Denshi Danshi - Fluid Dynamics

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Denshi Danshi

Title: Fluid Dynamics

Label: Suntrip Records

Date: October, 2015

 

1. The Dancing Shiva

2. Mariposa Live Remix

3. Fluid Dynamics

4. Feed the Mugwumps

5. Vanaspati

6. Make Make

7. A Fast Trip Straight Down The Ladder

8. Mars Base Alpha

9. Tsuki

10. Maelstrom

11. Kraft Karamel

 

Bonus Tracks:

 

Temple of Heaven

Cow's Blues Live Remix

 

 

 

Ugh...so much music to listen to and so many reviews to write. This is fast becoming an all encompassing chore.

 

"Mike I need you to clean the bathrooms today!"

 

 

"Sorry babe I've got some work to do." Whew. Now that's a chore. A four year old who ain't potty trained and a six year old with terrible aim and that's a chore I'm looking to avoid. All right...let's see what we've got here...*swipes right to left on phone* No, no, no...hold up now, what's this?

 

Denshi Danshi? Pffft...what a stupid name. And that artwork...look I know it can't always be fractals and dancing Shivas, but it's so...plain. Well, it's either this or the wrong end of a toilet brush.

 

 

 

 

Wow. Double wow. Joske wasn't just hyping the sh*t out of this to boost sales. My man was speaking the gospel! The names behind this project are Chistophe Frere and Said Archer, artists from back in the day who never put out a proper album, but made some compilation appearances with tracks like Cow's Blues, Mariposa, and Feed the Mugwumps. Right from the first track you can tell it's going to be an acidic roller coaster ride. The Dancing Shiva bounces with crackling energy and groove while on the live remix of Mariposa they show that Seb isn't the only guy able to wreck a 303. Rising, rising and then unleashing. It's a bubbling sizzler.

 

The title track is a monster that was made a few months ago just for this album. Pure and simple old school, in your face acidic goa trance. Now if you're anything like me you're asking yourself what the f*ck is a Mugwump? I thought it was a derogatory term for dwarf like Oompa Loompa, but it actually means an aloof or independent person. This is a remastered version and for those like myself who have never heard it a true treat. It's all over the place with chaotic acidic tribal wizardry. Vanaspati is ok, but doesn't shine like the previous tracks. Something had to follow the Mugwumps and unfortunately it was that one.

 

Make Make and that sneaky lead had me dancing like no one was watching. It kept changing and adding new melodies, but kept it's consistent level of awesomeness. A Fast Trip also has that tribal feel, but only just cause you might miss it with the growly leads. The climax is a whole lot of twirling fun. Mars Base Alpha slows it down slightly with some shimmery sci-fi atmosphere and the climax of Tsuki is a mass of leads and 303 madness. Maelstrom is an accurate track name that keeps building until it erupts in a hugely acidic climax. Blistering. Closing things out is Kraft Karamel a downtempo track that descends from space and allows me to comprehend all that I have been deluged with. A welcome conclusion.

 

Well, almost. There are two bonus tracks if you order from the Suntrip shop. Temple of Heaven can be found on Psychic Deli's Future Psychedelia and fits well on this album. Same type of acid chaos. Cow's Blues has a sound that really does sound like a cow mooing. Slower, but equally psychedelic.

 

 

Are new artists making goa trance anymore? Seriously, the old timers are back in a big way showing the whippersnappers how it was and is to be done. Look I'm sorry I made fun of your name. You make music like this and call yourself psychedelic toilet brush and I'm going to buy it. It's old school all the way with a heaping helping of acidic power. You can get it at the regular shops of course, but as I mentioned if you order from Suntrip you get those two bonus tracks and you help out a label that's been delivering the goods since Katrina tried to swallow the Big Easy. It's a no brainer and if you call yourself a goa fan...essential.

 

F*ck it. Get down Mugwumps!

 

 

 

 

Suntrip

 

Psyshop

 

Beatspace

 

 

 

[Oopie]

So good. Probably my favourite release of 2015, excellent quality throughout. And I do think Suntrip made the right choice with the bonus tracks that didn't make it on the album - they're alright but slightly less exciting than the album material.

