Rinkadink- 'Pirate Signal' (Alchemy Records, 2005)

[Lauryn]

Rinkadink- 'Pirate Signal' (Alchemy Records, 2005)

 

Artist: Rinkadink (South Africa)

Title: Pirate Signal

Label: Alchemy Records (UK)

Catalog#: ALCD016

Format: CD

Released: April 2005

 

1. Pirate Signal

2. Metal Endo

3. Basshead

4. Marauder

5. Wavefront

6. Dads Power Song

7. Techmology V3

8. Broken Collaboration

9. Native American Beauty

 

Review:

 

The sixteenth release from London based Alchemy Records, this is the highly anticipated follow up full length album to last years killer debut "Rabbit From Darkside" from Rinkadink aka Vana aka Werner Van Jaarsveld. Rinkadink originates from Cape Town, South Africa, but is now based in London and has spent the last year since his debut release spreading his unique, funky, fun, psychedelic style across the globe as well as in the studio creating more killer music. Since 'Rabbit From Darkside', Rinkadink has expanded beyond his South African roots, in the past year releasing tracks on Maia Records, Beats & Pieces, Hadra, Planet B.E.N., Sirius, as well as Alchemy.

 

1.'Pirate Signal'- The album opens with static confusion...a partially inaudible sample...some jamaican guy(???).. "enjoy!" and then we're immediately tossed into the trademark Rinkadink groove- you know, the one that makes you want to jump

up and dance around your room...yeahhh...that one some very nice uplifting melodic lines to start things off. The bassline is deep, the groove, laid back and funky as hell, and its got that killer gritty dirty no nonsense snare that I LOVE. The melody builds, a quick breakdown, and a second more raw sounding synth melody is introduced, which nicely complements the smoother sounding earlier melody. The final breakdown-buildup is massive Rinkadink style, nice filtered fx, and then it all drops out- "enjoy!", and then the groove comes back together. A nice cross between dark, mysterious, and ethereal and more upbeat, bright and uplifting....not too dark, not too light. Perfect for breaking out of the rabbit hole....10/10

 

2.'Metal Endo'-A slow, plodding start to this track and we're into a groove with a distinct 6/8 feel to it, chopped up samples interspersed among various squeaky fx, and some swooping ambient pads in the background lead us into the first breakdown. Following the introduction of more mechanical, glitchy synth sounds, the track maintains a steady groove throughout. The first breakdown brings us the main melody front and center, a filtered buildup, Rinkadink's trademark snare rolls, and the atmospheric pads fall and fade away, leaving us once again bouncing and shuffling along. The final buildup of the track involves some more acid sounding synths, some very nice start-stutter-stop-starts, and slamming back in for one final chunky groove. For sure Rinkadink has yet to throw the mayhem into full gear. He's just giving us a taste of what is to come... 7/10

 

3.'Basshead'- An airy, twinkling melody, along with some static vocal samples, the groove kicks in and vocal fx combine with more acid sounding synth stabs, a funky and somewhat goofy feel to this track. A darker, mysterious melody develops along with the use of inaudible vocal samples in the background creating an overall atmosphere of chaos, madness, and confusion in this track- nice! Many quick and clever breakdowns and this track keeps slamming in again and again. Rinkadink is one of the few artists who in my book can pull off these massively epic snare roll buildups, and he does it so well! The final buildup to the sample "basshead" and then were tossed back into the groove once again. I'm not so much a fan of the alarm sounds interspersed throughout, but the rest of this track is so much fun, that it's easily overlooked. 9/10

 

4.'Marauder'- I am going to come right out and say that I really disliked the first 2 minutes of this track. I was just about to conclude that not even the dope wolf howl sample could save this one-then I waited 10 more seconds-and bam! An almost sitar-like melody was introduced...a somewhat goofy (what the fuck in a good way) element with a slight retro disco feel- what can only be described as one of the most

original breakdowns i've heard in a while, and poof! just like that its a killer groove. Did that track really just do that?? The rest of this track is a nice mix of funky grooves, goofy inaudible samples, stretched out buildups, quick unique breaks, oozing synth sounds combining with a sharper, brighter synth melody that bounces over the top of this track, the final breakdown-buildup and resulting melodic groove

is raw and powerful! 8/10

 

