V/A - G-Spot

pr0fane · February 24, 2006

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Artist: Various

Title: G-Spot - compiled by DJ Huda-G

Label: Domo

Format: CD (Jewelcase with 16-page inlay)

Released: February, 2006

Review:

Domo Records is one of Israel's only psytrance labels focusing on the progressive scene, and with almost 4 years behind them, also one of the oldest. The label has had a good run so far, releasing compilations of generally good quality, and albums from well-known, yet not top of the line acts like Insane Creation, Sensifeel and Tomtron and Liesegang. "G-Spot" is their newest compilation, compiled by the Israeli DJ Huda-G, and consisting of 9 new tracks from both Israeli locals and international acts.

Before moving on to the track by track review, let me just mention the high-quality cover for the release - much like the standard from Tribal Vision Records, the cover contains an extensive 16-page booklet with information about all the artists involved, including pictures and previous releases - as well as background info about the label and it's previous releases. Also included is a small inlay for the DJ-cases (why they left out the BPM's is beyond me though) - very good job Domo.

01. V Tunes - Progression [134 BPM]

First tune is from the Swiss duo V Tunes, who had their debut-release on Domo's "Swiss Connection" compilation back in 2004, and since then have appeared on labels like Plusquam, Groove Zone and VP. "Progression" is your average progressive tune - pleasant use of sounds and good production, but it doesn't really have anything new to say. A nice enough track, but not very interesting.

02. Yotopia - Zoi [134 BPM]

After the release of the debut-album "Point Blank" on Flow last year, the Israeli duo Yotopia has really built a solid reputation around the world, and "Zoi" is another fine track from their studio. Generally the track is a bit less fluffy than usual - especially the bass is a lot deeper than their usual slightly plastic grooves, and that is certainly a nice touch. Good track, but with only 6½ minutes of playing time, I found it a bit too short.

03. Natural Flow & Chromosome - Personal Visit [138 BPM]

Next up is a collaboration between Swedens Chromosome (who's probably more well-known as part of Andromeda and Soul Surfer) and Natural Flow from Switzerland, the new progressive sideproject of Rumble Pack and Blue Vortex. Take away the 1 minute long intro with the corny sample about MDMA and you have another high quality track - Andromeda/Chromosomes touch seems most dominant, with lots of distinct, naive Andromeda-like melodies, and although it seems like I've heard it so many times before, it works like a charm.

04. Side A - Altered Ego [138 BPM]

"Altered Ego" is by Side A - a one-man project from France, who has so far appeared on labels like Groove Zone, Sub Machine, Candyflip and the late Tatsu Records. "Altered Ego" is definitely one of his faster and more trancy tunes, with a plethora of nice, uplifting melodies and a very sweet, innocent attitude. Surely a peak-time morning tune.

05. Liquid Soul - Colours [135 BPM]

Liquid Soul was definitely one of the biggest rising stars in 2005, and with appearances on Iboga, Plusquam, Flow, Plastik Park and many more labels, it seemed like he was featured on every progressive compilation released. "Colours" has some uplifting, yet subtle female choir-pads, and generally it is slightly darker than his recent releases, with less uplifting themes and a harder, stomping groove. Solid dance floor material.

06. Sonnenvakuum - Rejected [140 BPM]

Another Swiss project is Sonnenvakuum - despite relatively many releases over the years, they are probably most known for their housier sideproject Sonic Cube, with which they just released their 2nd album on Tribal Vision Records. "Rejected" is the fastest track on the compilation, and starts with a long and very atmospheric intro, before a rolling, yet not very dominant bassline is introduced. The track is quite melodic without getting too much, and the atmosphere is deep and thoughtful - at first it didn’t leave a big impression, but after repeated listens I consider it one of my favourites on the CD.

07. Sun Control Species - Interactive [138 BPM]

Straight from the bush-doofs in Australia comes Sun Control Species, an act known for both his deep and subtle tracks for the outdoors, as well as more storming progressive trance monsters. "Interactive" is somewhere in between - with its 138 BPM, it's certainly not his slowest track to date, but not the busiest either. A huge and very well-produced track - tribal, and generally with a very organic touch, with some clear FREq-influences. Watch out for the upcoming Sun Control Species album on Iboga Records.