[Lemmiwinks]

ummm well, I don't want to come out as some grumpy old man who always complains but... once again we get the "more of the same Suntrip neo-goa formulaic stuff"...
Ok, on a positive note, the intro track Dancing Shiva is a DANCEFLOOR KILLER!! (no, really ) The tension-release around 4:00 OMG!!! If that echoing-synth sound gave me goose-bumps. Ok, I haven't listened to much psy in 2015 but form what I've listened I can easily call this the track of the year. Proof that there is still room for surprise in a genre that is more than 20 years old

 

Well, too bad the rest of the album isn't like that (or maybe just that the bar was set so high by the first track that the rest seems pretty forgetable). Honorable mention goes to Mars Base Alpha where the artists seem to (finally?) realize that good goa doesn't always have to be ultra-fast and over-the-top to work, just having a slower pace and a mysterious atmosphere can also do wonders

And last but not least, the return of the mandatory down-tempo album closer Kraft Karamel. Hmm, not bad at all I must say, some nice acid lines which sound soft and agressive at the same time, I really like this one a lot.

 

So, basically you have one absolute killer track, one good but not great one and one very good downtempo track, among pretty forgetable generic-sounding filler material. Still, those 3 tracks are definately worth buying the album IMO 4/5

 

PS thanks Trance2MoveU for letting us know what is a Mugwump

[Agneton]

ummm well, I don't want to come out as some grumpy old man who always complains but... once again we get the "more of the same Suntrip neo-goa formulaic stuff"...

That's kind of a biased opinion since most of this stuff was produced in the nineties already...

[Alek]

I find this quite different from most other Suntrip releases and I'm liking it quite a bit

There is a definite feel of old school here with a lot of analog acid lines, but the production is top notch and fresh! Very enjoyable headphone material If someone held a fish to my head and forced me to compare this to something recentish, I would have to say "Portamento! Now please get that stinky fish out of my fucking face!"

Longer fermentation is required before picking some top tracks, but so far the Mugwumps have left a definite impression

[Anoebis]

That's kind of a biased opinion since most of this stuff was produced in the nineties already...

Even more funny, the track he REALLY likes is one of 3 that was made last few months... All the rest is pure 90s analog unreleased stuff as most know I guess

 

Ah well, my favourites are for sure Mariposa Remix, the Ladder, Maelstrom & Make Make Great pure analog acid madness They rip every dancefloor over and over again I loved their sound in the 90s, it was even one of my favourites so I was glad we could do this project! And I am more then happy about the result. I think lately it's clear we have a more various/versatile release-catalogue, more acid & crazy stuff between the more morning stuff...

[Organic Humanoid]

once again we get the "more of the same Suntrip neo-goa formulaic stuff"...

 

 

 

to add that no matter what label you will get it will sound the same. its a genre thats what you get .

[Organic Humanoid]

Even more funny, the track he REALLY likes is one of 3 that was made last few months... All the rest is pure 90s analog unreleased stuff as most know I guess

 

Ah well, my favourites are for sure Mariposa Remix, the Ladder, Maelstrom & Make Make Great pure analog acid madness They rip every dancefloor over and over again I loved their sound in the 90s, it was even one of my favourites so I was glad we could do this project! And I am more then happy about the result. I think lately it's clear we have a more various/versatile release-catalogue, more acid & crazy stuff between the more morning stuff...

 

 

lol super smiley

[longloststar]

I really like this! "Mariposa Live Remix" is mindblowing. I love the originality and the melodic twists. This is definitely a must-have for old-school lovers.

[Aspartic]

Too old school for me

[Drosophila]

For me one of the best releases to come from Suntrip in a long while! Denshi Danshi delivers an album packed with acidic no-nonsense goa trance tracks. The momentum is relentless, and I also get flashbacks to albums of other masters of "this style" such as e.g. Green Nuns, and also a bit different cats such as Color Box/Bypass Unit (well mainly in the track Maëlstrom). Anyways, great stuff from beginning to end, highly recommended!

[Ormion]

Maelstrom is epic.

