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VA - Conundrum Concoction


Bill

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VA - Conundrum Concoction

Label: Dark Prisma Records

 

01. Conundrum Concoction - List of Ingredients
02. Prisma - Extract of a Fragment Part I
03. Prisma - Extract of a Fragment Part II
04. Prisma On Ooze - Extract of a Fragment Part III
05. Molokow - Hell's Island
06. Molokow - Climate Fit
07. Molokow - Polustus Grytgol
08. Derango - An Invisible Tale
09. Derango - An Unsane Tale
10. Derango - An Oak's Tale

 

 

co·nun·drum noun - a question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle.

 

 

"Conundrum Concoction" hit my radar quite recently because of a recommend by a longtime member here on PsyNews. I'm thankful for that gent's good taste in such matters.

 

This is swampy, pitched-down forest, dementedly distorted dub all in one wicked and tasty down tempo concoction. As with most anything of quality in swampy down tempo or the mind-boggling affairs of forest music there is a lot of unexplored mental terrain in this collection, thus, one's enjoyment of this work will depend on personal tolerance for the wildly weird and unshakably creepy but where my personal fascination lies is with the excellent work of Prisma and Derango.

 

The tantalizing aural riddles of Prisma's "Extract of a Fragment" Parts 1-3 are tremendous. By turns funky and groovy, the mood in all three parts are deliciously unhinged, distorting warm and happy dub behind fragments of insane effects and background melodies that move across the background in the forms of cinematic orchestras and big-top circus sounds.

 

Play all three together for a truly stunning adventure where the first part knocks socks off with creativity, "Part 2" womps and thrills during a track that brings things back to a more normal level. "Part 3" brings the truly bizarre where it seems you may have just stumbled into some dark ritual in the middle of an isolated forest and it is not quite sure that your safety is ensured.

 

It is a nice touch, separating three different tracks by Prisma, Molokow and Derango into blocks, it allows the artists to weave wicked spells in their allotted time without the listening hassle of switching gears to accommodate a different artist approach.

 

As such, Derango's three tracks are very well placed as the conclusion to this collection, his being the easiest riddles to solve, an easily understood adventure that soothes the listener as they are sent on their way at disc's end. Starting with the dream-weaving dub of "An Invisible Tale," weirdness is pitched down in favor of a more emotionally satisfying approach, "An Unsane Tale" offers straight-forward dub in a very accessible format - moody but mentally soothing chill with all the right doses of groove and funk. And just to show he has not overlooked the imagination of his peers, Derango offers a fine puzzle of his own on the concluding "An Oak's Tale".

 

The conundrum here is not for me to interpret and I am not quite sure I could even if asked. Perhaps that is all up to interpretation and there is much within to wrap one's head around.

 

The answer that is very clear, however, is the taste of this concoction: Delicious!

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 months later...

What a tasty surprise! :D This one totally flew under my radar, but I'm glad I managed to catch up with it. Very unique take on swampy dub.

Hey Alek, there's another one in this category VA - Through the afterlife (Ektoplazm) you may be already have it. If not, you should :)

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