Darshan - Awakening

[Children]

Darshan - Awakening

 

 

Artist: Darshan

Title: Awakening

Label: Flying Rhino

Date: 1998

 

Track listing:

 

01. 08'14" Awaken

02. 08'47" Sun Probe

03. 09'32" Anja

04. 08'07" Transformations

05. 10'48" Neuroscanner

06. 08'07" ECG

07. 07'37" Kyma

08. 09'47" Electroplasm

 

Review:

 

A well-built album, but I don't really get into it cause it's too dark for me

... and it seems like nothing really happens in each Track ... it's built with

quality, but slightly lacks of imagination ... Rating 4.5/10

[Guest psytrancer]

I Love this!! It teases you for its finest moments and you find yourself

enjoying the chase!! Can take several listens to get where they're coming

from but the album has a cinematic quality to it (helped by some cool sci-fi

sampling). It is not full-on or mega-trippy, more sort of driving (as in a

car) psytrance to push you through the night. I thought it was really dark at

first, but the landscape is peppered with brightly coloured lights if you can

bare to look. 8/10

[freak51]

Bitchin'. Get it. "Suddenly I saw myself ... like from above, coming down ...

and I started to float, into this tunnel, towards this light ... and it was

the most beautiful light I ever saw ...". I get recollection-goosebumps just

typing in the sample. Not much going on above 1000 hertz, but Darshan OWNS

the lower half of the spectrum. So many different colours of dark. I've just

rekindled my interest; I'm going to play it again right now.

[Guest SpaceCowboy2002[at]hotmail[dot]c]

There are some nice sounds here, and somewhat intriguing vocal samples that fit

in well with the tone of the tracks in which they appear. While it is lacking

in the complex mindblowing melody category, it keeps its head above water by

having a pleasant groove present for most of the time. Some songs use very

similar elements from other tracks and some tracks are monotonous (at times,

Darshan takes a reasonably good groove, then milks it for far too long) and

both of these facts make it lose more points. In my opinion, this album would

not be worth buying if it was not for track 4: Tranceformations. This song

alone is worth half the cost of the album. Thick and bubbling, oozing with

attitude, it can get you pumped. Overall, 6.5 out of 10. It passes "the

finest goatrance music in the world test" by a hair.

[Guest jsbedard]

I agree with Children01, this album is a leak of imagination. Only the track 4

sounds good for me...Elsewhere nothing special happens, and this album become

very boring on complete listen. I love the "mind merge/ephemeral ep" from

darshan, but their others projects are poor...Especially the Spectra album !

2/10

[Guest psytrancer]

Im amazed jsbedard gave this 2!!!

The whole concept of the album is dark momentum, peaked by occassional, hard

psychedlia.

I still listen to this every coupla weeks and never find it boring.

Dunno where you can still get it, try flying rhinos online ordering page, looks

like they still have it in stock.....

https://www.multicards.com/900930/order.htm

[Guest [Anonymous]]

i have no idea why you people are criticizing this album. quite

simply, it is phenomenal - and if you are too weak to handle the sheer,

nebulous power of this album, then perhaps some simon and garfunkel would be

better...

[Guest Ravemail10]

Bass machines of the world unite! Your king is here! Not really melodic, and

very good. I can't describe it, it's simply phenomenal. Think of 3 blobs of

color in complete darkness. As the blobs move they interpose on one another to

create more and more different colors. There are thousands of colors, but only

3 blobs. 9/10 Bom Shankar! - Raven

[Guest Ubik]

This album actually grew on me : lots of layers, mainly in the bass range,

always evolving, and on top of that, really nice and subtile melodies. Also

the use of samples is very good, and they always come exactly in the right

place. A long journey under earth... Transformations and Neuroscanner are

particularly well executed. 8.5/10

[Guest akroupnik[at]hotmail[dot]com]

I have had this album for about a year now and all i can say...it is f*cking

awesome. Very dark and powerfull, yet very melodic and beautifull, a

completely uniquie sound. Those basslines send shivers down my spine!!! Awaken

and Sun Probe are my two favourite tracks off this album. One complaint is the

lack of variety, never the less this album should be viewed as a trance

masterpiece. (Unlike Spectra, the guys really lost the plot there)

[Guest Slidingtrancer]

This album sounded very simple and not 'full' to me, but it grew on me as soon

as I realised that this darkness holds alot of beauty. The album has ONE style

and ONE theme;darkness. For some this might offer too little to fill up a cd

as people want different sounding songs on their albums. For those people I

have this advice: see the album as a dark yourney across the darker parts of

the universe. The only light that comes across this universe is the light of a

distant supernova. The atmosphere pulls you up and hauls you down, distracts

you, arouses you and makes you shiver along your spine like a thunderstorm

rashes through a empty aural landscape. This album is a killer, even if you

are not into minimalistic, this is bliss. Every sound is perfectly placed

along the galactical road this guy has layed out before us. Don't expect

multi-layered, ecclectic, maximal, full-on stuff here, just sit down and enjoy

the ride. I honestly think children has lost the point here the album points

to, its the 'awakening' and the cd exactly resembles 'waking up', tho it is in

a distant place. 9/10

[Guest M.Spoon]

ECG is something special

[Jon Cocco]

Cool concept Slidingtrancer.