08. BLT & DJ Nadi - Space Boogie (Aerospace Remix) [136 BPM]

BLT and DJ Nadi's classic "Space Boogie" is remixed by Aerospace, the new project of DJ Guyshanti, who was previously a member of Evil Drug Lords. For those of you who have heard the new Aerospace album released on Midijum, you'll be familiar with the style in this remix - fine progressive psytrance for the outdoors, light without getting fluffy - but never really stands out.

09. Morax - At First Sight [136 BPM]

Last but not least is Morax, the progressive sideproject of Michael Reznik from the tech-trance project Triac. "At First Sight" is a nice comedown for the compilation - the overall atmosphere is really pleasant, with delicious reverbed soundscapes. Towards the end the pace quickens a bit, and the ending with the "electro"-samples maybe a bit too chaotic compared to the rest of the track, but overall it's one of Moraxes stronger releases.

Bottom line:

I like the vast majority of the tracks on "G-Spot", but despite the relatively high quality, none of the tracks are truly amazing. You know - the kind of standout tunes that alone make a compilation worth the money. That aside, in a progressive psytrance scene focusing more on more on house-oriented grooves, "G-Spot" does overall provide a solid CD of pumping and trancy dance floor productions.

"G-Spot" isn't among the very strongest releases lately, but as a DJ-tool you'll definitely find good use for it.

Favourites:

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9

Verdict:

7/10

Link:

Domo Records: http://www.domorecords.com

d_vision · February 27, 2006

verry nice review pr0fane!

Yeah verry good compilation!G-Spot have some great tracks inside...

me too

Verdict:

7/10

DeathPosture · March 17, 2006

V/A – G-Spot

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Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Various

Title: G-Spot (compiled by Huda-G)

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Domo Records (Israel)

Cat. #: DOMO CD 008

Distribution: Psyshop.net

Date: 6 February 2006

Track listing:

01. 09’53” V-Tunes - Progression

02. 06’32” Yotopia - Zoi

03. 07’49” Natural Flow & Chromosome – Personal Visit

04. 08’28” Side A – Altred Ego

05. 08’06” Liquid Soul - Colours

06. 07’57” Sonnenvakuum - Rejected

07. 09’06” Sun Control Species - Interactive

08. 07’10” BLT & DJ Nadi – Space Boogie (Aerospace Rmx)

09. 08’53” Morax – At First Sight

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/hdx9h (all tracks!)

Review:

Urethral sponge trance…

Domo Records from Israel is still on a trance mission to rid the local scene of all the fluffy full-on – and their weapon of dancefloor destruction is lush, plush, progressive trance… Whereas the Sensifeel and the Insane Creation artist albums were good, but not great, I really enjoyed last year’s Posse compilation… So I’m hoping this compilation will be up to par with that one… Let’s find out what DJ Huda-G handpicked for us…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: V-Tunes – Progression [134 BPM]

Swiss producers Sandro Kulka & Hans Muester have impressed me with every single track I’ve heard from them… Very trancy and very upbeat progressive trance – and sure enough, this is another piece of straightforward, lush trance… Maybe not as good as some of their previous compilation tracks – and it feels like it’s a couple of minutes too long. So in that regard, it’s not really a stand-out track. But it’s still a nice, smooth track… Let’s hope the upcoming album is more refined…

#02: Yotopia – Zoi [134 BPM]

Israeli duo Yotopia (Yoni Rimon & Tomer Dayan) really impressed me with their track on the recent Iboga compilation Hibernation which was tight, funky and reverb-soaked progressive trance… So yeah, this is definitely edgier than the previous track – and that’s a good thing! Totally pounding, bubbling with joy and instantly groovy... Nothing too revolutionary, but a solid effort none the less… I dig it!

