pr0fane Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 Artist: Various Title: Set/5 - Summer Collection – compiled by Banel & Emok Label: Iboga Format: CD (Jewelcase with 6 page inlay) Released: June, 2005 Review: Yay. Getting home from 2 weeks vacation, it was a very nice surprise to find the new Iboga compilation in the stack of mail under all the usual bills and advertisements. The title is "Set/5 – Summer Collection", and yes, you've guessed it: the 5th release in the longest-running series of compilations from the Danish powerhouse label. But enough with the small talk – we all know what to expect frem Iboga, so let's get down to business: 01. Perfect Stranger – Whats The Lineup [130 BPM] Yuli Fershtat has been closely related to Iboga for some time now, releasing various singles and stand-alone tracks as BLT, and lately also under his newer, slower sideproject Perfect Stranger. "Whats The Lineup" is a lovely tune with a very distinct groove – laidback, but still groovy. It progresses nicely without any big surprises, until around half way when there's an epic, tender melody panning from left to right – great stuff. 02. Son Kite - Catch [140 BPM] After the massive schedule following the "Colours" series, news where that Son Kite where now focusing more on their house-project Minilogue, so it was a nice surprise to see a fresh Son Kite track being released here. Like expected, "Catch" is a smashing track – as always the production is absolutely massive, and while it isn't their best track to date, it's still a multilayered bomb, with a stunning epic atmosphere. Doesn't sound like anything else in the scene today. 03. Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest (Zen Mechanics Remix) [138 BPM] "Cardiac Arrest" by Ace Ventura from Psysex was featured on the last "Set" compilation, and here we get a new remix by the young Dutch talent Zen Mechanics. Zen Mechanics uses the best elements from slightly acid-inspired original , but takes a faster and more full on approach, and the result is a powerful dancefloor version. A great track, yet perhaps not very interesting as a remix. 04. Frogacult – Bye She Said [128 BPM] Frogacult provide a sudden shift in tempo, and "Bye She Said" is a track, that will certainly be appreciated by those longing for new Frogacult material after their "Something For Sundays" album released last year. A bit slower than their earlier material, with subtle melodies and clever use of voice-samples (reminds me a lot of Holm & Andersens "Cityrain" in places) and the deep, yet pleasant forest-atmosphere Frogacult is so well known for. 05. Liquid Soul – Go Reality [135 BPM] Liquid Soul was almost completely unknown just 1 year ago when he played at VooV Experience, but since his performance he's received attention from some of the key players on the progressive scene, including Plusquam, DOMO and Iboga. After a long break, he was also the first EP-release on Iboga for a long time, and "Go Reality" was one of the tracks from that EP. A solid afternoon stomper with a hard edge – festival music. 06. Flowjob - Wadley [128 BPM] The Danish duo Flowjob is a name to look out for in the future. Their music can best be described as a mixture of progressive house and traditional Scandinavian progressive forest-trance, and "Wadley" follow that exact formula. A very positive track with some absolutely delicious guitar samples. I would have liked some more variation as the track seems to stand still for too long though, but nevertheless it's very good. 07. Reefer Decree – Gone For Good [138 BPM] Just a few years ago Reefer Decree was one of Ibogas most important acts, but after they broke up Oliver failed to make his Oryx-project as big a success. Oliver has now decided to start Reefer Decree again – this time without his old partner Jiwook Bijl, and "Gone For Good" is the first track from the new Reefer Decree. With its mellow melodies and tender grooves it's somewhat similar to "Nightvision" (which was a huge hit at Danish parties, despite never getting released) and is definitely a beautiful morning track. I have second thoughts if it will be a hit in a scene that has evolved since then though – we'll wait and see for the upcoming album. 