V/A - Penguin Rebellion

[Lemmiwinks]

 

1. SHIFT AND SLUG - Odd kitty

2. SLUG - Penguin rebellion

3. BROKEN TOY - Send more money (Shift rmx)

4. SHIFT - Impervious to poison rmx

5. SHIFT AND SLUG - Apocalypse cow rmx

6. SHIFT - Xtrasensory rmx

7. SLUG - Adjust

8. SHIFT - Digital DNA (slug rmx)

9. ARTIFAKT - Reborn

 

AHA! So THAT'S why Pingu sudenly dissapeared for psynews... he was up releasing a new compilation behind our backs!!

 

Seriously speaking though, just who the hell are Shift and Slug? Your guess is a good as mine but I can tell you that they make some killer full-on!! Yes it still is full-on but has a much more dynamic progression than your usual full-on and it has nice atmospheres.

I won't be reviewing this track by track as almost all tracks sound alike: rolling bassline with crazy sounds and interesting developments.

 

Xtrasensory Rmx is a fucken KILLER!!!! oh man those melodies!!! oh God!!!! They hit you around 1:15 (yes, that early) and keep you stunned till the end. A definate must-have!! If you don't listen to this track you're missing something big!!

 

The last track is more down-tempo, sounds like some late 80s industrial crossed-over with some electro. Intresesting stuff

 

Conclusion It's not your usual full-on so if you want something new, go for this. However it DOES have the trademark rolling bassline so if you've heard one rolling bassline too many then you're probably gonna puke. Still, I advise giving this a try at least before dissing it. Very dancefloor friendly... 7/10

[FrozenRealm]

Hmmm well I agree with you, but Shift can be found on more Timecode releases and he has a really typical sound in his songs.. awesome sweeps that I just really like hehe

This release isn't the best, so I agree, but really worth a shot. And Xtrasensory rmx truuuuuuely kicks ass!

(One of my other favourites from Shift - Dr. Silverman is a dancefloor killer in his style too)

edit:

And Artifakt - Reborn is also a greaaaat unusual psytrance track who deserves some listening too!

Overall I'd give it a 7.5

[Alek]

Well this is Shift's third album in the past... hm... 7 months or so. First one was his solo... Red Line... next the Twisted System album (Shift+Phyx+Rabdom L)... and now this one. Plus he can be found on loads of other compilations... the guy is definitely on fire and still manages to push some quality through all the quantity. But I must say this is probably his weakest release of the three... Slug puts in some good influences, but there are too many remixes of older Shift tracks and not so much variation... although overall it's an alright release, but nothing special. BUT what really stands out is the Artifakt track! Just can't seem to get it wrong lately...

[Insejn]

I love Shift, I love Slug, I love this release.

9/10

[Cielspacing]

As far as I know, SLUG was the name chosen for TSuzuki + Gus Till music, as released at "Resonance" compilation, Matsuri Recs.

Is this the same project? Is Gus involved?

 

And a little secret(pbbly been said already)...Gus has new music out!!!.

 

A new CD released in Australia. And it has the fabulous "Monkey in the sky" track, one of Flying-Rhino's finest swan songs. I am sure this time, this track is released properly masterized(the Reevolution release was product of a live-mix or such environment that added annoying high freq noise to it).

 

 

...Sunday night, and I had the chance to give locals and foreigners an spectacular treat on a medium-size but surprisingly good sounding sound system... out of some of Gus' psytrance masterpieces "Cheesecake","Section 8", "Mephisto´s child","Loop & Digit's idem", and the hardly surpassed "Something is always out there", etc.

PSYtrance never had such spaced textures before, or sleek basslines, or delicately complex hihats...

The San Pedro de Atacama Locals and the mostly european tourist joined together in the extatic dance around the fire at the middle of the dusty house yard outside of town...surrounded by the ancient trees and clayfences and claywalls and clayseats, everything was made of dust, as we also were. But it didnt matter, it added an extra warmth to the night full of stars and the fantastic Trance in there.

