Etnica - Equator

[Guest Ehsanur]

"Be on Go" is very good....but the vibe is on another level than earlier Etnica

releases....

 

6/10

 

Pjotr not know.

[Guest Per Sterud]

Though it may not sound like it at first listen, or even the tenth, this album

is a masterpiece. It took me over a year, and several listens, to fully

appreciate. This, I believe is the greatest measure of an album. If you like

it upon first listen, it'll probably be old by the fifth (i.e. Astral

Projection). But if an album takes a while to grow on you and suddenly you see

the glorious light, as is the case with Equator (and Family of Light), then

that's a serious, serious album. Etnica/Pleiadians still, however, don't do

ambient very well. So I give this one a 9.5/10.

[Guest Zaraknon]

Indeed a drastic change from their old style but the good thing about this

album is the great variation of sub-styles that makes it a kind of

story, with 9 chapters that take you to different places: Starts with 'Be On

Go', which is just a nice downtempo track, it has a Star Trek feel to it

because of the samples. 'Patricia...Our Happy...' is a breakbeat track with an

African voice singing, not everyone's cup of tea for sure, but quite original.

'Mad Crickets' is mid-tempo with a strange twist, sometimes a little annoying

but also very nice and melodic. 'Trip in Transkei' is not melodic but a good

transition to the killer part of the album: 'History' is one of the greatest

tracks they ever made imho, it has the perfect stereo effect, alien noises

are moving through your head in all directions, behind twisted and epic melodies.

Similar thing with 'Vibra', but this one is very different, i.e. very dark and

sometimes scary as never heard before from Etnica, a real blast. 'Resistance'

takes you to the realm of the Borg (again the samples). It has a very powerful

kick that makes it the hardest track on the album, again quite a dark

atmosphere but not as good as the previous two. With 'Funkadelia' you find

yourself back on the Equator, an unusually percussive ambient track with

nice epic melodies again. 'Baraka' finishes the journey calming you down with

some alien ambient funk. I think the story is a kind of ethnic science fiction

epos and that this album fits the name 'Etnica' best. I love its concept,

though not all the tracks are great. Altogether 9/10.

[Guest boarster[at]hotmail[dot]com]

enough has been said already... but I have to add that Baraka is my favourite

ambient track of all time (thus far) & always sends chills down my spine with

those spaced out vocal snippets - not an album made for crappy stereos... you

MUST listen to this on a good stereo with high responsive speakers (good

frequency range) or on top-quality headphones to truly hear what these guys

were trying to say with this release... my vote - 8/10

 

Billy Boarster

[seraph]

STUNNING ALBUM !

 

All songs have sense and even the second track is good....Cause this is concept CD and that's why they made track 2 ....cause of EQUATOR for christ sakes...People probably expected ULTRA TRIBAL album cause of the name of it but in fact EQUATOR don't need to be and sound dark and

atmospheric but is rather ambiental and melodic...

 

So, all tracks are good but the best one are definitely BE ON GO, MAD CRICKETS, HISTORY, VIBRA, FUNKADELIA and BARAKA...9/10

[Guest Dont eat LSD with not shearing w]

etnica equator are good i like almoust every track nr 9 a psychosic if u

listning to is self and dark whit headphones i swear u gonna shit u head off..

[Guest Slidingtrancer]

I didnt really like this album when I bought it, I just liked some tracks and

had the extra cash. Now i'm thrilled to have it in my collection. I can't say

it's better or worse than other Etnica releases, it's just different. I like

all the tracks and I love to play all the whole album to grasp the experience.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes more deep, somewhat tribal

psychedelic trance. 8/10

[Guest [Anonymous]]

Top of the TOP.

10/10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

trust me please....

LOUCAS....

[Guest transphere]

This is not bad, not bad at all... I really like this. My favourite track is

"Mad Crickets"... acutally, I think that is one of the best tracks by Etnica

ever! Well, I'll give "Equator" 7 out of 10...

[rino]

Damn, it's been four and a half years that nobody wrote a single word about this album!!! Meaning people completely forgot about it... Which is seriously unfair considering that after all it is an Etnica release, so I thought a full and proper review is due to remind the people a bit.

