Jump to content

V/A - Hocus Peakus


DeathPosture

Recommended Posts

V/A – Hocus Peakus

 

Posted Image

 

Artist: Various

Title: Hocus Peakus

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Peak Records (Austria)

Cat. #: PR005

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 4 July 2004

 

Track listing:

 

01. 02’44” The Peaking Goddess Collective feat. Alex Grey – The Human Experiment

02. 07’28” Yab-Yum - Immortal

03. 07’35” Electrypnose - Opto

04. 08’24” Naked Tourist – 3 Lines In A Row

05. 08’02” Sector D – Fucking Chorus

06. 08’00” Atriohm – Pagan Anaesthetic

07. 06’24” Seroxat - Victory

08. 07’26” Blisargon Demogorgon - Undead

09. 07’04” Mystic Instinct – Peak Dreams

10. 07’05” Yab-Yum vs. Drumatik – Tripmatik

11. 06’01” Dymons feat. Cintia & Flooting Grooves – Cosmic Waves

 

Review:

 

Peaking Pantastic!

 

Peak Records from Switzerland has fast become one of my favourite labels - especially the Peaking In Tongues compilation was very good and one of the best released in 2004… This is their fifth release and looking at the tracklist reveals some familiar names + a couple of newbies… DJ Gaspard compiled it and I trust his judgement blindly… I can’t wait to pop this on… Let’s go!

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: The Peaking Goddess Collective feat. Alex Grey – The Human Experiment [70 BPM]

“God said; the human experiment is a success! There indeed have been many beings who’ve come to know the source of creation and the cosmos. And who’ve become God-conscious. That was the purpose of putting this cosmos into evolutionary dominance. To enable the beings inhabiting this vast tapestry of existence. The opportunity to more fully know themselves… And ultimately to know their true identity as god... As the one... As spirited self! I’m pleased humanity is a success! Even with the suffering… That’s what it took!” As tradition has it, Peak releases start out with a trippy, hippy ambient piece… As on the Chilling Goddess compilation the collective is here joined by legendary visionary artist Alex Grey. .. Spiritual stuff indeed – very old school somehow… A fine way to start this compilation…

 

#02: Yab-Yum – Immortal [146 BPM]

“Do you remember anything of your life before you were on the planet? …No!” Peak Records Swiss label-bosses Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu kick things into dance-mode… These guys have yet to let me down and they easily steal the show on all compilations they are featured on… Last on was the Alien FM compilation released by Dropout Production earlier this year… This track is no exception – this is excellent trancefloor fodder… Digital tribal drums, stereo FX, organic pads, nifty melodies and the phattest bassline this side of the Alps… The break is also particularly well executed – retaining tension and building suspension… Aaargh – so well done! A very, very trippy and ultra-funky hypertrance tracks… Come on guys – release an album already! This rocks!

 

#03: Electrypnose – Opto [147 BPM]

“Alright, we went to hell and back again in this thing, so I wanna know now, where’s the door out of here?” As with the previous Peak releases this compilation is slightly mixed, so we drift seamless into the next track here… Vince Le Barde from Switzerland released his debut album Brain Stretching on ResonantEarth.com earlier in 2005 – and the Swiss wizard has also impressed me with his frequent compilation tracks – and sure enough this rocks too… Vince brings forth his very unique, trippy underground sound… Big fat, twirling acid-lines steal the show – along with tons and tons of funny samples and bits and pieces... All within a night-time trance framework… Style wise, this track could have easily been on one of the first Parvati Records compilations… Trippy, oddball night-time trance… Nice!

 

#04: Naked Tourist – 3 Lines In A Row [146 BPM]

Naked Tourist is Z-Neo and Iguana from Germany really, really impressed me with their track on Psychedelically Yours 3 released earlier this year on Parvati Records… As always with these guys the drug-link is evident – and yeah, why not just be honest about it… This does go down very well with three lines in a row – the haunting atmosphere here + the constant evolution and building towards a climax… That shit gets your synapses going – and I’m all about firing up those little bastards… Overall this is a darkish, haunting, spooky track… I like how this never really goes full-blown – but somehow it’s still super-funky and danceable like hell… Designed to mess with your brain! Sweet!

 

#05: Sector D – Fucking Chorus [146 BPM]

Sector D are J. Molinari & Luis M.C. Lopes from Portugal – N3XU5 & Darkpsy in cahoots! The first minute sounds anonymous to me, but later on the track picks up… Emphasis is definitely on the many acid-lines here… This is absolutely soaked in acid – and I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but it’s maybe even too much acid… Nah – it’s still pretty good! The cartoon-samples are also pretty cool – and will light an even bigger smile on all the dancers’ faces… This is a pretty solid track – not as good as the rest here, but still pretty good!

 

#06: Atriohm – Pagan Anaesthetic [146 BPM]

Atriohm are n00bs to the psytrance circuits… The duo consists of L. Golcev & A. Golcev from the Republic of Macedonia… This is another full-blown stomping party track – drenched in acid-lines and twirling melodies… With a deep, eerie atmosphere running in the background – the spooky singing really tops it off… This is haunting stuff for sure… What a debut! Sweet!

