Etnica - In Dub

[Bill]

 

Artist: Etnica

Album: In Dub

Label: EtnicaNet

 

Etnica. In Dub.

 

It is everything it should be, very near an instant classic album, so rich in translating classic Etnica tunes into a brand-new style, a testament to the talent this duo possesses in crafting excellent psychedelic music.

 

Utilizing select live musicians and vocalists to flesh out the sounds, Etnica picks some obvious choices to re-work but also offer up some curve-ball selections, taking some of their faster, pure goa creations and paring them down into a much more controlled dub structure.

 

It is not surprising to find "Deep East" or "Trip Tonite," from 1996's "Alien Protein" album, reinterpreted here. Both are excellent, atmospheric down tempo tracks to begin with and these newer dub versions are just as pleasing to the ears. A surprise inclusion from that album, however, comes with "Screaming Butterfly," and it is delivered beautifully. Any of these three deserve to be the main highlight on a lesser album but here they are par for a very rich course.

 

The sweeping magic of "Back To Vega," the gorgeous juxtaposition between beauty and the beats on the dub'n'bass "Burning Sands" and the indescribably beautiful work on original track "Desert Journey" offer many treasures over the course of their run time.

 

The highlight, though, would be the frisky "In Dub" version of "Vimana." It is only natural to wonder how Etnica's offering stacks up against that other "In Dub" classic. As when Ott encapsulates everything fantastic about "LSD," the classic sound, the captivating samples, and turns it into something new and outstanding and unforgettable on "Hallucinogen In Dub," here, "Vimana" is just as good, note-for-note.

 

On "Vimana," the old-school vibe is ever-present, the awesome sample theorizing about alien influence on human history is just as good as that classic Hallucinogen/Ott moment describing how LSD puts "us just a little out of their control" and the dub is just so bloody good.

 

In the here-and-now, this is an outstanding album, extremely well made and so pleasing to listen to. Also, "Etnica In Dub" has the potential to be something very special years from now. Only time will tell if it turns out to be a classic album but I do like its chances.

[Manuser]

Trip tonite is nice.

The rest is not very interesting, not bad either. The tracks don't go far enough, sounds quite simple with not much inspiration IMO.

It's decent: 5.5/10 is my rating of this release.

[Bill]

Trip tonite is nice.

The rest is not very interesting, not bad either. The tracks don't go far enough, sounds quite simple with not much inspiration IMO.

It's decent: 5.5/10 is my rating of this release.

 

If you go in expecting something very expansive in the vein of goa I can see how your expectations were not met. I guess even if you are expecting something as broad as Ott, Androcell or Slackbaba the same would hold true. As mentioned though "Vimana" is just stellar, blows my mind each time I hear it, as psychedelic and broad as any other dub out there.

 

For the most part, the music is simple in that it is dub and that style does not often lend itself to a wide array of unpredictability. Still, it is very fine music, very relaxing but still very artistic. Good for these guys for trying something outside of their forte, I feel they succeeded.

 

The only tracks I did not like were "That Kind Of Love" (ugh, don't like the vocals). I like this version of "Astral Way" and "Screaming Butterfly" a lot but they are very, very short, and lend themselves to not going "far enough".

 

That still leaves 7 great tracks in all. I can't comprehend a 5.5 rating by any stretch of the imagination.

[Lemmiwinks]

heyyy this one surprised me a lot more than the Astral Projection remixes album. Some VERY interesting tracks here, ranging from "plain vanilla" dub like Vimana (what the hell does it have in common with the original except the sample I don't know...) to uptempo chill-out with just some hints of dub like Desert Journey, it definately has all the variation to get you through many listens without getting bored. Not all tracks are remixes BTW, at least as far as I know some of the material here is original.

 

THE absolute standout here is Burning Sands, some oriental tunes on top of a midtempo DnB line, it works wonders, I couldn't help myself from repeatedly pressing the "repeat" button

 

Big thumbs up for the Screaming Butterfly remix as well, it takes a lot of craftmanship to take those very agressive sounds from the original and make them sound soothing in a downtempo track

 

Deep East and Trip Tonite are a bit of a scam though IMO, since the originals were downtempo to begin with, they basically just put them on top of a dub bassline, nice but nothing to get really crazy about.

 

Back to Vega is a bit too generic IMO, it sounds like music from a car commercial or something, I usually skip this one. Gilly's Voyage in Dub brings us to a darker side, it takes the overall progression of the original but with a lot of dub influences, a really nice mix IMO.

