V/A - Hibernation

[DeathPosture]

V/A - Hibernation

 

 

Artist: Various

Title: Hibernation

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)

Cat. #: IBOGACD37

Distribution: twohandsdistribution.com

Date: 7 February 2006

 

Track listing:

 

01. 10’17” James Monro vs. Dickster – Wash Out (Extended Version)

02. 06’47” Yotopia – New Born

03. 07’25” Morax – Out Of The Blue

04. 08’49” Ace Ventura – R.I.S.E.

05. 08’11” Perfect Stranger - Bliss

06. 09’18” Annarchy & Dickster & George Barker - Eargate

07. 08’34” Sun Control Species – Push Through

08. 06’34” Elegant Universe – Buggy One

09. 08’32” Fish – Gotta Get On

 

Review:

 

Hibernation; awake from…

 

Hibernation is the torpid or resting state in which some animals pass the winter – and I guess it’s true for some trancers too… But now it’s time to get up off our asses, and start shaking… And here’s the cure! Denmark’s leading trance export, Iboga Records, is out with their first compilation of 2006… Just as the Set/4 (Essentials) compilation from 2005, this baby is compiled by Yuli Fershtat of BLT/Perfect Stranger fame… This guy surely knows what he’s doing, and allegedly he spent eight months compiling the tracks… Let’s find out what he came up with…

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: James Monro vs. Dickster – Wash Out (Extended Version)

What better way to start this compilation, than with some genuine trance royalty? James Monroe is best known for his involvement in the old school goa projects Technossomy and Kundalini. Dickster is none other than Richard Trevor of GNOTR/Infernal Machine/Bumbling Loons fame… So yeah, we’re dealing with an impressive talent mass here… As you might have guessed, this is rich, smooth, progressive morning trance… Floating, but still very driving – and despite the length, it keeps evolving in a steady pace… Tribal at times, uplifting and fluffy at others… This lengthy track has it all, and in that sense it will no doubt do well in cross-over circles too… A lush track!

 

#02: Yotopia – New Born

Portuguese producers Yoni Rimon & Tomer Dayan is known for their uplifting, joyous trance… I only know a couple of their tracks, and so far nothing has impressed me too much… Anyway, that’s about to change coz this track is damn smooth… The lead kick is tribal-slash-metallic and it is completely soaked in groovy reverbs and tight percussion… The high-pitched melodies fit like a glove and correspond well with the cut-up, filtered drum sections… Groovalicious!

 

#03: Morax – Out Of The Blue

Michael Reznik from Israel had a real nice, hard-hitting track on the Set/6 compilation… This track however, is less edgy, and pretty much follows in the soft footsteps of the two previous tracks… Not as fluffy, but still… But hey, when the music is this good, I’m not complaining… I especially like the syncopated stabs which correlate with the bassline… Anyway, this is good stuff, without being overly impressive…

 

#04: Ace Ventura – R.I.S.E.

Behind the Ace Ventura moniker is Yoni Oshrat who has a full album out in June on Iboga Records… I really, really liked his track on Set/4 and after this brilliant track June suddenly seems very far away… Oh yes, this is a brilliant track – gone is the fluffiness of the previous tracks, and we’re approaching progressive warp speed now… Fast-paced, dancefloor friendly progressive trance at its best… Deeply hypnotic and somewhat minimal in structure but still instantly groovy… Hands down, the best track so far…

 

#05: Perfect Stranger – Bliss

Perfect Stranger is an alias of Yuli Fersthat who also compiled this CD… He’s got a full album in the works, and if it’s anything like this and the track on Set/5, I can’t wait… I know I say that a lot when it comes to Iboga Records, but hey – that’s just the way it is! Anyway, this track picks up where the previous one left off… So, what we get here is action packed, dancefloor friendly progressive trance… Twirling melodies and peaking rhythms… Nicey nice!

 

#06: Annarchy & Dickster & George Barker – Eargate

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be!” On the 2006 Liquid&Solid compilation Infinity, legendary producer and green nun Richard Trevor was in cahoots with Anna Hefetz… That resulted in a brilliant morning tune… Now they are joined by another legend - George Barker of Slinky Wizard fame! Daaaamn, the celebs are really rubbing shoulders on this piece of plastic! Hell, I’m impressed! What we get here, is a fine example of extremely well-produced progressive morning trance with a few unsuspected twists and turns… This is very melodic and uplifting… Very head bop friendly and funkier than a James Brown tune… Kick-ass track!