Now, with its 1995 album The Juggeling Alchemist Under The Black Light, these guys raised the bar sky high for melodic goa trance production, and whether you wanna admit it or not, they redid it again in 1996 with Alien Protein. They also released som amazing EPs, and I would like to point out The Italian EP (1995) and the undisputable classic Plastic EP (1997). What they did with their more dance floor orientated project the Pleiadians is a well known story, so I guess I don't have to waste too much time on that. However, shame on you if you don't know! And just to remind of their short lasting collabortaion with Lotus Omega under the name Crop Circles, which resulted, amongst others, with what is probably my all time favorite goa trance track ever, "Lunar Civilisation". So by 1999, Etnica have more or less amazed everybody, for there it was only a minority who never found anything to their taste coming from these true trance "alchemists". All in all, the Etnica/Pleiadains are my two all time favorite projects by the long run and it is beyond words how much do I enjoy listening to their releases. However, having lost one member, Carlo Paterno, in the summer of 1998, it was up to the three remaining members to continue an already amazing legacy. In fact, Carlo is not listed inside the CD booklet as a band member anymore, so Equator was produced entirely by Max Lanfranconi, Andrea Rizzo and Maurizio Begotti. Now let's see what these three have cooked up for us...

 

#1. Be on go- "To bring you extraordinary events taking place in the Russian Republic. This unexplained disturbance and the hysteria that it's causing are incredible. How would you describe what you're seeing? It is clearing the mountains... moving too slowly to be a comet or meteor. Widespread panic has gripped the countryside as thousands have taken to the streets. It is confirmed. The unexplained phenomenon is headed for Moscow." The first track opens with this sample from the movie "Indipendence Day", accompanied firstly by one of the grooviest bass lines I have ever heard, and then the bass kick comes in. The bass kick sounds very breakbeat-ish here, which is, I guess, something we haven't heard Etnica do up to then, at least not in such a obvious manner, and it sounds very cool and catchy. I wouldn't go that far to call this an ambient tune, although it is (BPM wise) a slower track, but because of its intensity, it's not something you would relax to. And I especially like those effects going from 04:47 to 05:30, which sound like somebody's nightmare on a TB-303, or even worse, a seriously distorted and messed around with flute sound. Kidding. But they sound cool. Now, I've heard critics call this track too long, but I think that throughout its ten minutes it never fails to keep your attention. Let me just add that I heard it last summer at the O.Z.O.R.A. Festival at around 07:30 in the morning while I was asleep in my tent, and what a wake up call it was! The track still stands as one of the finest album openers I have ever come across. It's slow as in it will not have you pushing the skip button in order not to fall asleep, but it ain't that uptempo to get your heart heavily pounding before even getting into the album. And the sample at the end, the same one quoted above, but how nicely does it end the track... Some amazing stuff here. Etnica messing around with breakbeat drum sounds and adding goa trance elements? Suits me. -9/10

 

#2. Patricia... Our Happy...- Seriously now, this is without doubt one of the worst Etnica tracks... ever! If the pathetic, horrible vocal chants don't kill you within the track's first minute, nothing ever will. You've proved yourself immortal. At first, there is a kind of beat made up of these tribal drums, but then at 02:40 the "proper" beat comes in. And I wish there never was one. I swear, this beat sounds like a slow motion version of a throwaway track by CJ Bolland from his Analogue Theatre album. But I have to get back to the vocals: now, in the year 2007, I am positive that these are the worst vocals I have ever heard on a ambient/goa/downtempo/psy chill track. And I hope nothing ever tops this. That would be the day I'd start looking for some new music to listen to. But that's not all! The background effects (bakground melody?) lasting from 02:00 to 02:18 is the EXACT same one which the Pleiadians track "Merope" uses at its very beginning! Speaking of cheap... And the so called main melody that appears twice during the track (if you got the nerves to wait for it) for about thirty seconds like it was jacked from Whigfield's debut album. With all due respect to this euro dance legend. This track is horrible beyond words. Everything I wrote above is superflous. This is so bad you just have to hear it to fully appreciate the meaning of the adjective "bad". -1/10

 

#3. Mad Crickets- Aaaaaaw yes... "Mad Crickets". I've always enjoyed the cricket sound alike effects throughout the track. They actually do sound really nice. But then there is not much going on here until 02:30 when an acid synth comes in and for about 30 seconds puts the track back on the track. No revolutionary sounds or melodies here, but sounds nice nonetheless. The same synth luckily comes back at 03:20 and then we get some twisted sounds we all know Etnica can deliver. It goes on very nicely like this for about 90 seconds, to stop at 5 minutes, and then after a half minute break, at 05:30, the track hits you with the lead melody, which by storm takes over the track and leaving it to end after about 40 seconds with those cricket effects again. Nice track, but really nothing new or worth any deeper analysis. -6.5/10