 

#07: Seroxat – Victory [146 BPM]

Offer Maoz released his debut album Brutal Beats on Crystal Matrix Records in 2004 and has had plenty of compilation tracks on such labels as Discovally, Deja Vu, Stoneage, Apocalypse, Timecode Records and Inpsyde Media… By looking at that list of labels you can pretty much tell what style this music is in – and yeah, you guessed it – this is fast-paced, darkish night-trance… Mr. Maoz shows us a track with an impressive amount of energy… Loads of trippy FX, build-ups, changes in pace and direction… Yes, this has immediate dancefloor potential and also does pretty damn well in my living room... Bounce motherfuckers! Stellar track!

 

#08: Blisargon Demogorgon – Undead [146 BPM]

Macedonian producer Valentino Trencev impressed me with his deep, dark, spooky, acid-driven hypertrance track on the Ketuh ALittle Lunacy compilation released earlier this year… This is very spooky too – the title is a dead give away (pun intended)… A very haunting intro here – brutally interrupted by a mean-ass bassline… Spookiness throughout the track is maintained by some eerie, atmospheric pads in the background… In the foreground we have twisting acid-lines, rapid percussion and all kinds of synth-action… Sadly there are a couple of minutes halfway thru when the track seems to lack a little energy and drive… But it really, really picks up for the last two minutes… Booo-fucking-hoo! Nice track!

 

#09: Mystic Instinct – Peak Dreams [147 BPM]

Mystic Instinct is Marco Daravelski - head of Glowing Flame and Xilium Records… I really like the floating intro here… The stereo-FX sounds very trippy in headphones… The rhythm section here is also pretty damn impressive – very trippy and almost hypnotizing… The stiff kicks are pretty original and overall the focus drive is impressive in this track … Works as home listening but definitely also on the dancefloor… Nice track!

 

#10: Yab-Yum vs. Drumatik – Tripmatik [144 BPM]

“Nobody makes me breathe my own blood… Nobody!” Peak regulars battle Peak regulars here… Combine the talents of Drumatik, Ajja S.F. Leu & DJ Gaspard – and you’ve got enough manpower to wipe out a couple of garrisons of imperial droids… This is ultra-trippy stuff – constantly evolving, changing and taking you in different directions without ever loosing the ever important trip-focus… This is what psytrance is all about – and this is a fucking excellent track! Nuff said!

 

#11: Dymons feat. Cintia & Flooting Grooves – Cosmic Waves [72 BPM]

As usual we end things with a collective, downbeat effort… And after all those dancefloor stompers it’s nice to rest your ears and legs… This is icy-cold ambient – virtually beatless in the first half with emphasis on organic, rich floating soundscapes… Nice way to finish things off for sure…

 

This is one of the best compilations I’ve heard in a long time! I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but DAMN Peak Records knows their shit… If Peaking In Tongues and Chilling Goddess didn’t convince you, I’m sure this will… This is high quality dance music – conveniently placed in between a couple of downbeat tunes to ensure you a musical journey with a close to perfect flow…

 

The quality level here is jaw dropping good… Seriously, there isn’t a single bad track here… Obviously some are better then others, but there are several very, very good tracks… The flow is very good and this will be both a handy DJ tool and valuable asset to any trance collection... The cover art is perhaps less colourful than some of the previous releases, but it’s still very trippy in all its simplicity… I will not hesitate to give this compilation my highest recommendations… It’s essential! Now go buy it… Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 2(!!), 3, 4, 6, 7(!), 8, 10(!)

 

DeathPosture

Posted Image

 

External links:

Peak Records: http://www.peaking-goddess.com

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

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/9j925

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/btskk

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/8apwy

PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/c4kcs

Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/7e5yh

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/8y7xs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

It is strange to see so FEW replies to this release.

Some people (and me) think it is a VERY GOOD compilation.

380297[/snapback]

 

YEAH, 100% agree with u man.

 

I must confess this is one of my favourites of 2005.

 

Very nice hard hypertrance...

 

Congratulations to Dj Gaspard and the Peak records crew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

A useful compilation. The album does not start very promising, but then picks up with track 4 (which I quite enjoyed). I find track 5 a little over the top (maybe if I was mainlining speed...), but it does have a nice break in it. Tracks 6-8 are all very good, much fun and this is my favourite section of the CD. Track 10 is okay, but I find it less amazing than DeathPosture.

 

 

 

 

Pedro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

average comp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this album has some serious bombs, but i dont think the whole thing is good, # 6 atriohm and # 7 seroxtat have some stomp city kick up dirt mind bending tracks. also the mystic instinct track is insane, :blink:

 

if theres 3 or 4 good tracks on a comp then its worth it to any real dj

 

im totally happy with the money i spent for this one

 

 

alll the best peak

 

-Kameleon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...