DeathPosture Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Slum – Make Rainbow In Your Slum Hi-res cover: front Artist: Slum (Japan) Title: Make Rainbow In Your Slum Format: CD (jewel case) Label: ELF Music (Japan) Cat. #: ELFCD 010 Distribution: QQS/Wirikuta Date: December 2005 (Japan), February 2006 (Worldwide) Track listing: 01. 06’53” Future Is Ours 02. 06’25” I Can Eat All Of Earth 03. 09’09” Make Rainbow In Your Slum 04. 06’04” Emog 05. 06’33” Never Runaway Never 06. 06’56” Why You Have My Beer? No Problem 07. 07’00” Sneak, Beneath My Notice 08. 07’05” Follow Me 09. 08’58” Trust Youth Days 10. 07’50” Over The Revolution Review: Multi-flavoured Engrish psytrance… In the wake of the tragic death of Phi member Shinnosuke Masuo, it gives me great pleasure to know that his musical heritage will always live on… The Phinalizer album was nothing short of amazing and it still gives me chills listening to it… An album that will shine for all eternity! The other member of Phi is Shuji Ichimura which now operates under the Slum moniker… His debut album as a solo-artist is the funnily named Make Rainbow In Your Slum released by the Japanese trance-dance label ELF Music… Whereas the last couple of ELF releases have been cheddar-like, this one looks like it’s gonna recapture some of the old Phi-magic… Let’s find out… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Future Is Ours [143 BPM] The opening track starts with an old-school sample similar to the sound of The Avalanches – it’s soon accompanied by a banging bassline and some subtle guitar-riffs… And we have lift-off! Cruising at a comfortable 143 beats per minutes, this is fun, bubbling-with-joy full-power psytrance… Melodic to the bone and generally pretty damn uplifting… A tasty track to start the album with… #02: I Can Eat All Of Earth [145 BPM] Wow, that’s a pretty bold statement there Shuji… Are you sure about that? After a brief intro, we’re soon exposed to some serious sushi-trance… Action-packed, floating, relentless psytrance with just enough melodies to qualify as neo full-on… But don’t get me wrong, this is far from boring, formulated full-on… This is packed to the rim with countless acid-lines, guitar-riffs and some hardcore knob adjustment… Just like where Phi left off… Oh yes, this is a brilliant track – especially the multi-fragmented middle part… Even the guitars work! Sweet track! #03: Make Rainbow In Your Slum [145 BPM] And now for title track, which is not only a classic piece of Engrish, but also a pretty damn fine piece of electronic music... Those interlocked, intervened, twirling melodies are nothing short of perfect… It’s very Japanese in structure with its weird, yet strangely appealing ambience... And that’s ambience blasting away at 145 beats per minute, mind you… Pretty damn impressive! #04: Emog [144 BPM] On this track Shuji takes us on a trip to the deepest, darkest recesses of the Tokyo underground… It starts out pretty straight-forward, but soon the track evolves into a murky, haunting and deeply hypnotic piece of psytrance… We’re definitely way off the beaten path here with metallic cuts and industrial bridges – and it works wonders… A fine track! #05: Never Runaway Never [144 BPM] Whereas the previous track was a venture into murky, misty alleyways, this track is a venture into acid-ridden, multi-twirling guitar-psytrance… The strings didn’t really bother me on the previous tracks, but in this track they’ve pretty much taken over completely… And that’s overkill! But hey, there are several long parts without guitars and they rock – so to speak! Not a bad track, just not as good as the previous ones… #06: Why You Have My Beer? No Problem [144 BPM] This track has the worst title ever – it’s so bad that it’s actually good… Anyway, what we have here is propane-injected, energetic full-on psytrance… Bursting with oomph, this is less underground than the two previous tracks… Twirling melodies and acid all over the place… And that’s one hell of a climax… I also like the clever use of stereo FX here… A nice little track #07: Sneak, Beneath My Notice [145 BPM] Another cryptic title here – I’ve given up figuring out what the hell it means… What I have figured out though, is that on this track we head right back for the underground… This is a highly experimental tune that ventures well into hard house, acid and teKk-trance… I like experimentation like that and this is definitely one of the most original tracks on this album… The final wall-of-sound rundown is pretty fucking amazing – and will kick the shit out of most full-on tracks… Brilliant! #08: Follow Me [146 BPM] “Okay. Before we get started, nobody's on the line here yet. What I'm about to propose to you is both highly lucrative and highly dangerous. If that doesn't seem like your particular brand of vodka, help yourself to as much food as you like and have a safe journey. No hard feelings. Otherwise, come with me” The next track continues in the same vein: A full, wall-to-wall sound spectre in the most crucial parts of the track… That’s right, you really get your money’s worth here – this is banging, kicking, relentless psytrance which requires a lethal dose of pharmaceuticals to keep up with on the dancefloor… Dancefloor napalm! #09: Trust Youth Days [147 BPM] And if you thought the last track was hardcore, wait until you hear this monster… The fastest track here and also one of the longest… A healthy dose of melodies to get you in the mood + a driving, paranoiac build-up that goes on forever and ever… The Ocean’s 11 sample from the previous track also makes a guest appearance in this eclectic track… It keeps building and building, adding layers until we finally reach the exploding climax @ 6’33… The last awesome track of the album! #10: Over The Revolution [135 BPM] After that intense aural bombardment, it’s time to chill out a little and come down off the trip… As the BPM count reveals, this is not exactly chill-out – it’s more like experimental downbeat-slash-progressive… The general atmosphere is dark and murky – and I sorry to say, I don’t get much pleasure from listening to this… Sure it’s well-produced, but also a little too depressing for my taste… Anyway, I’m sure it’ll find its audience among musical deviants… Hehe! This is a marvellous album – with no bad tracks and more than a handful of really awesome tracks… The obvious comparison to this album is the Phi album Phinalizer… And in a sense it’s very similar, but also very different… The first part is full-blown nu-skool goa-like psytrance a la Phi, whereas the last part is much more hardcore and experimental… New and refreshing stuff + enough twirling, melodic passages that trace back to Phi… So, the legacy of Phinalizer is beautifully maintained on this sweet album and this is the best ELF Music release since then. Well done Shuji! The cover art is pretty classy and the thick paper is neat… The Engrish track titles also have their charm, and I also like the whole philosophy of making a rainbow in your slum… So yeah, this is indeed a great package – which I will not hesitate to give my recommendation… Phi-fans should definitely check it out, as should fans of experimental, uplifting, energetic nu-skool psytrance… It’ll make rainbows in your slum! … Enjoy! Favourites: 2, 3(!), 6, 7(!), 8, 9(!) DeathPosture External links: Slum: http://www.slum-rainbow.com ELF Music: http://www.elf-music.net Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/593859 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/e39xt Amazon.jp: http://tinyurl.com/cau8r Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/7wp4j Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/7z5n2 Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/d734s Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/cpgnb Cisco: http://tinyurl.com/btara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Le Lotus Bleu Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 The album has already been delayed twice, it's not available (this is an informative post & nothing more). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jikkenteki Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Actually this album has been available in stores anywhere in Japan since Dec 7th 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Le Lotus Bleu Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Slum is Shuji Ichimura (formerly 50% of Phi) ,Make Rainbow In Your slum is his first solo album. The album was mixed & mastered by Hyuga Kashiwai, and was produced by Hiroki Tsutsumi. The graphic design was done Shuji Ichumura. What's next? Slum's sound is very close to Phi's one, at the little difference the tones are less polished, more twisted. You almost always find a funky bass & frequently electric riffs. Now here are some specifities in each track: 1> Welcome, welcome seems to says the 30' intro in Future Is Ours with a big mischievous smile. I don't know if it comes from an old olympic games or a military musical band but it makes your eardrums fully open as it's a totally unexpected way for lauching the album. 2>From 2'15 you're submerged uder a fireworks of sharpy tones then with the break appears 2 new leads, one floating in the background & the lead one is very hacked but in the same tone quite soft. 3>Some brassy tones comes from 3'28. As it's the longer track (9'09), the tune evolves & turns into more cosmic morning & light on the end (from 7'54) . 4> There's a barking lead around 1'10. The attraction takes form under a robotized lead from 2'40 to 3'30. 5>It's more retained at first.On the final, there's an interesting fx on the electric riffs from 5'05. 6>There's a break based on a windy or reactor sample just a after short mewing (at 3'30). Otherwise, this tune is the one which looks like the most to the Phi's productions at equality with track1. 7> The rythmic is more hard-tek influenced (from 1'10) & the lead is more dark-noisy-apocalyptic (from 3'00); indeed globally here the atmosphere is more raw. 8>Come back to more usual Slum harmonies with a focus here on the metallic leads, like from 1'50 with this highly muted metal lead. It's a Mad stuff, but the public enjoy as their applause attest at 3'44. Then a little trick appears in the rythmic, it's like a photo-clic sound when you push the button to take a picture. 9> There's many sounds in the background, from 2'16 it reminds the sounds in the metro. Here the guitar lead is hugely streched at 3'50. 10> Last but chill one progresses like an urban walk under a night & starry skyscape. Ok, so if you were a Phi's fan, i think there's 90% of chance you'll enjoy this Slum's album too, the surprise in less. For those who still don't know Phi's sound, let's describe Slum's sound as "hard-neo full on-goa". Favourites:2,7,8,10 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jikkenteki Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Slum - Make Rainbow In Your Slum 2005 Elf Music ELFCD-010, Japan 1 - Future Is Ours (6:53) 2 - I Can Eat All Of Earth (6:25) 3 - Make Rainbow In Your Slum (9:09) 4 - Emog (6:04) 5 - Never Runaway Never (6:33) 6 - Why You Have My Beer? No Problem (6:56) 7 - Sneak, Beneath My Notice (7:00) 8 - Follow Me (7:05) 9 - Trust Youth Days (8:58) 10 - Over The Revolution (7:50) In 2004, a pair of Japanese psy-fanatics surprised many with their shockingly good debut album which seemed to come out of nowhere. Phi caught the attention of many with their own unique blend of modern full-on power coupled with a full assault of old school goa madness. What the album