 

#4. Trip In Transkei- This track continues in almost the same fashion as the previous one. They are very similar even speed wise; same tempo, same feeling. As in the previous one, there is really not much going on here up until 02:15 when a female voice keeps on repeating: "Transkei, Transkei, Transkei..." accompanied by an acidic melody. And make sure to watch out for the thirty something build up resulting in an acidic climax from 03:58 to around 05:10, at what point the feamle voice comes back in and nicely ends this rather short, relaxed, but nicely constructed track. Oh yeah, and the beat once again sounds as though it was played on a real drum set. Really daring feat for Etnica to try out stuff like that. As in the previous one, there is nothing mind blowing here, although it shouldn't make you press the skip button either. It's all been said and done before, but hey! Why fix it if it ain't broke? -6.5/10

 

#5. History- The track opens with a quieter introduction made up of some not noisy effects, followed by a not too fast, but not chill out alike either (I'd say in the mid to high 130s) bass kick, which is very groovy, if not somewhat deep, but at the same time being very easy digestible and not too demanding in order to enjoy. At around 2 minutes a nice little melody sneaks in, with a sample going: "The alien ship is on its way to rendevous with history.". But the track's first real melody (and the album's as well IMO) appears at 03:35 and it floats around the track for about 85 seconds before being stopped by another sample (I really enjoy this one): "Oh my God, they are realy from another world.". Finally, eight minutes into the track, the main melody takes over, putting a smile on my face up until the track ends at 10:13. During those last few minutes of the track, we actually get some nice construction, a catchy and to a certain extent simple melody, very danceable, and I guess the track does get kind of multilayered. I can even imagine this getting played at around 7 in the morning and stuff. Important to let people know that the melodies here are far less developed, impressive and rewarding than on their previous releases. The melodies and sounds applied on "History" would make an excellent track for almost any other goa trance artist, but knowing these guys' potential, it sounds a bar or two below from what they got us used to. But, after the previous tracks, finally hearing a goa trance track, albeit not an astounding one, was a pleasant surprise. I won't bitch too much. This track would still work perfectly today when having your morning coffee, and you're not in the mood for some totally chilled out stuff, for this has enough elements to keep your head nodding and stuff, but it won't have you getting lost in its complexity! Etnica at what they actuayll do best, as far as I can remember: emotional and melodic goa trance tunes! -8/10

 

#6. Vibra- Now this is an interesting track, as it explores up-to-then unexplored musical areas by the italian producers. I would say it has that progressive touch, with a darker edge to it. This is beacuse this track doesn't actually develop into melodic climaxes nor does it at any point display a lead melody or synth. The track just rolls on with a (and I mean it) proggy bass kick and some pretty dark noises just coming in and out of the track. Reminds me more of the progressive tunes because of its lenghth; it clocks in at 11:25, and for its whole time, it doesn't really encounter that many changes. Which, depending on your taste, may sound cool. Personally, I find it strange that Etnica produced a track like this, but I won't complain because it is very nicely executed. The closest thing we get to a melody here is the acicdic synth kicking in at 04:40, but it's actually more of a short synth repeating itself than a nicely constructed climax. This track is so well crafted that it could have been nice even without the synth part. That would have made it much more minimal, but when it is done this well, who cares? The only thing I dislike here are those short female chant intermissions like the one at 07:25 which kind of break the track's flow. Not that they are long and annoying, but it's just that once you get into the track's groove, that pointless chant sort of knocks you off for a few seconds. Because this track has some groove. I noticed a user around here somewhere writting that he found himslef dancing eight times to this track in the coarse of the same night. I cannot imagine myself dancing to this eight times, but I wouldn't mind hearing it 2 or 3 though ! This track is, nonetheless its surprisingly minimal feel keeping in mind this is Etnica we're dealing with here, very catchy, and could easily be mixed into various DJ sets. Easy to dance to, tap your feet or snap your fingers to- with not too many details to distract you from the dancing or to engage your mind. A very original, but also a well done track! -7.5/10

 

#7. Resistance- "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships! We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

