Witchcraft - Magic Frequencies EP

[Trance2MoveU]

Artist: Witchcraft
Title: Magic Frequencies EP
Label: Matsuri Productions
Date: 1996

1. Magic Frequencies
2. Whale

Sometimes I forget how prolific Matsuri was. Not only did they release a lot of great albums but they also had a large amount of EP's. It's been 12 years since they went out of business, but most of the stuff they produced is on the shelves of those in the know. I won't go through them because there are too many but here is their Discogs link. This EP was made by Izik Levy (Sandman) and Rami Shapira (Chakra). I need to listen to the Sandman albums again as it has been awhile, but I do recall reviewing the latest from Chakra and thinking it was pretty good. This EP is one of those which I think is underrated. It's a shame that it was the only one the duo collaborated on.

Magic Frequencies- "The gift of time. The gift of life. The gift of wisdom. The gift of light."

Right out of the gate it's high tempo with a simple lead melody. The break isolates that synth, but then quickly jumps back into the fray. When they are all put together it creates a nice pace with the leads and pads giving the track a thick feel. I liked it.

Whale- At the 1:30 mark we are in bouncing, melodic goa territory, fat and beautiful just how I like it. The break has some nice interesting effects, and the bass line is pretty catchy. What is really great is the changes in leads and melodies that make this track feel so grandiose. The final crunchy lead is whiplike and just the cherry on the cake. I would not hesitate to call this track epic.

I wish this had better production. I'm not the guy to discuss mastering, but this definitely lacks power and clarity. Such a shame because the tracks are really good. You can find them on compilations so I guess this isn't essential, but I do think this is one more people should talk about.

Mdk

[ollylovesgoa]

Yes, this is a really good EP.

 

Magic Frequencies is high octane, pure Goa through and through. Layers build up until you have melodies snaking across the soundscape, carried by a rapid driving bass and a steady Goa kick. About three minutes in an eery melody emerges, really rather rythmic, forty seconds later this breaks down and then the energy is released again. As the track moves towards the peak sweeping synths underly the scratching notes, and the haunting sound carries the listener to the end of this classic melodic track.

 

Whale begins much more slowly, a heavy kick is accompanied by swirling synths and a very old school style voice synth, this drops away quickly to give way to another tense melody, it changes quickly to a rising and falling acid line with acid screams underneath. This track is a lot more raw than the other, you could lose yourself in it were it not to break down so often. In this track Witchcraft doesn't develop the melody so much as he changes ideas every few minutes. A hypnotic section ensues, layered with some melodic acid and various creaks, but yet again before this is given time to develop the rythym is altered and the acid sound is changed. Suddenly an uplifting and dramatic section erupts for just a few seconds, before a dreamy acidic pattern is laced on top and the listener follows this to the end. The ending seems to glue the different sections together and I was satisfied. It's an okay track, Witchcraft knows how to layer sounds and his aesthetic style is very pleasing, but it seems to lack the direction of the other track.

 

Magic Frequencies is definetly one of Witchcraft's best releases, I think he has a beautiful simple style, it is rather primitive and as a result more complex pieces lose impact. I prefer Eastern Rain over Whale.

[acid-brain]

Magic Frequencies is astonishingly good, swirling analogue melodic layers dancing and warping in and out of each other, neither predominantly light or dark; an abrupt and spine-tingling pitch-bending ending.

[DoktorG]

Good ep here from the one-off collaboration between Sandman and Chakra. "Magic Frequencies" has a Man With No Name bassline and then itchy little swirling melodies - a good, swirly track. "Whale" also features a Man With No Name bassline but goes more epic and features some choir pads and uplifting, climbing melodies as it builds towards a superb intense almost prog rock climax after the six minute mark with what is meant to be whale-song sounds. An outstanding moment in the history of Goa trance. What a pity these two fine artists didn't do more collaborations in the golden era because this is excellent. ~*~