Various Artists - Spindrive Vol. 2

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Artist: Various

Title: Spindrive Vol. 2

Label: Spintwist Records

Format: CD

Released: May, 2006

 

 

Review:

 

Spintwist Records is a relatively young German label, focusing on progressive psytrance, which was launched late last year with the release of the compilation "Spindrive Vol. 1". Behind the label is Hannes Klitta, who some might know for his musical projects Vaishiyas and Sync - both of whom have just released full-length albums on Spintwist Records.

 

The newest release from the label is the 2nd episode in "Spindrive" series, "Spindrive Vol. 2" - once again with a tracklist containing artists known for their traditional "German" progressive style, plus a few relatively unknown acts.

 

 

01. Odiseo - Sky [138 BPM]

The first track is by Odiseo from Mexico, probably more known for the sideprojects Ski-Fi and Xibalba, with releases on Plusquam, Planet B.E.N., Sinn Tec and many more. "Sky" is a quite typical German-styled progressive festival track with a static groove, smooth swoosh's, subtle vocal-effects and generally a very positive daytime-atmosphere. An ok opener, without really standing out.

 

02. Monotron - Robotic Dreams [137 BPM]

Things get a bit more intense with the appearance of the new Brazilian project Monotron, who got their first release on the first "Spindrive" compilation. Since I hadn't heard that, I didn't really knew what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised with "Robotic Dreams" - although very heavy on "I, Robot" samples. It's a warm and quite energetic morning tune, somewhere between minimal and full on, with a plethora of lush, uplifting effects. Great track.

 

03. Emphacis - Satnight [138 BPM]

"Satnight" is the first release by the new German duo Emphacis, and it's another pleasant surprise. It's a quite typical groovy German-styled progressive festival tune, but where the majority of the releases in this style seems quite dull to me, this contains some really attractive melodies, and I just love the work they did on the chopped-up voice-samples. Promising debut release.

 

04. Visua - Spindrive [137 BPM]

Visua is the second artist from Mexico to appear on the compilation, and what a track this is. "Spindrive" starts with a truly stunning intro, and the very atmospheric effects are maintained throughout the track. A delicious, smooth tune with very laidback grooves, huge and dreamy pads in the background and sweet, soothing melodies. A really nice morning tune, my favourite on the compilation.

 

05. Vaishiyas - Recall [136 BPM]

Next up is the owner of Spintwist Records, Hannes Klitta with his musical project Vaishiyas, where he just recently released his 2nd full-length album "Flaxible". "Recall" is a continuation of the style of the album, but without any vocals, and generally it seems more dynamic on the grooves, and a bit less melodic. A good track overall, and I would say that it is better than the standard on the album.

 

06. Aerospace - Cosmix [136 BPM]

DJ Guyshanti from Israel, previously a member of Evil Drug Lords, recently released his debut-album, "Earth" under his solo-project Aerospace. The album received a lot of positive feedback, but I found it quite average, flat on the production side, and disfigured by some questionable use of voice and vocal-samples. Luckily "Cosmix" is better than the album though - the grooves are more to my liking, and the lovely, naive melodies seem much more elaborate. Cool morning tune.

 

07. FM - Receiving In My Minds [139 BPM]

FM is the initials of Fabio and Magical - two German DJ's and producers, who's been releasing and playing for years now. It's a bit faster than I've come to expect from these guys, but the production is very typical Fabio - the bass is deep and heavy bass, and the effects are quite synthetic. It didn't really grab me as very interesting, but it's without a doubt a track with lots of power for the daytime dancefloors.

 

08. Symphonix - Rainy Days [136 BPM]

The final track is by the two German brothers Montagu & Golkonda, well-known as organisers of the Tshitraka festival, for their DJ-sets, and for their musical projects Symphonix and True Lies. "Rainy Days" contains some very corny voice-samples with heavy german accent, and the track itself is quite mediocre, with an extremely static groove and standard-effects. I was expecting something better.

 

 

Bottom line:

 

"Spindrive Vol. 2" will be a welcome addition in the collection of fans of the typical German-style progressive psytrance. In my opinion, a lot of releases in this style tend to be rather dull, but Spintwist Records did a pretty good job collecting some tunes with both qualities for the outdoor daytime dancefloors, but also a bit more depth than I was expecting. Ironically enough, the weakest points for me were by some of the more well-established artists, while newer producers as Monotron, Visua and Emphacis provided some promising works.

 

"Spindrive Vol. 2" isn't a truly groundbreaking or genre-crossing release, but what you'll get is a pretty good, no-bullshit, collection of progressive psytrance tunes.

 

 

Favourites:

 

2 (!), 3, 4 (!!!), 5, 6

 

 

Verdict:

 

7/10

 

 

Link:

 

Spintwist Records: http://www.spintwist.de