Violet Vision - Your Voice

[traveller]

Violet Vision - Your Voice

 

 

Artist: Violet Vision

Title: Your Voice

Label: Yoyo

Date: 2003

 

Track listing:

 

01. Your Voice

02. Your Voice (Mo Shic Rmx)

03. Pale Void

 

Review:

 

A few words before we begin:

 

I recall certain online trance store describing these guys' debut album's

-First Sign of Communication- style as "Story telling colourfull sound

somewhere between Shpongle and Infected Mushroom." Now that I've owned that

very album for something like two years I really couldn't disagree more. Well

I do agree with the story telling part, but sound between Shpongle and

Infected Mushroom? I don't think so! I do believe that many share the view

with me that these guys created totally own style and sound that really can't

be compared with any existing artists. Yet I do think that Shpongle and

Infected Mushroom should definetly be mentioned while talking about Violet

Vision. Reason for this being that when it comes to quality and innovativity,

these guys are definetly up there with Simon, Raj, Erez and Amit.

 

When "First Sign of Communication" was released it definetly suprised many, it

just was so fresh and yes, psychedelic. After the debut Violet Vision has

released tracks on such labels as Dragon Fly, Yoyo, Hommega and Phonokol. To

name a few compilations: Generations, Elucidations, Another Life, UFS 3,

Israliens 4 and Raveolution. They've also released a remix to Infected

Mushroom's "Deeply Disturbed" on Infected's single that carries the same name.

So, after something like 15 tracks I still can't name even one bad one. To be

honest I've even bought a compilation or two just to hear the new Violet

Vision work. So it's no secret, I'm a big fan of them.

 

We already got a tiny preview of Violet Vision's Incoming album "Unfold" with a

trance remix of "Cellophane" which was released on Raveolution (?). Now it's

time for new previews, which will hopefully make it easier for us (for me

anyways) to wait till late summer, when Unfold should finally see its

daylight.

 

 

Almost there:

 

As I opened the mailbox for mornings paper I really didn't expect to see this

weird white packet with unidentified symbols on it. That's when I realized

that it said BNE. And then it hit me. I knew what was going to be inside. But

the packet seemed bizarre. Reason for that being that it was pretty big. For a

minute I thought that this ment some serious searching for my grandma's old

vinyl player. Had a picture in my mind that it was somewhere in the garage.

Thank god it later (like 1 sec, I was anxious as hell) came clear that this

was indeed a cd single and not 12" vinyl.

 

I'd already drooled on the cd at psyshop so I was familiar with the artwork. On

the front cover there's this sort of surrealistic clown's head. This head

could very well belong to the headless guy who's on Violet Vision's debut

album's cover. The artwork is apparently done by Yaniv Yehuda Eiger. Well, I

really like it! It's very original.

 

 

Review:

 

The beginning is some sort of a soundscape that after two cycles is joined by

some pitched drums and a few seconds later by a organlike synth. We go like

this till 00:29. That's when the Hybridism hits us. Strong drums are doing the

job. Quite well if I may add. Some weirdness is thrown over it. And soon we

get a preview of Noa Lembersky's voice. She says or rather sings "your voice".

At 01:00 we are still on our way. Exactly 11 seconds later we get a spoken

sample "this aint no disco". Indeed! The disco like beginning is now left

behind. It's time to psy. As I learned from the debut album, when it comes to

Violet Vision anything and everything can happen at any given time, place,

dimension or moment of a track. We have the pattern. But on top of it

something is going on any given millisecond. It just can't get boring. Noise

after noise, effect after effect, synth after synth, it keeps on variating

until 02:25. That's when we get a chilled part. Still loads of stuff going on,

but no beat, no bassline. 02:54 the lyrics reach us. It goes somehing like

this "your voice, touches of insanity, so pure, so clean, your voice, touches

of perfection, so clean, your voice, touches of insanity, so pure, so clean,

your voice, touches of perfection, so clean". Time to drum n bass! The vocal

part is very emotional for it's just.. no words. The vocals are repeated in

more or less the same way. 04:52 some really strange stuff is going on right

behind them. Then some serious vocoder stuff, which I'm really keen on. I know

I said earlier that VV can't really be compared to anything, but think Hybrid

and add psychedelic atmosphere. That's pretty much what we have. Noa is now

singing about echoes and oh well my concentration lacks for I'm just trying to

here it all. All in all, job done. Done very well indeed!

 

I've never heard about Mo Shic. I've got this A4 that says "Israel's rising

star - Mo Shic (titled by DJ Magazine as "One of the brightest new hopes for

the progressive scene"). So I guess now it's time for the progressive version

of the previous track. The track will most likely differ the previous greatly

for it's almost like twice as long! Okay as I went to get some orange juice I

apparently didn't hit the pause button. So as I came back to my room the 2nd

track had played for something like 04:40 and guess what. I felt like dancing.