 

#07: Sun Control Species – Push Through

I didn’t really like Australian producer Andrew Davidson’s take on the Antix remix album, but he did good when he remixed FREq on Set/6…This track is somewhere in the middle of those tracks… It doesn’t really stand out, but it’s not bad either… The intro is maybe a little too long and I think the middle passage is a little too boring… But hey, there are good parts too, and I dig the tight tribal percussion… But overall speaking, this isn’t a stand-out track…

 

#08: Elegant Universe – Buggy One

Elegant Universe is a new collaboration between the legendary Israeli producer Miki Litvak (Domestic, Shidapu) and a guy called Amir Hardon… Miki’s background as a full-on producer shines through here, as this is easily one of the tranciest tunes here… Tied to a progressive ground pillar, this is deeply melodic morning trance – which crosses well over into club territory. Immensely uplifting! Yeah, this is breakfast music – it’s like being served a plate with 10 cups of coffee… And 15 slices of cheese! And by using that analogy, you’ve probably guessed that I don’t like this track as much as I’d hoped for… It’s too clubby I’m afraid!

 

#09: Fish – Gotta Get On

Yuli makes another appearance here – this time in cahoots with DJ Zombie… And I’m happy to confirm, that all cheddar is long gone – this is banging morning trance! Easily the fastest track here, this track fuses psytrance with progressive rhythms – and the result is brilliant… Tight, crisp and ripe… Nice!

 

I feel like a broken record here, but… Iboga Records never lets us down with their top drawer releases – and whilst this perhaps isn’t their best release recently, is certainly is fine… There are no bad tracks here, and the stand-out tracks outweigh the less-good tracks easily… Yuli’s track selection is tight as always and his flow is unsurpassed… I really enjoyed the output of some of the old, legendary UK producers and the new Yuli project sounds very promising…

 

The cover art is also classy and the only minor gripe I have, is that the track positioning seems a little off during the last three tracks… I know this is supposed to be compilation without skips between the tracks, but it seems my copy changes tracks five seconds early… Ah, who cares, this is still a solid Iboga compilation and a safe purchase for fans of progressive morning trance… Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 1, 2, 4(!), 5, 6(!), 9

 

DeathPosture

 

External links:

Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/628033

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/nq3jp

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/qk3pm

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/nvj4j

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/qrdge

Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/o5ssb

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/no9dr

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/n6yke

[amphiton]

Yotopia impressed me every time they released tracks at compilations since their album Point Black @ Flow Rec and this is no exception.

 

Sun Control Species dissapoint me with their latest tracks... I loved their works from 2004 though

 

My fav here is Perfect Stranger's track, I also listened to samples from his upcoming album and he's got some really good tracks there... can't wait.

[Maxx]

nice realese from Iboga here i really like it,I havnt bought anything from Iboga for quite a while but if the stuff i missed have the same quality like this sweet compilation Iv´e sure been missing out on something,there are a couple of cool colaborations on this realese that i think work quite well here, especially track 6,other tracks i really enjoy are yotopia and perfect stranger´s trax but the others are good as well,only track that quite dosnt do it for me is track 8 by elegant universe.

[pr0fane]

Artist: Various

Title: Hibernation - compiled by Yuli Fershtat

Label: Iboga

Format: CD (Jewelcase with standard 4-page inlay)

Released: February, 2006

Cover: http://217.160.138.169/pic_b/ibo1cd037_b.jpg

 

 

Review:

 

After the end of the successful "Set" series, the Danish label Iboga is once again back to releasing standalone compilations, and the first one on the market is "Hibernation". "Hibernation" is compiled by Yuli Fershtat, who also recently compiled the "Set:4 Essentials" compilation. He is undoubtedly one of the most well-known exponents for the progressive psytrance scene in Israel, and a part of the psytrance-scenes premier league for years. First under the name BLT, where he released no less than 4 albums on labels like HOMmega and Krembo, and later under the slower, purely progressive Perfect Stranger project - with a debut album coming out in March.

 

 

01. James Monro vs. Dickster - Wash Out (Extended verse) [130 BPM]

First track is from a collaboration of two legends on the scene; James Monro, owner of the late Flying Rhino Records, and Dickster, also known as Dick Trevor - member of several legendary acts like Tufaan and Green Nuns Of The Revolution. "Wash Out" is a really well-made track, starting with some simple kicks and percussion, and slowly raising in intensity for 3-4 minutes before reaching a blissful breakdown and kicking into full effect. The melodies are loveable, yet still quite subtle and bubbly, and this is one hell of an optimistic opening tune.

 

02. Yotopia - New Born [132 BPM]

After the release of their debut album "Point Blank", Yotopia became a household name in progressive circles in 2005, and well deserved if I might add. "New Born" is generally built on their usual theme of sounds, but it's a bit slower than usual, and it works really well. A very melodic progressive trance/house tune, and a very nice one overall.

 

03. Morax - Out Of The Blue [134 BPM]

Morax is one of the most promising progressive acts from Israel - partly as member of the tech-trance act Triac, and also with his own progressive Morax-project, where he has already been featured on labels like Domo, Uphonic and Iboga. "Out Of The Blue" is by far the best track I've heard from him up till now - seemingly anonymous at first, but after repeated listens the depth in this track make it a sure winner.