5.'Wavefront'- Am I playing video games here or am I listening to a psytrance track? Or is it quite possibly some mutation of the two that doesn't involve sampling Super Mario Bros.?!?! The static of the 'Pirate Signal' is heard once again- keeping this

album tied together quite nicely. We're falling into an opening buildup-breakdown nicely sliding into a groove complete with atmospheric melodies and glitchy synth sounds. 2:25 brings a killer breakdown!!!! nice one!!!!!! (can't give the secret away any more than this ) yes...Vana definately showing off the old school video game influence here, it's twisted and the melody's got this uber-happy goofy bouncing along feel to it that i've only heard previously in more suomi-style psy. 4:50 brings a killer breakdown buildup, lots of very nice start-stops, and before long we're bouncing and floating along with this one once again. kick ass! did I win??? 9/10

 

6.'Dads Power Song'- A spooky sliding synth melody starts this track off, as a galloping bassline fades into the mix. I'm still totally loving the raw, metallic feel of the snare in all of these tracks. The sample manipulation is brilliant, complete with

scratching effects. Now, when you sampled the Delta ebonics spoof on your last album ("Hope was Closed"), its kinda hard to out-do yourself when it comes to

samples- "what happened? we had a lot of fun but they had a lot of other catch phrases I could believe I was the first one to use the phrase whyyyiiii don't think

so" comes close though (see track 8). A more scattered, melody is introduced and bounces around for a bit. "drop the bass" nice tastefully used raw, slightly distorted pounding old school rave kick building into a groove that meshes together a spooky

mysterious melody along with short manipulated vocal bits. A slightly dissonant synth sound adds more even power to this track. It's crazy, it's wacky, it's all over the place, and it totally works. 10/10

 

7. 'Techmology V3'- This track, in contrast to others on this album thus far, showcases Rinkadink's more progressive melodic side. We start off with a driving

kick/bassline, some nice percussive fx, and an overall funky melodic feel. Around 1:45 the bass drops out and we are left with an airy floating melody that soon takes center stage in this track, atmospheric vocal pads in the background add to the overall ambiance. The raw bassline, percussive sounds, and rhythms contrast nicely with the smooth, somewhat somber, subtle melodies used throughout. What this track

perhaps lacks in chaos and mayhem, it most certainly makes up for with emotion and sophistication in melody. An in your face, full on, progressive melodic bomb! A beautiful morning track! 9.5/10

 

8. 'Broken Collaboration'- An early buildup, and the introduction of a more driving, in your face bassline and my expectations are set for an all out full on blaster."all right-saturday night- i have no date no date and my all rush mix tape- let's rock" inaudible chopped up samples intertwining with various short synth stabs and melodies bounce around for a bit before introducing a more straightforward synth

melody. Despite the numerous snare rolls and breakdown-buildups full of anticipation...the melody in this track somehow holds it back, preventing it from reaching its full blast potential, and it could have been much more glitchy and quirky. However, the sample is killer, best on the album. 7/10

 

9. 'Native American Beauty'- 'its one of those days, there was this electricity in the air' The beginning of this track introduces a melody with a distinct jazz influence to it, leading us to an early buildup, some nice raw sounds and orchestral synth stabs (which I am not much a fan of, until they are nicely manipulated later on in the track). I've been waiting all throughout this album for a track along the lines of

"You Are Not Who You Are" (Hadra), well, this is it! A mysterious flute melody is introduced, once again some nice sample manipulation building up to silence. The

original melody takes over here and we are unexpectedly thrown into a downtempo groove just long enough to make me want to hear a downtempo track from

Rinkadink- tossed back into the groove- then into a breakbeat buildup, a very nice change-up from the snare roll buildup!! A slightly more laid back groove than previous tracks, winds down this album. 8/10

 

Favorites: 1(!!!), 3, 4(!!!), 6(!!!), 7

 

Overall: It's always refreshing to see an artist who's music you love stay true to their unique style. Yet, it's equally as refreshing to see that same artist having grown and developed as a musician since his last release, while at the same time, also

incorporating many new ideas and influences into his new music. Rinkadink has done both and produced an album that not only stands out among the myriads of psytrance releases these days, but also one that is fun and enjoyable to listen to start to finish. 9/10 + bonus points for a killer set in London last month

[Lemmiwinks]

Let me start by saying that personally I have never been a huge fan of South African psy... sure the first comps on Nano Records sounded refreshing at the time but IMO their bag ran out of tricks really fast...

