pr0fane Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Artist: Various Title: Think Different Label: Echoes Records Format: CD (Jewelcase with standard 4-page inlay) Released: November 2006 Review: Echoes Records is a brand new progressive label based in Israel. A few years ago progressive labels from Israel where very seldom, but with the uprise of the whole progressive scene worldwide, we're also seeing quite a few new progressive labels from this very full on dominated country. Behind Echoes Records stands DJ Osho, an Israeli DJ who have played in countries like Marocco, Turkey, Greece, Denmark and in the past have compiled a couple of CD's for Spliff Music and Groove Control. The first release from Echoes Records is "Think Different" - a compilation featuring a quite tempting tracklist with 8 tracks and remixes. 01. Perfect Stranger Vs Ace Ventura - Perfect Ace [135 BPM] Two of the biggest ambassadors for the progressive scene in Israel are Perfect Stranger and Ace Ventura, both signed on Iboga Records. Here they have combined forced on the aptly titled "Perfect Ace", and in my opinion it's among their very best work so far. It features some slightly modified Al Pacino samples from Scarface for humorous effect, and it has a very big, crowdpleasing breakdown with a very impressive dancefloor effect. Amazing stuff. 02. Paste - Down On The Streets (Echotek Remix) [135 BPM] Up next is another Israeli artist, Echotek, with a remix for Pastes "Down On The Streets", released on Plusquams "Wireless" compilation last year. Echoteks sound is usually a mix of progressive and full on, but here he's definitely focusing more on the progressive side of things - it doesn't quite have the punch and deep, raw appeal as the original, but on the other hand the energy is slightly higher and it is more suitable for playing at daytime. Ok remix. 03. Fusi & Johnson - Respect [138 BPM] Fusi & Johnson is the moniker for the two Germans Fabio and Mapusa Mapusa, some of the most well-known DJs and producers on the German progressive scene in the last many years. "Respect" doesn't bring much new to the genre, but it is a fine track nevertheless - the grooves are quite funky and it has some very likeable melodies that'll definitely cause a lot of smiles on the dancefloor in an afternoon set. Solid german festival-trance. 04. Vibrasphere - Capsize [137 BPM] Vibrasphere is definitely one of my favourite acts, and 2006 has been a great year for fans of their melodic trance-sound, with a full length album, one single and some appearances on compilations - mostly of very high quality. "Capsize" maintains the high quality they are well-known for - it's not quite as in your face melodic as some of their newer stuff, but more on the dreamy, subtle side as we know from their "Lime Structure" days. Epic sound. 05. Ace Ventura - Go With Da Flow (Morax Remix) [132 BPM] Ace Venturas "Go With Da Flow", previously released on Flows "Globalize" compiliation is remixed by Morax from Israel, the progressive soloproject of Michael Reznik, also known as being part of the techtrance project Triac. The intro is kind of weird, but the track picks up very quick, mixing a hard, relentless tribal groove with the slightly uplifting elements from the original. Nice remix - better than the original. 06. Tegma - Bratislava Next [130 BPM] With 3 successful full length albums released on Digital Structures, Candyflip and Tribal Vision, Tegma is one of the biggest progressive acts to come out of Sweden, and here they are continuing the style from their last album, "Around The World In 80 Minutes". Tribal and psychedelic with elements of both progressive house and trance, but sadly it didn't do as much for me as any of their later releases. Weaker than expected. 07. Fitalic - The Way [130 BPM] Robin Fitter from Holland recently released his debut album "Atomic Atmosphere" on Tribal Vision Records, but has for many years been a big name in the progressive house scene, with releases on labels like Bedrock, Vapour, Pangea, Nascent, Iboga, Plastik Park and Sprout. "The Way" is taken from the album, where I found it a solid track, yet one of the more anonymous tunes on the album overall. A good, deep, progressive house track with tech-house influences and nicely filtered male voice-samples. 08. True Lies - If You Wanna [130 BPM] To conclude the compilation is "If You Wanna" by the True Lies - the housier sideproject of the Symponix-brothers, also known as DJ Montagu & Golkonda and organisers of Tshitraka, one of the biggest annual psychedelic festivals in Germany. The track is kind of mixture of progressive/electro house and German festival-psytrance, but I find it kind of forgettable - lacking any real energy or distinctiveness. Bottom line: "Think Different" won't go down in history as one of the best compilations released in 2006, but it does have some very strong points that'll make it a valued tool for DJ's in the coming months. What really makes this compilation worth the bucks is the Perfect Stranger/Ace Ventura and the Vibrasphere tracks - two absolutely stunning highlights. The rest ranges from pretty good to quite forgettable, but overall "Think Different" is worth the money, and Echoes Records will definitely get some well-deserved attention for this release. Favourites: 1 (!!), 3, 4 (!!), 5, 6 Verdict: 7/10 Link: Echoes Records: http://www.echoes-records.