pr0fane Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Artist: Various Title: Headspace - compiled by Sally Doolally Label: Plastik Park Format: CD (Jewelcase with 4 page inlay) Released: October, 2005 Review: After re-launching in 2004 with Tobias Bayer and Christian D-Nox in front, Plastik Park have once again reached a position as one of the most important labels on the international progressive psytrance/progressive house crossover scene. After 3 compilations and 3 EP's with focus on the increasingly popular house-oriented sound, the focus on the 4th compilation "Headspace" is more on the psychedelic side of the progressive scene. And like "Outsider", it's compiled by one of Plastik Parks DJanes - this time Sally Doolally, one of the scenes most well-known DJanes, who have played at festivals like Boom, VooV Experience, Outback Eclipse and Rainbow Serpent. 01. Liquid Soul - Dreamdancer [135 BPM] Kicking off the compilation is one of the rising stars of the progressive scene, who really got his breakthrough this year: Liquid Soul from Switzerland. "Dreamdancer" starts with a quite simple groove, and slowly evolve before the first appearance of a bright euro-trancy synth around 3 minutes into the track, giving it a really delicious, uplifting twist. Quite simple, but very effective track. 02. Motion & Clutch - N.Y.E. [135 BPM] Clutch and Motion (Vincent Courcot of Tetraktys and Solead) team up on "N.Y.E.". The groove is quite funky with a very punchy low end, but the most dominant part is a repeated female vocal, giving it a quite melancholic feel. A deep and very pleasant groover for the morning hours. 03. SBK - Miles & More [130 BPM] SBK's "Miles & More" has already been released on Avalanches 4th "Avalanche Of Sound", but still deserves a mention here. The atmosphere is quite gloomy, with some darkish sounds setting the mood, and a lazy groove pushing the track forward. Good track, but I don't consider it of a really spectacular quality, that justifies it getting released again on CD. 04. Minilogue - Little Sisters (Original) [127 BPM] The Swedish sound-maestros Sebastian and Marcus from Son Kite are up next with "Little Sisters" - one of their recent singles under their Minilogue-sideproject, originally released on Sprout. It has a very distinct electro-inspired sound, but is probably the most trancy of their latest tunes, with exceptional production, loads of layers of sounds and a very uplifting, sunny vibe going on. Brilliant tune. 05. Justice Unlimited - Trust In Dust [130 BPM] "Trust In Dust" is the first released track by Justice Unlimited, a new duo consisting of the two Danes Jonas Hultmann Job and Joakim Hjørne (one of the members in Flowjob), and it certainly leaves me craving for more. It's nothing groundbreaking though - it's really very basic, but has a totally amazing drive, very catchy and just bursting with energy. A highly effective progressive dance floor stormer - great debut. 06. NASA - Absolut Magnetism [135 BPM] We stay in Denmark, this time with a new track by NASA, formerly a member of Gnome Effect. NASA has really made his mark on the scene in 2005, releasing on labels like Tribal Vision. DOMO, Sinn Tec and Psytropic, and "Absolut Magnetism" is continues in the same vein as some of his previous releases, with a sound somewhere between progressive and full on with loads of arpeggiator-melodies - but without ever getting stressful. Fine work, but isn't among the stand out tracks. 07. Elzisco - Travesura [136 BPM] German-based Chilean El Zisco had his release-debut on Dance N Dusts "Double D" compilation earlier this year, but is already a well-respected act on the German scene, playing at the VooV Experience, Fusion, Lovefield and Excalibur festivals. "Travesura" is yet another nice treat from El Zisco, blending progressive psytrance, progressive and tech house into a very stylish mix - and those David Bowie vocals are an extremely nice touch, giving it the track an almost epic atmosphere. Marvellous. 08. Steve Active - French Toast [135 BPM] Final track on the compilation is by Steve Active, the solo project of Stefan Keller from the Swiss duo Paste, and also involved in the new progressive house label Kumquat Tunes. "French Toast" isn't quite as dark as the usual Paste sound, but with a very funky and catchy groove made by a quite hollow bassline. Solid track, although it maybe gets a bit too tedious toward the end for my liking. Bottom line: In a time where the label-owners D-Nox and Tobias apparently have moved more and more away from the traditional progressive psytrance and towards the house, tech and electro sound, "Headspace" came as a slight surprise. A few of the tracks certainly have a housey sound, but generally this compilation is much more "psy" than the previous 3 Plastik Park compilations - the quality is quite high, and I could imagine playing most of these tracks in an outdoor set. Such a shame that there's over 6 months before the outdoor season starts again in northern Europe… To sum it up - looking for a good progressive psytrance compilation with slight hints of electro and progressive house? Look no further - "Headspace" is definitely a good purchase, and progressive DJ's and sofa listeners shouldn't hesitate picking it up. Favourites: 1, 2, 4 (!!), 5, 7 (!!) Verdict: 8/10 Link: Plastik Park: http://www.plastikpark.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 thats a very nice cover!... music looks interesting too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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