Median Project - In The Depths of Space

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Median Project
Title: In The Depths of Space
Label: Global Sect Music
Date: January, 2018

1. Astral Fobia (w/ Centarva Project)
2. In The Depths of Space
3. Heaven and Earth
4. In the Dark
5. Morning In Space (w/ Atlantis Project)
6. Artifact303 - Life Support System (Median Project Remix)
7. Wishmaster
8. Third Element (Original Mix)
9. Over the Horizon
10. Kometa

Helloooooo?

Crap on a cracker this place is deader than an R. Kelly sleep-over camp.  I'm afraid the reviews section has taken quite the hit over the last year it seems.  I suppose we are all getting older and spending time with our families to the detriment of the music.  I realize I have been absent for an extended stretch and I will tell you life happens and review writing doesn't seem to be such a priority any longer.  Does anyone even care to read reviews these days?

I thought I would throw my .02 cents in here and maybe it will snowball into some more.  Gotta at least justify the fees Mars is paying for the real estate.  Been listening to this for awhile now and I'm impressed.  First of all Global Sect has become a titan when it comes to releasing goa trance.  They go big and mostly have released multiple CD sets of cosmic goa trance.  But they don't stop there.  They also do t-shirts and huge (if you like) backdrops so this label based in Mother Russia seems to be firing on all cylinders.  Now if they could only take their orange, bloated grandpa puppet back and get him and his asshole family out of my country.  Seriously, have you ever seen a group of bigger douchebags?

This is Sergei Petrenko and after releasing a few ep's he drops an album in our laps that continues with the trend of cosmic, doing barrel rolls in a rocket ship, deep space goa trance.  Just look at the track titles.  Think of is as an offshoot to the label's last effort, the mega opus to the cold abyss Terraformer.  It's beautifully layered and powerful creating floating atmospheres that are easy in which to get swept up.  The middle of the album is my favorite and where I believe he hits his stride.  The remix of Life Support System is a stellar track with just a liquid, aggressive style that I really like.  Most of the album is like that so that's a win.  The label has been beating that drum for awhile now so I'm sure it can get tiresome for some.  But the album itself sounds fantastic and it is everything I could ask for in this type of goa trance.  Also, I just want to say that I really like their artwork.  Good job.

BTW, top marks for using a sample from the under appreciated 1983 classic Johnny Dangerously.

Global Sect Bandcamp

Psyshop

Beatspace

[Aspartic]

A while ago I wrote some words here about GS records and Median Project spitting out goa that has lots of sounds, but don't really go anywhere. Sort of the same rhythm for 8 minutes without climaxes or surprises. Great sound design, but poor story telling. I had that feeling even more when I listened to the samples of "In The Depths Of Space".

Now, this is a good example that samples not always reflect what's truly inside. I listened to this album now a few times and it's time to set things straight.

The first 3 tracks are exactly what I wrote as critics before. Great sounds, but I'm still very hungry when the last second of each track ends. I feel that nothing really has grabbed me or surprised me. But...

From "In The Dark" on (track 4) , the album is a bliss of melodic, pumping, climactic goa trance. Listening to the rest of the album is sheer joy and pleasure.
The writing is really good, the engineering spot on and the basses deep and rolling. Immersion in total fantasy.
The remix of Life Support System is indeed a killer!

So I'm sorry of not believing in you from the first, but you are a master.

Well done, Median. Well done.

[Tsotsi]

I'm glad you guys mentioned this. I had the same feeling with most the album (Thoroughly enjoyed it, but thought it missed the climax drive throughout). However thats the thing with reviews, it was me who missed the climaxes not Median, Your reviews opened my ears up to the things I missed before. I listened to it for 6 hours on a bus through Bolivia last night and I still have more In The Depths Of Space journeys to go. 

Thanks for reminding me what a banger of an album this is.

[Aspartic]

Yep, and even Track 3 Heaven & Earth is beginning to go all over me. One hypno monster.

[Jaza]

A huge feature of this album is the way tracks are often full power right until the end. Swirling melodies intensely layered right through most of the last minute.

Not very DJ friendly, hard to mix out of and not make a mess, but I think also may contribute to the overwhelming vibe it gives sometimes when listened to end-to-end. Transitions between the main parts of tracks are not prolonged

There's some great dancefloor tools in here though when played as part of sets including other artists. 

Curious to see where this project goes. Strong fundamentals in place to expand on.

[Goa-Head]

On 5/23/2018 at 3:39 PM, Trance2MoveU said:

I'm afraid the reviews section has taken quite the hit over the last year it seems.  I suppose we are all getting older and spending time with our families to the detriment of the music. 

That + I much believe that Facebook has taken its toll on forms in general.

[Jon Cocco]

I love how smooth, sleek, melodic, and fluid the overall sound/melody work (album) is. It's digestible and enjoyable! The songs are full of energy and the atmospheric and other (visionary) elements compliment. Sounds blend well in every song for the entirety of the album, and that leads me to... 

My constructive criticism, as with the opening track that's catchy, is that the songs lacks more memorable storytelling sound/melody work, creativity, and structuring. It's a fine balance between catchy and memorable. As someone pointed out, the songs rarely buildup to anything to reward the listener, e.g., climax, evolution, etc. It's enjoyable, and as someone said, we're sometimes left hungry for more. Kometa showcases some really good (more memorable) storytelling, sound/melody work that takes a moment to hit us with deeper feels and ingenuity.

