DNA - Virtual Jungle

[Trance2MoveU]

 

 

Artist: DNA

Title: Virtual Jungle

Label: Zion 604

Date: December, 2016

 

1.Chakra & Avi - Insignificant Form Of Life (DNA Remake) 08:14    
2. Phreaky - The Second Moon (DNA Remake) 06:50    
3.Joti & Avi - Etheogenic Spiral (DNA Remake) 07:46    
4.Joti & Avi - Solid Bubbles (DNA Remake) 07:21    
5.Dino & Avi - Tango Electro (DNA Remake) 07:53    
6.Oli & Avi - Nuclear Fissionchips (DNA Remake) 06:59

 

"It's amazing!"

 

 

No, it's not.  But I'll get there.

 

Zion 604 is a wonderful label which specializes in releasing hard to find goa trance or stuff that was never released.  They do some artist stuff as well and for the most part have been (and rightly so) lauded for their efforts.  Their latest is an update on an old-school album Virtual Jungle.  Well...kinda.  I mean 4 of the tracks are missing and they added Insignificant Form of Life.  These aren't remixes just updates done by DNA, otherwise known as Dan Komen and Avi Alga..Avi Algaran...Space Cat. 

 

First let me say that this is far from my favorite goa album.  The original was decent and quite good in places, but I could take it or leave it.  I was gonna do a track by track review, but the more I listened to them the more I realized that what I was going to say for one track goes for all of them.  The sound is much improved.  Warmer and clearer with more punch.  The groove is more out front and it sounds like something from Zion.  I had forgotten some of these and it made me remember how psychedelic tracks like Solid Bubbles is.   Here's where the disappointment comes in.

 

Even though the sound is vastly improved now we have just ok tracks that sound better.  I never listen to samples so I was hoping that they would do whatever juju magic they seem to have and make a diamond out of a zirconium. 

 

They did not.  Mostly

 

Couple things.  Even though aurally it is super some of the tracks are missing that punch, that fury.  The Second Moon is one of them.  It's like they took the drama out of it.  Nuclear Fissionchips wasn't a great track to start with, but the remake just made that more clear.  Bottom line I think it's a good maxi-Ep (that's what it is), but with the quality of their output I cannot help but be a little disappointed that they didn't do more with this.   One thing I will say...that cover is awesome.

 

 

Zion604 Bandcamp

[antic604]

@T2MU - again, thanks for putting this up

 

Regarding the album, I was "lucky" enough to be oblivious to the existence of the original from '97 in the first place and only heard couple of tracks earlier: The Second Moon and Tango Electro. But even then, I need to agree with T2MU that it's pretty scarce on real melodies (e.g. the eastern/arabic riff in The Second Moon is all but gone...) and instead focuses more on groovy rhythms and patterns, mild(er) acidic sounds; all played with contemporary & more elaborate sounds. One could even go as far as to say that sometimes it sounds as if certain channels in the mix were switched off. However, it all made sense in the context of (short) length of the album and the order of the tracks, that go from more dry ones at the beginning to more "full" and energetic (Tango Electro and Nuclear Fissionchips) in the end, creating sort of flow or buildup which you normally would expect to happen within single track. Ok, I thought - that was apparently intentional. But I got really surprised 2 weeks ago when I finally got my CD and the order on it completely different (digital* vs. physical) breaking that flow.

 

Still, as long as you don't have a preconception about how this should sound like or expect certain 'enhancements' over the original, I'd say it's a thoroughly enjoyable release - full of groove, but not overly acidic or melodic. It's more about sound textures and rhythm patterns, than distinct leads and memorable riffs.

 

4/5

 

* BTW, I'm almost certain that even for digital release they moved around Tango Electro (that's last in my download from mid Nov '16) & Nuclear Fissionchips (2nd to last)