psychedelic_mustache Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 V/A - Phenix Artists: Various Title: Phenix Label: Phreex Networx Catalog: PNXCD000 Released: January, 2006 Tracklist: 1.Mussy Mood - Phenix 2.Para Halu - Phenix 3.Noise Gust - Phenix 4.Galaxy Madness - Phenix 5.Savage Scream - Phenix 6.Ocelot - Phenix 7.Horror Place - Phenix 8.Terminator - Phenix 9.Derango - Phenix 10.Jahbo - Phenix This is the debut compilation of Tokyo based label Phreex Network. It's supposedly inspired by the work of late anime and manga cartoonist Osamu Tezuku. I'm not too familiar with his work, but I know of Astroboy, and now realize he's the creator of that. Judging by the tracklist this should be rather dark stuff, but an interesting blend of artists inspired me to make the purchase. Let's have a look at the tracks... 01: Mussy Mood - Phenix Mussy Mood opens this compilation, and does so in a rather positive way. The pumping dark beat is paired with a wariety of spaced out sounds, some of them indeed sounding quite cartoonish. Theres also a great deal of variation within the soundscapes here, and at times there are hints of melody as well. Pretty nice opener! 02: Para Halu - Phenix Para Halu has been one of my favourite artists in this genre and I'm allways excited to hear new output from the boys. After a brilliant intro this track struck me as way to monotonus at first, but after repeated listenings this has really grown on me! It's a rather silent and quiet(!) corker that builds slowly, almost seemlessly. It's an extremely hypnotizing track, it's almost as if you don't notice that it's there and then all of a sudden you realize it has taken away over 8 minutes of your life.... Actually turned out to be one of my favourites on the album! 03: Noise gust - Phenix Noise gust is an artist I didn't really know before this...Allways interesting to discover new stuff... This is a pumping hard track, with a melody-line bringing back awfull memories of gabber-madness(and I really don't mean that in a positive way). Luckilly this main theme of the track is only present in small doses, and the rest of the track is actually pretty good! It's massiveness slaps you pretty darn hard in the face...Not my favourite on the album, but an ok output none the less! 04: Galaxy Madness - Phenix Galaxy Madness brings us yet another one of those dark moments. It's pumping, it's monotonus, and it's got the odd blipp and the odd blopp plopping in and out occationally. Let's just say that if my favourite flavour of tea is lemmon, then this is blackurrant... It's all a matter of taste I suppose, and in those dark hours I could see this working on a dancefloor. 05: Savage Scream - Phenix The last track I heard from Savage Scream was Acid Clown on the Hate compilation by golden dawn records.. One of the tracks I rather enjoyed on that one. What I like about this track is it's odd character. It's a twisted little thing moving around in quite a few different directions. Somehow I actually find this pretty "uplifting". Don't get me wrong, it's still firmly planted on the dark side, but with a pinch of melodies, a dash of oddity and a hefty dose of psychedelia this really does it for me! goodie! 06:Ocelot - Phenix Ocelot has been releasing tracks left and right the last year and probably needs no further introduction. His 2005 album "vector selector" was a pretty strong selection of tracks. Once again he manages to do something extraordinary. This is an intense experience to say the least, with lots of tastey ingredients. All sorts of noises move around together with a range of samples and the odd melody here and there. Variation is the key, and noone in their right mind can call this stuff boring(As I tend to find alot of the darker stuff...). At the end of it all I feel a little exhausted, but in this case it's worth it. 07: Horror Place - Phenix Horror Place charges toward you as hard as a train(litterally), and for me this no standout track. It's got tons of attitude, it's hard and heavy, but in my ears this is just too much of the good stuff. I mean sugar tastes great, but if you overdo it you'll just end up with rotten teeth... Maybe my 3D goggles aren't placed correctly on my nose but it's just to noisey for my liking...As we all know though, tastes do tend to differ... One thing, though - The voicesamples actually work really well in this track, and at the sections where it's not all noise it actually creats a nice sterile industrial feeling. No favourite, though.. 08: Terminator - Phenix Terminator tragically passed away not long ago, and it's a rather odd feeling listening to what might possibly be his last release. I haven't heard much of his solo work before, but this reminds me alot of some older parasense-material. It's got plenty of space, plenty of 'room' if you may. At the center is the beat, and on top you'll find a range of differing sounds, squealches and squeaks. Not entierly my taste, but fans of his music wil probably love this! 09: Derango - Phenix Derango should be no stranger to fans of this genre. Their album "Tumult" was one of 2005's most talked about releases...Here they deliver a fine piece of highly psychedelic madness. It sounds very liquid, very fluid. It's constantly changing and moving, avoiding the ever luring possibility of creating boredom with the listener. There are melodic parts as well, and it all works rather nicely. 