DeathPosture Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 V/A - Peakopath Hi-res cover: front Artist: Various Title: Peakopath Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Peak Records (Switzerland) Cat. #: PR010 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 6 October 2006 Track listing: 01. 01’03” Master Margherita feat. Tanina Munchkina – Bonkers (Intro) 02. 07’27” Little Pumpkin vs. Noisy Pipes - DTC 03. 06’20” EVP - Kaepirinha 04. 07’14” Yab-Yum - Invincible 05. 08’27” Atriohm - Lost 06. 07’02” Electrypnose vs. Highko – Internal Moves 07. 06’57” Yab-Yum & Ocelot – Put Another Synth On The Barbie 08. 07’23” Drumatik – Born To Be Wild 09. 07’13” Clockstoppers – Magical Places 10. 06’52” Ocelot – Minor Deviant 11. 07’31” Dimitri Zara vs. Synthogen – Escom 12. 02’02” Flooting Grooves & Dymons – Whatwasthat (Outro) Stream: http://tinyurl.com/su2lf (all tracks!) Review: 10th anniversary peak… With Peakopath Swiss label Peak Records is celebrating their 10th release… Over the last 3 years, this elusive label has released one smash hit after another, ranging from mellow ambient compilations to hard-hitting, trance-inducing night time stompers… And best of all – everything has been top drawer material. From the groundbreaking Electrypnose album Le Tireur De Ficelles to Drumatik’s fun-filled debut album Peak Process + of course all the wonderfully versatile compilations with Peaking In Tongues and Hocus Peakus right on top of the cool list. Seriously, Peak Records has not had a single mediocre release and I pretty much trust the musical taste of Gaspard, Ajja & Margherita blindly. These cyber-hippies know their shit and they have yet to let me down… And now I think it’s time to start the review before this fanboy bubble bursts… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Master Margherita feat. Tanina Munchkina – Bonkers (Intro) ”The path to the peak is rugged but sound. The sane stains the feet where graces are bound around the bend on higher ground. The mind is lost. The peak is found.” Moreno Antognini aka. Master Margherita is the guy responsible for balancing out all the Peak psytrance with some chilled, laid-back ambient and chilled grooves... He does this both compiling chill-compilations, but also by producing his own downtempo tracks… On this track he’s joined by fellow Peakster Tanina Munchkina, and together they’ve created another lovely intro preparing the listener for another trip down Peak Avenue…. Lovely! #02: Little Pumpkin vs. Noisy Pipes – DTC [145 BPM] The tracks are ‘slightly’ mixed to ensure a smooth, break-free experience and we drift seamlessly into the next track. Little Pumpkin (Caroline Chakarian) is joined by Noisy Pipes (Nicolas Zappa) from France on this the first trance track… And we start out with something that’s not too complicated. This is pretty straightforward psytrance that slowly evolves into a subtle floor burner… The bassline is maybe a little blunt, but the funny samples help a lot… Not a stand-out track, but certainly not a filler either… #03: EVP – Kaepirinha [148 BPM] UK-producer EVP (Alex Diplock who is also one half of Reality Grid) released the brilliant debut album Harmonic Module on Wild Thing Records in 2005. A wonderful album which really showcased Alex’ ripe musical talent with its unique underground sound melodic style rooted deep in old-school psychedelia…This track is entitled 'Kaepirinha' which I’m told is an anagrammatic twist inspired by a Brazilian drink, and yeah, it certainly does sound like someone’s been sipping on grandpa’s old cough medicine… Like every EVP I’ve ever heard, this is deeply melodic, synth-ridden, multilayered, analogue mayhem… Acid-filled like in the good old days, but with 2006 production… Simply lovely! #04: Yab-Yum – Invincible [146 BPM] Yab-Yum is the love child of Peak Records founders Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu and everything I’ve heard from these guys have been sheer class… And this fun-filled, party-tool is no exception… … No disappointing lows and no over-the-top highs either. Just pure, passionate psytrance made by a couple of guys who really know their way around the studio… Sweet! #05: Atriohm – Lost [148 BPM] Next up is a track by the Atriohm duo from Macedonia (Leonid & Aleksandar Golcev). These guys have released a bunch of really hot, hugely atmospheric tracks on especially Peak, but also great tracks on Ajana and Parvati Records… And the atmospheric touch is also very much present here… This is spooky stuff, which would go down well in the beginning of a dark horror-trance set… The trademark ‘crackling’ sounds are all over the place helping in creating an eerie, haunting mood… Nice stuff, though I could have wished for some extra punch every now and again. But it’s still a tasty little beast… #06: Electrypnose vs. Highko – Internal Moves [151 BPM] A Peak Records release wouldn’t be complete without a track by my personal hero, Swiss psytrance juggler Vince Le Barde… His impressive back-catalogue of 3 full albums and more than 20 compilation tracks