lacked in sonic clarity was more than made up for in pure energy, which they called “Nu Skool Hard Goa”. In 2005 the duo parted ways to work on their individual solo projects and Shuji, one half of Phi, has now resurfaced under the name Slum with his debut album titled (in his typical Engrish style) "Make Raibow In Your Slum", on Japan's Elf Music. Some artists, when branching out on their own, try to completely sever themselves from their previous work, so it will be interesting to see what happens here. With in 10 seconds of the start of Future Is Ours starts is clear that Slum seems to have fully embraced the sound he helped develop in Phi and is trying push it into new areas. Comparisions with Phi are simply unavoidable. The bass is back, the kick is back, the slightly shuffled hi-hats are back, the thick dirty synth leads are back and the general madness is back. That is not to say that Shuji is simply covering old ground though. The production is much clearer and there are a number of new elements introduced into what he now calls the "Hard Gore" sound (on a side note, this is simply a play on words as Goa and Gore are pronounced the same when rendered into Japanese pronunciation). The most obvious difference to my ears is in the "supporting" sounds. There are more "clean" sounds in the mix here, from pads, to squeeky mini leads. The sound isn't quite as layered and thick all the time and the flyby effects, pads and general weird noises are a lot more spaced out and clear, where as in Phi there was a general assault of thick, morphing and pitch shifting stuff going on most of the time. The breaks and builds are also generally a lot bigger and badder (in the good sense of bad), a classic point being the track Make Rainbow In Your Slum, which has a wonderful lead and a big break down that is sure to bring any dancefloor to full boil. I Can Eat All Of Earth and Emog gives us a mess of atonal noisy blasting leads while Never Runaway Never has more of Shuji's trademarked dirty guitar-ish styled synth tweakage. Why You Have My Beer? No Problem has some nice delay tweaking on a lead that is straight from the gosspel according to Phi. Sneak, Beneath My Notice goes hard and focuses on a wide range of cool, dark and evil fly by noises to keep things driving. Follow Me pulls out back out of the depths of hell sonically while keeping the same driving feeling going while Trust Youth Days is probably the thickest track sonically, with lots of layers and and ever changing array of leads, pads and effects to attract the ear. Over The Revolution brings things to a close as the only vaguely chill like track here. Rather than trying to be some sort of downtempo number though, this one works by being a deeper mid-tempo track that you could both chill to, or dance to depending on the situation. As I said before, comparisions with Phi are simply unavoidable, but luckily those comparisions are all good here. All and all Shuji has obviously taken the experience he gained performing live the last couple of years to create an album that will definately storm on the dancefloor, but at the same time still keeping the music well above being simply dancefloor filler. Fans of Phi will find plenty to love here, but this is an album I'd recommend to anywho who wants some good pounding music that doesn't sound the same as everything else out these days. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELF music Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 ＞All Reviewer Thank you for great reviews! The live image that SLUM did by the Australia expedition is here. As you see, the appearance is sheer madness... Live @ Earthcore *Hydra Arena http://www.slum-rainbow.com/slum_in_australia01.mov http://www.slum-rainbow.com/slum_in_australia02.mov Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELF music Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 SLUM will play @ "STAR SEEDS 2006" in Austria. Let's try to experience of his sound freshly! http://www.lebeliebelache.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergroover Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 woooooooowwowowow very nice album. with all the crappy fullon lately and the south african stuff being a little too harsh for me most of the time, this is a very solid release.. allready played it few times on the dancefloor and it works very well i can say recommended to all who like their fullon dancefloor stuff to be twisted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-scream Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 best fullon of 2005, tried it and it worked really well on the floor this is SO massive and it has loads of very nice melodies rarely heard in other fullon. Don't miss the climax on track 5, WOW Fav's: 1, 3(!), 5(!!), 6, 8, 9(!) Thank you Japan, for bringing us Phi & Slum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkeletonMan Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Slum's Make Rainbow In Your Sleep picks up the stick where Phi left it. There's not one dull moment here. You wanna dance? Okay, I'll pack the dancefloor with full-on basses and melodies. You wanna trip? Okay, I'll add enough speed and psychedelia craziness to give your mind something to trip on. If classic psychedelic trance music works because it's too odd to be plainly comprehended, Slum works because there's so much going on it's physically impossible to comprehend it fully. There's simply not enough time. Whatever the reason, I'm thoroughly entertained with Slum. In my feet as well as my mind. Recommended for psy-trance lovers looking for lasting full-on. This is a safe purchase in my book. If not better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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