Is there a goa/psy trance listener who is going to hear that sample and not going to know where it came from. This is it, ladies and gentlemen. This is the fastest, most hard pumping, dance floor devastating, psychedelic and original (in terms of Etnica exploring new dimensions of psy trance) track on the album. In fact, this track is so hard and intense that if I hadn't heard it on CD, I never would have guessed it actually belonged in the mix with the previous tracks. So what is so good about it? Now, having already taken their crazy melodic style to the maximum, culminating with 1997's I.F.O., it was getting kind of obvious that it was a tough act to follow, if not impossible. Especially that one member left. So they decided to experiment a bit and search for new solid grounds. And this is where "Resistance" comes in. This is not like anything they have previously done. This is light years away from the sound these guys were persuing. This is non-melodic, but highly psychedelic, gritty, evil, harsh and uncompromising psy trance at its best. And the bass kick is so stomping it is impossible not to dance to this. Damn, even if you were in a wheelchair you'd find a way to move around! But far from that the track is minimal- it is constantnly packed with various psychedelic effects, of which I'd like to point out the last part of the track when the above quoted sample gets distorted and cued up, so you can hear it in a high pitched, high velocity form, and I only realized about 15 seconds prior to the track's end it was the same sample! My only regret is that Etnica never continued in this fashion, they never stayed to develop or improve this style. For if they have, who knows what their sound could have been today? Instead, once Andrea Rizzo left the group after Equator, Max & Maurizio turned to producind dull, redundant, plain and minimal technoid trance music. But this track stands as a firm testimony to the band's will to experiment with new (and harsher) sounds, not being at all scared to abandon their melodic and mind wielding dreamy roots. This is the finest example of the post melodic and harmonic Etnica we'll probably ever get. A truly amazing and instantly memorable track!!! -9/10

 

#8. Funkadelia- Judging by the title, you can already guess there will be some funk influences in this funky track. Right at the start I have a complaint: after a track of "Resistance"'s caliber and intensity, the last thing we needed is a super slow and dreamy ambinet track. I mean, every time after "Resistance" ends I feel like I was on the moon, and then listening to Funkadelia feels like my crash back to earth. Without a parachute obviously. But this track's major problem resides in its sample. Check this out: "I know there is much we can learn from each other, if we can negotiate a truce. We can find a way to coexist. Can there be a peace between us?" "Peace... No peace.". Sounds familiar? I know it does. It is the EXACT same sample that Infected Mushroom used to beautiful effect on their fantastically excellent track "Release Me", from their equally excellent The Gathering album. Now, while they used and placed it perfectly, on "Funkadelia", it sounds just thrown in for the heck of it. Like the Etnica dudes heard a stolen Infected Mushroom demo tape and thought to themselves: "Oh, that is such a cool sample! We just gotta use it!". Well, it most probably wasn't anything like that, but it doesn't alter the fact that the sample is completely unnecessary here, and just puts the whole track's weakness to the forefrot. Ant then the fact that 2 out of 9 tracks on Equator have samples from the same movie! What is up with that? From millions of other places you can snatch 'em from, you choose the same source for both of them, and then end up using the same one as the soon-to-become superstars of psy trance music. And the melody on "Funkadelia" sounds (at best) like the wake up alarm tune on my cell phone. Meaning the melody sucks. That is because I always look for the crappiest ring tones for my alarm. That is because then, the same moment I hear them, I gotta jump out of bed in order to stop that ear menacing and piercing terror! The same goes for "Funkadlia", where skip button is indispensable from my part. A huge disappointment after three strong tracks! -4/10

 

#9. Baraka- What a beautiful way to close the album! A haunting, atmospheric, melancholic track, with the superb sample (or is it a computerized effect?) of a blowing wind. And you'll have to wait until 03:48 for the beat to sneak in, but by then you will most probably be completely immerged in the spooky soundscape, until the really psychedelic FX at 04:19 remid you that this is still psy trance and that this is still an Etnica release! Too bad that madness lasts for only about 30 seconds, but it's 30 seconds you are bound to remember. At least they stuck to my head. And then the "wind" flies back in and closes everything so nicely and quietly... This is truly an emotional master piece, not quite on Trip Tonite's level, but not far behind. Seriously. It could be, with the opener, my favorite track on the album! -9/10

 

