Shift-Byte Me

[Ormion]

SHIFT-BYTE ME

Crystal Matrix 2006

 

 

TRACKLIST:

1. Dubmention (Breakbeat rmx)

2. The Rift

3. Dune II

4. Pagan Sunrise

5. Sin In Motion

6. Slide

7. DMMT-Real Men Don’t Dance (Shift rmx)

8. Byte Me

9. Ear Dis

10. Komatose

 

Mastered by Shift

Artwork by Scarah

 

 

Shift is Chris Hoy, famous South African producer with dozens of tracks in several compilations, two albums with the Twisted System project, one album with the Pitch Hikers project and owner/co-owner of Timecode and Nexus Media records! Oh, I forgot… this is his third solo album!

 

Chris decided to open his new album with a non-so-typical-for-a-SA-artist track; a remix in Dubmention by Simba & Judah. Who are they? Dunno actually, nor their track. I guess the original may be a dub, d’n’bass old skool track. D’y’ know?. Now, Chris put many of his style in this track, with all the phat sounds of the South Africa scene, especially the hi-hats and the heavy, though groovy bass. As you already have guessed from the title, the track is breakbeat with great drum programming. Chris has made already a breakbeat track in the Broken compilation and he proves that he can do it as good as the 4/4 kick. Dubmention is full with acid sounds and I get a colorful ‘’image’’ every time I listen to it. It also has a singing sample taken from the original. Maybe this is the worst thing of the track if you hate singing. I hate singing too but!… the style and the whole feeling of this track, together with the fact that it’s a remix make me like it a lot in spite of the singing part (After all it’s not pop or hip-hop). A nice surprise and a nice track too,especially for the breakbeat lovers.

The Rift: Things are getting more Techno style here. The first minutes are kind of minimalistic for South Africa style but soon a simple melody makes the track more interesting. The ‘’squeeze me more’’ effect is here and in 4’ a second simple but good melody starts to build. The last two minutes are the most powerful, with some dark pads and with lot of acid. Very good track but not such powerful as I expected.

Okay, time for some serious stuff. Dune II is the most Shift styled track of the album and the one the SA psyheads will enjoy the most IMO. The bassline is fast and aggressive and you can hear a sound taken from the Push It track (Excession album). Actually this track has the same feeling with Push It since it has a dark feeling but it’s good for morning dancing too. This is what Shift calls Twilight Psy? Anyway, this track will keep you interesting with nice bass key notes changes, nice effects and great melodies perfectly balanced between light and dark. Actually there is an awesome melody break in the middle of the track and an even better old school style melody in the last part. By far the best track of the cd and one of the best in 2006. Amaaazinfg stuff!

Pagan Sunrise…It reminds you the Goa days, huh? Well this is not Goa of course but it certainly has an old school feeling without be old school. Although the style is still full on, with all these fast basslines and the effects flying around, it has a warm feeling in it. There is also melody kinda old school-full on but kind of incomplete too IMO. I was hoping for more power here and more melodic lines, but this is definitely a quality morning full on, miles away from the Astrix style clones cheesy crap. I really want to listen a Goa track by Chris, Who knows?….

Sin In Motion now, is again more Shift style with phat snares and powerful basslines. The first minutes aren’t something great, but the second half is very good. A nice emotional pad melody and more acidic lines after that. Again a nice track, though not that powerful as I expected (again). The only sure is that it’s a track more emotional than other Chris’ tracks IMO and this is something good.

Slide is the track I was curious the most after the comments in Psyshop and other sites. ‘’Retro feeling…’’. though it would have some Old school Psy elements but this goes even further to the past… Ok, for the start we get a happy melody-Pitch Hikers style and a really good bassline, some shift squeezy pads and suddenly a Belgian Techno style melody! Actually the melody reminds me a Belgian Techno artist called The B-Sides. Also, we get a great half minute climax and a great leading melody for the end. This track makes me smile every time I listen to it. It’s groovy, it’s happy, it’s powerful and it is NOT cheesy. Retro power!

Real Men Don’t Dance is another track by other artist remixed by Shift. I have no idea what the original was, but this is a powerful track with rockin melodies and some trippy moments. Just like Pagan Sunrise this one is more morning and much more groovy. Like Slide you’ll get a Retro feeling in it. Nice one!

Byte Me: Ok, almost every album has its bad moments and this track is the one here. Byte Me is more in the Israeli style morning full on. Although it still has the phat production of the SA style, it sounds more cheesy than the usual. Specifically there is a melody that ruins the track IMO. The samples are good, the production is awesome but the track not that great. It’s not a bad track and except this melody the rest of the track is good. Comparable to other morning full on tracks is way better, but for the quality of Shift it’s not good.

Ear Dis: Ear Dis is also the name of an Earth Nation track BTW. This is a midtempo track around 130-135 bpm. This sounds really Techno style, with a nice smooth bass and some strange for Psy track samples. Soon a melody similar to the bass hits the floor and makes you move. That’s it! After all it lasts only only 05’28’’. Well the question is simple, right? Good or bad? Well, when I first listened to it I found it slow, too techno styled and minimal,but soon I realised that it’s a great track. It’s the track that you want to listen after a three hours powerful psy dj set, just too dance in slower rate. Nice one not only for South Africa Psy lovers.