 

The fire tongues lighted the faces and the music swirls floated and transpased our already weak defenses; people of diferent lands and tastes just joining into there and then. The smell of joints and tobacco hurried in a frenzy. The hours turned minutes.

 

The night muses winked me into shifting to same-space but different rhythms so I uploaded KoxBox greatly unknown psyfunktrance, deepening with slow paced irresistible Kkylven stuff circling with my WOrbit's remixed/edited remixes... just when the most fundamentalist locals(mostly musicians) couldnt believe what was happening and started singing in a multiple-voice fully-atunned chorus "esto no es lo mio" that translates "this is not my stuff". Then I accidentally(Freud!!) kicked the plugs and the whole sound and lights went off... leaving the singed chorus in everybody´s evidence... nevertheless it lost its breath into silence in a few seconds.

 

Before that electrical glitch, I was listening those voices and my conciliatory spirit

had me ready for Brazilian Regina Elis singing. So before the dark and vertigo dissolved, the sound system came back with the strings and "mi corazon late feliz, cuando te ve" voice... Fully emotional song, from slow into rhythm, and the trick is that it not being in spanish(the local musicians were troubled by most words being english) it is in portuguese, but the music is so high that noone there could feel "esto no es lo mio" fully since then...

True global spirit dosage, as we international tranced usually favour...

 

And from then rising again into trance and into whatever day everyone had ahead. Whatever it was, it had us already joining in some out of normality space.

 

...And into this topic. Thank Gus(yet again) and those mentioned below. Thank you too forum supporters and reader.

[Ormion]

I love Shift, I love Slug, I love this release.

9/10

198264[/snapback]

Agree 100%

[Riton]

I love Shift, I love Slug, I love this release.

9/10

198264[/snapback]

nuff said

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Various

Title: Penguin Rebellion

Label: Nexus Media

Date: June, 2004

 

1. Shift & Slug - Odd Kitty

2. Slug - Penguin Rebellion

3. Broken Toy - Send More Money (Shift Remix)

4. Shift - Impervious To Poison (Remix)

5. Shift & Slug - The Apocalypse Cow (Shift Remix)

6. Shift - Xtrasensory (Remix)

7. Slug - Adjust

8. Shift - Digital DNA (Slug Remix)

9. Artifakt - Reborn

 

This is the South African sound all the way. Two artists sometimes paired together, sometimes with their own tracks, and sometimes remixing other tracks. Looking back it's funny to read the comments from Lemmiwinks in the initial review. Chris Hoy is the South African sound and when this came out he was just getting warmed up. I'm a Shift fan, but I'm also honest as the day is long. So with that being said I wanted to like this much more than I actually did. Don't get me wrong it's typical Shift with big beats and acid aplenty and is far from a bad release. But as I mentioned this was relatively early on in his career so he hadn't reached the pinnacle yet. I believe his remixes of The Apocalypse Cow and Xtrasensory are things of beauty.

 

Now on to the other guy. I know Slug is Liam Gibbs (Half of Pitch Hikers and co-owner of the Nexus Media label), but his tracks seemed thinner than those of Chris with a little too much time with very little occurring. Too full-oney. And just like with this compilation I feel when he is paired with someone the results are better. Whether or not you believe him to be carried by another artist, well I'll leave that to you. Just putting it out there. Did like his remix of Digital DNA.

 

The final track by Artifakt (Head of Timecode and also a sound engineer; does good work in that regard btw) is slower, but typical of Matthew's techno electro-scratchings. His sound is very identifiable, but put me in the camp of one who isn't impressed. Different yes. Good? Meh.

 

So all in all this sounds like a compilation of South African psytrance from the mid 2000's. And that's what it is. Better than average, but not terrific or a must have. Well, for me it's a must have it has Shift on it and it's from Nexus Media. My OCD would be f*cking screaming if I didn't own it.

 

Psyshop

 

Mdk