Space Cat - Shapes Of Sound

[Guest Carahana]

Space Cat - Shapes Of Sound

 

 

Artist: Space Cat

Title: Shapes Of Sound

Label: BNE

Date: 2000

 

Track listing:

 

01. 09'17" Snorkelblaster

02. 08'23" Space Cat (Club Mix)

03. 08'12" The Game

04. 08'13" Mind Shocker

05. 08'33" Predator

06. 09'11" C4

07. 07'80" Rewind

08. 07'24" Deep Rising

 

Review:

 

Finally! The new album from Avi Algranati sees the light of day and at last

we get to hear his killer shapes of sound.The delay was supposedly due to

the fact that he didn't like the cover art, well he now has himself on the

cover so i doubt he's complaining too much:)Anyways, now getting into the

music. All tracks are produced by Avi himself except 'snorkelblaster' which

is Avi And Rajaram And Riktam and all are mixed into each other like the old

album.Its a pity that 2 tracks were already released on compilations,

snorkelblaster on the new TIP and deep rising on UFS 2.

Anyways never mind.Snorkelblaster is a great track..not as explosive as the

GMS remix..but all the old space cat sounds are there. Track 2, the clubmix

of 'space cat' is wonderful, the first few minutes leave u wondering why

its the remix and then suddenly that familiar melody crawls in and winds

away till the end..great! Track 3 , 'the gate' and its getting a darker

atmosphere now...nice but nothing too special.Track 4..and its

'mindshocker'..my favourite here! I love how the atomsphere/mood is darkish

but there is always the wonderful vibe and feeling going down the

track..dark but uplifting..characteristic of Avi's work. Track 5

'Predator'...beautiful sound games..a kinda happy track..not what the name

implies..but full of breaks and surprises..nice one, my second favourite!

Track 6 'C 4' which is the most talked about track on the album..it is

amazing..a psychedelic pre-dawn track.'Rewind' the next track is another

gem..nice 'tweaking sounds'..kinda groovy..just rewind your mind!.and

finally there is 'deep rising'..wonderful for those spacy morning

times..beautiful melody that moves the mind and the body. On the whole, a

wonderful creation, great arrangement of tracks and nice mixing as always

with Avi:) Dark acid music it is, but the happy moments are there..dive into

this one, dissect it and appreciate!boms!!

[Guest psytrancer]

Seems like I ordered this years ago and today there it was - just what my

hangover needed, twisted pumping funk!

 

Snorkelblaster is typically Space Cat - baby alligators, trippy percussive

sounds, swirling, bubbling and fast, hard synths....with some Infected style

voices chucked into the mix for fun! A storming opener which increases your

anticipation of what is to come.

The track Space Cat really defines the artist. That twisting sound you know so

well from Beam Me Up returns and holds it's own again, challenging you not to

become hooked once more. This remix is so clean, well produced and

intelligently layered you have to admire the shapes Avi creates.

The Gate has a majestic quality - sweeping synths glide past otherworld frogs,

slowly suggesting the glory that is achieved in the second half of the track.

This album feels like Beam Me Up, but smoother - more mature, all those

freaky, popping noises are there but this time tempered by presenting them

with deeper, wider landscapes.

Mind Shaker has proper Beam Me Up 'farting' sounds, not unlike Kreak...this

track has an obligatory sample from The Matrix !!!!!! ALL MUSIC PRODUCERS -

Enough is enough with The Matrix samples!!! This is a good track, but I don't

think it fulfills its early promise of mind shaking and ball grabbing.

Now we reach a real peak in this excellent album - Predator. This a very

danceable tune, peppered with minimalistic acid explosions leading to

magnificent 'acid trombones' sliding all over your mind. Followed by more

acid probing, twisting, prodding your psyche. The prey has no chance here,

never did. After a brief percussive respite, there is more, different acid

resonating and driving you through to the other the side......aaaaaaaaaargh my

head's gonna pop!

C4 seems like more of a 'club' tune - not so mad now but still a really good

track - laid back but still going for it.

Aaah - trance! Rewind has such a great head nodding synth, the usual croaking

frogs (Avi you should be Space Frog not Space Cat!). This great track is a

little reminiscent of Darshan's Spectra CD but much funkier and easier to love.