IN CONCLUSION: A very varied album, obviously intended mainly for Etnica to experiment more with some forthcoming sounds and styles, with glimpses of the old, and the chill and downtempo stuff. The tracks are mixed, for there are some instantly forgettable tracks on Equator, some nice (but nothing spectacular) ones and some real gems! Etnica/Pleiadians fans most probably have this already, but for those of you who don't, I would recommend giving it a few listens before purchasing it, even though I think that the vast majority of potential future listeners will get hooked on "Resistance"! Hard to resist that one! The more uptempo tracks don't even begin to touch their older tunes, but I must give props once more for trying to push their music into newer and more challenging directions. They actually don't even try to recreate the vibes of Alien Protein or their older material on this release, which is nice. I always appreciate artists who try avoiding rehashing the same ol' over and over again. So, to colse, Etnica was not maybe at the top of their game back in 1999, but they still knew how to surprise and deliver some fine musical magic. However you put it, this is at least twice as good as anything they have done post year 2000! But on the other hand, not as nearly as good as any of their work pre 1999... Kind of lands in that transition period, when most of the old school legends had a tough time deciding where to go! A lot of people might dislike this album saying there is nothing grounbreaking here, but I ask you just how much ground can you break? I mean these guys brought the whole goa trance genre to new levels with each of their releases prior to this! So that would more or less be a pointless and dull remark, because upon listening to Equator, I don't get the vibe that his was ever concieved as a genre bending album. So... If I do the exact track sum and divide it by 9, I reckon it would be like a 6 or something, but the album's overall vibe, and originality would make me reconsider it and give it...

 

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

[w_lizzard]

Excellent review Rino!

 

The album is a must have for any Etnica fan out there!

It's an ethnic-psytrance album that put us to the next level and when?In 1999!

Respect to the Italian Alchemists as you mentioned!

[Jon Cocco]

ETNICA - EQUATOR

1999

SPIRIT ZONE RECORDS

 

 

 

 

Track list:

 

01. 10'03" Be On Go

02. 05'39" Patricia ... Our Happy

03. 06'49" Mad Crickets

04. 06'00" Trip In Transkei

05. 10'13" History

06. 11'29" Vibra

07. 08'40" Resistance

08. 08'59" Funkadelia

09. 06'48" Baraka

 

 

Equator was my first or second Etnica album and it will always be special to me. This is Etnica's departure from the Goa-Trance style that made them famous with Juggeling Alchemist Under the Black Light and Alien Protein. However it isn't a departure from Goa entirely which is one of the main reasons why I enjoy it so much. The melodies. Equator is very Indian/Ethnic, and World influenced. There are also more voice bits, chants, and samples than any Etnica album I've heard to date. For the most part they're utilized very well.

 

 

01. Be On Go is one of my favorite tracks by Etnica. Can a song get any more pimp?! My God. This is the type of song you push back the seats in your mobile, sink into the driver seat, start up the album, crank up the sound, roll down the windows, and blast it while slowly driving down a hot nightclub strip at 11pm. This isn't psytrance but a cross between psy, techno, and maybe even chilled tech-trance with Goa? Big beats and the bassline roll up like a tornado slowly collecting dust. The overall sound, rhythm, and beat together is like a slow rush of adrenaline but not fast enough to get your heart beating. This is a powerful chilled trance song bound to seek peoples attention. This is one of the strongest opening tracks I've heard since Chemical Brothers opening hit techno song "Come With Us" on one of their post 21st albums. This is a strong and smooth, comfortable, and chilled beat track unlike any I've ever heard. A-

 

02. Patricia ... Our Happy is the first real ethnic influenced track on Equator which is heavily Indian/Ethnic-influenced. Imagine tribal trance without a strong beat and voices continuously present and that's this. Initially I thought it was one of the worst tracks Etnica ever produced, especially on listen after such a strong opening. I don't think it's bad however but it is one of their weaker tracks. I like the sound generated by the voices throughout and the drums. As someone pointed out on one of these pages...it's a concept track. Either way I can't help but feel like somethings missing. One of my favorite groups is Juno Reactor. This is definitely one of the most weak songs on the album. It just doesn't seem like it belongs here. I'm honestly between finding this track tolerable and not feeling so sure. Never have I heard a song like this by them. Difference and taking chances is how we innovate and move forward. But similar ingredients to Juno Reactor is employed here with inferior results. I'm glad they placed this before the dance tracks or we'd be in trouble. C / C+

 

