DeathPosture Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Yab-Yum – Nocturnal Emissions Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Yab-Yum (Switzerland) Title: Nocturnal Emissions Format: CD (digipack) Label: Peak Records (Switzerland) Cat. #: PR011 Distribution: Arabesque Date: December 2006 Track listing: 01. 07’41” Multiball 02. 07’04” Wou 03. 07’18” Labium 04. 08’42” Mind My Nipples 05. 07’21” Nocturnal Emissions 06. 07’53” Complaint 07. 07’32” Yodel 08. 08’17” Conjoint Twin Myslexia 09. 06’54” Disconnected 10. 07’48” Dr Ruthless .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/sb9z2 (all tracks!) Review: Swissmade precision psytrance After (what seems like) years of waiting and tons of internet hype, the debut album from Yab-Yum is finally a reality… Rooted deep in the Swiss Alps, Yab-Yum is the love-child of Swiss Peaksters Ajja S.F. Leu & Gaspard Besson. Since their first compilation track on Peaking In Tongues (Peak Records/2004) I’ve been a big fan of their raging mad psychedelia and I have followed the guys closely ever since… Every single track I’ve heard from their hands has been absolutely amazing and this is probably my most eagerly awaited debut album in 2006… Time to unleash those Nocturnal Emissions… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Multiball [147 BPM] We kick things into Yab-Yum mode with a smooth, subtle psytrance groover in the good old Peak tradition… This is the Mountain Dew of psytrance… Refreshing, misty, sweet, tasty and totally addictive… Squeaky synths, irregular rhythms, spiralling acid and wiggle-your-ass qualities… Not an epic smash, but good old-fashioned wholesome psy… Burp! #02: Wou [147 BPM] As with all Peak releases, we drift seamlessly into the next track – ensuring a smoother flow. On this opus, the guys dig out the old acid-machine and engage in some serious tweaking and knob-adjustment… Twirling, yet subtle acid-lines, alien sounds, driving psychedelic passages and nifty little melodies which are bubbling with life… Very shroomy and thus perfect for home listening despite the hefty BPM count. Nice! #03: Labium [147 BPM] The trip takes on a broader spectre next, and the beats are sharper, the acid-lines more dominant and the more dancefloor-orientated… The digital tribalism works like a charm and I really like the balance between the rich percussion and the seemingly enormous amount of acid… Smoky, rhythm-intense psytrance… Sweet! #04: Mind My Nipples [148 BPM] “Look, if I must change my ways at least let me do it my way – with technology. It’s time we tried my latest invention, the Mind Manipulation-O-Matic. It extracts unwanted thoughts and desires. I haven't tested it yet, but it should be perfectly safe. Just a bit of harmless brain alteration, that's all!” As the BPM count rises, the mood gets darker… This is the deepest, murkiest track thus far – without ever crossing over into boring, pretentious ‘darkpsy’. The acid is still flowing freely, the bass is kicking steadily and most important – the classic humorous Yab-Yum touch is all over the place. It’s a good laugh as much as it’s a trip-tool and a dancefloor bombshell. Awesome! #05: Nocturnal Emissions [146 BPM] “Good old-fashioned LSD in original and minty fresh flavours…You know, today’s world is almost frightingly complex. That’s why I use good old-fashioned LSD […] There’s a whole world inside my head underneath your spore!” The title track carries on in a very shroomy fashion with even crazier pitch-bends and even more deranged acid-leads… Think Derango meets Drumatik vs. Phyx – or something to that extend. Acid-soaked, funny and immensely trippy psychedelic trance… I’m totally digging it! =) #06: Complaint [148 BPM] “This is just a little something to keep you compliant. The usual dose for this sort of thing is two, three hundred milligrams, but I think with a big, strapping hybrid like yourself… Take it up to a couple of thousand!” After a sample from Blade: Trinity this track catapults us right into space with razorsharp synths, galloping rhythms and of course more flaring acid… The rhythm structure is interesting, the breakdown will send shock-waves thru the trancefloors and basically this track is all about havin’ it large (!)