The songs develop, but it's after track 3 or 4 maybe that more aggression, substance, variety, and vision becomes apparent. Artifact303 - Life Support System (Median Project Remix) has a more structured, storytelling vibe for instance. Music isn't about just being catchy, but saying something meaningful, having substance, leaving listeners satisfied and happy to share with friends. We can go through rotations with catchy sounds, or we can compose stronger arrangements and world-building tracks that leaves us enamored, excited, and satisfied. Over the Horizon is another track that incorporates memorable ingredients, more substantiated development, and key changes. Kometa stood out more too, specifically the last third--- it's beautiful and very memorable. I wish more of the album was as satisfying and enjoyable as the last third of Kometa, for instance. But I do enjoy the zippy, kinetic sound and style of the songs in general. The last track just has a segment towards the end that's so euphoric and free-feeling, and that's something I love. Not just catchy but MEMORABLE (I love it) sound/melody work.

There is a fantasy vibe running through the journey that's uplifting, inspirational, exciting, and fun, even futuristic and cosmic. I'd just work on substantiating songs more in the future, so that people can better distinguish some of the tracks, especially as the album progresses.I love the energetic, melodic (with touches of euphoria) style, the increasing or decreasing atmosphere, and more. The album does so many things well. The music becomes a little more dramatic and substantial as the album progresses, and I keep coming back because of how good it all sounds. But some of the songs also sound a bit similar throughout, despite the infectious nature of the sound/melody work that almost always attracts me, even when it's repetition immersed in conscious, clean sounds. This is a great album IMO, and one of the most underrated, best sounding releases of 2018.

Lastly, Median Project released a track on 2018's (end of the year) Suntrip's V/A - The 50th Parallel (CD1). The song is full of storytelling. It's more memorable in that sense and is one of the best songs on that double CD compilation! In the meantime, stream the full album, In The Depths of Space here

 

[Tsotsi]

10 hours ago, Jon Cocco said:

I love how smooth, sleek, melodic, and fluid the overall sound/melody work (album) is. It's digestible and enjoyable! The songs are full of energy and the atmospheric and other (visionary) elements compliment. Sounds blend well in every song for the entirety of the album, and that leads me to... 

My constructive criticism, as with the opening track that's catchy, is that the songs lacks more memorable storytelling sound/melody work, creativity, and structuring. It's a fine balance between catchy and memorable. As someone pointed out, the songs rarely buildup to anything to reward the listener, e.g., climax, evolution, etc. It's enjoyable, and as someone said, we're sometimes left hungry for more. Kometa showcases some really good (more memorable) storytelling, sound/melody work that takes a moment to hit us with deeper feels and ingenuity.

The songs develop, but it's after track 3 or 4 maybe that more aggression, substance, variety, and vision becomes apparent. Artifact303 - Life Support System (Median Project Remix) has a more structured, storytelling vibe for instance. Music isn't about just being catchy, but saying something meaningful, having substance, leaving listeners satisfied and happy to share with friends. We can go through rotations with catchy sounds, or we can compose stronger arrangements and world-building tracks that leaves us enamored, excited, and satisfied. Over the Horizon is another track that incorporates memorable ingredients, more substantiated development, and key changes. Kometa stood out more too, specifically the last third--- it's beautiful and very memorable. I wish more of the album was as satisfying and enjoyable as the last third of Kometa, for instance. But I do enjoy the zippy, kinetic sound and style of the songs in general. The last track just has a segment towards the end that's so euphoric and free-feeling, and that's something I love. Not just catchy but MEMORABLE (I love it) sound/melody work.

There is a fantasy vibe running through the journey that's uplifting, inspirational, exciting, and fun, even futuristic and cosmic. I'd just work on substantiating songs more in the future, so that people can better distinguish some of the tracks, especially as the album progresses.I love the energetic, melodic (with touches of euphoria) style, the increasing or decreasing atmosphere, and more. The album does so many things well. The music becomes a little more dramatic and substantial as the album progresses, and I keep coming back because of how good it all sounds. But some of the songs also sound a bit similar throughout, despite the infectious nature of the sound/melody work that almost always attracts me, even when it's repetition immersed in conscious, clean sounds. This is a great album IMO, and one of the most underrated, best sounding releases of 2018.

Lastly, Median Project released a track on 2018's (end of the year) Suntrip's V/A - The 50th Parallel (CD1). The song is full of storytelling. It's more memorable in that sense and is one of the best songs on that double CD compilation! In the meantime, stream the full album, In The Depths of Space here

 

Really nice review.

Despite my love for this album (I come back to it again and again and don't see that changing) i haven't had the words to properly evaluate it like you do.

I'd say Median project is one of my favourite artists in the scene at the moment and his version of cosmic Goa pretty much incorporates everything i love about the genre. The melodies aren't to thin, the bass work doesn't vary too much but compliments each track well, the songs progress as a journey, the psychedelia is there. I agree that some tracks don't differentiate themselves so much but also agree that this doesn't really hurt the album as the style is just so enjoyable to begin with.

I listen to a lot of my music through mixing it alone on my sad little BCD 3000 mixer mounted on top of a sad little washing board, and find this hard to mix smoothly. But if I was on a dance floor listening to a Median Project set I wouldn't mind a track by track intro - outro set. In fact I would get completely lost in the magic of it all. At any moment you can focus on a different element of the tracks and find that it's really really nice. His use of vocals is also very subtle but sets the scene well for every track which they are used.

My main quip with the album is lack of proper outro's. Some tracks feel like they just get cut off, maybe CD space had something to do with that but I can't figure out another reason for a lack of nice smooth track endings. 

One of the strongest artists at the moment IMO and someone who I hope to hear release more albums.

[Jaza]

His new track on the Suntrip VA is killer.

Going places.