03. Mad Crickets is the first real dance song on the album. It isn't that psychedelic or ethnic influenced (voices) as the previous track. It's a pretty good psytrance song which gets down a fairly appealing rhythm throughout. But I think many people enjoy this more after the uneentful previous song. To me the best dance songs are yet to come on here. If you enjoyed this you're really going to appreciate some of the others. B-

 

04. Trip In Transkei is Etnica's first real attempt to combine the ethnic voice concept of track 2 with the dance friendly concept of track 3 and here you have the best track on the album since the opening. Again it isn't that psychedelic but those skipping female voices work wonders; they create a melody all their own around the beat. There are tribal drums. There are catchy psy/goa-esque melodies. A strong kickdrum is present througout. The skippng voices disappear around halfway through and reappear during the last minute or two. I like how everything works together although I can't saythe track is great as a whole. It's a good dance song. B

 

05. History is the third dance song on this album and I'm really starting to like Equator. Finally we have a more accentuated, driving melody. Supporting melodies wiggle around the main one. This is more to my liking than any psytrance dance song on this album so far. The alien-related voice samples are pretty good but it's the slow, steady build as the song progresses that's great. The tempo switches up. Sounds and melodies become increasingly better as the song progresses. I like the echoed main melody, something that's been done over a hundred thousand times probably and it never the less compliments. Following a short female voice sample, this becomes even better around the 7:50 mark. More Goa melodies are introduced around the sweet driving Goa band and rhythm. It's great. A Star Trek sample concludes things nicely. While not what I consider superb, this is one of the best songs on the album. B / B+

 

06. Vibra is the dance follow-up to History. It has a decent leading melody and some fine supporting sounds. Overall this track doesn't go anywhere interesting. There are some sublime chimes and a gentle female voice hymn is nice but the song has weak development as it progresses. It becomes more aggressive as swishy sounds and some hard spinning special effects are added in but they do little to interest me. The song isn't all that traveling either as fewer melodies and sounds take place. It's more of a progressive dance song but I can't see this being that fun to dance to. There isn't any strong hook let alone a hook really and yet there's nothing bad about it. This is one of the weaker dance song on Equator. C+

 

07. Resistance is the best dance song on the album. I was waiting for something attention arresting and this is interesting. The borg sample from Star Trek instantly makes this song darker. You'd already notice that from it's driving melodies and rhythm. I really like the gritty, strong and drivng melodies, the sustained chimes, notes, ambient, atmosphere, and the altered echoed voice effects. The melody changes up and gets more involved. This song is very dynamic, the melodies rising up from less high melody waves from the 4:45 - 5:30 mark. I'd say that's the peek but the song has more juice in it's engine than initially imagined. Hynotic, chopped up voice samples graze the beats as a slower and somewhat industrial, psytrance stomping beat is established. The vocals add chaos to an already angry machine and it slowly tampers off with twisted, altered voice samples that sound very unfriendly. This is a great, driving psytrance song and one of the top best on Equator. B+

 

08. Funkadelia is the second track I initially hated on this album. What the hell happened? I thought we were on a roll after the last several tracks. I don't like the fact that the voice samples from Independence Day, a damn conversation we've all heard before takes place throughout between Bill Pullman's character and the evil alien. The funky beat isn't that catchy. The melodies are weak. The only part or element I like on the whole album is the melody (as if climbing up and down a winding staircase) compiled with the ambient between 4:14 - 4:45. It sounds pleasent compared to all else and they repeat this atleast one or two more times. Why couldn't the song have really lifted off once this nice melody braiding moment took place I have no idea. The song goes right back to it's repeating conversation, Pullman's voice "Can there be peace between us. What do you want us to do?" And the damn songs logs along for several more minutes introducing virtually nothing new. It repeats it's high point melody combination which A), isn't high to begin with and , it's the least they could do in my opinion without getting a worse score from me and I'm sure many of their fans. This track is very unappealing overall. It's potentially decent moments are few and far between. It doesn't make me want to chill. It makes me want to skip to the next song and never look back or forward to hearing this one again. C-

 

09. 06'48" Baraka sounds like the true follow-up to the opening song. It's a powerful, engaging, intriguing, and memorable chill, down-tempo trance track. Developing a strong, stable, groovy core and sound, this world brings in new satisfying melodies and builds. The skipping voices sound fx compliment as the similar concept did in track 4. And in a atmosphereic dusk of wind the track is over before I knew it. Wow they could have added more layers and melodies and build this thing up to be even stronger, more like a kingdom but at nearly seven minutes I praise it for being great all the way. This is a strong song to a rather fairly good album with several great tracks. B+