 

04. Ace Ventura - R.I.S.E. [130 BPM]

Yoni Oshrat might ring a bell for some people - up till recently he was a member of one of the most successful Israeli psytrance acts, Psysex, but he is now on his own with the two projects Schatsi and Ace Ventura: Schatsi with focus on funky electro and Ace Ventura with a more psygressive approach. "R.I.S.E." is probably my favourite Ace-tune so far - the grooves are solid and tribal, and despite only running at 130 BPM, it's loaded with energy. Really nice work.

 

05. Perfect Stranger - Bliss [133 BPM]

The compiler of the CD, Yuli Fershtat, is up next with "Bliss". As usual it's very outdoor-minded with many tribal elements, but there are hints of oldschool psytrance/goa in there as well. From the larger-than-life choir-pads to the many subtle layers of melodies. High quality production once again from Yuli.

 

06. Annarchy, Dickster & Barker - Eargate [130 BPM]

Up next is another interesting collaboration of legendary psytrance names. George Barker, who once was part of one of my absolute favourite psytrance acts, Slinky Wizard, team up with Dick Trevor and the upcoming Israeli Annarchy, who some might know for her appearances on Transient and Nano Records. "Eargate" is a really strong and distinct track, loaded with psychedelic twists and effects, chopped-up vocal-samples and heavy tribal percussion. Please collaborate some more!

 

07. Sun Control Species - Push Through [135 BPM]

Sun Control Species from Australia, whose debut album is set for release on Iboga this summer, is up next with "Push Through". Despite being the fastest track on the CD, the tribal groove is quite lazy and laidback. The atmosphere is stunningly deep with hints of asian influences, and I could imagine this would go down really, really well in a morning set in a remote forest.

 

08. Elegant Universe - Buggy One [130 BPM]

Yet another interesting upcoming act is Elegant Universe from Israel. The duo consist of Amir Hardon, whose name I am unfamiliar with, and Miki Litvak, member of the full on act Domestic, and previously also a member of Hyperion and Shidapu with Erez Aizen, who later became one half of Infected Mushroom. "Buggy One" is probably the least psytrance-like tune on the compilation, with a mixture between heavy tribal beats and trancy big-room pads. I could imagine there would be very different opinions on this track, but in my opinion it's both huge and very emotional - my only gripe is that it's a few minutes too short.

 

09. Fish - Gotta Get On [130 BPM]

Last but not least is Fish, another new collaboration: Yuli Fershtat team up with VP Records' DJ Zombi, who is undoubtedly one of the most well-known progressive DJ's in Israel. "Gotta Get On" is a bit of a letdown compared to the rest of the compilation though - the sounds seem rather shallow, the voice-samples are corny and cliché, and I would have preferred more depth in the track overall. Not bad, but in my opinion not on the same standard as the rest of the compilation.

 

 

 

Bottom line:

 

I hate to sound like a repetition of myself, but "Hibernation" is yet another great release from Iboga. At first glimpse it doesn't contain as many instant standout tracks as some of their best compilations from last year, but after countless repeated listens it has really grown on me the last week, and that is, to me, certainly a proof of quality. Overall Yuli Fershtat did an impressive job compiling "Hibernation - especially on picking up some of the very interesting collaborations, and the flow seems very well-thought as well.

 

Recommended for progressive fans into slower grooves with heavy tribal influences and a small hint of Iboga-psychedelia.

 

 

Favourites:

 

1 (!!), 2, 3 (!!), 4, 5, 6 (!!), 7, 8 (!!)

 

 

Verdict:

 

8,5/10

 

 

Link:

 

Iboga Records: http://www.iboga.dk

[Filtersweep]

the Fish song (track 9) has been getting tons of play from me, as well as track 1.

i can't fault this compilation, it's filled with fatness.

[Perfect Stranger]

..is missed in 95% of proggy tracks released. It's disco-house time, baby! Shake your ass... yeah, just like that!

490545[/snapback]

Hey guys and gals,

 

Actually I do agree that the Fish track is very clubby and basically that is the general idea behind this project... But at least in my way of looking @ things, the thing that makes this compilation special, is that altho it is pretty slow and laid back, it is psychedelic ( with exception of two last tracks.. ) which makes it different to most of the releases that come out with the same speed and feel that tend to be more electro / house influenced stuff..

 

Thank you for responses and hope everyone will find some things to like in this compilation!!

[JackCheese]

hope everyone will find some things to like in this compilation!!

490639[/snapback]

Definitely! Great concept and cool tracks!

And to find some legendary names like Dick Trevor, George Barker and James Monro on a new album.. superb