Various – Suntrip Classix Vol. 1 - Titan

[DoktorG]

 

Various – Suntrip Classix Vol. 1 - Titan

 

Suntrip Records – SUNCDLP04

Country:Belgium

Released:Oct 1, 2022

 

Tracklist

A1 Psylent Buddhi – Moksha Written-By, Producer – Kasper Weensgaard 11:49

A2 Triquetra – Forget About The Earth Written-By, Producer – Elric Reinartz, Jurian Reinart 7:01

B1 Ra – Crossing Planet Written-By, Producer – Christer Borge-Lunde, Lars W. Lind 11:09

B2 Clementz – Spirit Dance Written-By, Producer – Hans Henrik Clementz 6:14

C1 Shakta – It Was Not Human Written-By, Producer – Seb Taylor 7:38

C2 Celestial Intelligence – Celestial Beings Written-By, Producer – Branislav Dimkovski, Dalibor Anastasovski 8:55

D1 Goasia – Love & Peace Written-By, Producer – Balint Tihamer, Vladislav Radulovic 8:16

D2 Mindsphere – Tears Of Goddess Written-By, Producer – Ali Akgun 8:10

 

A1 Psylent Buddhi – Moksha 

Quite an intense and busy track with very good production values - sounds stunning on vinyl with pan-potted sounds flying around the room. There is a super rhythmic sensibility in this track and it builds and builds. Decent track that does not stay static for long and has good story telling structure but feels a little short and could have more melodic interest. 

 

A2 Triquetra – Forget About The Earth

I love Triquetra's old school acid and fun sensibility; very retro and reminds us not to take our genre too siriously. Kinda Eat Static outlook. This track is typical of their style and features an acid bass 303 that sounds very reminiscent of Josh Wink's classic "Higher State of Consciousness" from 1995. Fun, bouncy, silly, delightful, what is not to like? I don't like this track so much when I'm grumpy - it is a bit too repetitive and simplistic in its "aving it" rave attitude, but could kick up some dust on the dancefloors. Not my favourite Triquetra track, but fun all the same. 

 

B1 Ra – Crossing Planet

Ra is one of my favourite Goa artists and I freely admit that I am not very objective about his work; I love it all! Is there a more floaty artist than Ra, better able to summon up transcendental Kailash feelings? Maybe Martin Cooper aka Asia 2001 (rip )? This track does not deviate from Ra's transcendental vibe and does not disappoint this listener. I read some nit-pickers going on about how Ra's high hats are too linear - pffft! Forget about the nay-sayers, this is pure luxury in aural form. Those delicate psy synths and minor key Eastern melodies - delicious! A 9/10 track for me - I'm only subtracting a point because it stopped when I wanted it to carry on forever. 

 

B2 Clementz – Spirit Dance

Clementz comes with another floating, bubbling track with uplifting vibe courtesy of Hindu-style vocals. This track has an hypnotic simple bassline that I really like and overall the synth work is super with fairy tale melodies and a gentle feeling. Very, very nice. My only criticism is that it is rather short and could have been further developed. 8 out of 10 from this listener. 

 

C1 Shakta – It Was Not Human

Shakta breaks the gentle upliftment with his signature breakbeats. Slam dunk da funk - Shakta is another one of my all time favourite artists and he brings the acid funk here full of rattling percussion, gurning attitude, and alien gonzo whackiness. Predictably good stuff, I love it that Shakta has not changed his style at all; this track could easily be from Silicon Trip. 

 

C2 Celestial Intelligence – Celestial Beings

We return to gentler vibes with Celestial Intelligence and this track meanders along pleasingly, but lacks distinction and memorability. 

 

D1 Goasia – Love & Peace

Goasia's "Love & Peace" is a bit tougher and features some big ascending arpeggios that uplift us beyond the head-nodding stomping rhythm. Good stuff. 

 

D2 Mindsphere – Tears Of Goddess

Suntrip saved the best for last - a stunning track from Mindsphere closes out the compilation. "Tears of Goddess" walks the proverbial Razor's Edge between driving rhythm, acidic heaviness and fragile beauty. Spiritual bliss - excellent work. 

 

So is this compilation of "Goa Classix" Titanic, or does it sink? Well, needless to say, it hardly ends up at the bottom of the ocean in a hubristic disaster. Nevertheless, for me it is not as successful as the excellent Gamma Draconis because it doesn't have as many great tracks on it. Ra and Mindsphere bring the magic here; Shakta, Clementz and Goasia are good; the other tracks are not quite in the same league. I also have a question about the flow of the album; I'm not sure that the acidic Triquetra and Shakta tracks fit in amongst the more ethereal tracks of the rest of the album, not that I think that a compilation has to be uniform at all. Nevertheless, a worthy compilation that is highly enjoyable and sounds fabulous on vinyl - Tim Schuldt's masterful mastering is as reliable as ever. Chalk up another success to the ever-reliable Suntrip Records. ~*~