Kamikaze

The first compilation from Japan’s Yabai Records follows in the footsteps of the Ambivalent/Last Possible Solution posse, making an ironic cross between dark psytrance and various styles of high-energy rave music. Kamikaze is compiled by DJ Atom and DJ Yuji, who have gathered tracks from Israel and the U.K., with one or two from Japan.

Winter Demon kicks it off with Kamikaze; a riotous frenzy of jittery sounds, frantic drums, and sloppy guitar. This artist comes across as a half-hearted knock-off of Psychotic Micro, which isn’t even any good to begin with. Awful.

If you feel that Talk Sick is a clever play on words, you might enjoy Spooked. This sounds like an anxious bastard child of UK hard house and Israeli darkpsy. The noises in this one get to be quite annoying!

B-55’s Fools and Drugs meanders along without causing any great offense until the big breakdown hits. Here the producers drop an overused sample, where Samuel L. implores the listener to “kiss the motherfuckin’ rainbow!” After the return it’s all dark beats, weird groaning sounds, and brainless acid riffs. No good.

Tenzing provides the first hint of something remotely listenable with E.T. (Extra Tenzticle). Here is where the LPS crew begins to rock their killer style. The recipe consists of fat chunky rhythms with deep bass lines, weird scattershot effects, sinister chords, and an ironic dose of samples from the undead rave zombie squad. “How low can you go?” Adequate, but it’s still filler.

N.R.S. provide the first favourite of the compilation with Return of the Pusstard. Lek Black makes a lot of tracks, and they all possess a similar sound design, but the details can vary from moody techtrance to some kind of bizarre reinterpretation “nu-nrg,” a hard dance style popular in the late 90s rave scene. In this case, the post-rave mutation is in full effect, with twisted hoovers and a rapid energetic beat. The style is goofy and playful, with a delightfully sinister edge, accentuated by the creepy “charlie cat” samples. This is similar in some ways to the excellent Dealing With Morons, released on Symptoms of Compliance. Sick stuff for dark trancers!

R.A.M. represents the combined efforts of N.R.S. and Scorb. Echoing their success with tracks such as Dreamcatcher and Nice But Dimm, Pasta La Vista is the clear favourite from this release. This is a serious piece of party music! The long introduction sets the mood, preparing the listener for a menacing trip deep into the dark labyrinth of night. Pumping rhythms and a series of heavy bass lines keep the bottom-end interesting while spooky effects spiral around in the upper reaches of this night-time anthem. The massive lead that unfolds in the final minutes is eerie and cinematic, just the way I like it. With top-notch sound quality and a solid arrangement for a good dance floor stomp session, this is an excellent tune for the style.

Scorb’s Antidots takes a while to really get going, but the ride is enjoyable. It has much more bounce, wiggle, and squelch than the previous track. Hints of the zombie raver sound return, but not in a big way. Every sound is so sharp and precise in this energetic dance floor blaster; the LPS boys sure know how to squeeze the tightest sounds from their technology! Antidots is another winner from Scorb.

Next up, Talk Sick returns with Ice Cream, composed with some assistance from Seroxat. This is easily the best of the Israeli offerings, as it takes a few notes from some a well-known classical tune, weaving the source material into a demented romp through gritty high-energy psytrance. At least the producers avoid letting the track flounder around with another annoying overdose of the hard house techniques heard on the first two tracks. It is definatly the best of the rest, but no favourite of mine just the same.

The final offering is a remix of The Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up by Combat (Winter Demon and Seroxat). This one is filled with lots of quick drops, sudden halts, aggressive returns, and plenty of the lamentably annoying noises that spoiled the first two tunes. The big breakdown works with the alien melodies of the original to good effect, but the return is so daftly accomplished that it numbs the mind. Total garbage.

Kamikaze is a bad compilation for the style, swaying from the atrocious sounds of Talk Sick and Winter Demon to the goodness of LPS. B-55 is an unremarkable piece of filler. My initial off-the-cuff comment concerning this release tells it all: “rave music never sounded quite so undead… but this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good.” Essentially, this is a decent four-track EP from Last Possible Solution surrounded by rubbish for 16 year olds, with the tentative exception of Ice Cream. I would not recommend Kamikaze unless you’re a die-hard LPS fan.

Release Data

Title: Kamikaze
Label: Yabai Records
Format: CD compilation
Released: 2005