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V/A - Urban Legends


healium

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Just looking at the tracklist, it MOST be awesome. I have only heard the smaples on psyshop.com, but they sounded pretty good.

 

Other great progressive albums:

 

Frogacult - Something for Sundays

Wooooow!!! This is brilliant, Mikkel and Casper have done it this time. Excellent stuff. Worth a listen indeed.

 

V/A - Playground

This is great too..

 

V/A - Set>3

This is okay too..

 

Yes a couple of Iboga releases, but these were the ones that crossed my mind.

 

 

 

Take care

 

Quark-

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Has anyone heard this compil?  Psyreviews is ranting about it but they rant about a lot of stuff that I didn't like..  Could use a good progressive album these days though...

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Here is my review for it. Personally, I found it to be one of the top progressive compilations of the year - still behind a coule Iboga comps, but most stuff is nowadays. ;)

 

---------------------------------

 

Artist: V/A

Album: Urban Legends

Label: Tribal Vision Records

Genre: Progressive Trance

Year: 2004

 

Tracklisting:

01. Rai – Groove

02. Emok – Old Speckled Hen

03. BLT vs. Elysium Project – Subway

04. Vibrasphere – Infusion (Vibrasphere Remix)

05. Parrket – Skeletonised

06. POTS – Polish Lips

07. Meller – Valhalla

08. Echotek – Skykorg Key

09. Human Blue – Motionrun

10. Parrket – Sventevith

 

With 2004 being a stalwart year for fine progressive trance, it is only fitting to see some new players bursting onto the scene giving us reasons to look forward to the next year. Tribal Vision Records is a new label based in Prague (Czech Republic) which was born in 2004 out of a group of friends’ dedication to fine psychedelic grooves. For their inaugural release, the label managers, Slater & Schwa, have selected an international lineup of both veterans and new artists on the scene presenting a variety of progressive styles. Urban Legend comes complete with a 16-page booklet containing information on each of the artists – very nice touch. One of the few times you’ll hear me mutter the compliment “nice package”. ;) Does Urban Legends live up to its name? Let’s see….

 

Perfect beginnings:

This CD starts off strong with the stunning and super-smooth low-bpm number from Prague local and DJing veteran Rai appropriately titled “Groove”. While this track might be too gentle for the more psychedelically-minded progressive freaks, it leaves my jaw on the ground while wondering why the hell this is the first I’ve heard from this producer. The feel, flow and structure of the track are absolutely sublime – the breakdown is breathtaking. Were this released on vinyl, it would surely be a massive hit in the prog-house circles. This track deserves its own paragraph. ;)

 

A gentle rise:

The CD continues through tribal-influenced melancholic tracks from veterans Emok (1/2 Phony Orphants) and BLT vs. Elysium Project. Emok’s “Old Speckled Hen” is my first taste of his solo work, and I like it – progressive trance/house crossover perfect for the early or late hours of a party. “Subway” from the BLT & EP collaboration is a nice change in sound from what I would expect from these guys – very smooth, but with a melodic structure which slyly develops throughout the track. These guys need to spend more time together. :) Vibrasphere is next with a remix of “Infusion”, my personal favorite track from the most recent album. While it doesn’t carry the same emotional punch to the gut that the original did, it’s a solid remix that will still get play time. Unless I’m mistaken, this is the first I’ve heard from Vibrasphere since Rickard took over the project as a solo effort, and it’s clear he can still carry the flame on his own with no problem. Another new artist, Parrket, is next with his sparsely-arranged “Skeletonised” – it’s not a bad track, but doesn’t particularly strike me. The dubby melodic elements strike me as something better suited for a downtempo track. I hear promise, but it’s not fulfilled here.

 

Picking up steam….

German proggy vets POTS bring the CD into heavier territory with the driving “Polish Lips”. The track develops nicely, pushed by a pumping bassline, through various melodic tension & release. This is an extremely well-executed number which is perfect for building energy as the night starts picking up steam. Meller follows with their bouncing nighttime piece Valhalla – the synths have a unique flavor I haven’t heard elsewhere. Not particularly striking in whole, but still a nice track for the peak dark hours of a party. Israeli Echotek follows up with “Skykorg Key”, showcasing his trademark progressive/full-on crossover style. IMO if you’ve heard one Echotek track, you’ve hear them all – this is nothing different for me that most of his other work. His sound has a lot of promise, but I always find something lacking – maybe next time.

 

Finishing it off:

Human Blue brings it back to melodic territory with his thick and epic “Motionrun”. While not much of a departure from his other more melodic works, it’s a very nice sound with a noticeable old-school goa flavor – a definite throwback to the sunrise feeling of years past. Parrket closes the CD with his second contribution, the tongue-twisting “Sventevith” (say that 10 times fast!). This is definitely my preferred of his 2 here – the chugging bassline gives the track enough drive to work the dancefloor, while the ethereal atmospheres and pads keep it fairly laid back until the tasteful melodic explosion kicks in. Well-fitting for a late-morning groove session.

 

In the end…

Overall, this is a damn fine debut from Tribal Vision. As a compilation, it flows extremely nicely – rather than just being a collection of good tracks, there is an excellent sense of ordering with a definite rise and fall. Despite a couple weak points in the middle, the tracks themselves are mostly very strong, with something for every point in the party. The debut piece from Rai is the definite strong point of the CD – and possibly one of my top tracks for the year. I’m frothing at the mouth to hear what else this guy has in store. The rest is also top-quality and well worth the buy. For me, this is one of the top 2 or 3 progressive compilations of 2004 - for the first CD on a new label, one could not hope for more.

 

Rating: 8/10

Favorite tracks: 1-4 (especially #1!!!)

 

 

review by Dr. Krelm

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