 

 

In conclusion, I really like Equator overall. I admire and enjoy Etnica's ability in succeeding creating something different and catchy for the most part. It irritates me the several weak songs Etnica decided to throw into the track list. The good outshines the bad enough for Equator to deserve a solid, albeit not great score. For those who generally like ethnic-influenced voices, melodies, and tribal beats in their psytrance but not all the time (a la Juno Reactor relative some some ethnic concepts, tribal drums, etc) you may really enjoy this. It's also the last Etnica album I can honestly say is very well done overall. Nitrox had some good and great tracks too but it was a huge departure from psy and goatrance so let's focus on Equator. This has Goa melodies and some very strong dance songs. I like that alot. It brings the listener closer to the music because of the attractive sounds. Equator has one of the strongest and solid openings and closings as well. Some will remember Alien Protein as their last classic album and others will place Equator as their last great or good album. There are some very well done good and great Psy/Goa-inspired, driven dance songs. What Equator really boils down to is a fusion of Psy, Psytrance, trance, world-influenced electronica, chill, Goa, and Goa-influenced Down-Tempo. I think parts of this album are excellent, several tracks are disappointing, and atleast two-thirds is in the good and above range. Equator is overall a good album and my last favorite one by this once stunning, groundbreaking group.

 

 

Favorite tracks: 1, 4, 5, 7, 9.

 

 

B

 

8/10

 

 

Samples:

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ease.asp?id=125

[AlieNed]

NITROX was pretty much diaapontin to me , and more disaponting was a japanis version of CHROME

 

History is a brilliant album , specially 1st 5 track givin a whole picture of psychedelic journey , a tru trip to the inner world

 

for me this is the best album since IFO

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Etnica

Title: Equator

Label: Spirit Zone Recordings

Date: March, 1999

 

01. 10'03" Be On Go
02. 05'39" Patricia ... Our Happy
03. 06'49" Mad Crickets
04. 06'00" Trip In Transkei
05. 10'13" History
06. 11'29" Vibra
07. 08'40" Resistance
08. 08'59" Funkadelia
09. 06'48" Baraka

 

 

 

 

"My God...they're really from another world."

 

I think we can all agree that this project is legendary and may very well be from another world.  Their album Alien Protein is one of the greatest goa trance albums of all time.  Flawless, screaming goa trance.  You know it and I know it.  This is their second (technically third if you count Juggeling Alchemists) album and when it came out in 1999 the melodic days of Protein were in the rearview.  Gone, but not forgotten as they still used their goa mastery while exploring different areas of psychedelia. 

 

Be On Go is a thumping downtempo goa opener that is filled with layers.  Patricia isn't their best, but it's a pure tribal track with great percussion work.  Mad Crickets has a saunter and also shows how samples can be used effectively to enhance the groove.  Indicative of the time there is a techno influence in Trip In Transkeii which reminded me of the material in the FLA album Flavour of the Weak.  History took a little bit to get going, but to my ears sounded like M-run.  Good movement that doesn't stop.  Vibra gets on some serious Cydonia atmosphere with the eerie lead and industrial chunkiness.  Resistance continues the industrial atmosphere, but unlike Jon I don't feel this really goes anywhere.  The music at 5'36" just stops and any momentum it had (I was a tad bored by then) vanished.  Look, if you're naked with someone sitting backward on your head screaming "Woot woot!"  while trying to push a shopping cart full of pharmaceutical sludge uphill on an inclined tile floor, any momentum you had will vanish. 

 

Don't believe me?

 

 

 

Well, this track never recovers.

 

Funkadelia is a breakbeat journey with tribal elements as well as some goa flair.  I really liked the percussion in this one and the samples from Independence Day added a futuristic touch.  Baraka is eerie and mysterious downtempo with chopped vocals and more tribal percussion.  The beat was funky and had me wanting more.

 

If you are looking for Alien Protein II you're gonna start breaking sh*t.  This is entirely different yet still deep and moving.  This album is full of styles while continuing to keep the goa spirit alive.  I'll defend this album as my third favorite Etnica release due to its sound and variability.  Since I don't go to festivals I don't know how this would work on a dance floor, but I can tell you that it's great for home listening.

 

You wanna sh*t all over Chrome, I'm right there with you, but this one is worth the time.