V.A.. Somatic Frenzy

[kazuku]

Title: V.A. Somatic Frenzy

Artist: Various

Lable: Mighty Quinn Records

Release : 03/2010

http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=5467

Tracklist

 

1)Nxum – Tin Ni Tudser (Final Edit)

2)Farebi Jalebi – Tastes Like Purple

3)Freakplanet – Master of Dose

4)Annoying Ninjas - 7 Slags Sovs

5)Freakplanet – Out of Space (Fusion

6)Bubble and Squeek – Magix Seeds

7)Saikozausus – Somatic Mr. Qwerty

8)Digitalist and Dr. Magnus – Flame in Y All Brain

9)Dohm – Lonely Creatures

10)Loke – The Shakuhaci Ritual

 

Tokyo based Mighty Quinn Records has existed since 2006, and since their inception they have given us a fair few extremely twisted underground releases such as V.A Royal Straight Flush, V.A. Beauty and the Beast as well as V.A. Invisible Hand. These past releases feautured insaniacs like 1rgum 3urgum, Drury Nevil and Gorump Peya alongside each other. So if you have just met a nice girl and are taking her home for the first time, maybe put something else in the CD player first and wait with this one. She might think you are into some really weird shit otherwise, and you would have to show her your secret garden patch of rare herbs and exotic fungi sooner than you would have liked to…

 

Anyhow, BPM wise this album stays very much in forest range, 148 BPM is its sweet spot, you will not be assaulted out of nowhere by some lurking Gorump VS 1rgum vs Nevil 165 BPM monster Be at ease….time to find what the frenzy is all about.

 

1) Nxum from Denmark sets the scene with a piece that I would call “forest funk”. We find oueselves bouncing along to a fat, determined and playful baseline over which the FX mischief unfolds along with ehoes and lnsectoid leads.

 

Despite its bounyness, the base also feels weighted down, as if we are moving through a slightly gooey substance, which is also reflected in the “elastic” quality of the track, a psychedelic stretcyness that forest fans enjoy. Nxum uses effects sparingly though and the track remains a smooth and flowing affair. Solid start.

 

2)Farebi Jalebi transports the listener to the Australian (rain?)forest with tastes like purple, and as you know, its good to be careful of venomous spiders and snakes while traveling there.

 

This has a very wet, moist feeling about it, a sensation that is dripping in our ear drums at various stages of this album, like the melting ear wax of a feral forest hippy This atmospheric ooze trickles down 200 year old tree trunks as the eyes of venomous predators peer through the dark, ever-watching

 

3)Freakplanet takes our journey into slightly more spacey territories, like we are briefly abducted. Although I say “spacey” in terms of atmosphere, this does not mean the forest has disappeared, as we travel along we find ourselves increasingly grounded in the sounds, which become more and more “terrestrial” and earthy.

 

This is also reflected in the tribal percussion which join in the frenzy at later stages. If you listen to the pads towards the end of the tune you will see what I meant by spacey influence.

 

The sick, organic lead, starting around the 5:20 mark make this memorable to me. To me the attitude of the baseline has a very slight “full-on” attitude in terms of drive, but all in all it is the forest elements that dominate.

 

4)Now I have to prepare you for an extremely trippy track dear reader. Yes, I know this is the psychedelic trance forum, and trippy sound is our daily diet, but this really is a overtly psychedelic beast. (Imo at least ).

 

Playful baseline which toils around like a 2 weeks old tiger cub.

 

Annoying Ninjas tap into some outrageous frequencies, wobbling along in a bubble of electrostatic energy, revealing a spectacle of melodies, cartoon stretchiness and chopped up vocal samples. Somewhere down the line we fall into a very murky pond (wet!!) and have to fight quite a while to swim to the other side, only to be assaulted by a brigade of ravenous ducks.

 

Extremely entertaining, and I would love to hear this at a festival one day. Now I have to go outside and breathe because this triggered a flashback.

 

5)By the way, we are still trodding through the murk at 148 BPM….after a short take on sequence we find ourselves catapulted to more spacey heights, a little more sharp around the edges, knows what it is doing and where it wants to go next.

 

What gives the track its character for me are the percussions which creep in again, creating a space-tribal synergy without color clashing and keep the listener interested until the final wind down. Solid track, but not a favorite.

