V/A - Multiple Personalities

RAH · August 7, 2005

Compilation: Multiple Personalities

Web: www.sonic-dragon.com

Label: Manic Dragon Records

Year: 2005

Format: CD

Songs:

1. Terminator vs CPC - Mosgortrans

2. Paranoize vs Claw - Vampire Legend

3. Xenomorph vs himself - Schzoid Transpersonal.Progressions

4. Procs vs Captain Ifan (aka Duck Off) - We Are Closed

5. Dejan vs Jellyheadz - Freakin' Six-Pack!

6. Mubali vs Ocelot - Mood Swinger

7. Sequipa vs Baphomet Engine - Multiple Personalities

8. Quasas vs Dylalien - Alien Together Now (Baba mix)

9. Kulu vs Strangers - Unbelievable

Here is an interesting idea band together two of the most deranged acts from several countries and give them a little homework. To make music for even more deranged people. To begin with, the self-titled ‘Fried Babas' from Manic Dragon compiled this bad boy, does that tell you enough? This is trance you have gulp down first and enjoy second. At times I have to wonder when it stops being music and it just becomes another avant-gard-ish experiment. Well, if it still shakes my bones as if I had stuck the finger in the electricity socket, we're good to go. The good side about a versus only compilation is the fact at least an entertaining level of complexity to the arrangements can be expected. The order of the day includes a strong fetishism for squeaks, blips, alien melodies and splashing timbres with an oceanic depth.

Terminator vs. CPC - Mosgortrans [148]

‘Mosgortrans' brings a lot of lot banging what else with these two. In the forefront a slowly building/creaking synth spiced up with a juicy distortion, the now fashionable heavily delayed quasi-voices and a sense of cryptic Russian groove. Sampling as usual is alien-like, methodic and highly spectral, you can expect to see this one the Goa Gil sets.

Paranoize vs. Claw - Vampire Legend [148]

I'm not sure why I associate Paranoize (Alex Ladyzanskay) with Dracula-ambient noises. The break sample ‘I am Dracula' seems to confirm my rumors. Claw (Charalambos Pieris) from Cyprus brings forth even more madness to the ‘Vampire Legend' in a heavily compact number full of assorted surprises, that remind a bit of Manifold on the eerie bass and leads, while the synth's can be compared to previous Paranoize material in the likes of ‘Fucking Evil Noise' (Ketuh). The kicks here are immense. In between we have as usual; vampire-oriented samples, a few screams and a strong gothic feel to go dance your hips off while you sport fangs.

Xenomorph vs. Xenomorph - Schizoid Transpersonal Progressions [145]

Here's someone who fills the description ‘multiple personalities' disorder quite well. In all seriousness, the song is a pretty good builder. It feels more developed, more melodic but still along the lines of “Incongruent Anatomy (Vertigo). The bass is knitted alongside the melody on a peak around the third minute with very pleasing knob turning.

Procs vs. Captain Ifan (Duck off) – We are closed [148]

How often do you fall in dreams where that sense of depthless-ness occurs? I feel the same way with this one… a sudden jump into the unknown. These cats are going about their business with a ‘We know how this thing normally goes, but we are just going to do our thing.' kind of attitude, this is beyond twisted… very precise sample work on so many levels is just thought-numbing and groovy, especially the ‘quack-quack'. bass line. On the drums there is a good doze of tribal work, fast syncopated beats and samples that remind a bit of Scozbor specifically in songs like ‘Normal Drug Taking'… very involving stuff. We recently had an opportunity to ask Procs a few questions as well.

Dejan vs. Jellyheadsz – Freakin' six Pack [150]

Interesting to see these two French acts band together. My thoughts about Jellyheadz' earlier work where a bit mixed. With Dejan I knew it might be a more… earth bound somehow. This one floats away though. It's very spacey, I feel like in the planetarium for some reason. On one hand you can feel the Dejan beat driving the song while Karim goes wild on the upper ranges. The progression seems a bit slow and at times redundant, but is something coherent at the end of the day.

Mubali vs. Ocelot – Mood Swinger [144]

You know how we have never really seen C3PO, (the white-bullet like robot from Start Wars) intoxicated? Well imagine how that would sound. 'Mood Swinger' fills my description of the scene quite nicely. Imagine those bleeps and chirps running wild on delays, as strangely pitched build-ups intertwine with seriously dazing effects.

Sequipa vs. Baphomet Engine - Multiple personalities [148]

This one takes the cake for me. A seriusly melodic track in very South African way. The singing-chanting-roaring voices are great. I'm going to guess is some sort of strange German dialect, truth be told – I have no clue. They stick in your head though. This one is a personal favorite.

Quasas vs. Daylalien – Alien Together [153]

Says who you can't you use the Lone Ranger melody/anthem for westerners these days? This is pretty out there stuff as well… sample vortex and interesting beat work at specifically syncopated steps in the sequencer, but no strong melodies to back the madness up though. A bit to fractal for my taste.

