn the techno backgroundish could be repulsive if you’re not acclimated to it through the previous Lemurians songs, btw according to me not a top notch realization compared to the whole Psytrance scene.

 

8. Rastaliens – Jungle Explosion

We’ve got something better here with Rastaliens

(Raplh Knobloch & Jurgen Kassel/Germany) and their Jungle Explosion title, kinda mix of jungle, tribal and goa sounds, very fresh with a positive feeling. One sign of effictiveness of this track ? it’s simple when you’ve finished the listening, you got the impress that it was too short however it lasts more than 7 minutes, & immediatly express desire to reedit the experience.

 

9. Spectra aka Shrink – Tribal Dance

The finishers are Spectra (Paulo & Francisco Oliveira/Portugal), surprisingly as Rastaliens not in a psychedelik trend but in a light & fast melodic full on one a la Astrix/Protoculture could i say, nothing tribal at all (ok there’s some percussions but they are so discret) curiously like pretend the trackname, not the original track of the year but will rock many floors.

 

Favorites by order:8,6,5,9,1,4

 

Mark :7,5/10

[Trance2MoveU]

Not a bad one even going on 10 years old now. Fungus in My Banza rocks and the eerie track from the Lemurians is probably one of my favorites by them. The remix of Sub-Zero also is one of the top tracks here.

 

Mdk