Digital Factory

Digital Factory is the 25th CD release from 3D Vision out of France. The label hasn’t changed their look or style in years, so don’t expect anything remotely innovative here. These are deadly weapons for a full-on DJs arsenal, and nothing more. Usually I don’t even bother reviewing this kind of release, but I was bored, and wanted to sort out what to throw into an occasional high-energy set, and what to forget about.

Absolum’s Take Off V2.0 displays Christof’s advanced technologies of dance floor destruction. Most of the melodies are as brutal as ever: very direct and aggressive, for the most part. The bass lines are almost continuously being tweaked in interesting ways, raising energy levels or providing a satisfying hook in an otherwise static barrage of maddening noises. There is a heavy usage of warped samples all across the song, adding to the phrenetic atmosphere. Now, I’m usually not a fan, but Christof has arranged this tune in such a way that there are actual down moments, so those climaxes seem even more powerful. Dynamite!

Species hits on a style of full-on I’m not really into with Get Your Groove On. A bouncing plastic beat with flamboyant bass lines leaps into action beneath an incoherent set of tweaked out full-on riffs, smart progressive-style stabs, and a late lead that sounds like their best Wizzy Noise impression. Crowd response may be likely, but I think this is second rate.

Theoreme is Japan’s answer to the Israeli Chemical Crew, dealing in heavy full-on beats with plenty of scratch and squelch. The melodic programming remains basic, alternating between a few simple notes, creating a heavy synthetic groove alongside a bottom-heavy bass line. Klaxons in the crazy breakdown should promote some level of pandemonium on the floor. It should do the trick.

Azax Syndrom has been one of my favourite dark psychedelic trance producers for some years now, but something funny is going on when he begins to release on Chemical Crew and 3D Vision. There are moments where the deep and trippy atmospheres of years ago shine through, but just as many times where Azax resorts to cheap tweaked out sequences of frantic nonsensical noises. As an example, when it is in the thick of the breakdown, everything seems quite ominous, but the return features a number of anxious leads that seem to break the spell. Ah well, they can’t all be winners. If I didn’t have an existing bias favouring this artist’s more serious material, I might be more inclined to give this a spin.

The South African power trance maestro Shift is usually dependable for killer cuts to tear the fabric of space and time in the right moment, and Kamidogu has the potential to do exactly that. It has a bit more of that squelchy sound that the 3D Vision boys seem to like so much, but it retains Shift’s love for sick riffs and sinister atmospheres. In the end, Kamidogu doesn’t excel beyond Shift’s usual quality standards, but it will no doubt deal some damage to the dance floors of the world, and I would have no reservations playing it out if the moment were right.

3D Vision helped to launch Wizzy Noise’s illustrious career in 1999, but the track 3D marks a return after nearly five years of absence. Now, this track has just about everything: toasty electro lines, uplifting melodies, vocoded voices, guitar riffs, and a hint of the squelch. The arrangement is as dynamic as any of their recent material, and the production style is great to my ears. Some Wizzy songs suffer from sounding fairly similar to the rest of their productions, but this one has a distinct 3D Vision flavour to it that helps to distinguish it. I’d say it is one of the better pieces here.

Sanctified is a fairly standard tune from Sirius Isness, filled with buzzing leads and anxious stabs. The sample usage grates on my nerves however, so I don’t see the need to go into any greater depth. No thanks.

The 3 Mosketeers represent a collaboration between Inner Action and their mentor, CPU. At this stage, the full-on drive finally bottoms out for a moment, as the initial rhythms dig into punchy grooves with ticklish bass lines. The group makes use of the sing-song vocoder sound I fondly remember from Dark Matter, released on the Goodfellas compilation, but it is used without restraint during some sequences. With a messy array of twisted effects and meaningless samples, I find Galactic Wisdom to be unfocused and rather superficial.

Electric Universe consistently gets my blood pumping with his old school approach to full-on psychedelic dance music, and Shadow Wizzard continues to impress. Boris Blenn has been in the game longer than any of these other artists, and his experience really pays off. Expect wild melodies, trippy atmospheres, smooth transitions, a smart use of layering, and big energy. Any time I’m playing full-on I reach for a track from Electric Universe, and this is another solid cut to add to the growing list.

Digital Factory is a decent release for the full-on DJs out there, but I can’t see it being of interest to anyone else. 3D Vision have harvested songs from across the globe that all possess a similar sound, but I would have preferred more variety in the approach. There isn’t a single really deep tune here, and nothing truly fantastic. Almost all of them can be counted on to deliver a strong feeling on the dance floor, but that’s about it. If I weren’t actively DJing I wouldn’t ever bother listening to Digital Factory. If you’re keen on the 3D Vision style I imagine it will satisfy, but I feel that the “just another compilation” approach leads to substandard results.

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