The last track is not a predictable slow number but a storming journey. Deep

Rising has BIG Gary Numan Synths. Pumping whilst gliding, like an eagle's

heart...swooping and soaring between psychedelic valleys full of chirping,

clicking, tripping THINGS!!

A great album then, only let down by the dodgy cover. I don't think it is dark

- nor happy - just funky and cool and trippy. 8.75/10

[Guest TRISTAN]

hehehe

What can i say...

THIS ALBUM IS PURE CRAP!!!

Avi`s never gonna achive something like the original Space Cat (which used to

be, my fav night track), Kreak, Cat On Mushroom or Funky (meaning - the first

album)...

This album is sometimes too clubby, sometimes empty, sometimes just sounds to

fill the empty spaces...

Snorkelblaster, Space Cat (Club Mix)and Deep Rising are really shitty.

nevermind, I personally didn`t like it.

AVI - Wake Up making money isn`t everything!

i wouldn`t consider this album as a sequel to Beam Me Up...

too commercial for me..

please forgive me

 

2.5/10 (just for the nice Mind Shocker)

[Guest Mascok]

good review tristan, i'm with you. i didnt like it at all

2/10

[Guest Dreamer]

I like it alot! All tracks were party killers here in Israel so it brings many

good memories..

the only track I didn't like is track 7. totally different style than the

others, but the rest are brilliant. especialy tracks 3,4,5 and 6!!

I'll give it 8/10.

[Guest Geomantic]

Avi Algranati is a good man and good artist (djing must!!!!!! improve) but this

albut is not Avi Algranati

i think its only about money.

a album was made in short time and it sound like this

THIS IS NOT PSY TRANCE!!!

sorry Avi

P.S. i'll keep come to u'r partys

[shahar@isratrance]

TRISTAN And Mascok - I think you`re right in THAT matter. The new album is

rather boring compared to the previous one, which was innovative. I must

admite - it`s the nitzhonot of the psytrance scene. Still, Avi is a matured

artist, who gained respect. Maybe he _did_ this cd for the money, but we don`t

have to love it do we?

[mars]

The music itself is good, i agree with the guys on the top, but...This album

has THE big illness of the year 2000: It is all the same after the second

track. too bad. 5.5/10.

[Jeto]

I agree with carahana... I heard this album.. I mean its like Spacey Morning

times... I expected much more..some tracks kinda boring...the old album was a

classic... but this one is nice too... maybe his other work will be better...

It is not so much clubby... nice melodies... etc... i would give it 7/10

[Guest Infected Max]

Not so bad than i expected reading those reviews....60% of the CD is crap but

Mindshocker saves the CD...

Predator also is not bad.

I guess Mascok gave 2/10 because it's Avi..and from Avi we expect a lot..

5/10 for me...no....4/10 because of the cover

[Guest mrsyed]

I think Avi has done a good job on this one. IMO Avi, has great production

skills but being a great producer does not mean you can write and compose a

really original track. His other asset is that he really brings the greatest

out of collaborations, Beam me up album was a testament to that. All the best

tracks were from collaborations from Simon to Offer on the penultimate track.

Most of his single tracks rely on one melody and just build up. On Shapes of

sound he plays it a bit better, he relies more on percussion so that the one

note of melody he plays or builds toward the end does not get overused. This

is the best thing he could do to overcome his shortcomings. Mindshocker is a

simple track but it's so energetic and builds in the right places. It's half

the greatness of Beam me up, but that it itself puts it above a lot of the

other releases. 7/10.

[Children]

Good Album ! Don't understand what's so bad with this album ? that's not "Beam

Me Up", that's simply different ! Like we can't compare "Classical Mushroom"

And "The Gathering", we can't compare this album and his previous one ? the

style is different ? personally I also like this style ? OK the sound quality

of some Tracks is really not great when you listen to this album with

headphones (like the beginning of Track 2 ... ARRRGHHH) ? BUT most the Tracks

here are pretty good ! Mind Shocker well suits its name for me And I also like

Tracks 1,3,5&8 (I'm sure Tracks 1&4 are PERFECT for dancing ? we really

recognize Riktam's touch in Track 1) ? NO Track 8 doesn't sound cheesy (don't

understand this new fashion people seem to have saying all new Israeli stuff

is cheesy stuff) ! This album is a 90% Avi only album, his previous one was a

work with different artists on nearly ALL the Tracks ! That's why this album

Tracks are similar And sound different compared to the ones of "Beam Me Up" !