 

This is an enjoyable album at best, meaning that it isn't bad but not particularly good either. It's just the kind of music that you wouldn't mind listening to in the background while driving but doesn't have anything involving enough to make you want to listen it over and over again in your room. Ok, Basshead stands a little out of the crowd with a pretty catchy synthline although we are far from classic territory here...

 

Also Dad's Power Song is a funny track, it brings back all the clichés from commercial electronic music in the very early 90s (that dude saying "BASS!" and the woman scream from 2 Unlimited - No Limits, the Hoover technique, vinyl scratching and a ton of others, if you were a teen in the early 90s you'll recognize them once you hear them ) So yes, it makes you remember those days (supposing you listened to that kind of music back then - I did...) but I wouldn't consider the track itself to be anything special, just some good fun. The kindof thing that makes you smile at first but becomes boring to outright annoying after a few more listens...

 

Techmology V3 is my fave track here, it has a VERY nice and dreamy melody.

 

Conclusion As is the case with most full-on releases, this only contains 1 or 2 standout tracks and the rest just fillers... I know that quite a few praise the South African scene but for me it's WAY overrated... 5/10

[Gutty]

um Lemmiwinks, no disrespect but i think your review is a bit out of context.

 

Maybe I'm biased because i'm south african, but there are a lot of people

that will agree with me that rinkadink is not a typical full on artist.

He's one of south africa's best producers and his style is unique.

 

It's definately not hard full on, noisy or techy, it's very light, tongue in cheek

style of music. stuff your parents would probably enjoy. it suits south african

dancefloors very well, it has a lot of energy and positive vibes.

 

of course it's cool not to like it, but check this guy out at a party and tell

me he doesnt fuck the floor up proper.

 

and lemmi just out of curiousity, have you ever heard of shift, artifakt,

broken toy, twisted system, protoculture?

the nano compilations are shit compared to the tunes of today

[Lemmiwinks]

there are a lot of people

that will agree with me that rinkadink is not a typical full on artist.

yes I know... I've always wondered why people say that... I mean of course they're all a bit different but IMO he isn't different enough to earn all the praise that's being given to him... anyway it's just my opinion

 

And yes I have heard of the other South African artists you mention and again I simply don't find them as creative as people say they are...

[Gutty]

Fair enough

[dee]

rinkadink rocks

[dee]

i dont see why people dont like this album and instead of liking this,like some unoriginal "dark" compilation more,, really this is a lot more original and musical than most of 2005 releases,,, i recommend Brokencolaboration, (track 7), and also Dads power song (track #6) it have an interesting developing progression of sounds and structurehope you ppl really hear it,,, also Bass HEad (track #3) have an interesting developing....

 

8.5/10 for me

[Gutty]

Some people get it and some don't

[amphiton]

I don't get it.. it sounds to me as full on, but a little different and more intense. That's it.

 

The thing that bothers me more is that most SA psy is less psychedelic than some other isra-full-on-trance. Of course, it's very original, but I'd want it to be more psychedelic and not that dance-floor-killargh oriented. That's my personal opinion.

[FrozenRealm]

It's a good album imo a little more 'housey' than his first but still moving beats and tunes. A bit more introvert I guess.. but he manages to maintain his personal sound and yeah, I like Marauder and Techmology and Broken Collaboration the most 7.5/10 !

(Yeah S.A psytrance ROCKS! )

[Gutty]

I don't concider most psytrance to be "psychedelic" at all.

That doesn't mean I don't like it or that it's no good, it's just not

mind altering, conscious expanding or whatever the fuck your

definition of psychedelic is.

