Review of "Ironic Cultures" by Sangoma Records

[Psychron333]

Here is my review of the most recent compilation done by Jacob "Izzy" Hasten and Michael "Cosinus" of Sangoma Records. I was very grateful to provide my ears and heart for them. My procedure or design was to listen to each track a handful of times with the thought of how I could really capture the picture they painted in relation to sound. Closing my eyes to really feel and immerse myself on what the compilation to offer brought out a familiar, but newer thought pattern to me. The following manuscripts are the answers to that cycled question... ::

If you are hesitant about buying this album, Don't be. Smashing through genre categorizations, this compilation brings you hypnotic atmospheres, slamming bass grooves, and epic, cerebral melodies all while ensnaring you in some beautiful, technical psytrance. My experience with this album was inspiring to say the least. If you want bass that can beautifully infiltrate your embrace with a sound so profound, "Ironic Cultures" is the treat for you. This album delivers hard and heavy, but has just enough space to keep you in its grasp. Spontaneous creativity meet sonic divinity in a wonderful array of psychedelic production based right out of New York. I was thoroughly impressed with the ways the melodies could just scoop me up and take me away for a bit. The technical prowess of each track was carved indefinitely to create the best story. It was almost hard to be able to scribe all of this because when the music is that good, you forget to analyze while lost in the vibe. Get this Compilation. Your soul will only thank you.

The album cover had its own story to tell....

Complimenting very well the journeys into new dimensions you will experience on this album, staring into you on the cover is the artwork of a rift that will catch your dreams. Depicted is a very dark, but inviting portal revelealing Sangoma Records in its core. Much like the archaic experiences outlined in some psytrance and history of man, this portal is decorated with a native design that reflects the vibrant, colorful, layered sounds heard in Psy music. Seeming to be some type of ektoplasmic feathering, this cover arts does a great job of joining the
worlds of alien, ghostly, and otherworldly, just as its sounds will do.

Here was the analyzation of the individual tracks...

Axial Tilt -Heating Modulation

This tracks comes in hard and groovy after some atmospheric ambiance to deliver you one high energy journey. Entranced in the punchy groove, wispy synths with the right amount of delay to send you spinning quickly paint the
vibe with a bass that bumps hard, catching you in its subby grip. The conversation between the cymbals and gritty, granulized synths fail not to deliver you a percussive adventure filled with waves of vibrance and melodic evolution. Ascend and descend in spacetime sonically until the atmospheres show back up to lead you to its finish in this ripping psychedelic artwork.

2. Drip Drop- Musical Neurons
Drip Drop starts you off with a deep, percussive vibe in this one. Glitchy, cognitive Blips in the distance soon welcome you to your musical awakening. Let each sound drop on the synapses of your brain to expand into the addition of each measure. Drifting with the growing patterns, conga lines and galactic bird talk will be the foundation for this one. As the neurons in your brain light up with each piece of this cerebral symphony, your feet will be shaking the dancespace.

Gastard- Shake Up Weeple

Get sucked up in Gastard's computer glitch while his bass grounds you in a two foot switch. Your binary code will unravel with each beep trailing with delay. This percussive bounce beat will have you moving on your feet and mind through vocal lines into ridding the virus. Bubble onward with this track's infinite progression into a metallic chasm of musical verbalization. Featuring bass grooves, constant, bouncing movement, and many shifts, this journey finishes with a melodic shamanic section that will warp you right out of this sector and into your spirit.

Dsaba and Kabayun- Vega Sector

Navigate deep space bass with Kabayun and Dsaba as your sound shaman crew. You are in command of the spaceship in this one. Take a ride through the abyss with synthwork and drums to greet you and grip you quick in this soundstream. The vibe in this one just progresses and impresses while taking you through fun rising sections and breaks. You may get lost out there, but Dsaba and Kabayun will pilot you back home with crunchy hitech calls, chimes, and one catchy evolving melody.

Synthetic Chaos vs. Cosinus- Like an Animal

Immerse yourself in an electronic animal kingdom of noise with this one. Starting off slower with the right amount of groove, soon you will be guided by shimmering atmospheres into a techtronic portal of sound. Caged like an animal in this aggressive sound, Synthetic Chaos and Cosinus take you through a buzzing and riveting soundscape with enough crashes and edge to keep you out of your seat.

Southwild- Blackstripes

Nipping you quick with those wonderful familiar bass grooves, Southwild doesn't take long to transport you into an ektoplasmic chamber filled with hollow xylophones, maddening impacts, and a hydraulic hyperspace. Drift from each
riser to the beautifully arranged darkness of each echoing melody. This is one slamming and jamming masterpiece that will have you screaming for more when it abruptly ends.

Hoodwink- Swanky Panky

Smash through a Shrieky, mechanical intro to ride booming bass groove. As you metronome between Hoodwink's strategically placed squelches, the energy will greet you with some cybertronic guitars and wooey pads. Entrancing variation lies in the talk of the main sounds, scripting a hollow journey that will have you euphorically guessing what's next. Capturing your mind and movement, this track will zoom you from one nebula to the next.

LAB and Hydrae- Things Out of Life

Float in the cockpit of this one through droney strings to be placed right into heavy, futuristic bass. With ravishing use of transitions and breaks, LAB and Hydrae aim to zip you in and out of this hemisphere with a gargantuan, ghastly, and growling sound. Phase with a hypnotic bass pluck that perfectly flips from offbeat to the norm within this electronic storm.


Synkronic- Tech Knowledge

Among flight in a glitch soup , you will waiting for the bass that will put you in your place for the start of this one. Synkronic makes use of every inch of timespace in this hitech arp for your heart. The sounds that vocalize with beeping mimicery and such finesse in their placement will keep you grounded in a dance state.

Once Upon A Time- Memories of Things Unseen

Eerily ripening your ears for mean kick variations and a collage of percussive clickery, Once Upon A Time drives hard into your soul with this track. This powerful ghostly sound will emcompass you with layered communication of
some of the heaviest and crunchiest sounds on the comp. You won't wish you unheard this wonderland of Glitchery when coming through the otherside as it finishes with a rhythmic combination of technical crunches and signalling
arpeggios.


Christian William Jones.
Psychronicity
11/26/2015

[franki]

This is on my CD shopping list.

Sangoma are putting out some of my favourite thumping psy at the moment! Had a great run of compilations!

[Trance2MoveU]

Sangoma Records is what Timecode morphed into when the South African psytrance gravy train ended.  Their releases have focused on the darker, forest side of psytrance and haven't done much to move the needle for me.  While I appreciate the above review in its detail and scope what it comes down to for me is that the tracks all follow the same pattern.  Rampaging basslines with eerie night time sounds and percussive trickeration. 

 

But something about this compilation clicked.

 

The sounds are bubbly and the atmosphere is hallucinatory.  The kicks pound while the layers accumulate. The above reviewer was correct in labeling this a "wonderland of glitchery" and it works very well in most cases.  Many tracks follow the Wildthings Records formula where melody isn't the primary focus.  Lo and behold check out who was responsible for the mastering.  I liked this compilation even though there wasn't a single track that floored me; it was just consistently good.  I would say the only downside when making music without something to grab on to is that there is the potential for it to get a little boring.  With that in mind it's a good compilation, but I'm still waiting for Sangoma to deliver that heavy, lush, psychedelic monster.