[Nammaï]

Jupp Jupp. So I was gonna register an account, but to my surprise I found out I already had one. I guess the 18 year old me had a cheesy taste in nicknames (is it possible to change btw?)... Anyway, I've been wanting to start doing reviews for some time now, and this is my first serious one. It's not intended for this site, but rather for sputnikmusic to spread the gospel. Trying to bring some focus on goa to the outside crowd and to bring some publicity to something that's not the god damn forest/dark shit. But before doing that, I thought I'd run it by some of you High Priests of Goa. So here's the first draft of my review. I'm gonna listen to it one more time to check if I'm still of the same opinion Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Cheers from Norway,

Espen / Nammaï

Not too long ago a post showed up on my facebook feed. It was from the respected Suntrip label and the track was Denshi-Danshi – The Dancing Shiva, a preview of their upcoming release apparently... I pushed play, not quite knowing what to expect, and was intrigued by the soft – almost frail – intro. Then after about half a minute a mean synth joined the party, quickly followed by a hard and primal bassline. Immediately the head-nodding began and that small secretive smile you get when you're really rocking out on the dance floor just crept in out of nowhere. One more time. And another. I couldn't sit still any more, I just had to get up and shake my fat ass. In my minds eye I was connecting with my tribal ancestors and dancing around a roaring fire, howling at the moon. No small feat for just 2-3 ciders... But alas - even though I was blown away by this old school sounding monster track – there's always work in the morning and I was already overdue. However, the wheels had been set in motion and it left me with a few unanswered questions; Who or what is Denshi-Danshi? Why haven't I heard this before? And how can I get some more?

So what is Denshi-Danshi? My acute mind (and countless hours spent on anime) suggested a Japanese origin, so I tried my luck on Google translate. Evidently, it's Denshi (electron) and Danshi (boy) which roughly translates into «the Electronic Men» or «E-Men». Apperantly, these E-Men are Saïd Archer and Christophe Frére, a parisian Goa-trance duo who used to release on POF Music in the mid 90s. In fact, some of the tunes on this album have previously been released on POF and other labels. This album is just one of the ongoing wave of re-releases of artists that never got put out their own album in their heyday. It only has three new tracks, and thus feels much more like a greatest hits than a regular album. And when I say greatest hits, that also speaks to the overall quality of the release, which we are about to examine in greater detail.

The follow up track to The Dancing Shiva is Mariposa (Live Remix). The live mix has a much beefier sound than the original. It has a nice progression to it, starting off pretty melodic and slowly picking up the pace. About half-way through things are whipped into a half-frenzy when the third act hits you get the feeling it could demolish any dancefloor. Overall amazing tune, slightly flawed by an irritating skip at 5:30. The title track Fluid Dynamics is next in line and sounds way more conventional. It's a solid Goa-tune that does not stray too far from the pack or from it's own idea. Nice melody and nice flow, but not the roller-coaster ride like the previous tunes. The next dish served is Feed The Mugwumps, an enticing title. Giving me a hazy recollection (as most of my memories are these days) to Naked Lunch, it's typewriters and Bomb The Bass' seminal track Bug Powder Dust. The chorus of the aforementioned track («Bug powder dust and mugwump jism / And the wild boys runnin' 'round the Inter Zone trippin'») suits the sounds to current track quite well. It's a great acid drenched power tune that really pushes the tempo. Even so much so that you can almost hear the guys discussing «How the hell do we tune this down in twenty seconds?» «Well, shit man. Let's just subtract bit by bit and hope we land before the next track». And like a small propeller plane it does barely touch the runway, bounces, and lifts off again into Vanaspati. Not too exciting, but it has a more quiet section about midway through with some interesting bleeps and ploinks that gives the track some flavour. Make Make has much better sound to it. It's more hypnotic and has melodic highs that reminds me of Man With No Name at his best. Add a layer, remove one, up and down we go - flowing down the rapids at a slightly increasing speed. Great tune. A Fast Trip Straight Down The Ladder suggest that our rafting on the high rapids is far from over. And it's partially right. The track itself is pretty monotonous for a Goa tune, as it uses a lot of the same rythm sections over and over. However the idea/sound of the tune is solid and carries it untill you land at the Mars Alpha Base. In my opinion it has that authentic sci-fi feel to it. It's also one of those few tracks that builds really well downwards. The slower midpoint of the song is actually beautiful and a welcome treat to my ears. The song also sounds more «modern» than it's predecessors. Tsuki starts off as another of those «regular» hypnotic and melodic Goa-tunes. None too special, untill it shapeshifts a litte before halfway through. It brings in a more brooding and sinister industrial sound which it then gradually rises upwards towards the light. Pretty good! Following suit, Maelstrom, has a darker and grittier atmosphere compared to the others. It doesn't stand out in particular, it's just another one of those solid dance tunes. And staying true the Goa heritage, the album ends with Kraft Karamel as a downtempo outro track. I usually hate those tracks, so with that in mind I think this one is pretty good – all things considered. It has mysterious feel to it and with it's drum it sort of eclipses the whole album experience. It's tribal theme actually turns out pretty funky and would work well as a build up tune for an opening set.