Last track is a mid-downtempo track again with nice melodies and great rhythm. It is again breakbeat style and really phat! Again a track perfect for the start or the end of a powerful set. Maybe the samples are a bit annoying but it’s good stuff again.

 

Overall, One is sure: this is the most experimental Shift album so far. Although all the tracks have the well known SA phat sounds, they are all different. Tech, trance, morning, dark, 4/4, breakbeat, fast downtempo, everything is here.

So, it’s good? Well it’s certainly quality music, better than other Full On releases, but before you buy it ask yourself this question: Do you like only the fast, aggressive, darker SA style, like the previous Shift albums? Then maybe you’ll be dissapointed in this. Are you ready to listen to something more different than the usual SA stuff? Then go get it! Although it has nothing to do with his masterpiece album Excession, it’s very good.

 

Fav: 2,3(!!!),4,5,6(!!),9,10

 

+:

-Variation of styles

-Each track has its own character.

-Finally some downtempo Shift tracks. (Time for an ambient)

 

-:

-Less powerful than his previous albums.

-Byte Me track is kinda cheesy for the SA standards.

[Nefarious]

A bit 'hit and miss'.

 

Some bloody awful samples. ie Dubmention and Ear Dis.

 

Byte me is a nice track despite its "been done before" style.

 

When the few tracks that really work get rolling, the arrangements and sounds come together for a truly great, as usual, Shift experience. Very nice.

 

Just not enough captivating moments to make me class this with Shift's best work.

 

A nice album, but I cant help feeling that somewhere we got lost along the way.

 

Not my style of cover/artwork either.

 

Not bad, just not great.

[Shimmer]

Yep, Nefarious. You said it. Some parts just come off like bad Euro...(dare I say it, "Tamir")...

 

I guess this is the result of a man who is working too hard on too many things...

 

There's nothing here that's awful, but there's nothing here that's brilliant...

 

And the cover art...well...everyone knows what everyone thinks of it...

[FrozenRealm]

Yep, Nefarious. You said it. Some parts just come off like bad Euro...(dare I say it, "Tamir")...

 

I guess this is the result of a man who is working too hard on too many things...

 

There's nothing here that's awful, but there's nothing here that's brilliant...

 

And the cover art...well...everyone knows what everyone thinks of it...

526763[/snapback]

Very well put.. I actually like the tracks Ear Dis and Slide the most, but the rest is really mediocre compared to Shifts older stuff... And the breakbeat stuff ain't no good too imo.

Too bad I hope his future tracks will suprise me again!

[euchkuh]

I keep asking myself, why ruining the first track with the awful singing? but besides that the album sounds good. nothing special though.

[Sour Milk]

Was impressed by tracks 1,2 and specially 3.

[Pandemonium]

I only enjoyed track #4, Pagan Sunrise, besides for that track this album is disposable IMO.

[Basilisk]

I guess I like this a little more than most people!

http://www.ektoplazm.com/reviews/shift-byte-me/

[Ormion]

I like more than I used to.

Dune II is still excellent, Slide still funny and energetic and Sin In Motion a great track.

 

But it's still worse than the others Shift album.

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: sHiFt

Title: Byte Me

Label: Crystal Matrix

Date: May, 2006

 

1. Dubmention (Breakbeat rmx)
2. The Rift
3. Dune II
4. Pagan Sunrise
5. Sin In Motion
6. Slide
7. DMMT - Real Men Don’t Dance (Shift rmx)
8. Byte Me
9. Ear Dis
10. Komatose

 

"Women have this weird myth that you can tell how good a guy is in bed by how good he is on the dance floor."

 

 

Stop staring b*tches the line forms to the left!

 

 

By this time South Afrikaner Chris Hoy (sHiFt, and part of the Pitch Hikers and Twisted System) had 2 solo albums under his belt and would be hard pressed to top his previous effort Excession. Of which I think actually ripped open a thin slice of heaven so the Gods could see what the hell was going on down here.

 

And after hearing this album promptly closed that hole as those same deities sighed a collective...meh. What he did was bring some experimental creativity to his sound. I like blistering acid deluges as much as the next guy, but another Excession wouldn't see his music mature. You still have the big beats and more acid than a Dead show, but he incorporates different styles into his music. But don't think he's gone all commercial on you even if the sound is less aggressive in spots. If we're being honest though this is nowhere near as potent and blistering as his second album.

 

Dubmention sets the tone with big beats as only he can do. Yeah it's got singing in it, but it's Chris Hoy so he's earned some artistic capital. The title track was just full on nonsense that could've been done by Aquatica or Ananda Shake. Ear Dis has a house swagger with a thunderous kick (and the requisite vocal annoyance that follows house music like a fart in a comforter). Komatose is as close as he's ever gotten to downtempo.

 

So those four tracks were unexpected. You might like 'em and you might get carpel tunnel from leaning on that skip button. Dune II is the best on here with The Rift and Sin In Motion also being quite solid. Slide, Pagan Sunrise and Real Men Don't Dance round things out. This album had a testing the waters feel to it. Let me try some sh*t and see what the kiddies say.

 

Good, but this one isn't at the top of his resume.

 

Psyshop

 

Mdk