 

Overall, I'm impressed! Not an absolute classic (but then again, are there any absolute classics being made anymore?), but definately one of the best albums I've heard all year! 4/5 (faves: 5(!!!), 6, 8(!!))

 

PS Comparing it to Ott's Hallucinogen In Dub doesn't really do it justice IMO, it is a very different concept... not all tracks here are dub, some are more uptempo and some aren't even remixes...

[Bill]

Good review, mate!

[Bill]

THE absolute standout here is Burning Sands, some oriental tunes on top of a midtempo DnB line, it works wonders, I couldn't help myself from repeatedly pressing the "repeat" button

 

When drum 'n' bass is done properly it can be fantastic. "Burning Sands" is very, very, very good, I can understand why you keep hitting repeat. Good review, mate!

[Rotwang]

See below (can't find an option to delete an entire reply and this one was posted before it was ready)

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[Manuser]

Unfortunately I fail to hear any magic in this Vimana Dub version, I really wish I could feel the same way you do Bill but I don't, it sounds unfinished, empty... sometimes emptiness can be a strenght, sometimes a weakness and here I am afraid it is a weakness.

The tracks I still enjoy so far are Trip tonite, Back to Vega, and Screaming butterfly.

It's still decent overall but to me there are too many fillers in this album (Astral way, Desert journey, Gillys voyage) time will tell but I am not sure at all this album will be remembered long. Anyway who cares taste is personal!

For a good example of successful dub with a trancy atmosphere anyone should check out:

Ooze - Where the fields never end http://www.discogs.com/Ooze-Where-The-Fields-Never-End/release/31741

[Starkraver]

I've mixed feelings about this one!

As I'm a huge Etnica fanboy, couldn't resist.

Ordered, waiting!

[Celaripo]

i dont know what to think about it

it sounds very pleasant and relaxing but at the same time very forgettable

[Jon Cocco]

Track list please, otherwise nice work! 

 

Vimana In Dub

Deep East (66 Dub&Rola Remix)

Triptonite Dub

That Kind of Love

Back to Vegas

Burning Sands

Gilly's Voyage (Dub Mix)

Astral Way (Dub Mix)

Screaming Butterfly (Dub Mix)

Desert Journey

For me the album doesn't cut it, HOWEVER -- Back to Vega is really worth hearing, buying, downloading, etc. I wish more of the album was on par with that track and beyond.

Deep East (66 Dub&Rola Remix) is fairly average sounding IMO.

Triptonite Dub is more interesting in the second half. Okay.

That Kind Of Love is a downtempo piece with lyrical female singing. Better for me via five minutes after the voice left to enjoy the music's nuances, tone, etc. The female singing was bland though.  

Back to Vega -- Finally a track that stands out! This song is catchy, unique, and has just the right mixture of electronic and worldly influence, female voice, etc. Great melody and atmosphere, accents, etc. It starts a little slow but shifts around the 3:50 mark for something very eye / ear opening and pleasing. I wish the second half (or last third) was a little more refreshing, but overall great track! 

Burning Sands seems to one of the songs that everyone likes. Ahh.. I'm not that impressed. I hear a nice female hymns around a mid-tempo beat. Some flute. I lost interest to the samey sound throughout.

Gilly's Voyage (Dub Mix) is slow, dull, and boring. This isn't my style or cup of tea. 

Astral Way (Dub Mix) 

Screaming Butterfly (Dub Mix) has a very nice tribal drum, beat, and melody (s). Here's a mix that sounds vastly different from the original. More work appears to have been invested to vary and distinguish this thing from the original. It's relaxing, catchy, and enjoyable. 

Desert Journey is gentle, atmospheric, a bit moody, Psy-influenced, and has some subtle sound/accent work to boot. Not much in terms of changing scenery happens. The song could have been more eventful, but the general sound throughout is good. I like it, especially a repeating "accent" ask sound that takes place throughout.

I thought the whole album was going to be dubby. Thankfully it's not entirely. I return to it sometimes enjoying parts of it more than others. That said, Back to Vega is by far the song that resonates with my marbles (consciousness aspects since like attracts like) the most on this album. I just wish the surrounding songs were on par to this tribally gift and beyond. There are some other pretty good songs though around the more typical (forgettable) sounding dub ones.