Ace Ventura - Paradise Engineering

[Jaza]

The launch of the Ace Ventura project almost a decade ago, after his departure from Psysex, was really where 'prog psy' took off. He and Liquid soul released debut albums within a year of each other and the genre grew stronger by the year from 2007.

Fusing some of the vibe of modern psytrance with the sensibilities of the traditional prog trance sound typically epitomised by the Scandinavians, the genre added a new variation to psytrance parties where full-on had started to jade people, and also had a hand in bringing many new people in to the psy scene by acting as a 'gateway drug' as a more accessible form of psy.

 

This album was promised for years as a follow-up to 2007's 'Rebirth' which itself contains a number of tracks that were rinsed, repeated and remixed so many times throughout the last decade and really serve as a blueprint for the genre. The success of that album and subsequent singles saw Ace travel constantly, he's been here in Australia every year and seems to headline every single big party and many other small-medium parties across Europe, Brazil, etc, including two 4hr+ headline sets at Boom 2012 and 14. It's worth noting that he often chooses to DJ over playing 'live' when many producers are often the opposite.

 

Ace's productions released as singles in recent years showed a different approach, away from the deepness from his early days and more geared towards the dancefloor, so I was interested in what he might do with a full album to work with.

 

#1) Going back

The opening vocal about happiness drags on for a bit, asian or middle eastern plucked melody is nice enough, and two minutes in the standard prog psy bassline kicks in.

It's meant to ease us in to the album, which it does, and there are hints of Atmos in the way it ever-so-slowly builds, but I gotta admit I'm mostly bored. A bit of acid at 4:20 teases us before we're back to the norm.

It's follows the prog trance formula of uncovering layers over time, it's smooth, but I guess the problem is that none of these layers excite me. A weak opening if I'm honest.

 

 

#2) Come with us (feat Zen Mechanics)

The opening melody hints at something more than track 1, and the bassline has a bit more oomph and variation behind it while still keeping us very much in afternoon prog mode.

The Zen Mechanics influence really shines through in the details and sounds as the track unfolds. Whilst there's more to keep me interested here, it's sadly only a little more.

The tempo picking up halfway restores interest momentarily, but I have to admit I'm not too fond of the Jim Morrison sample nor taken by where the track goes after what must be a >60 second breakdown. Ace + ZM can do some cool stuff together but this is not their best.

 

 

#3) Ingonyama (feat Juno Reactor)

I found myself very curious about this combination. You can seldom guess what Juno will bring to the table, but combining it with Ace's sound doesn't strike me as a natural fit.

But I really enjoy this. The background sounds are very JR, jungle drum sounds an all, but it somehow works with some of the prog psy zap sounds that are surely Ace's input. The atmosphere grows over time, and even when the oft-derided off-beat bassline kicks in, the way it unfolds after with the sheer variety of sounds is great. Overall it's a nice, very unique journey.

 

 

#4) Pranava (feat Astrix)

It's hard to come back to this after the last track. There's some subtlety to the melodies that I quite like, but the bassline, the track build, and so many of the supporting sounds are things I've heard before. The bouncy bassline variant, reminiscent of older Astrix, at 3:30 adds some fun (although I know some will hate it) but the Indian voice sample is neither here not there. The track proceeds with little really happening IMO.

 

#5) Stomping Ground (edit)

The eerie atmosphere and the solid thud of the bassline get my attention immediately. I quite like the crackling sounds that populate the intro, and the way it grows before taking us back to basics just before 3mins with a bassline very much for stomping. The acid sequence really marks this track as unique, I don't mind the vocal sample, and whilst the last breakdown drags out a bit I've still very much enjoyed this.

The only downside? This was released the year prior as a single and I think was written some years ago. I'm fairly sure this was his opening track at Boom 2012. This album version has a few changes in the middle of the track, I think it may be a bit faster (?) and if I'm honest I marginally prefer the original.

 

 

#6) The World That You Know (feat Symbolic)

At first I was worried another generic prog psy track awaited, but as it unfolds there's some stuff in there I like. The pace has picked up, there's a groove to it the other tracks have missed, and I am taken by the chopped up vocals throughout from the main vocal, which itself is twisted in a few fun ways. It's not the most original track in the world, and it does peter out over time, but it's of more interest than many of the others here.

 

#7) Neurochemistry (feat Liquid Soul)

Liquid Soul is another who rose with Ace as prog psy soared but has fallen in to some questionable habits at times. There's nothing wrong with this track, but it also exhibits the rut that defines them both and the genre at this point in time. It's not quite as pumping as the last two, the production is sharp, the melody nice enough but not really evoking any emotion, and it's a flat 'standard' journey were hear too often. I can't help but feel this is a great example of innovators gone stagnant.

 

 

#8) Our Moment (feat Loud)

Loud are very hit-and-miss for me, but when they are good they can be great, so I have some hope here.

Delicate melody, early off-beat breakdown with the "this is our moment" sample is surely designed for a big response from PLUR'd up dance floors, and it sorts of floats along dreamily.

But by the time we're past 6 minutes it's really evolved. We've had several different sections including some acid, and then a big buzzing breakdown leads in to some very Loud-esque morning sounds before floating back down. I can't say this is all great, I can see why some would love it despite it not really taking me, but it's kind of like getting four songs in 10 minutes.

 

 

#9) Brave New World

Tempo drops right back as we go deep. A few interesting organic sounds and natural drums, and a totally different vibe on this one that shares some similarities with the way bass music makes people groove. I like the quirky Indian (?) voice that dominates, and how this track is really different, so much that I struggle to describe it. Once again though I feel like it goes stagnant and doesn't take us that far in the second half, which has been a theme here.

 

 

Track 5 would have been my pick but that's watered down so track 3 is the winner here. But the real story is this long-awaited album failing to live up to its billing. Much like his recent singles, the focus is on big basslines, thumps, and out-of-the-box zap sounds rather than deep moments and journeys that marked his early work. In the years after 2008 and particularly since 2011 so many people have copied and dumbed down this sound as the genre grew. It's sad to see his latest iteration closer to theirs, too often generic and void of soul.

 

The production quality is great, but I'm left mostly empty. It remains to be seen if he can one day bring us something fresh, or fade right back in to the crowd.

[Blubber]

what a great review it is Jaza, your descriptions made me feel like i already heard the album

 

the Juno Reactor Collabo is indeed very nice and although the offbeat-show is reaaallllllly thumbsdown in the beginning, the later track progression and overall atmosphere is completely upmyalley

 

the track with Astrix is unbelievably boring, the one with Loud left me totally untouched, and the rest.... hmmm maybe i listen to them another day....

[recursion loop]

Painted by numbers but really well painted, and the numbers are the right ones

 

Nothing groundbreaking but fine proggy stuff, really well produced. Works well as a background for doing something, the whole thing is a bit boring for close listen but there are some really nice sounds and melodies here and there.