It's an interesting cd. Being in the right mood helps.

[mahoney]

10/10, dark, energetic and very powerful, I´ve always loved Darshan and I will

always do!!! Masterpiece!

[Guest vernon sullivan]

yep I'm in agreement with most above, this is a great album. Hypnotic, driving,

dark music but also with warmth, not like the harsher sounds of the more

"brain pummelling" end of the dark trance spectrum... I can really imagine

driving down deserted country roads during a thunderstorm listening to this

one. Great work, check it out. No real stand-out tracks, the album is a

journey from beginning to end and should be listened to that way.

[Guest dumbo]

holy shit...this whole album is great, but for me it's all a big build-up to

the 5'57 mark in electroplasm - if a more powerful, energetic, BANGING minute

of music has ever been created, I would sure like to hear it - why oh why have

I never heard this track at a party?? Dropped at just the right moment (just

as the sun's rising , as the peak of a totally wicked night...) I can just see

it now, everyone going completly MENTAL...

but then again maybe it's only so powerful because of what has come before it,

which is an hour or so of dark driving "energy trance" =) PLEASE do yourselves

a favour and listen to this in one go from start to finish, I challenge you to

try to keep from banging your head (and your whole body) when that distorted

gated sound comes in 6 minutes into the last track, and that's head banging in

a wholly good way (nothing to do with the SUN project way, not that that isn't

good too =) SHIT this is good stuff.

[seraph]

This is very good album...It is dark and has some epic touch to it...It is like

space hover craft music..You have biologic and scannic trip to it....There are

some rather added, too much moments but overall is good.

8/10

[Guest Serbiantriper]

Very dark,tripy,and very good. Overall 9/10

[Guest [Anonymous]]

good good yes my thoughts going nuts by it and it iss twice so good with lucy´s

space drops ill give it 9.5/10go on like that guy´s

[Maden]

Firstly, i have to precise that Darshan is, across this great release,

one off my favorite artist; Awakening is in my all time favorite

album and so far better than spectra imo.

Pure drum (old school oriented) is served with a complex bassline and two

differents hit hat following the rythm

bringing to the music a very rich and powerfull energy, with a dark but great

atmosphere.

The sound are fresh, and melody really enjoyable .. fews caracteristics which

gives the own personnal darshan style.

Each track are very well build, the quality is here, there is no bad track, but

there is killer track:

Sun Probe (with an incredible bassline, and nice fluid sample) and E.G.C (with

a fantastic energy)

but each track have to be listen several time, it's more and more psychedelick.

If you like the old school music, you have to discover this great great album.

I really love it, and give it a solid 8.5/10 Boom

[Manuser]

Darshan - Awakening - Flying rhino - 1998.

 

 

01. 08'14" Awaken

02. 08'47" Sun Probe

03. 09'32" Anja

04. 08'07" Transformations

05. 10'48" Neuroscanner

06. 08'07" ECG

07. 07'37" Kyma

08. 09'47" Electroplasm

 

For people who don't know this album, I tried to review it as right as possible. The music is dark here, and not really melodic, or dark melodic, but more melodic in background if you know what I mean.

Darshan's hihats and snares are really discrete, and the British guys definitely prefer creating psychedelic atmospheres than psychedelic sounds only. They are not fond of putting tons of sounds in their tracks, you can hear it in some tracks more than in others.

 

01 : Nice intro ! Typical Darshan's kickdrum, loud and powerful, subtle sounds, not really melodies, and dark and mysterious atmosphere. The track turns with more twisted sounds later, in the middle of the track, but Darshan always control their music very well. Little break down at about 5.45mn. Nice opener, soft and dark one, very well made. Not catchy but this track had to be like this.

 

02 : Perfect intro, a heartbeat... then a relaxing melody, it makes a worrying beginning. The samples are perfectly placed. The track is a bit more energetic than the previous one, and more melodic also. The whole track is definitely less dark than its intro, awesome break down and build up at about 5.30! Here Darshan do not abuse of sounds but nicely control them, this is how good goa trance has to be IMO. According to me, that track is really good, better than the first one, but it could be a bit longer.

