V/A - In Crypto

[DeathPosture]

V/A – In Crypto

 

 

High-res: front + back

 

Artist: Various

Title: In Crypto

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Ketuh Records (Portugal/Austria)

Cat. #: KTHCD008

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 11 April 2005

 

Track listing:

 

01. 07’06” Gappeq – Theory Of Everything

02. 09’05” Zebra-N – Almost Lost It

03. 08’35” The Farting Parrot – iNTeLLecTual RecTuM

04. 05’59” Insect Seeker – Russian Sounds

05. 08’23” Double R.E.L. – Viva La Wav

06. 07’03” Hefty Output – Ghb Rmx

07. 08’28” Pondscum – Output 1-2 Rmx

08. 07’27” Paranoize – Fucking Evil Noise

09. 07’28” Killer Buds – Everything Is A Copy

 

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/c4lcf (all tracks)

 

Review:

 

Ohoy motherfucker!

 

Ketuh Records is an equally productive as well as ambitious label… Label boss P_Mac is on a never-ending quest; scouring the world to procure the finest psy-trance to the huddled masses… And Ketuh sure has brought me many wonderful moments with their compilations of a consistent high quality… In Crypto is the 8th release and as usual the tracklist is a combination of new exciting acts + the usual suspects… Let’s take a stroll down Ketuh Straße…

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: Gappeq – Theory Of Everything

As tradition prescribes it, Gappeq from The Czech Republic opens this compilation… This is the fourth consecutive Ketuh compilation that Mr. Jirka opens… And why change a winning formula? As usual Gappeq crosses borders with his stuff – this is highly experimental… Full-power psychedelic trance with worldly influences from both Funland, Australia and Alderaan… Twisted, psychedelic morning trance with a cornucopia of FX… It’s very complex and perhaps even a little too complex for my tastes…

 

#02: Zebra-N – Almost Lost It

Zebra-N is Dutch producer Paul Elferich and this is his second time on a Ketuh compilation… I remember his tracks as often having a comic/oddball approach to psytrance… And this track is no different… The first half is very dark, haunting night-trance… ‘Darkpsy’ if you will – but wait until after the break when Elferich wants to have a little fun… Cardiac arrest beeps followed by the most manic climax… This *will* freak people out on the dance floors! Funny track!

 

#03: The Farting Parrot – iNTeLLecTual RecTuM

Intellectual breach – my ass! The bird breaking wind is Ariel Sela from Israel – one half of Double R.E.L…. And holy phuck – this is a crazy track indeed… Incredibly fast, it’s a no-questions-asked powerhouse of a raging night-time psytrain… Relentlessly vicious, this is like a melodic version of a Finnish crackpot tune – with Israeli melody structure and German bass… Add tons and tons of trippy FX and we’re getting close to the sound of this demented choon… Blimey! Quality stuff!

 

#04: Insect Seeker – Russian Sounds

“Gentlemen – welcome to fight club!” Insect Seeker is the side project of Tarcisio & Marcelo from Killer Buds – and it looks like these Brazilians are turning their focus to Russian now… Well, for this tune at least… And yes, this tune is aptly named – this is indeed vodka trance… Deep, dark and pounding with flaring, ripping acid riffs chain-sawing their way through your ears… Intense use of electro-metallic sounds and long, dark pads help create a truly evil track… Sweet!

 

#05: Double R.E.L. – Viva La Wav

Now Ariel Sela is joined by fellow Israeli Ariel Ram – as Double R.E.L. they’ve released a handful of tracks on Doof Records… And goddam, this is some sick, repulsive shit – and I mean that in the best possible way… This is immensely dark, haunting Halloween trance designed to scare the living shit outta friends, family, neighbours and kids… This is a Boshke tune on amphetamines… Yikes!

