"V/A - Protozoa"

[Trance2MoveU]

 

 

Artist: Various

Title: Protozoa

Label: Sita Records

Date: July, 2010

 

 

 

1. Arid Sand (Nitzhonic Mix)

PHARAOM

 

2. Julia's Wings

PERSISTENT AURA

 

3. De Wereldoverbrugger

AGNETON

 

4. Galactic Treatment

THE GREY GUY

 

5. Impulse

VOX

 

6. Honor By The Sword

GOALIEN

 

7. Karisma

RAMA

 

8. E-law

E-LAW

 

9. Endless Height

JBC ARKADII

 

 

 

Sita Records was formed by Filipe Santos in 2009 and is now run by Elias Gits (Agneton) and Boris Huskic (Goalien). They have released one compilation prior to this one called "Nitz-Ho-Goa" and it was fantastic. The style represented here is the same as before; goa melodies with the playfulness of Nitzhonot sans cheese. As usual they bring a couple of artists to the table that I haven't heard of, but with their solid track record, I am not concerned. The cover is comprised of striking colors of a mountain landscape with a hidden lake.

 

Arid Sand (nitzhonic mix)- This is French goa trance producer Oswald Pfeiffer to begin the compilation. With a quick tap of the tabla and some middle eastern melodies, this track takes off. Rapid fire melodies make you feel as if you yourself were traversing the never ending desert. I like the layers right up to the break as a mysterious sample (can't make it out) heralds a key change. It changes direction several times but it does have a palpable nitzho feel with speed as the constant. Great track!

 

Julia's Wings- Ewoud Vandenberghen from Belgium starts off with a bouncy melody which is playing a cat and mouse game with another swirling lead. An interesting application is the "shuffling" of the melodies into a rapid sequence. Pretty groovy with a tasty Israeli feel. Good track.

 

De Wereldoverbrugger- Elias Gits (who runs the label with Goalien) along with Filipe Santos is the undisputed king of Nitzhogoa, and it is now time to lay down some serious sounds. At least that's what the sample told me. More middle eastern goodness with a pretty thick bassline. I like his short key change as it gives the track wings. Was that a classic 1970's Battlestar Galactica sample? Nice. The break has a nice breakbeat as the melodies continue to pile up. And for me if you can vary the break it keeps the track interesting. Great job!

 

Galactic Treatment- "As you know the Earth and it's inhabitants are protected by the Galactic Truce."

 

This is Patrick Cameron and he was all over Pure Planet Vol. 4. This track starts with a very fast bassline...stop me if you've heard that before. And a whole truckload of melodies that keep the metronome moving. This has a definite outer space feel which I assume he was going for. Well, he nailed it. Great track!

 

Impulse- This is Tomislav Crncic from Zagreb who released his album Innerpolarity in 2007 to a lot of acclaim. It has a big snare hit, and rampaging leads. Loaded with an old school feel. The familiar nitzho kick is there with racing melodies and a nice key change. One of my favorites.

 

Honor By The Sword- Label co-head Boris Huskic drops a blistering track that is quite speedy. Melodies swirl and it feels darker than some of the others. Now I am really looking forward to his album. There seems to be a sample that runs almost the entire length of the track. Don't worry, it doesn't interfere with the fury and doesn't get in the way. This one was intense. Great track.

 

Karisma- I can see a Filipe Santos track a mile away. IMO one of the most important figures in the new school revival, his style is very vivid and this track is no different. Quick-step melodies fade in and out of each other like crashing waves. The break is vey fluid with a touch of a tribal tabla and breakbeat. Liked it a lot.

 

E-Law- I have no idea who E-law is but there is a definite future for this individual. Screaming 303s, machine gun kicks, and massive melodies. Detuned leads trickle in amidst all of the above to give the track a dreamy quality. This reminds me of Sky Input Filteria so much with the hard edge it has. Awesome track.

 

Endless Height- This is Arkadii Tronets and that is all I know, but...that's the best artist name you could come up with? Doesn't matter because the track is loaded with talent. Delicate tones sprinkle high above a thunderous kick and more roaming undercurrents. The middle eastern feel is there if not a little too overdone, but all of the little touches show the depth this track has. Smooth, soft pads that seem mysterious and the rolling synth lines. Not mellow by any means but a suitable way to glide to the end of this compilation.

 

Well, there you go. This is 4/4 time with undulating melodies and nice atmosphere. There isn't that much to say about it really. I liked it a lot and it is full speed ahead for the whole disc. While I think the previous compilation from Sita was better, this was still pretty damn good. And let's face it, you're not going to reinvent the wheel with every release. Highly recommended.

 

Psyshop

 

Beatspace

 

Saiko Sounds

 

Mdk

[Spicy_RolL]

Oh, thanks for a great review, it is brief but very informative. Like it!

My favorits are: 1), 4), 5). Especially PharaOm, very powerful track with awesome melodies. And VOX is great too, Tomislav always keeps to his own style, every his track is excellent! My expectations for second full-lenght from VOX is... i really have no words!    

[Ajanta]

Yay finally a review!

 

As a Nitzhogoa freak, Protozoa is probably my favourite compilation of the year! Only quality tracks to be found here. Agneton & Goalien did a great job compiling this one!

My favourite tracks are Galactic Treatment and De Wereldoverbrugger. The last two minutes of Galactic Treatment are pure bliss. De Wereldoverbrugger is one of the finest pieces of music in the short history of Nitzhogoa IMO.

Of course the other tracks are also REALLY good. The sitar melody in the Pharaom track is amazing... I like the feel of the JBC Akardii tune: it sounds a bit like Iceman, but without the cheese. I hope to hear more of this guy in the future. The Goalien track is pure rampage. A totally awesome and aggressive track. Persistent Aura's melodies never stop to amaze me, again a great Räma track (still my favourite Filipe Santos project ), aggressive psychedelic madness with E-Law and a great stomping Vox-track. Yeah.. I can really recommend this compilation!