10: Jahbo - Phenix The task of finishing the compilation is given to Jahbo, something he manages to do just fine. It's a hard, pumping track with a great deal of nifty knobtweaking involved. That being said, I think it gets a tad to monotonus, and as for home listening I don't think this is all that exciting. My guess is this would do some serious damage if dropped at the right time on a floor, and thus it completes it's task I guess. Final remarks: Out of curiosity for the genere I 've found my self checking out more and more 'dark' stuff recently. Most of it sort of flies by without really exciting me all that much. This compilation is somewhat of an exception, though...There are tracks here that doesn't do it for me, but that doesn't stop the overall impression from being pretty positive. This is the first compilation released by this label, and I'll definently keep an eye(or an ear perhaps) open for more. Tomas(Psychedelic Mustache) Get it here: Saikosounds Psyshop Beatspace Juno Discobole More reviews etc: www.sonic-energy.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riton Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I actually really enjoyed this rls... i really did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 the tracklist is a sureshot but from the samples i wasn't all too sure... it's not the first time i would misjudge a release from previous... :/ btw.. is the cover blotter art? i see little squares... that would be kind of cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmtree Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 it's pretty good.. nothing amazing, but good. listenable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daze Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Considering the INSANE list of artists I guess this could have been even better... nevertheless I really enjoy this one. I think you should get it RAH - I can recommend it. Personal favs: 2, 5!, 6!, 8, 9! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Considering the INSANE list of artists I guess this could have been even better... nevertheless I really enjoy this one. I think you should get it RAH - I can recommend it. Personal favs: 2, 5!, 6!, 8, 9! 430788[/snapback] hmm... interesting daze approved might get it at some next month, just invested my last savings on headphones... priorities, priorities... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daze Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Oh nice... I could use a new pair of phones as well to be honest I must say what I really like about this album is how its style is maintained from beginning to end - too many dark compils nowadays have tracks that in my oppinion don't really fit It should be said though - there are probably no tracks here that stand out as general gems, but if you are into horrorpsy this is a must-get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daze Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Okay had a second listen today and what I said about there being no real gems in this album - I take it back This is awesome stuff. Para Halu, Savage Scream, Galaxy Madness, Ocelot and Derango deliver some REAL high quality tunes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andonis Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 A high class darkpsy compilation. Well balanced. Ocelot and Terminator are personal favourites so far. Listening to tracks like Terminator's last ones makes me all the more sad for Zolod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCreamFilling Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I'm a fan of Derango's "Phenix" on this compi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 not a lot of recognition for this CD... very nice tunes all around, solid stuff at the end of the day.... the artwork in the cd does not fit the theme at all though, too bad.. on that respect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Nothing special this compilation, it has some good tracks, but it also seems to be lacking a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daze Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I still listen to this a lot... I don't know - I just seem to be getting back to it all the time Really like this compil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Finally got my hands on this one! Para Halu, Savage Scream, Terminator and Derango do it for me. Probably, the best dark (not including forest stuff) compilation so far this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 you are one year behind baba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Nothing special this compilation, it has some good tracks, but it also seems to be lacking a bit. ...And I take that back Quality stuff :posford: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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