 

6)Next up, another new name for me, Magix Seeds. Not having heard anything before I went into this without expectations and was surprised with a thick, vivid, rich forest sound which lured me in…very entrancing/hypnotic….(Yes I still know this is the psytrance forum …not pirate death metal.com…entrancing does lie in the nature of things, but for this goes deeper).

 

I find myself reminded of the lush atmospehere and fx development of artists like Atriohm/Encephalopaticys and other pioneers of this style of sound, but not lacking individuality, becomes

somewhat “squelch corey” at times. This was definitely a surprise and I am sure it will find its way into a lot of forest sets as more than a filler.

 

7)Saikozaurus , turns up the intensity a notch with “Somatic Mr. Qwerty”. Saikozaurus is from Ukraine, Im learning something new every day . The first note worthy aspect of his sound I noticed is the thunderous baseline, which occasionally comes crashing through your door like looters in a home invasion.

 

The looter-baseline likes to make you think it has left only to intrude again, prying open the door for a freaky carnival parade of circus feaks to make themselves comfortable on your couch.

 

IMO this has a less grounded approach then some of the truly earthy tracks we have heard hear. Lead from 5.20 onwards cranks up the density of the tune, and despite the slightly different atmosphere, I still find myself engulfed by that reoccurring “wetness” of sound. Stay with me while I empty my bladder….what do you expect, all this flowing and dripping……

 

8)“would you wake up?....I am fucking awake!” it begins. How could anyone not be awake within seconds of this? I will make things short here, this is really rocked my psychedelic sandals, brilliant, one of my favorite tracks of 2010 so far.

 

I would say this is straight up twisted night psy, more ethereal than terrestrial, there are no roots keeping this attached to this power-plant, as it grows towards the moon – has a very clear, driving character about it and presents numerous plot twists and turns, constantly morphing a growing from one height to the next, baffling the listener by pulling out one ace after the other from its sleeve.

 

Definetly another very dynamic highlight, drawing a lot of its energy from bubbling expansion-contraction play.

 

9)By now we are galloping along around 152 BPM with [] who engage in a patient build up with atmospheric pads, choir like sounscapes and percussion mischief. The angelic pads herald the coming of mysterious melodies and bubbling leads that lead us into beatless phases along our journey.

 

Plays with a contrast between grit and the celestial environments Dohm conjures up, but a clear and crystalline side slightly dominates which remains smooth despite its increased speed, not a “power track”. Interesting , has some very intricate melodies that are worth hearing.

 

For my taste there was a bit too much emphasis put on the synth pads which went on my nerves a little bit, maybe a bit less would have done.

 

10)Closing up, the album slows down once again with the aptly named “Sakuhachi Ritual” which resonates a very tribal energy. We find ourselves cruising through an almost placid, moist (!) an somewhat eerie zone accompanied by breaks and playful rhythms. Flute elements enhance this tribal flair mechanical elements briefly find their way into the organic composition. The machine elves have obviously slipped through the portal here, intermingling with humans at their leisure, revealing the hidden. Wonderful mellow, melodic, funky and weird piece to finish things off.

 

Conclusion

 

I am left feeling drenched in the wetness of the sound, which remains a smooth and crisp affair throughout the album. A

lthough I would say all tracks here have the grit for the forest, we do have a wide variety of styles on offer. We have the very shroomy, earthy, grounded sound by Magix Seeds, Farebi Jalebi and Nxum mixed with more base driven, ethereal tunes like the massive “Flame in Y All Brain”.

 

Overall I found this to a very good album mixing true forest with squelch and bubble core and unique spice, cruising along at moderate speed.

 

Favs: 2, 4 (!), 6, 8 (!)

[SUL/)CO]

Flippin awesum..!

Glad I got this instead of the new p*********** album!!

[pedro]

When I have been in the mood for something a little bit extreme, Somatic Frenzy has provided me with a fair bit of fun. I enjoyed their Invisible Hand compilation in 2008, and I think Mighty Quinn records have possibly done an even better job this time round. Starts off with a weak track but then takes off nicely. Favourite tracks are 2,3,4,6,8,10 (quite a few).

 

Recommended.

 

 

 

Pedro