 

03 : Awesome intro as always, Darshan love making the intros of their track, we can hear it. This track is more twisted, at the beginning. Welcomed break down at about 5.00mn, with a sublte melody, combined with a second one in the background. Lovely. Then a sudden burst but rapidly controlled. One last minute to finish the track perfectly. Dark track, atmopsheric and a little melodic. And awesome one.

 

These first 3 tracks managed to create a clear stunning and disarming dark atmosphere.

 

04 : Hehe, this is one of the most liked tracks of the British guys. I have to admit that it makes a good change from the first 3 tracks as the BPMs are really higher here! Like a “revolt” against the very atmospheric beginning of the album! Some of you might know this track, its powerful rhythm and it’s “a m a z i n g” break down at 3.25. "Late at night, my mind would come alive, with voices and stories I gave myself up to, longing for transformation". Stunning! And Darshan chose the right moment to make the album more dynamic. A killer. And a classic for me. A proof that Darshan can make crazy psytrance also. What a track! By far the faster, craziest and most spectacular so far.

 

05 : Ooo… the album turns soft again, no doubt about it. The longest track, the softest with the first track too. I love the kickdrum, muffled, yet damn powerful. Played loud this track is really impressive. This track can sound a bit empty, more “small” sounds are used, rather than spectacular ones. Intelligent and trippy track, kinda hypnotic. I dig it. Definitely a track that grows on you, and a clear intention to calm their music with a long piece of dark psytrance, and a long relaxing outro.

 

06 : Of course, this track is faster, in the same style as track 4, in less crazy at the beginning but it turns more and more twisted in the middle of the track. This one brings us out of our torpor. Catchy one IMO, above all when it constantly changes from the middle till the end, with a lot of nice psychedelic semi melodies. Much more spectacular than the previous track, and I dig it too.

 

07 : I like the intro a lot, it starts melodic. This track is softer, again I am really delighted by the relaxing break downs, and the samples are discrete and so well placed. Nothing new, only a surprising sound used at 4.45. Pretty melodic track but only semi melodies as always. Not really a favourite as the atmosphere in the track is not as deep as some other tracks before, but the outro is really well made.

 

08 : Oooo…this is a nothing less than perfect 1.15 mn intro, melodic vibes combined with a good sample. Then the track rapidly starts really energetic. A catchy track here, the BPM are higher to finish the album. What makes this track dark is its intro and its break down, otherwise the track is more twisted than dark, not melodic, but a bit acidish too. Oooo the breakdown at 5.30, and what a build up! The most entertaining track with track 4, no doubt about it. The track ends like it started, and it finishes this really nice album.

 

 

This album is dark and trippy goa trance. There is clearly cohesion from the beginning till the end. Some tracks are much softer than others. The whole atmosphere is good, but I would have prefered to hear the last track earlier in the album, to finish the album with a softer track.

One of my weaknesses for Darshan is that their music got personality, I mean you immediatly recognize their music when you hear their basslines and their muffled kickdrums, as well as their sublte small sounds. One of the main characteristics also is their "control" of their music, I mean it is clear that they want their tracks to sound harmonious, and not crazy as possible like Pleiadians use to do for example (just an example, the two bands are not comparable). It is clear that they want to make quality and not "maximal" psychedelic trance.

 

My favourite tracks are

02 - Sun probe,

03 - Anja,

04 - Transformations,

05 - Neuroscanner,

and 08 - Electroplasm.

 

8/10 from me, and a must have IMO.

[Jon Cocco]

Great intros, old-skool goatrance DARK!

 

A very cool album. The intros, atmosphere, and melodies are great.

 

Why didn't they make an album after this one in the similar non-minimal dark, more intriging goatrance style? This is unquestionably DARSHAN'S baby and it's underrated. It's mature and consistent with being strong and dark. There is also an element here (maybe that old-skool touch or the dark mysterious intros/style) that makes this album unique, intriguing.

[Cogumelo]

This is a good album. i gave it an 8.

 

It has nice songs in it: Sun Probe and Transformations are the best imo 10/10.

 

The only setback is that is difficult to hear this album as a whole, for it tends to be "repetetive" in a way.

 

Nice piece of work by Darshan. A must for any Goa-Psy Addict.

[seraph]

AMAZING album ! Darshan's best ! Such concrete psychedelic structure...I am sorry their second one was not done with this ellegance....My favourite tracks : SUN PROBE, ANJA, TRANSFORMATIONS ( ! ), ECG ( ! ), ELECTROPLASM...for sure 9/10...

[Colin OOOD]

Grant has a new studio... keep your ears open for new tracks in the near future.