 

#06: Hefty Output – GHB Rmx

“And now for the party drug ‘causing so much concern around Australia. It’s illegal, it’s cheap and one of its nicknames gives you a clue to how dangerous it can be. It’s been called grievous bodily harm. The drug is also known as GHB…” Hefty Output is an Australian duo with members Dan Verbi & Tim Hanlon… This is their debut, and DAMN what a debut! I dunno if the Australian water supply is spiked with GHB or what’s going on, but OZ sure has produced some immensely talented artists… I’m reminded of some of one my fav’e OZ acts: Scatterbrain and Xatrik… This track is similar to their sound - not so much musically but in creativity and structure… This is a deeply original, sinister, frenzied night-time track – riddled with psychedelic elements, voice samples and the meanest koala-bassline I’ve ever heard… Pure acid noise-attack – beautifully executed! Amazing debut – amazing track!

 

#07: Pondscum – Output 1-2 Rmx

And here’s another debutant from down under… Luke Danielewski is his name, and he’s been drinking GHB too… As with the previous two tracks this is extremely deep and murky – haunting, depraved horror-trance… Requires some serious audio hardware to get the full spectre across… Eat your heart out Xenomorph – this is malicious, but surprisingly psychedelic! I’m all for darkpsy – but this is borderline stuff – getting almost too dark for my taste… Almost!

 

#08: Paranoize – Fucking Evil Noise

“Ohoy motherfucker!” Paranoize is Alex Ladyzanskyi from Israel… This aptly named track continues in the same vein as its predecessors – again its very dark, spooky dungeon-trance for the darkest hours of the night… A pounding cyclic bassline accompanied by eerie pads and twirling acid-lines… And a climax designed to make you wet yourself! I’m really struggling to find superlatives here, but this is such a fucking huge track – nightmarish, spooky and deeply hypnotizing… Definitely not for the faint hearted… Brilliant track!

 

#09: Killer Buds – Everything Is A Copy

“I look around this room and I see a lot of courage. That gives me strength. We give each other strength. This is it – ground zero![…] Everything is far away. Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy… When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything: the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks! […] That’s the good news – I no longer have any fear of death. I am in a pretty lonely place…” Enzio, Tarcisio & Marcelo from Brazil are Ketuh regulars, and have their debut album Interfiber Skunk coming out as KTHCD009. I really like their relentless style, so naturally I’m looking forward to that album with huge expectations… This track is a tad lighter than the previous super-dark tracks – but make no mistake about it, this is still very, very psychedelic… Fast, pounding, darkish morning trance – with loads and loads of trippy elements sprinkled around to enhance your trip… Though most of the Fight Club samples have been used in psy-tracks before, they really fit this stellar track… Sweet way to end this compilation indeed!

 

Yikes! I’ve noticed a slow, but steady increase in the quality of the stuff Ketuh release… And with a label as productive as this, the message comes across even stronger – indeed a promising sign for the future… This without a doubt the darkest Ketuh release thus far – and especially tracks #4 through #8 are among the hardest I’ve heard in a while… Dark psy taken to the extremes!

 

As mentioned above, the quality level is impressive here – hats off to P_Mac for his continuous effort to find the freshest, darkest gut-hitting music on the planet… The next seven (7!) releases are already brewing in the Ketuh kitchen… Yummy! ;o)

 

I dig this compilation – but I have to be in a certain mood to listen to this kinda music… It’s dark – it’s very dark! But within the darkpsy genre this is essential, and I do not hesitate to recommend this to hardened fans of such labels as Ketuh (well, duh!), Parvati, Trishula, Stoneage and the likes… You will not be disappointed! Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 2, 3, 4, 6(!!), 8(!!), 9(!!)

 

DeathPosture

 

External links:

Ketuh Records: http://www.ketuhrecords.com

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/by5pm

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/a4wtl

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/cbv37

Juno Records: http://tinyurl.com/7wdrh

[Lauryn]

VA-'In Krypto' (Ketuh Records, 2005)

 

Review: This is the eighth release from Portuguese-born and Austrian based record label Ketuh Records. Compiled by DJ P_Mac, Label manager of Ketuh Records and resident Boom Festival DJ. With a string of solid, quality releases over the past year, Ketuh Records (besides quickly becoming one of my favorite psytrance labels) has earned a solid reputation world wide for its style and its "off-the-beaten-track" philosophy.