… Pure dancefloor napalm. Wikkid! #07: Yodel [150 BPM] And this is where it gets REALLY hardcore… The bassline is galloping away at an incredible, almost incomprehensible pace… But unlike dark, horror-trance this actually maintains a trippy edge making it somewhat enjoyable… Thumbs up for the very atmospheric, spooky and otherworldly atmosphere created here… But overall this is just too fast and too cluttering for my liking. Yikes! #08: Conjoint Twin Myslexia [148 BPM] “What I really wanna say is... Well, this may sound odd coming from a woman with a foetus sticking out of her head, but... You're all a bunch of freaks!” Remember that South Park episode with the woman with the dead foetus on her face? Conjoint twin myslexia is a rare medical condition which involves one half of Siamese twins passing away at birth, thus permanently attaching the corpse to the other one's head – and now it’s passed down in the psytrance annals as a wicked Yab-Yum track too… This is still a very fast track, though luckily not as hectic as the previous one… The marching rhythms are seasoned with a ton of oddball quirks, twists, turns and general mayhem… Pretty good track, though the track has way too many South Park samples… Something that got boring real fast back when PsySex first did it back in 2000. Ah well, several passages of this track still kicks ass! #09: Disconnected [150 BPM] “Thinking can be beautiful. Thinking can be profound, pure, clever, essence, so well articulated as to astound. Yet we can remember that we are not these ideas. We do not possess them, and they need not possess us!” The last upbeat track is another raging-fast, relentless destroyer… It starts off kinda mellow, but soon evolves into a proper beast… But this time it works much better for me – I’m totally soaked in by this epic blast riddled with Taoism… It makes for a very interesting mix and this is one of the few 150 BPM tracks I thoroughly enjoy… Cool! And remember kids… We are not God! #10: Dr Ruthless [80 BPM] Last track usually means freestyle – and this is no exception. This is Gasp & Ajja messing around in their studio stoned out of their minds… Weird, eerie and somewhat evil dub… Grotesque, murky and totally deep… Kinda like that sound you have inside your head whilst tripping your nuts off… Spooky spiritualism… Very interesting, trippy and unique - and a fine way to end the album. In my book Peak Records equals quality. I’ve liked every single release from these Swiss nutters. And this 12th release, the debut album from Yab-Yum, is another quality release. My expectations prior this were huge – and for the most part they were met. Flow wise this album works like a charm – it’s one continuous, slightly mixed trip which ensures a safe passage from start to finish. There are not bad tracks and lots of really great, stand-out tracks. Gaspard & Ajja are still my heroes. With that being said, I must also say that a few of the tracks weren’t as amazing as I’d hoped for… Especially some of the faster ones, but I’m kinda picky when it comes to psytrance above the 150 BPM mark. I just had an Utopian dream, that maybe every single track would make me cream my pants. That wasn’t quite the case here – but we got close and for that I’m grateful. The cover art is lovely as always with Peak Records – and Yab-Yum’s humorous take on psytrance shines thru nicely on the front cover with the guys trapped in their laptops. All in all, this is yet another solid Peak release – well up to par with the back catalogue. Recommended to anyone who’ve ever fell in love with a Yab-Yum track… I know we’re loads scattered around the world… We’re the Yab-Yum Army – and it’s gonna take a nation of millions to stop us! Enjoy! Favourites: 2, 3, 4(!!), 5(!!), 6(!), 9 DeathPosture External links: Yab-Yum: http://www.yab-yum.info Peak Records: http://www.peaking-goddess.com Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/852162 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/uwr65 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/y2saxr Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/y796dw Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/y4klpt Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/yyw44q PsyBuy: http://tinyurl.com/uavxt Cisco: http://tinyurl.com/yxslzx Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/szj8r Juno: http://tinyurl.com/y3h663 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Watcher Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Top quality album and a pretty unique one. I guess, I like this album more than DP, because I'm not offended by high-paced tracks Can anyone name me something similar to Yab Yum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forest Dreams Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Top quality album and a pretty unique one. I guess, I like this album more than DP, because I'm not offended by high-paced tracks Can anyone name me something similar to Yab Yum? try this if you havent already - VA Peaking In Tongues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 try this if you havent already - VA Peaking In Tongues And Hokus Peakus :posford: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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