To me, tribal is also the common denominator when listening to this album. It taps into those primal rythms deeply rooted within us. It makes you want to get up and move, dance and celebrate! Judging it as such I would give it an overall excellent rating. The weakest links in the chain are solid dancefloor tunes, no more – no less. And when coupled with the high points like Shiva, Mariposa, Mugwumps you really feel satisfied. And if you're not satisfied, they actually threw in a couple of free downloads as well! I'm not gonna critique Temple of Heaven and Cow's Blues (Live Remix) as they're not on the album, but both are good – and as we all know, free bonus stuff makes everything better. However, one thing I find irritating is that the best tunes are at the beginning of the album. If you're greedy like me, you always want more. Push the madness – higher and higher. So when you burn the best tracks early, you never feel quite complete again. However, my impression is that todays music crowd has the attention span of a worn out speed-junkie – which makes it understandable (get them hooked on your shit as early as possible). It's just a minor thing after all. One thing I really like is the album cover. It's slick logo design on a dark back ground, coupled with the elaborate and suggestive patterns you find in ancient manuscrips/books. Refreshing, compared to the usual colour-splurges with the same recurring sci-fi/forest themes. So, I guess that about sums it up. Great for new and old goa-headz alike.

[Rotwang]

I guess the 18 year old me had a cheesy taste in nicknames (is it possible to change btw?)

Yep, just tell me or one of the other admins what you want it changed to.

[IronSun]

What can I say? One of the best releases of this year! I love it how there are still so many old-school artists for me to discover after 8 years of listening to goa!

 

The selection of tracks is very varied, which is one of the great strengths of this album I think. Many of the tracks are absolute in-your-face acidic stompers though and MAN these hit the spot!!!

 

Favorites are the Mariposa Live Remix, Mugwumps, that Fast Trip Straight Down The Ladder, Tsuki and the bass of that Dancing Shiva! Such a primal, satisfying feeling when it kicks in.

 

This is dance music that makes sense, and I agree with Nammai that it feels tribal.

 

Comparisons to Green Nuns (Especially the collab with slinky wizard) and Unconscious Collective can be made imo for the acidic tracks.

 

Great and unexpected release!

[draeke]

Absolutely breath-taking album, the tracks are very well selected, there is a lot of atmosphere in every track and the recently made ones DO sound like the old times, just perfect, I concur with many of the reviews.

 

My favourites are the opener track, Mariposa live, Make Make and Dancing Shiva but I really like everything on this album. I gave it a preview listen online and I just had to buy it. Great selection of tracks by Jos & Fabien here (or only Joske?). I also very much like the cover, it is oldschool and less fractal/suntrip style, and fits very well the release. Also I suppose it is what the artist wanted.

 

As a final trivia, I had licensed Make Make for the next compilation on DAT but when the guys told me they wanted it for the album, I had to let them have it, it was the right thing to do and the track is perfect in the album.

Another galactic release on Suntrip, bravo!

[Goa-Head]

I like this really a lot, definately not in the Suntrip usual style as Draeke says but a twist for good.

[franki]

Yeah, love it!

[Psychedelic Alien]

Im not often online here, but this release deserves a mention. It is one of the best releases of the last decennium! Acid old school like it was made very seldom, and also the new tracks are powerful and analog. Lovely!

[Manuser]

Not as enthusiastic as most members here, especially about Dancing Shiva that I find boring (I actually had to double check if I was actually playing the right track that everyone else was praising), but still the album has good moments for sure, not denying that! Maelstrom is some sick wicked stuff, this track is ridiculously GOOD (how come not released earlier??!) and certainly different to anything else released on this label.

[Squid]

This album came as a nice surprise to me. This is the classic 90s sound that is pure gold. Thank you guys for releasing it. Favourte tracks: Fluid Dynamics and Make Make.

[Kitrinos]

Feed the Mugwumps is the best for me. Mariposa is also very good. Most of the other tracks are alright but not as good as the aforementioned.