 

01 Gappeq -'Theory Of Everything'- From Czech Republic comes Gappeq, Jiri Tomasek, his sound has been developing and evolving quite nicely as of late! With releases on Sundance and Oxygen Records, in addition to Ketuh. His ideas are fresh and original and this track is no exception to that. A light melody along with a nice driving bassline starts things off with a bang. An eerie and larger than life synth melody is soon introduced, taking center stage in this track. A funky breakbeat in the background gives an bouncy feel to this track, and ambient pads add an air of mystery to it all. The main synth melody slides up and down, with a key change at 3:35 a nice lead in to the more scattered complex melody adding even more to this funky groove. Think drum and bass meets psytrance at sunrise and you'll get the idea. This track is pretty much unlike anything I've heard previously and for sure will turn heads on the dancefloor. 10/10

 

02 Zebra-N - 'Almost Lost It'-I first heard Dutch producer Paul Eifferich aka Zebra-N on 'EST 2nd Session'(Doof). He has since released on Trishula and Ketuh Records. A mad scientist sample starts this one off, blending with a scratchy synchopated synth line and a bassline that I'm totally digging. The darker funky sounds of this groove have got me dancing around my room We are all aware of the predictable element that pervades much psychedelic trance music these days. Not true with this track! Zebra-N is a master of unpredicatability and anticipation. Starting at 3:30 I'm waiting for the buildup, incoherent crowd samples, bubbling synth sounds swirling around, a short, distorted melody, stretched out snare rolls, all leading up to- a single beeping sound, lasting *just* long enough. The rhythm slows down *just* enough, I'm totally expecting this one to come back in with a bang. Instead, it's a full on tribal funky groove, much like the start of this track. Am I disappointed? Of course not! Perfect for dropping early in a nighttime set and faking out everyone on the dancefloor. 9/10

 

03 The Farting Parrot - 'Intellectual Rectum'-Well, Israel's Ariel Sela could have called himself Single REL, but I'd so much rather listen to music from The Farting Parrot. Zooming synths and a slow, plodding beat lead us into a more driving kick(ass)/bassline combo. Scratchy synths combine with video game-ish fx to create a melody that is complex, yet delivered in a somewhat subliminal manner-the listener just bounces and floats along nonchalantly with it all. An in-your-face groove, dark but by no means linear- this one is all over the place. The breakbeat breakdown is killer and unique! Various samples are used throughout, however, they are all expertly embedded within this track- Farting Parrot's got far too much to let out in his music to let someone elses words take center stage for more than a second. I don't know what makes more of an in-your-face statement, the artist name, the track name, or the track itself. Good for building a nighttime set...although this one left me slightly expecting more... 8/10

 

04 Insect Seeker - 'Russian Sounds'-From Brazil, we have a side project of Marcelo and Tarcisio of Killer Buds. This is their second release on Ketuh Records. The track opens up with majestic sounds of dawn, an early build and some delayed synth fx combine with filtered percussion to create a killer groove. Mysterious and randomly placed delayed drips of melody add to the confusion. With each slight variation, this track keeps tossing us deeper and deeper into the madness. The breakdown returns us to a place of melodic, pleasant & peaceful solitude-a refreshing changeup. The beat is filtered and panned- before tossing us back into the groove once again. This time the bassline has more movement, the percussion sits more in the forefront, and an ambient synth melody is introduced, adding even more to the early morning feel of this track- dark with a little bit of light, just how I like it! The track development is killer, ever evolving and growing, with many quick & clever changes. This one just keeps going and going and going. Excellent production!!!!! 9/10

 

05 Double R.E.L - 'Viva La Wav'- Ariel Ram+Ariel Sela=Double R.E.L.=killer music from Israel. These guys first caught my attention with "My Beloved One" on EST Session 2(Doof). Since then, none of their other releases have really caught my attention until...enter Ketuh Records. A mysterious and dramatic opening to this one. The bassline comes in strong, driving at 147bpm. Synth lines collide with one another, expertly weaved together creating a truly psychedelic atmosphere. Amidst the swirling chaos however, it is the bassline that makes this track! Think israeli full-on bassline meets dark chaotic madness- and it's surprisingly effective! Insane breakdown-buildups, great usage of samples, I can't give away all the surprises. This track is a true gem! Viva La totally killer track! A true stomper!!!!!!!!!!!! 11/10