08. Luna Spice – Eclipsed´ay [138 BPM] Luna Spice from France has been around for some time now, and the debut album "Reflexion" released last year on Sub Machine was a very refreshing release, that unfortunately didn't receive the attention it deserved. "Eclipsed´ay" continue in the same line as on the album – very, very deep and atmospheric trance with a dark edge, yet very enjoyable and uplifting. I simply love this. Bottom line: It's amazing that Iboga can release so much music in a steady flow, and still keep their high standard - I can honestly say that I enjoy every track on "Set/5", and that is something I consider extremely rare these days (even on the other Iboga compilations). It's not perfect though – the flow is a bit weird, and some tracks could have used some more variation (Flowjobs "Wadley" was a bit too much of the same, and I found Zen Mechanics remix of "Cardiac Arrest" too close to the original), but despite this, I absolutely love this release. In my opinion it's the best Iboga-compilation since the classic "FX". Great for homelistening, and absolutely essential for progressive DJ's this summer. Favourites: 1, 2 (!!), 3, 4, 5(!!), 6, 7, 8(!!) Verdict: 9/10 Links: Iboga: http://www.iboga.dk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khogg Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Just got this. So far very impressed. This was a label I ignored for a long time, but now I'm beginning to change my mind. Totally agree with prOfane. Really smooth progressive album and good start to finish. Solid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathPosture Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 V/A – Set/5 – Summer Collection Artist: Various Title: Set/5 – Summer Collection Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Iboga Records (Denmark) Cat. #: IBOGACD31 Date: June 2005 Track listing: 01. 08’59” Perfect Stranger – What’s The Line-up? 02. 08’15” Son Kite - Catch 03. 07’37” Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest (Zen Mechanix Remix) 04. 10’41” Frogacult – Bye She Said 05. 08’32” Liquid Soul – Go Reality 06. 09’31” Flowjob - Wadley 07. 06’56” Reefer Decree – Gone For Good 08. 07’47” Lunaspice – Eclipsed’ay Review: 68 minutes of summer! This is the 31st release by Danish label Iboga Records – a label that has yet to let me down with it’s upfront, smooth releases within progressive trance with psychedelic influences… The Antix album Twin Coast Discovery was pretty good and the Beat Bizarre album Somersault Industries was kick-ass… So here we get the newest opus in the Set-series – this time compiled by label top-dogs Emok & Banel – focussing on dreamy summer vibes… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Perfect Stranger – What’s The Line-up? [130 BPM] As on Set/4 here’s a track by Yuli Fershtat a.k.a. BLT… And yeah, it’s still very smooth, rich progressive trance – with evident Israeli morning influences… A huuuuuge track here – a big phat wall of synth-action, ultra tight percussion, morphing bassline and the trademark Iboga groove… This is the shiznitz! Stellar track! #02: Son Kite – Catch [140 BPM] Ahh – finally a fresh track by the Swedish studio wizards… Last year’s ambitious Colours project was an instant smash – and I’ve been looking forward to new stuff from these guys ever since… I’m happy to say that my high expectations for this track were met – and even exceeded… This is a smashing track – very similar to what was on the Colours album… Big orchestral pads, well-crafted melodic leads and tons of übercool Hi-Hat progressive trance… We even get some Shpongle-like parts… Perfect track! #03: Ace Ventura – Cardiac Arrest (Zen Mechanix Remix) [138 BPM] This original version of this track was on Set/4 – made by Yoni Oshrat – one half of PsySex. A Smooth, funky and kinda wobbly track – and here’s the remix by Dutch producer Wouter Tomassen… This is a remix that pays deep respect to the original – the main leads are intact, but Wouter tweaks it into a tighter, more upbeat trancefloor bombshell… It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the reverb-effect – and this track is soaked in big, majestic reverbs… Luuuurverly! A very nice track! #04: Frogacult – Bye She Said [128 BPM] Let’s take it down a notch… Here we get a taster from the upcoming second Frogacult album. This dynamic Danish duo consists of Casper Datai and Mikkel Calum – and what we get here is a very clean, well-polished track… Kinda clubby, yet still very underground… The voice-samples are well-fitting and the percussion section is nothing short of ultra-funky… Dropping 10 beats per minute is a brave move by Emok & Banel and personally, I think I would’ve started the compilation with the slower tracks… There is a dull section of this track and maybe it’s a little too long – but it’s still very nice, hi-quality progressive trance… #05: Liquid Soul – Go Reality [135 BPM] Nicola Capobianco debuted on the Plusquam compilation Wireless with a track from the deeper, darker realms of progressive trance – and he really impressed me with his hard-hitting and intoxicating track on the recent Domo Records compilation Posse… This is equally deep… A very crisp rhythm section, morphing and melodic background pads… Oh yes, this is smooth, sexy beach house trance… Would mix well with Antix…The breakdown is eerie and the build-up is very cool… Another great track! #06: Flowjob – Wadley [128 BPM] Joakim Hjørne & Mads Tinggaard from Denmark had the best track on the recent Lime Light compilation from Tribal Vision Records… A very crispy track with rich psychedelic influences… And they continue down the same path here, on this afternoon burner…The rhythm section is funky and progressive, the melodic leads are solid – and the guys are not afraid of experimentation, as we get all kinds of world-beats influences throughout the track… Well done! Again this track suffers from stand-still syndrome towards the end, but it’s not too bad… I can cope! The debut should be out on Iboga in 2006 – and goddam I can’t wait… #07: Reefer Decree – Gone For Good [138 BPM] Holy shit – this is the first new Refeer Decree track in two years! RD was one of the leading progressive acts of the past and Oliver Nonell has now picked up the pieces of the band started in 1999 by Kim Jiwook Bijl… This track sounds pretty much like RD did 5 years ago, though not quite as minimal… It’s very deep, stripped down progressive trance – with electro-influences…We even get some nifty little acid-bits and melodic twirls here… The final breakdown and the following climax are very dancefloor friendly, but I could have wished for an even more well-defined rhythm section and tighter percussion… But as a retrospective choon, this track serves its purpose… Dope! #08: Lunaspice – Eclipsed’ay [138 BPM] Mathieu Delepeau from France released his debut album Reflexion with Steven Le Corre on Sub Machine Records in 2004…. Unfortunately I haven’t heard that album, but I do remember Mathieu’s track on the Inspirazzia compilation under his D.Sens epithet… That was a very house-influences track and so is this - though with a deeper, darker edge… A good track, but nothing extraordinary… Well I’ll be damned, if this isn’t the best compilation to surface from the Iboga labs for a long time! Set/4 was great, but this is even better… The variation is great here – kept within a basic framework of groovy progressive trance of course… As always with Iboga, the packaging reeks quality. The artwork is cool and breezy – I like the clean 6-page booklet with info on all tracks… Well done! There are no bad tracks here – and the number of really good tracks is impressive… My only gripe is the order of the tracks – I would have put the slower tracks first, but that’s only nitpicking really… This works wonders in my living room, it’s tested and approved as car-entertainment and it is absolutely essential for any DJ spinning rich progressive trance… I give this compilation my highest recommendations… Enjoy! Favourites: All! … But 1(!), 2(!!) and 3(!) are stand-outs! DeathPosture External links: Iboga Records: http://tinyurl.com/d6b8m Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/dbqqg TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/d4h2o Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/aydx4 PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/acb2p Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/75zl9 Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/96zon Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/aquh9 Loud: http://tinyurl.com/dqd8x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 Agree! Very nice... I was disapointed with Set:4, but I'm amazed with Set:5. Waiting for new releases by Iboga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Set 5 is easily one of my favourite Iboga compilations! I wrote a review today, in honour of the nice summer vibes all around: http://www.ektoplazm.com/reviews/set-5/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moni Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 This is a very nice compilation indeed. I don't have time to write a detailed review, but i have to say that this one has been spinning in my CD player a lot. There are quite some good tracks here, so everyone should check it out. My favourite tracks are 1, 2, 3, 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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