Rating : 7/10

[Guest Carahana]

Its a really good album, not as great as 'beam me up'..but still..it is one of

the best releases of the year. And i dont understand why ppl say Avi released

this to make money , well isn't it the aim of all artist/musicians to SELL a

lot of albums and increase their audience worldwide? Or to sell a few records

to be called undeground artists? Keep the faith Avi.!!

[Basilisk]

Safe and conservative, taking no risks. Avi has much more talent than he shows on this album.

[Guest Acidhive]

In spite of what most people say here, I think this is a pretty good album. It

might not rock the world or something, but this is certainly not bad! Starts

off with Snorkelblaster, and from there on it's all pretty dark and quirky

sounding music. This actually reminded me a bit of Hux-Flux (although not as

wacky) All tracks are good, the best IMO being: Deep Rising.

[Guest Goa Spirit]

o.k heres another supporter of avi.. personallly i really liked this album..

mind shocker has all the makings of being a cult classic.. i actually liked

track 8, thought it was funky rather than cheesy.. and my personal opinion is

that this album is better than beam me up.. because this has more cohesion..

beam me up for me was too much like a comp/... after all we have erez and

simon on the same album :-)...

i'm sorry but i don't think avi has sold his soul to the devil of the

commercial trance world.. i would recommend this to anyone and everyone..

after all if you don't have mind shocker you don't have nothing :-)

 

bom!

[Guest spaced brat]

sounded too clean to me .i like it a bit dirtier,if you know wot i mean....and

the last track sucked. most of the cd seemed to be remixes of one idea

-snorkelblaster, with many variations on that.disappointing.

[Guest Stephen216[at]yahoo[dot]com]

Nice album !! Reminds me of Jaia meets Tim Shuldt-cystal clear production,

seemless melodies, nice stomp and every song is a a dance floor killer-I hate

Israelli cheese so this is one that defies all the stereotypes about Israelli

trance. Should be on the label 3dVision.Nice one Avi!!

[Guest Vir2alExp]

I was fond of the first album, but this is not my style. for me there's not

enough Acid sounds and its not dark enough, but don't get me wrong cus' the

album is OK but not the best, Fav' tracks is Predator, Snorkel Blaster, MInd

shocker Rating 7/10.(i agree with Spaced Brat It's to clean!

[Tatsu]

I don't understand what people in their reviews are bitchin' about. This album

is just great!!! Especially tracks nr. 6 and 7 are killers, but the others are

also good. I heard nearly every song on this album at parties and they really

rock the house. A must have!!

[Guest rx7style]

Oh man! I finally got this album! WOW!!! It's just what I was looking for.

Great effects, sounds, rhythms, and yes, MELODIES! I LIKE MELODIES! Very

good mastering of this album: quality is high, very nicely compiled.

Definately get this album! Original stuff... to the guy who said every track

after Snorkel Blaster sounds the same is an idiot. BUY BUY BUY! 9.5/10

[Guest [Anonymous]]

yes. if u like melodies, melodic goa...it's a great album.8/10

[Guest [Anonymous]]

Very bad CD ! 1/10.......

[Guest [Anonymous]]

" It's just what I was looking for. Great effects, sounds, rhythms, and yes,

MELODIES! I LIKE MELODIES! Very good mastering of this album: quality is high"

I second every word pal.. Good job avi.. 8.8/10

 

Just one more thing.. Track 4 is The Gate and not the Game but we can surely

excuse 'em.

[Rewind is cheesy indeed.. oh well.. 1 of 8..]

[Guest djcpr[at]hotmail[dot]com]

Do you like psytrance or do you think you like electronic dance music. This

album is a very good representation of progressive electronic dance musice

right now. Much more progressive than the tracks Oakenfold, Sasha, or

Dickweed play. So if you want to hear interesting sound mixed in dark and

progressive manner then this album should fill your cup.