 

06 Hefty Output - 'Ghb (Remix)'- From Australia are Dan Verbi and Tim Hanlon, new to Ketuh Records, this is their first release and its heavy music for the night to the max! A long sample to start off- perhaps the drug samples are a bit cliche, but will wait to see how this one develops. raw percussive fx and an underlying breakbeat- I can definately hear the Damage influence here and I'm totally digging it! This is true psychedelia! Raw, dark, dirty, swirling, squeaking synths, lots of distorted sounds, frequently inserted samples, stretched out fx. It's a tossup as to whether there are TOO many samples in this track, in the end I think it adds to, rather than detracts from the effectiveness of this track. I feel this track strays a bit at times, slightly losing focus and drive- this is not entirely a bad thing, for it just means these guys must have too many ideas and therefore, just need to makes more tracks! With an upcoming release on Ketuh Records (KTHCD010), and their mutual ADHD diagnoses running rampant (hehehe this explains so much! ), I'm very intrigued to see how their sound will develop! Overall, a fresh, killer, raw, underground sound from down under! The more I listen, the more I like. 8/10

 

07 Pondscum - 'Output 1-2 (Remix)'-Ketuh continues the madness with yet another Aussie debut- this time its Luke Danielewski, and his full flavored musical project Pondscum. Well, if the fact that I've listened to this track about 4 or 5 times through, getting so lost amist the insanity that I forget I'm writing a review is any indication, this track is one hell of a psychedelic creation! A monster bassline and synth lines oozing psychedelia from all directions. There is a more minimal, hypnotic feel to this track. The beat has an almost disco-like feel to it- killer groovy raw & dancable. Eerie, piercing, ambient pads interspersed with schizophrenic synth lines that seamlessly babble along. Each sound used in this track stands on its own, is distinct, deliberate, and contributes to the overall effectiveness of the track. Dark, minimal & psychedelic. WOW. An excellent debut! So easy to lose yourself in this track!!! Can't wait to hear more(kthcd010)!!!!!!! 10/10

 

08 Paranoize - 'Fucking Evil Noise'-From Israel comes Alex Ladyzanskyi aka Paranoize. This is a pretty straightforward dark psy track that reminds me of Azax Syndrom expecially. A bouncy 16th note bassline, along with squeaky synth sounds, and an eerie melodic line make for a particularly stomping groove. I'm liking the breakdown-buildup, and when the track kicks back in, the intensity is increased with the addition of a rocking snare sound and some raw acid synth lines. Very nice percussive fx used throughout. A real slammer! Good for the end of any nightime set! A well produced track, just not my thing 7/10

 

09 Killer Buds - 'Everything Is A Copy'-From Brazil, Enzio, Tarcisio and Marcelo, collectively known as Killer Buds, are a Ketuh Records staple, appearing on the past 4 Ketuh compilations, as well as recently releasing their full length debut album on Ketuh. One word describes their sound- massive. No messing around here- we're immediately tossed into a driving bassline and acid synth melody. Dark, yet psychedelic with more of an epic feel than previous tracks on this compilation. A totally massive sound all around- killer very strong production, Perhaps the main melody and the bassline could be changing up a bit more, and this slight monotony takes away from this track a bit. However, its very clear to me that depite all of this, this track would absolutely destroy any dancefloor! Going out with a bang! Nice way to end the compilation! 9/10

 

Favorites:1(!!!), 2, 4, 5(!!!), 7(!!!), 9

 

Overall: A true journey from start to finish! A descent into psychedelic mayhem which showcases veteran Ketuh artists, well known newcomers to Ketuh, as well as P_Mac's latest psychedelic discoveries. The names are fresh, the sounds are unique, and the production is killer. What has disappointed me lately in the psytrance world are labels which have defined a specific sound as "their own", and artists belonging to that label who are altering their sound in order to better cater to the label's sound. Ketuh Records is for sure not of this mentality! The label should be promoting the artist's sounds, not the other way around! And this collection of artists, tracks, and sounds proves that this is exactly what they do. This one won't be leaving my cd player for a long time! 9.5/10