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Cohen Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Hi All ! The fresh label - Echoes Records - is release finally the first sweet baby, which called "Think Different". The type of music here is a varied progressive by some of the best projects around such as Vibrasphere, Tegma, Fusi & Johnson. Also there is honorable expression for the Israeli projects such as Morax, Ace Ventura, Perfect Stranger. This compilation in definitely promising by first impression, but we must check the music behind... 01. Perfect Stranger Vs Ace Ventura - Perfect Ace The open-shot is come from the holy land by the two groovy minds of Yoni Oshrat & Yuli Fershtat. "Perfect Ace" is let me understand what is the meaning of the word - heavy . I'm still don't know where the hell this baseline is come from ?! simply a super-groovy beats with the most atmospheric vibes I've heard lately. Oh my god...the brake on 04:30 is a dance floor smasher (not something you hear frequently on prog music). A perfect track !!! 02. Paste - Down On The Streets (Echotek Remix) Our lovely Micha Yossef aka Echotek is presents his re-mix for Paste's tune. Micha is maybe the only artist which combine soft full-on with deep progressive impressively..."This is true" says the vocal . This is the kind of tracks which take the vibe in the air one level up with pleasant style...what a beautiful melodies...delicious. After the powerful begining of this comp, Echotek is keep the power in the air. 03. Fusi & Johnson - Respect Mr. Fabio & Thomas Johanshon (Mapusa Mapusa) are the names behind the Fusi & Johnson project. This two talented guys were played an amazing sets in Israel this year. When they unite forces nothing can prevent them. You can hear the combine between the seniority of Thomas near Fabio's crazy brain. "Respect" is a super-professional track by the known formula with the European touch. Way to go guys. 04. Vibrasphere - Capsize Before the remarks about this specific track, I'm must admit Vibrasphere is my favorite prog-morning project...now to the music it self . Robert & Rickard are show everyone what is a smiley track with all the happy elements, such as - positive melody, friendly baseline and morning vibes all around. Words are meanless here, let the music talk... 05. Ace Ventura - Go With Da Flow (Morax Remix) Michael Reznik (also known as half of Triac dou) is brave enough for take Yoni's materials and change them by his point of view...lets check the results. Morax is developing a new electroinic line with tons of energies and personal touch. His new version is just force the listener to be focus and follow after the beats. I'm always bless for fat kicks, but here Michael is show me how much fat & groovy his kick. One of the most successful remixes in my opinion. The track is get Morax style totally. 06. Tegma - Bratislava Next After a brilliant album on Tribal Vision Records, Omar & Jason are back with "Bratislava Next" track. This tune is a classic example for electro-prog music with funky effects and some cheesy melodies, which follow the track all over. In my opinion, the track is very nice and enjoyable, especially after the massive tracks before…if you look for track to flow with chose this one. 07. Fitalic - The Way Robin Fitter aka Fitalic is let us taste some variation with his progressive-house. Robin is one of the best prog-house producers around the globe and this track is a simple improve for that. "The Way" is a collect of groovy beats with the right baseline…Fitalic is do it again with so much charm. 08. True Lies – If You Wanna The brothers Sirko & Stefan (more known as Symphonix) get the respect for closing this VA. When we are talk about German project, the listener can not expect for something not professional or pointless – everything is just sitting well and the final product is definitely worth it. "If You Wanna" is high quality track with serious atmosphere and slow flow like it should be at the end of esteemed compilation like "Think Different". All in all, this cd is full of progressive gifts with smart order of the track list. "Think Different" is one of my favorite comp's in this year and I'm highly recommend for every trance fan to take part on this special experience… Available on Psyshop : http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/ech/ech1cd001.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 The fresh label - Echoes Records - is release finally the first sweet baby That sums it up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 sure is sweet and tasty! lovin the Morax rmx... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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