#03: Natural Flow & Chromosome – Personal Visit [138 BPM]

“MDMA […] it’s like getting a personal visit from god!” Natural Flow is Philip Guillaume & Andreas Marki from Switzerland – they are also known as Rumple Pack and Blue Vortex… Despite their many aliases and impressive release roster, I’ve only heard their track off the Aerocruz compilation – but hey, that was a real head-bob friendly tune… Chromosome is Anders Nilsson from Sweden who also has a long list of aliases and tons of releases under his belt… This track is pretty neat and full of joy… The drug sample seems oddly out of place though, but besides from that, this is basically run-of-the-mill progressive trance… Smooth, crispy and well-polished without going down in history… I kinda like the high-pitched melodies, but it’s not enough to grant this stand-out status…

#04: Side A – Altered Ego [138 BPM]

The tracks I’ve heard with Frenchman Olivier Cambier in cahoots with Vincent Courcot (Tetraktys/Motion) have been sweet, but on his own I’ve been easily bored with Side A stuff… Luckily that’s about to change, coz this is a very interesting tune… The grim, horid intro sets the eerie, nocturnal mood and soon the track is in full FX… Darkish, yet melodic progressive trance with huge pads and frequent little sound explosions… Hell yeah, it was about time Olivier – this is the best track I’ve heard from Side A and easily the best track off this compilation thus far…

#05: Liquid Soul – Colours [135 BPM]

Nicola Capobianco a.k.a. DJ Loudness (member of Earsugar) has made some real sweet compilation tracks in recent years, and this hard-hitting dancefloor stomper is no exception… This is pounding, playful and well-produced progressive trance… Very dancefloor friendly with its huge, reverb pads and psychedelic tweaks… Now there’s a combo I can embrace – this is s brilliant tune!

#06: Sonnenvakuum – Rejected [140 BPM]

Sonnenvakuum consists of Daniel Mueller and Ueli Schill (aka. Dustbuster, Sonic Cube and Sonic Soul) and these guys also have a ton of releases under their belt… The intro here is definitely the best on this compilation and the track itself, is pretty damn solid too… We’re definitely in a party mood now as this is the fastest track here… It’s melodic, it’s groovy, and it’s fast-paced… And if it wasn’t for the slightly cheesy tendencies and lame voice samples I would have loved this… What a shame! It still has some really nice passages though…

#07: Sun Control Species – Interactive [138 BPM]

I’ve never been a big fan of Aussie producer Andrew Davidson’s work, but that’s about to change after this track… This is huuuuuuge! Oh yes, this is very Australian-sounding progressive trance with long, floating pads soaked in reverb and seasoned with tasty, tight percussion… The drum programming is absolutely wonderful here and this track is destined to tear up the summer festival dancefloors… I even like the children’s choir samples – it adds to the euphoric-yet-not-cheesy atmosphere… Awesome! Bring on the album Iboga!

#08: BLT & DJ Nadi – Space Boogie (Aerospace Rmx) [136 BPM]

Space Boogie by BLT & DJ Nadi has been released a number of times since its initial release in 2000 – and here’s the remix by Aerospace (Guy Youngman who used to be in Evil Drug Lords). I do prefer the original, but this is not a bad remix… As the original it’s somewhere in between progressive trance and melodic morning trance – a hybrid… It’s cute, cuddly and very well-produced, but still it’s nothing to get overly excited about… But I’m sure it will come in very handy as a DJ tool for those crossover moments…

#09: Morax – At First Sight [136 BPM]

Michael Reznik from Israel has proved to be able to produce both hard-hitting as well as fluffy progressive trance… And I’m happy to say that this is more hard-hitting than fluffy… The beats are deep and pounding and they are a nice contrast to the fluffy, feather-light floating melodic pads… There’s also a couple of cool off-key percussion tricks + some electro action going on which makes this track very likeable, without being fantastic… But definitely a nice track to end the compilation!

Just as Posse, this is a pretty nice compilation… There are a couple of tracks that doesn’t really do much for me, but at the same time there’s a lot of really nice tracks – especially the middle part of the compilation has some real gems… Not as good as Plusquam’s Kodama or Iboga’s Hibernation, but we’re damn close… It works great for home-listening and I’m sure DJs will have a field day with it too!

There’s a really hot chick in the cover!! And that’s not the only cool thing about the booklet – it has extensive info + photos of all artists and it really feels like you get your money’s worth with a phat booklet like that… Sweet!

All in all, this is pretty sweet compilation and DJ Huda-G has a fine ear for dancefloor stompers… Domo fans will definitely take well to this and fans of plush progressive trance with a pinch of edge will most likely dig it too… Enjoy!

Favourites: 2, 4(!), 5(!), 6, 7(!), 9

DeathPosture

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