have been accomplished in less than 3 years – and more importantly, without compromising the quality of any of those tracks… Now that’s impressive! On this track Vince is joined by German producer Heiko Quast. In the past I’ve had some problems fully appreciating his often VERY fast above-150-BPM gabba-like tracks and yes, this track is also a tad too fast for me… Certainly there are some great passages here, and I’d like to think that Vince’s input have balanced things out a bit… But generally speaking, this is too hectic for me… Brace yourself! #07: Yab-Yum & Ocelot – Put Another Synth On The Barbie [146 BPM] “Which is the type of acid that actually make you fly?” Next up is a track much more to my liking. And is this a match made in heaven or what? I’ve already written just how much I like Yab-Yum’s work and on this track they’re joined by another psytrance heavy weight champion, namely Ocelot - American producer Aaron Peacock who released his splendid album VectorSelector last year on the Dropout Productions label. And yes, this track is absolutely gobsmacking! From the heavily distorted rhythm section to the trippy acid lines… From the funny Ali G samples to the twirling synth melodies… From the banging bassline to the tons of weird little quirks and surprising turns. This is, hand down, the best track here! I love every second of it! Perfect! #08: Drumatik – Born To Be Wild [148 BPM] “Through thermal mapping we've generated a rough three dimensional image of the structure. It's massive!” Swiss producer Benjamin Klingemann is another Peak regular. His debut album Peak Process was basically a feature-length track packed to the rim with oddball, funny psytrance in an extremely versatile style… Constantly evolving, sample-heavy stuff that seldom has let me down… And this track is just what you’d expect from Ben, though a tad faster than usual… But it’s still a refreshing take on upbeat psytrance… Trippy samples, rapid changes in pace, spacey atmosphere and the usual dose of humorous samples and nifty little bits and pieces… All cooked up in a lovely night time stew by Drumatik. Very tasty! #09: Clockstoppers – Magical Places [150 BPM] Clockstoppers is a new project consisting of Maxim Galinov (Terranoise) and Pavel Shkolnikov… And as the BPM count so mercilessly reveals, this is another very fast-paced track… Hard to the core and relentlessly fast… Pounding away at an incredible speed like there’s no tomorrow… As the Electrypnose/Highko track there certainly are lots of interesting parts here, but generally speaking it’s still a little too fast for my taste… I can barely breathe thru the middle part… Phew! #10: Ocelot – Minor Deviant [148 BPM] Another Peacock track thrown in for good measure… This is more acid-pump, synth-heavy, bass-ridden night time trance with an impressive punch… The versatility is not as rich as the previous Ocelot track, but it still packs an impressive groove seldom seen in 148 BPM psytrance… It’s subtle somehow, yet still very trippy… Good without being overly impressive. A subtle and funky groove track that will especially well as a transition tool for DJs… Neat! #11: Dimitri Zara vs. Synthogen – Escom [148 BPM] Dimitri Zara and Gregori Alexatos (Synthogen) are from Germany and this is my first encounter with their musical antics… And by antics, I really do mean antics. This is non-conformist psytrance with a high level of experimentation… Laser stabs, pounding basslines, high pitched acid lines and tons of interweaved sonic audio excursions… Highly eclectic and very different from anything else on this compilation… A bold and very brave move on Peak’s behalf… Very tight! I totally dig it! #12: Flooting Grooves & Dymons – Whatwasthat (Outro) As usual we close things off the same way it started… With a shorter downbeat track, this time conjured by Peak regulars Pearce van der Merwe and Daniel Symons… This is an electro-soaked little snippet that lets you come down off the trip and catch your breath again… Another fine, above-par Peak Records compilation is ready to conquer the psytrance world… As always the quality level is high and there’s not even the slightest indication of a lame track here… Sure, the two tracks pounding away above the 150 BPM count didn’t really agree with me all that much, but besides from those I dig most of the tracks here… And there are even a handful of really excellent stand-out tracks which make this a recommended purchase. The cover art is in the usual lovely Peak style and it will look great on your shelf next to the rest of the Peak back catalogue. Well done you Peaking Hippie Tie-dye Cooperative Bunch of Swiss Nutters… I can’t wait for the next 10 releases to hit the airwaves… And I know I’ve been yapping on about this forever, but please, pretty please, bring on the damn Yab-Yum album already… We’re starving here! Anyway, this is a release that will cater to both hardened Peak fans, but it will also appeal widely to fans of faster, night-orientated psytrance with an edge… Swiss anti-cheese style! It’s real nice, so I’d recommend any