Darshan - Spectra

[Children]

Darshan - Spectra

 

 

Artist: Darshan

Title: Spectra

Label: Flying Rhino

Date: 1999

 

Track listing:

 

01. 09'56" Speed Freak

02. 10'31" Excursion

03. 08'10" Phased Transition

04. 09'21" Spectra

05. 09'38" Nexus Plexus

06. 10'08" Irrelevant Elephant

07. 09'11" 1 Ohm

08. 09'03" Og

 

Review:

 

Not a too bad CD (a dark one, same style than his previous album : Awakening)

... I slightly prefer it to Awakening cause I like 2 Tracks : 2 and 3 ! Rating

: 5/10

[Guest psytrancer]

I thought Awakenings was an awesome example of minimalist psytrance. This, in

my humble opinion, is a bit harder and can feel a bit like a bad trip in

places. The delicious flow of their first album has been replaced with

harsher, technoey beats. Its not as epic, but still has some great moments.

5/10 also!

[Guest Kvin2000]

I like it alot. It took some time to sink in because it is not very dramatic or

ever changing and it is very minimalistic but now I think it is great. Very

spacy psytrance that just takes to other places.

[Guest tb[at]biogate[dot]com]

After Darshans previous releases I has VERY high expectations on this CD.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as anything else I've heard with them. The first

song I heard was Speed Freak, which is the first song on the album. It sounds

like a bad 80-techno song! Irrelevant Elephant is the best track, but it

isn't very good... I'm sorry, but I can't recommend this at all!!!  TB

[Guest here[at]coldmail[dot]com]

I have this and its excellent, but have been wanting to get "Awakenings" for

ages, and it don't hang around Australia a lot... interested in a swap?

[freak51]

Awakenings is a far better release, track-wise. However, this record does work

as a whole entity when you have a full hour-and-a-bit to melt into the couch

with a nice martini and some BC hydroponic. It does take quite a few listens

to be able to get into the right mood for this record; it's not quite as

accessible as Awakenings. But can you really blame them; I mean, after that

record, no way could they do any more with that sound - they totally

monopolized that head space, no further room to grow. They pretty much had to

go off in a different direction. The only tracks that are really useful to

play on their own are Irrelevant Elephant and the excellent 0G. However, if

they [Grant/Collins I think?] continue to make music together, I believe

they'll continue to refine their style and make the feral dreams come back.

I'm betting this is a transition album.

[Guest djonanis[at]hotmail[dot]com]

One of the bests releases in the 99.

Beautifull minimal psytrance. Traks 2 and 3 are amazing if you mix them

continiously.

Of course it is a FR production.

Go for it if you dare...

[Guest Magic Plant]

The track Spectra is very nice to listen to in the background.

[freak51]

This is like time lapse photography. Every time I listen to it, it seems to

evolve. Incredibly, I think I like this record as much as Awakenings now.

This is looking like one of those timeless masterpieces I'll keep long after

I've grown tired and dumped of most of my trance CDs.

[Guest Baboon]

I'll just say one thing...... this album is a REAL journey... from the

beginning to the end.... get it! and enjoy....

[Guest Isra-Alien]

I own this one pretty much. it (along with P.cok - Acid Trooper) opened my mind

to the minimalistic side of trance. Although nowadays I think I extracted the

genre. After the excellent Awakenings, my expectations were quite high, so I

was very disappointmented at first listen. Where are all the uplifting vibes

and melodies I wondered? All I heard was a hard bassline and some weird

noises, definitely not the trance I used to hear. But this album needs to grow

on you. Only after the 10th time I understood its greatness. This album is so

powerful and strong that he doesn't need any melodies. T1 is a strange fast

techno tune, which seems to be a good introduction for the rest. Next, T2 + T3

fits perfectly into eachother. The start of T3 with all the noises and when

only the bassline remains after couple of minuets is very good, plus the

excellent sample (very familiar to the one on Black Magic) make it a pure

jewel. T4 is a nice relaxed track, to industrial and noisy to be classified as

ambient. T5 is the only tune here with a melody and it's really a melody... I

think T6 is the worst one. Too fast and the drums are pretty annoying... the

last two 2 tracks are combined together and make an uplifting end to this

journey, completing with 0G's (not og! 0G = zero gravity) superb samples!

Overall, an absolutely incredible record, 9.5/10, and if you don't like at

first, just listen again and again and again... worked fine to me =) the only

thing that bothers me is the design - very boring and simple. Looks like a

heavy metal album... maybe that was the intention...

[Guest Arthur]

Phased Transition WOW WHAT a TRACK !!!!

[GaySatanicHippie]

Darshans best work, 2,3,4,5, are all extremely good the rest not as good, but

four tracks that are really worth it, buy it!!!

[Guest ExTaTiC]

Biggest crap I`ve ever listen to...If u wanna hear the real Darshan, get

Awakening.

[Guest ckkm[at]post[dot]cz]

the best album - space trip ive ever heard. just put in player, close your eyes

end fly ;o)

10*10

[mahoney]

a pure journey thorugh magnetic fields filled with darkness, energy and

mindblowing sounds.