Kulu vs. Strangers – Unbeliable [150]

The Greeks close the compilation with Russian spiced riffs and a strong mechanical drum work. Besides the screams here and there this is pretty involving, the upper ranges show such complex diversity of effects, I'm not even going to attempt describing it. Its madness, I'm finding it a bit more acceptable because there is still that static drum work that reminds a bit of the Doof stuff. Not very melodic in the traditional sense of the word. Having the synth's drowned to such proportion in latest effects ensures it sounds that way. My guess is that was the point.

Overall a crazy ride, with a number of acts showcasing original tunes with a bent for dancing-madness. A number of melodic tracks like “vampire Legend”, “Schizoid Transpersonal Progressions”, and “Multiple Personalities” stuck in between more ethereal experiments with a clear sense of psychedelic aesthetics: “We are closed”, “Freakin' Six Pack!” and “Mood Swinger”. All and all it is exactly what you can expect from reading the artist list and bit more.

Favourites:

2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9

where to get, samples, etc > http://sonic-energy.net

Ormion · August 8, 2005

Damn you! I was ready to write a review myself!

Yeah, this is a great compilation with some insane stuff!

Best tracks are Xenomorph (the haunting melodies remind me a bit of Sandman-Nostradamus), Mubali vs oCeLoT (insane!!! one of the best I've heard this year) and Sequipa vs Baphomet Engine (a surprise track with mindblasting melodies!).

The rest of the tracks are good too. 8-8.5/10

DeathPosture · October 4, 2005

V/A – Multiple Personalities

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Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Various

Title: Multiple Personalities

Format: CD (digipack)

Label: Manic Dragon Records (Hong Kong)

Cat. #: MDREC-03

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: July 2005

Track listing:

01. 08’33” Terminator vs. CPC – Mosgortrans

02. 07’29” ParaNoize vs. Claw - Vampire Legend

03. 07’32” Xenomorph vs. Xenomorph - Schzoid Transpersonal.Progressions

04. 08’26” Procs vs. Captain Ifan (aka Duck Off) - We Are Closed

05. 08’00” Dejan vs. Jelly Headz (aka Many Faces) - Freakin' Six-Pack!

06. 07’13” Mubali vs. Ocelot - Mood Swinger

07. 06’44” Sequipa vs. Baphomet Engine - Multiple Personalities

08. 06’44” Quasar vs. Dylalien (aka Fractal Cowboys) - Alien Together Now (Baba mix)

09. 07’16” Kulu vs. Strangers - Unbelievable

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/aqua2 (all tracks!)

Review:

Nocturnal Chainsaw Kerfuffle!

This is the third CD from the Hong Kong based Manic Dragon Records (the evil offspring of the parent label Sonic Dragon Records!)… Looking at the track list here reveals quite a lot of famous names within the horror-trance segment… Xenomorph has a track on here and he also mastered the whole shebang… That reads quality in my book and something tells me we’re in for a scary ride… Let’s find out!

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Terminator vs. CPC – Mosgortrans [148 BPM]

We kick off with a Russian collaboration between Zolotarenko Viktor and Radostavin Vlad… The latter is also known from his Osom alter ego… Anyway, this is some severely hard-core banging shit… I’m sure the Russian voice-samples in the intro talks about something trippy, as this is definitely mushroom-music… Technoid to the bone, dark as a chimney sweeper’s ass and scary as hell… Beep beep beeeeeeeeeeep! Groovy psytrans nite-stuff! Nice!

#02: ParaNoize vs. Claw - Vampire Legend [148 BPM]

“I… am… Dracula!” ParaNoize is Alex Ladyzanskyi from Israel and he has really impressed me with his tracks on Ketuh Records… Claw is Charalambos Pieris from Cyprus and he has also impressed me with his stuff… So, it’s a couple of cool guys collaborating on this vampire-track… This is less groovy than the previous track – the bassline is bleaker somehow, and the first part is way too repetitive for my taste! But – it gets better as the track progresses, though I find that parts of this track are simply too damn unstructured… I do however like the ghostly voice samples and other scary stuff in this track… Benchmark Halloween trance!

#03: Xenomorph vs. Xenomorph - Schzoid Transpersonal.Progressions [145 BPM]

German producer Mark Petrick is the Godfather of dark trance! His debut album Cassandra's Nightmare (Koyote Records/1998) is a masterpiece within the genre and Qlippoth is pretty damn good too… This guy seldom lets me down, and this is no exception… We start with a trademark Xenomorph atmospheric intro – before we launch into a hard-hitting, gut-kicking, acid-ridden night-time track… Hypnotic, atmospheric and scary with all its eerie, outer worldly sounds & tweaks… I mean, just check the haunting breakdown @ 5’12 and the explosion that follows! Fuck yes; this is just the way I like my darkish psy to sound… Brilliant track!