serious psytrance to check it out… Enjoy! Favourites: 3(!), 4, 7(!!), 8(!), 11(!) DeathPosture External links: Peak Records: http://www.peaking-goddess.com Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/805183 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/u6q9p Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/takdo Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/y2vfxf Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/y4nqph Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y4hzox Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/tp6s8 Psybuy: http://tinyurl.com/y2294e Play: http://tinyurl.com/y68sqr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psydmt Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Wicked loving this muchly!! Very psychedelic and as usual not too full on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaZeD Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Seriously, Peak Records has not had a single mediocre release and I pretty much trust the musical taste of Gaspard, Ajja & Margherita blindly. These cyber-hippies know their shit and they have yet to let me down… 623443[/snapback] Great review, and well said, everything from Peak is indeed been high quality, this is the reason I allways look forward to another Peak release. ...It's actually dedicated to Syd Barrett, the acid casualty from Pink Floyd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauryn Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 yaaaahhhh it rocks! IMO, one of the strongest releases from Peak... My favorites are EVP, Yab Yum, Electrypnose vs Highko, Ocelot vs Yab Yum, Ocelot, and Clockstoppers tracks...they all rock the dancefloor... Can't wait for the Yab yum release...coming sometime soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychedelic_mustache Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Artists: Various Title: peakopath Label: Peak Records Released: 2006 Catalog: PR010 Tracklist: 1.Master Margherita feat. Tanina Munchkind - Bonkers 2.Little Pumpkin vs. Noisy pipes - DTC 3.EVP - Kaepirinha 4.Yab Yum - Invincible 5.Arithom - Lost 6.Electrypnose vs. Highko - Internal Moves 7.Yab Yum & Ocelot - Put another synth on the barbie 8.Drumatik - Born to be wild 9.Clockstoppers - Magical Places 10.Ocelot - Minor Deviant 11.Dimitri Zara vs Synthogen - ESCOM 12.Flooting Groves & Dymons - Whatwasthat Peak Records is back with yet another compilation, celebrating somewhat of an aniversary with their 10th installment. So far I can't really point at any weak-spots in their back-catalog, and for me this label first and foremost stands for quality. Some of their releases have obviously been stronger than others, though.. That being said, expectations are allways sky-high before one of their new discs are absorbed by my little brain and this is no exception. 01: Master Margherita feat. Tanina Munchkind - Bonkers If you've been following peak records for a while you sould be familiar with their love for experimentation in poetry and chillout as well as the psychedelic trance-mayhem. The introduction to this album is yet another one of those moments with two familiar peaksters. A nice worm and "glowing" sort of ambience blends smoothly with the words and gets you ready for action.. 02: Little Pumpkin vs. Noisy pipes - DTC Two relatively unknown artists (at least for me) get together to create "DTC". The track isn't super-complex or mind-bending in any fashion, but in my opinion it's got a ceirtan edge or a little "something" that's missing in alot of the more generic Psytrance™ of today. After a while it actually gets rather groovy as well. Nice way to get your right foot tapping and the head nodding. 03: EVP - Kaepirinha EVP is a pretty exciting act. Last years debut showed great promise, and after listening to his effort here, I'm not quite sure I've given it all the attention it possibly deserves. Because this is one massively crafted piece of music. It's got all the content you excpect - and more! Mad acid action involving both the stretching of time and space beyond the scope of what we normally understand to be our sensory limit. Massively melodic without even hinting at smelling like cheese this should be a turn on for both lovers of night-time madness and more morning-oriented people... It's got somewhat of a 'Goa-feeling' going as well, and for me that obviously isn't a bad thing. Excellent track! 04: Yab Yum - Invincible Yab Yum shouldn't be a new name to the followers of peak, so no need for an introduction here. The track is as allways (So far) with Yab Yum a well created piece of dancemusic. It's a hypnotic ride of spaced-outness with a fair touch of melody and a dash of mysticism as well. That being said, this is far from being the strongest output by the duo, but I'm pretty sure the big guns will be brought forward as these guys release their debut in the not-to-distant futue (hopefully). 