Sounded very groovy! Did recognise the your voice synth thingie. Oh well, time

to hit the skip button back to the beginning.

 

"Traveller hits the skip button." Okay I apparently hit it twice. Oh well, I

might as well relisten the first track and see if I actually managed really to

capture anything essential of it. Trying to concentrate on something else now

so I don't get too repeative. First of all I simply love that way the kick

drum hits us at 00:29. Or rather the tiny effect that somehow resembles a

opening door. Not sound wise, but symbolic wise. It starts in the middle of

00:26 and ends to the first kick. I really love those background effects and

noises. Really helps you hear them if you happen to be behind closed eyelids.

And those snares! I probably already mentioned, but this track is very drum n

bassish. As we know also Violet's debut had some serious drum n bass

influences. In a way anyways. Not saying that it actually is drum n bass or

anything. Ah well, Noa has really nice voice. It's so pure, so clean! Touches

of perfection? Yes, indeed! I love the way the track starts building up after

the vocals dissapear. The Violet Vision build up is very complicated and

layered. You can listen to the track 10 times in a row and hear it in 10

different ways. 04:51, I think I picked that weirdness already, but damn I

like it! 05:15 has that opening door symbolic thingie again. But this time

it's actually closing for the track is about to end. As seconds advance,

layers dissapear. We get a piano, but only for a second or two. Noa is now

singing, but it also feels like it's dissapearing. Then the final hit, fadeing

piano, the end.

 

Okay time to listen to the Mo Shic remix, this time the entire track. The

beginning is sort of similar, yet different. At this time one could confuse it

with the original. That option is left behind at 00:29. Familiar point (time

wise)? This time the drums don't kick in in such strong way, but rather in

some bizarre echoed way. At 00:58 we get some tribalism previews. Yes. The

opening door effect! Totally different, most likely not ment to be, but oh

well. 01:45 we almost have a steady 4x4 thingie going on. Not because of the

kick drum, which still is sort of random, but the beat. 02:25 we get the

regular kick. The BPM isn't too fast but not really too slow either. A lot

faster than my heart beat though. Your voice vocal layer is mixed in. But it's

weak. Sort of echoed. Very distant, impossible to reach. I'm really not too

keen on 4x4 stuff, but this goes. The kick gets stronger at 04:20. We also

have a bassline. Didn't notice when it started. Must have sneaked in slowly.

Not really too much going on at the moment. Actually the beat is guite

manipulated and variating, but it's very distant. 05:50 it's time for a break.

Pretty much the only connection with the original version is that distant

"your voice". The break is kinda interesting. We have some nicey effects. And

uh, that piano. This is more like it! Love the way that beat starts to come

together again. Noa can be heard clearly, as she's pretty much the only thing

that can be heard at the moment. 07:14 we have some serious echoes on the

hi-hats and the snares. 07:42 the kick kicks in. I'm sure this would work

really well on a dance floor. On a dance floor I atleast wouldn't mind hearing

it, but for home listening I just.. you know. 10:00 you can sense that it's

about to end. Slowly, once again, fading away. A few words: groovy, tribal,

progressive trance, all in all totally different than the original, you decide

if that's good or bad, but I sure as hell prefer the original.

 

"Pale void" is something really different. It's not really a trance track, or

even a electronic one. Jonathan Lev playes the drums on this. That already

should tell quite much about it. Don't get me wrong, on the background there's

lots of Violet Visionism going on. In the very beginning, exactly 10 seconds

after the very very beginning we get a organlike synth. Reminds me of Weezer

(the band). Little later on we get a bassline. Now the only thing missing is

the vocals, which are by the way sang by Kfir Basson. "I hide my pride, goes

away, got no reason here to stay, put my wings put on your fags(?) but it's

not working, i'm trying so hard.." Indeed, it's not a track but a song. As he

says, or once again rather sings, or actually starts singing the phrase "I'm

trying so hard". We get a guitar. If you've heard about Weezer then this

should sound quite familiar to you. Hell, this could be a pop song (or actully

is), but I happen to love it (yes love)!

 

 

So:

 

Well to me the weakest link of this single is the Mo Shic remix. But since I'm

not too keen on progressive stuff, or even 4x4 stuff that should rather be

seen as a compliment for I didn't dislike it. The other two tracks, or the

track and the song are just puurrfect! I'm really, really looking forward for

the Unfold album! Other that that, thank you and huge respect for the Violet

guys for keeping their promise! More than that, thank you for not letting me

down. I wish you all the best!