V/A - Shiva Space Technology vol. 7

[Lemmiwinks]

 

01. Spectrum — Diamond Throw [7:34]

02. Ion Vader — Tydirium [7:55]

03. Asinar — Electron [5:34]

04. Sanga — Ba Laila [7:00]

05. Somnium — Tantibus [6:36]

06. Beloved — Musiqa [6:24]

07. Voodoo Tribe — Creatures of The Night [8:23]

08. Magic Mizrahi — Give It [6:45]

09. Zodiac — Ybab Eht Llik [8:00]

10. Et.Ma — God's Silence [8:40]

 

Greek Nitzhonot lives again!! Hmm I guess many of you are frowning by now and wondering whether this particular style is worth reviving in the first place (and in case you're relatively new to the scene and wondering "nit-ho-what?", I'll explain that basically nitzhonot was to goatrance in the 90s what full-on is to psytrance today...). Well IMO it is worth giving the style a second life since I have to admit that once all is said and done, and once you shovel through the pile of crap there is one or other golden nugget in there with some VERY original melodies like Cyan - A New Galaxy or Psychonauts - Shadows Of The Moon. So anyway, fast-forward a few years later and let's see what we have here. Well on first check all these are fresh artists, so nothing to do with older Shiva Space Technology comps and as you can see it is released on a different (free) label anyway, so I don't really know why they present this comp as a continuation of the former volumes.

 

The opener by Spectrum is a nice warmer, not too far away from "proper" neogoa territory although there's nothing really ear-catching IMO, just a good tune

 

Then comes Ion Vader... man, how can anyone NOT be impressed by such a name? lol Sadly though the track is far less impressive than the name, there are some interesting ideas in there but way too commercial for my tastes.

 

Asinar up next with a nice feel good track on the lighter side of things, even a bit of an 80s vibe in there but a nice listen IMO.

 

Sanga up next with a very... greek track. The main melody is heavily inspired by traditional greek music, and not particularly good.

 

Somnium up next trying a style of dark(er) nitzhonot (of course, you shouldn't except anything that sounds even remotely like dark psy in here), just a few darkish melodies and pads in the first part. Actually, once those are over a pretty nice melody kicks in around 2:00, this is one of the best tracks on this comp.

 

Beloved up next which starts pretty promissing... but then goes way too far in commercial territory which is a shame cause some melodies in there are pretty darn good. It's as if the artist couldn't make up his mind wether he wanted a "serious" track or a commercial one.

 

Voodoo Tribe with some more darker vibes but nothing particularly mindblowing either

 

Magic Mizrahi comes closest to the old greek nitzhonot sound IMO, which I don't really like BTW

 

and just when you're getting fed up from listening to average tracks and are more and more tempted to press that stop button it comes: Zodiac delivers us some VERY nice tunes! That little melody around 2:00 stayed in my mind for days and days and put a great big smile on my face which is more than I could say for about 99% psytrance being produced these days. Of course, it is still in commercial territory but commercial in a good way IMO, this one is definately worth checking out IMO.

 

Et.Ma comes next with some more darkish melodies that actually border on some classical music compositions, pretty interesting but a bit of a letdown after that great Zodiac track.

 

Conclusion OK this is clearly advertized as nitzhonot so be warned: you WILL find an overwhelming amount of cheezy melodies that are clearly aimed at (very) young teens. Personally I'd give it a pass if it weren't for that great Zodiac track that makes getting this comp totally worthwhile (and after all it's free anyway lol). 3/5 from me

[Agneton]

Eutuchia got hold of the legal ownership of the "Shiva Space Technology Israel"-series. Sanga (owner of Eutuchia) closed a deal with Mike Verros (the Psychonauts guy that compiled all old Shiva Space Technology CD's), so it's serious business.

 

Personally I think this comp is really average, they release far better comps on Eutuchia Records, would be cool if u cud check out some of the others and see for yourself! About Zodiac track, indeed a really nice one, the guy knows a lot of music and melodies (he has belgian roots btw! ). I also like the Ion Vader track, really ruff one!