#04: Procs vs. Captain Ifan (aka Duck Off) - We Are Closed [148 BPM]

“Sorry we’re closed!... The front door is open – again!” Duck Off is Mikael Stegman (Procs) and Captain Ifan from Sweden… The recent Schlabbaduerst 007 compilation featured the absolutely AMAZING track Mozart Firefox made by these Swedish nutters… A monstrous track that will be hard to surpass – ever! But this track makes a fair attempt for sure… Oh yes, this is true psychedelic trance in its most underground form… Incredibly introvert, but oh so trippy at the same time… The constant changes in pace, the haunting atmosphere, the raw industrial edge – it all helps in creating a truly immense track! Deep, eerie, underground forest trance – washed down with mushroom tea! Insanely amazing!

#05: Dejan vs. Jelly Headz (aka Many Faces) - Freakin' Six-Pack! [150 BPM]

“Damn right you will – and bring that six-pack, this could take a while!” Dejan Mihailovic and Karim Gressier from France have both released stuff that I really liked – especially on Trishula Records and Dropout Productions! This track is no exception – this is more fast-paced, multi-layered, dark-as-fuck night-time trance… Banging basslines and enough acid to freak out the girls… The break-downs are particularly well executed and *will* freak you out! Beware! Nice track!

#06: Mubali vs. Ocelot - Mood Swinger [144 BPM]

Here’s Greg Farley (Mumbali) in cahoots with Aaron Peacock who released his kick-ass second album vectorSelector on Dropout Productions earlier this year… Another match made in hell! And just like on the oCeLot album there is some serious tweaking going on here – holy shit! An acid-ridden glam-fest taking place well out in space… Tweak-o-rama! A very liquid, yet industrial sound is present throughout the track – kick-ass! Sadly, the emphasis on acid seems to be the only thing going on here – I could have wished for some more driving elements and more flow… A decent track!

#07: Sequipa vs. Baphomet Engine - Multiple Personalities [148 BPM]

Sequipa is Stefano Braggio and Baphomet Engine consists of Fabio & Louis – all from the motherland: Brazil! I haven’t heard much from these guys, but I do know that Brazil churns out some seriously wikkid choons… The track is by far the most melodic one on this compilation – though it still has a very distinct, underground flavour… Driving at an incredible pace and building tension all the way though… These guys manage to create a sort of schizophrenic feeling – complete with spooky, undecipherable voice-samples and an overall haunting atmosphere… All very nicely done! A fine title track!

#08: Quasar vs. Dylalien (aka Fractal Cowboys) - Alien Together Now (Baba mix) [153 BPM]

“Ready to try acid? Yes – I’m ready to try acid!” Fractal Cowboys are Quasar + Dylalien (Dylan Klarfield) from the US… Especially Quasar has impressed me with his distinct, wicked style… Check out the groovy, oddball intro that samples the psyched up theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly… The mood is set instantly! A heavily syncopated tune, going in a million directions – but still keeping its overall focus for the most part… This is the fastest track here, galloping away at an incredible 153 beats per minute – and for the most part it works wonders, though some parts are too damn hectic for my taste! It’s kinda like Finnish vodka-trance, though with a distinct San Francisco flavour… Good, but not really good…

#09: Kulu vs. Strangers – Unbelievable [150 BPM]

“There is no such thing as a hole or a portal into someone’s brain!” We head for Greece for the last track… Dimitris Kulukouriotis (Kulu) and Stefanos Gkogkakos (Strangers) are completely new artists to me – I’ve never heard anything from these guys before... But these guys are indeed skilled in the arts of dark, relentless psytrance! The intro is right back to spooky, eerie Halloween-trance and the track itself is dark, haunting, fast-paced Moscow-trance… The Being John Malkovich samples are funny and this track has enough acid-bits to entertain the night crawlers… Sadly though, this is also a little numb – it’s not overly original and pretty much everything here is something we’ve heard enough times before… But still - an ok track!

This is without a doubt one of the most hard-core compilations out this year – maybe only equalled by Schlabbaduerst 007 and Mushy Mystery… So yeah, this is some seriously hard-hitting, jet-fuelled, ill disposed night-music designed to scare kids, animals and everyone older than 40! We get a bunch of really, really good tracks here – and there are no bad tracks per se… Just a few tracks which are less original than some of the others... Xenomorph mastered this – and he did well! I also really like the simple artwork by Androcell… It fits the music perfectly!

I recommend this compilation to fans of such labels as Trishula, Temple Twisters, Yage, Parvati, Schlabbaduerst, Dropout Productions, etc – you will not be disappointed… It’s pretty damn good! And Halloween is just around the corner – this would make a great soundtrack… Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 3(!!), 4(!!), 5, 7

DeathPosture

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