05: Arithom - Lost Next up is Arithon with the track "lost" this time we take it all down a notch, as this is darker and more "minimal"(don't get me wrong though...lot's of stuff going on here..) than the earlier tracks. It's a moody piece of work with a sort of liquid horror-feeling written all over it. If you ever get stabbed outside in the freezing rain, this should be the perfect soundtrack for the occation. Not really among my favourites here, though it ceirtanly has it's charm. 06: Electrypnose vs. Highko - Internal Moves Electrypnose has released no less than two brilliant albums earlier this year and about a gazillion efforts on various compilations. Here Le Barde teams up with Highko and the result is "internal moves". Pounding along at over 150 bpm, this is not for the gentle souls out there. And in this respect I am very much a gentle soul. There is just to much speed and too little content for me. Perhaps the weakest track I've heard that Electrypnose has been involved with, but am sure a bunch of freaks will get their kicks from this. 07: Yab Yum & Ocelot - Put another synth on the barbie Allright, we slow things down a bit with what might be the finest piece of eye-candy on this tracklist. Ocelot just released a new album on Vertigo Records. I haven't checked it out yet, but judging by his work with Yab Yum on this track he ceirtanly seems to be in good shape. This is a mad little piece of mental blotter-action also suitable for us who enjoy our bpm-count to be well down into the 140's. Don't get me wrong though, this is absolutely mental and should burn every dancefloor it encounters. Totally hypnotizing with all sorts of sounds flying from left to right, this should suite bothe the fluro-hippies and the crowd dressed in black. Great track! 08: Drumatik - Born to be wild Peak records released drumatik's debut-album "peak process" earlier this year, an album I sometimes really enoy listening to, and that just plain annoys me at other times. This track seems to be a step forward for mr. Klingemann...The focus is still very much on the rythms, but this is a track containing alot more than just interesting beats. The melodies are very much present, and though they are of the simple kind they are highly effective. The sample-work is also lovely and all those quirkey breaks adds the touch that makes this stand out compared to alot of other stuff out there today.. Good work! 09: Clockstoppers - Magical Places I'm not familiar with clockstoppers earlier work, so this is my first encounter with them. Here we onnce again touch upon the magical 150-limit and the result is....well...hectic.. It's a fun-filled ride, though, with all sorts of weirdness put into the blender. For me this turns out a little too hefty, but the speed-freaks and other loonatics should enjoy this.. 10: Ocelot - Minor Deviant Next up is Ocelot with "minor deviant". The track is a hypnotizing piece, one where beat and groove are the key ingredients. The track is nice enough, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I mean, yes... it's groovy, but that's about it, isn't it? The groundwork is there and this could have been one massively massive night-time quirker if built further upon...It's not a bad track by any means, but I've heard alot better from ocelot in the past. 11: Dimitri Zara vs Synthogen - ESCOM Allright folks, towards the end of the album the peakers have decided to provide us with a wonderful suprise. These two guys are unknown for me, and here they put together one of the more interesting efforts I've encountered within this genere. Drawing upon techno-influences, more classical trance-approaches as well as somewhat of a goa feeling (emphasis on the feeling-part)and some of the more well..uhm..in lack of a better word "dark" sounds of todays scene this piece of music is quite unique. Not only that - it also works really welll! I want to hear more of theese guys, this might quite possibly be my favourite on the album! 12: Flooting Groves & Dymons - Whatwasthat To finish off the album we get a short little ambient piece. A tad darker than the intro, perhaps but a nice way to finish off the compilation. Final remarks: Allright, yet another compilation from peak, and yet another good one it is. Even if this isn't peaks finest moment so far, this is a strong collection of tracks that shows both diversity and a sense of overall unified style. Peak-fans will not be disappointed! Tomas(Psychedelic Mustache) Get it here: Psyshop Saiko Beatspace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 not only does Peak release nothing but goodness, their artwork is GREAT!! Reminds me of... things Ive seen... at times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaZeD Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 not only does Peak release nothing but goodness, their artwork is GREAT!! 636904[/snapback] Yes I love their artwork too.It matches the music perfectly, both great quality. Ordered this one, expect it in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yet another high class compilation from Peak. These guys now their shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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