 

...but there are some SA artists that are much less predictable and

I guess more "psychedelic" than others. Guys like Shift and especially Artifakt

have very individual styles so if you want something different check

them out.

 

Rinkadink makes very "normal" psytrance, with lots of catchy melodies and

bouncy basslines. His music isn't intended to blow your mind, it was

intended for the dancefloor.

[FrozenRealm]

I don't concider most psytrance to be "psychedelic" at all.

That doesn't mean I don't like it or that it's no good, it's just not

mind altering, conscious expanding or whatever the fuck your

definition of psychedelic is.

 

...but there are some SA artists that are much less predictable and

I guess more "psychedelic" than others. Guys like Shift and especially Artifakt

have very individual styles so if you want something different check

them out.

 

Rinkadink makes very "normal" psytrance, with lots of catchy melodies and

bouncy basslines. His music isn't intended to blow your mind, it was

intended for the dancefloor.

266058[/snapback]

Dude, I totally agree with you

[Frontier Psychiatrist]

I don't get it. I'm not an accomplished musician or something but i really have a trouble with Rinkadink's melodies. They really sound wrong. The sound is nice and the sonic manipulations are adorable. But i wish he'd drop the melodies or make them more audible.

[Gutty]

Shame

[Frontier Psychiatrist]

?

[Ormion]

Very good release but not the best.

The ''problem'' with Rinkadink is that he focuses more in the basslines than the melodies or madness.

And Lemmi, SA scene kicks ass, check out Shift, man!

 

Anyway 7.5-8/10

[Subsonik]

I think Rinkadink has come a damn far way for somebody with his opportunities.

You must remember that his first album threw a whole new spin onto the psy scene - especially the sa-psy that comes out today. When I heard his debut album, I didn't know who it was (unnamed mp3's i must admit). I instantly, and for many weeks and months afterwards tought it was the best stuff I had ever heard. I got sick of it because I listened to that album over... and over... and over again. Now he produced most of that on his laptop - VST's, samples and headphones.

 

If somebody can kick out those kinda sounds without hardware, I think you should take your damn hats off to him. I think when he produced his second album, he had a lot to live up to. He needed to make the same kinda sound everybody loved so much. So this album does sorta sound the same. Problem is, many of us are used to it now, and it doesn't seem so crazy anymore. I hope he'll adapt his next album a bit more personally, but I think he still did damn well.

[Frontier Psychiatrist]

I take my words back. Heard several times and it's a corker. One of the best full-on albums that i heard this year. Ok, i didn't hear a lot of those, but still it's quite refreshing.

[Basilisk]

I think Vana is off somewhere laughing at all the confusion this particularly abnormal release has generated... it seems like no one can make up their mind on just what direction this has gone off in.

 

I've listened through a bunch of times... didn't really end up liking the first album like everyone else, so I wasn't expecting to like this one either. Not sure if I do, even still.... but it IS very different from anything else on the loose these days... Pirate Signal is full of cheeky rave sounds. Hoovers, snare rolls, funny samples and crazy-ass build-ups? This all makes for a distinct warehouse vibe.

 

I really don't understand why anyone would deem this to be average. Look, I don't even know if I like it - and I actually think I don't - but it sure as hell isn't average. Weird stuff from Rinkadink... sort of like Broken Toy but much more wacky.

[Guest Rain]

I disliked the first rinkadink a while but learned to appreciate is.....

 

so maybe this one is next...

 

EDIT : this one has more chaotic sounds is is more detailed too... don't like the chaotic sounds that much... I preferred his pure bassline style...

 

just listening @ track 3 now so wil edit more

[Brancovf]

I have only heard Dad's Power Song, and I love it!

[Jeller]

This album is great! I only heard it once excpet for the first and fourth song and i think it's really great.. it is refreshing, the sound is original like jamaica style although it is from SA.. There are no weak tracks and i like their experimental twist, it is not that psychedelic if isratrance as allready said before but it isn't less good im. 8/10 keep up the good work

[Darkarbiter]

Is it just me, or does the video clip link no longer work? :@