Archaic - Wildness

[full_lotus]

 

Artist: Archaic

Album: Wildness

Label: WildThings Records

Catalog no : WILDCD009CD

Released: November 2008

Atrwork: Evp

Mastering: Cass

Distributor: Arabesque

 

Tracklisting:

 

1 Anaconta (Remix) (7:31)

2 Deep In Forest (8:25)

3 Circle Of Stones (8:19)

4 Vortex (7:27)

5 Zeus (7:26)

6 Wildness (7:15)

7 Wolves (7:19)

8 Cosmic Rays (7:28)

9 Tree Spirits (7:46)

10 Hidden Reality (8:24)

 

I was intrigued by this album when I received it, as I hadn’t heard much about the artist except for the 2 tracks on the Digital Music Therapy compilation also on Wild Things. Archaic is Konstantinos Kanlis from Thessaloniki in Greece, and it turns out he has been active in the scene since the mid 90’s and had releases as Initia and Initination. Wildness is his first album as Archaic and it slots in perfectly with the Wild Things sound. 10 tracks of oozing crunchy psychedelic funkiness that will easily get you grooving on the trance floor. You can’t help but smile when this is playing, and it’s one of those rare albums dare I say it, that you won’t get tired of listening to. Excellent tight production skills and clean sounds that have a superb flow with each track telling you a tale that forms a chapter of the whole sonic book. Even after the 6th time listening to this while writing this review, I still can’t find a tune that I don’t like. This is without a doubt, one of the best releases of 2008 imho and Wild Things prove yet again that they are one of the premier new wave of UK psychedelic trance labels. Absolutely wildness baby, you dig?

 

Available from the following reputable on-line shops:

 

http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=4641

http://www.firstrhythm.co.uk/productpage.a...ctdetail=201342

http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/wil/wil1cd009.html

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=7649

 

[Guest antic]

...Even after the 6th time listening to this while writing this review, I still can’t find a tune that I don’t like. This is without a doubt, one of the best releases of 2008 imho and Wild Things prove yet again that they are one of the premier new wave of UK psychedelic trance labels. Absolutely wildness baby, you dig?

Well, now I understand why I don't receive CDs for review from them any more. I simply couldn't honestly write stuff like that...

 

IMO, this is rather bland and - dare I say it - quite derivative, because you can hear trademark Wildthings' sounds and structures all over it. To me this sounds like a less experienced and less talented version of EVP from 2 years ago. True, it's well produced and all that, but after 15-20 listens I still can't tell a track from the other and can't remember anything about any of them. Why you couldn't write anything specific about any of the tracks? Well, that's because they're somehow passing by, without leaving any impression or emotion. They don't build up to something extraordinary, some climax that you could follow and memorise - it's just a bunch of nicely put sounds. This might undoubtedly work on a dance floor, but this is psychedelic trance and - at least I - require something more... The only track that stands out a bit is #4 ("Vortex"), which features a very nice interplay between hi-passsed screechy sounds and underlying, growling bass noises, which create interesting, quasi melodic patterns. Otherwise, it's quite forgettable.

 

3/5, because it's not bad, just (very) average.

 

 

BTW, if anyone really wants to taste Wildthings' sound at its best, then go for 2007's Reality Grid's "Reality Check" (review) or past year's Hoodwink "Audio Illusion" (review) and in particular EVP's "Holographic Consciousness".