 

I think that this is a part of their evolution and I think their 3´rd album (if

there will be one?) will be even better! The Awakening has more good tracks,

but this is really a journey!

[Guest cumber]

is it just me, or are quite a few of the 'lead' type sounds in irrelevant

elephant actually coming from samples of a real elephant? If not then full

marks to darshan for making such a vivid sound-picture, this track suggested

"elephant" to me even before I found out what it was called! As for a review

of the album it's really nice, yeah sure not as accessible as awakenings and

yes the drum patterns are more leaning toward techno in places (this is not at

all a bad thing) but if you're looking for interesting ideas this here's the

goods, keep an ear out especially in track 1: just when you were wondering how

such a slow breaky tune got the name "speed freak", this hollow distorted

kickdrum comes in followed by a speedy breakbeat and the whole thing threatens

to break out into 200bpm gabber for a moment...and then in comes the

half-speed break again and that distorted kick is actually playing along with

the hihat...nice.

[Guest Koirraaah]

Excellent dark voyage.

[seraph]

This is very weird, experimental album....It is not that epic like AWAKENING

but it is still very good...The style is completely different from first

album. Best tracks are : 2,3,5,6...

8/10

[madpup]

This album lacks the Beauty of Awakening, it is really harsh and ugly. Spectra

is a good track, but not that special none the less. It is fair enough to

expect the artists sound to evolve, but i cant help but feel massively

dissapointed by this album. There is nothing here that 1000 other psy trance

albums havent got.

[Guest ?? slink ??]

A GEM THAT NEEDS TIME TO DEVELOP. those who love their uplifting trance should

probably not embark on this dark, somewhat minimalistic journey. its an

interesting album. like most reviews here, when i bought it i was somewhat

disappointed, but still gave it a go and soon started to get into it. as far

as the quality goes the wierd sounds and sampling is second to none. amazing

production. and as other have said, its best listened to as a whole [with

headphones on and the lights out!] as it is a real serious head trip once you

get into it. very much designed as a whole album rather than a collection of

tracks. a brave release from Darshan now some 3 years old, and only recently

are some other psytrance groups catching onto this sound. love the dark

flavour of this album. please give this album a chance, it will reward you.

8/10

[Guest Alien]

Excellent I only wish more artists had the insight to follow this concept. The

songs are varied and thus creating a sort of journey. This album has great

shelf life. It may not be classic but it is very satisfying.

9/10

[Guest Davidtolsn]

hard to believe this came after awakening... it isn't nearly as good. it sounds

much more "amateur" sounding, and this especially comes out on track 1 (which

is the only REALLY bad track). track 6 is good, but the rest are average and

not really worth the time. there aren't any good melodies here like there were

in awakening... it was disappointing. still, since there's only 1 track i

really don't like, i give it 6/10.

[SkeletonMan]

 

Label: Flying Rhino Records

Catalog#: AFR CD 019

Format: CD

Country: UK

Released: 1999

 

I enter nearly all my cd's into my pc so I can hear them via Itunes and my Ipod. I know, very cheesy You are supposed to carefully select a cd from the shelves, perhaps enjoy the luxury of taking the cd-case out of a cardboard box (the splendor !), place the cd in the player, press play with held back breath and wait for the music to soothe your mind. Call me a lazy sod, if you will. I enter them in my pc so it's all available at the tip of a finger. This also enables me to categorize my cds for improved shuffling if I'm in the mood for that.

 

All this just to say, that Darshan's "Spectra" - in line with my expectations and the categorization on discogs - was categorized as trance on my pc and, hence, in my mind.

 

Perhaps therefore this album puzzled me for a long time. I expected trance, but this is not trance. Some sort of chill-out rather, so if you are looking for dance madness, I suggest you look further.

 

As for me, it helped realising that I should enjoy this album as a chill-out album and not psytrance. Except for track 6 all trax are straight or border chill-out. Still, even with my mind set for atmosphere more than energy, this album doesn't do it for me. The tracks are going nowhere to the point of boredom. Surely, if I wanted chill-out, there's so much more, so much better out there. And if I wanted semi-early goa, there are so many other albums from this period that are way more interesting.

 

Two thumbs down, I'm afraid, from SkeletonMan on this one. Would love to see other reviews of this album, though, as I understand it's considered a rarity and sought after. And I have no idea why ...

[Jon Cocco]

I think he simply wanted to try something different, more slow/chill, less dark goa-esque. This is nothing like AWAKENING.

 

I'd love to hear a follow-up to Awakening but who knows whatever happened to him. Now that goa's back with Suntrip, will this help bring some of the masters out of the old woodwork who stopped producing the great, more imaginative stuff? I don't know. I'd love to hear "modern and new" darker goatrance like MFG's Project Genesis and Darshan's Awakening.

 

I never heard Spectra so it's unfair for me to bash it. I heard samples which I thought were pretty lackluster, sometimes boring. Some of it did sound interesting however. The styles completely different so initially I was disappointed because I like Awakening and was hoping for something in that dark, driving goatrance style.

 

 

Samples

 

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=84