Dusk Till Dawn

Dusk Till Dawn is an obscure France compilation from Sonic Motion Records, an independent label operated by DJ Atyss and Philippe. Much like the Urban Awakening compilation released back in 2005, Dusk Till Dawn is a “vanity release.” This kind of compilation comes together when an unsigned producer starts a label to release his or her tracks alongside those of more established producers. There is nothing inherently wrong with this idea—it is merely a form of self-promotion—but it does tend to create an uneven flow for a compilation. The disparity between the veterans and the newcomers often detracts from the overall value of the release. Furthermore, since name recognition is valued more highly than the actual quality of a track, it is fairly common for vanity releases to contain at least a smattering of sub-par material from the established names. Is this the case with Dusk Till Dawn? Read on to find out…

JLK (Jean-Loup Kehrig) begins the compilation on a promising note with Mission to Acapulco. He is one of the veteran acts on this release, having been a part of the famous French trance act Spectral, which was signed to Blue Room Released in 1995. Classic releases such as Celtic Alchemy, Kundalini, and Moonstone remain some of the finest examples of the mid-nineties Goa trance style to this very day. After the release of the album Diffuse in 2001 (which remains a personal favourite of mine) the group seems to have disintegrated, leaving JLK to pursue a solo career that never seems to have taken off. In fact, he has only released two songs since Diffuse, and both remain terribly obscure and unrecognized. For this reason, it is quite special to hear something new from him in 2006! This song is no leftover either; it possesses all the stylish charm of late-period Spectral and still manages to sound like a step forward for JLK. An orchestral theme dominates the high-end of the spectrum with seductive (Arabian?) charm, while intricate tribal rhythms remain in constant motion down below. There is a Promethean moment in the very heart of the track where a surprisingly hard groove drops in, which is just the sort of trick that will have you sitting up in your chair or dancing with renewed vigour. I can only hope that JLK will continue to produce music as lively as this excellent single, for it has been far too long since I heard something quite like this! Fans of Diffuse really owe it to themselves to track this down and give it a listen.

The first song from Atyss is fairly standard for full-on, but at least the production is decent. The same cannot be said for the debut tune from “one of the hottest and freshest up and coming artists,” GeKo. I never put much faith in overblown promotional text, and you shouldn’t either. These tunes are indistinguishable from the vast amounts of formulaic full-on out there.

Deeper In Zen’s Listen Closely doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but at least this American producer has a psychedelic edge to his sound. The bass line is insistent, the arrangement has some depth, and it gets the job done without resorting to overdone filtering techniques. Still, there isn’t anything too special about this production—not enough for me to come back to it anyhow.

Holeg & The Spies and Tim Schuldt make an excellent contribution with the cybernetic thriller Living Entity, a powerful dance floor monster with massive industrial influences. Strangely enough, it was previously released in 2003 on Reality Drift, a somewhat rare double-CD from Holeg & The Spies. Despite being several years old at the time Dusk Till Dawn was released, this is one of the best tracks on the album. I am admittedly biased, having been a Tim Schuldt fan for ages now, but this track has what the others tend to lack: originality, style, and depth. The only downside? The introduction is over two minutes long, and with a six minute running time, this song is way too short! Despite that, it remains a strong favourite; this is just the kind of song I enjoy slipping into a set to mix things up a bit.

The second offering from Atyss is significantly better than the first. After opening with a music box melody this track really gets down to business. Sweeping psychedelic sounds ripple across a rolling bass line and drum programming that at least feigns complexity. That being said, it never really takes off, and the repetitive bass line gets tiring after a while. Next up, Deeper In Zen collaborates with Atyss on Neural Connection. The bass line is slightly different, the kick has more punch than before, but the rest is no more than a slight variation on established themes and techniques.

Triskell is a somewhat obscure French artist that achieved some level of notoriety in 2004 with the release of Here Knows When, a single track on The Turning, a compilation from Timecode Records. Periphery is fairly similar to his earlier work, and might even be an old track that has been floating around for a while already. The style is playful yet menacing full-on with jumpy bass lines that will send you on a roller-coaster ride. To me, this sounds like an ad hoc mixture of Neuromotor and Phatmatix. It ain’t bad, but I vastly prefer Here Knows When.

Ninja, having completely reinvented his sound, has impressed me in recent years. His collaboration with Atyss—entitled Morphin—is fat, driving, and psychedelic, just like Show Time, an excellent single released on the Parsec compilation from Oxygen Records that I used to begin my Mystic Revelation mix. Sadly, this track never really works up the kind of magic that one would expect to hear after the promising beginning. It feels as if something is just waiting to punch through, but it never really happens. Still, the production sounds solid, with plenty of strange bubbling noise artifacts spinning all over the place, so I’d say it’s one of the better tracks here on Dusk Till Dawn.

Polaris produces upbeat full-on for the morning hours. His tracks are always quite melodic and reasonably well-produced, but they tend to sound the same. Once in a blue moon I hear one that breaks the mold, but Vapor isn’t one of those. Despite lacking much in the way of originality, the song is pleasant enough to hear. It makes for decent filler for full-on DJs of the morning persuasion.

Nomad rounds it out with (surprise!) a short little chill out tune by the name of Standalone. Despite being known for his full-on productions, this is fairly nice. Lazy breakbeats and harmonious atmospheric chords weave a seductive tale of mystery for close to five minutes. It never really achieves greatness, but it certainly succeeds in stimulating a feeling of relaxation.

I suppose it should come as no surprise that Dusk Till Dawn is a fairly bland and uneventful trip. Aside from two excellent offerings by the veterans, there is not much to praise about this compilation. Ninja and Polaris also deserve a mention for providing a pair of tracks that are better than average, but the rest are easily lost to the sands of time. There are so many full-on compilations on the market these days, and few of them really push the envelope. At least with this release there are a few shining moment in amidst all the standard stuff. In addition, despite being a vanity release, the quality level is fairly consistent across the board. Atyss might not have made any releases prior to promoting himself with Dusk Till Dawn, but his music is good enough for full-on DJs to play out. The only other issue I have with this release is the fact that the tracks are lightly mixed, which will cause a slight inconvenience for DJs seeking to use these tracks in a set. To sum it up, Dusk Till Dawn is not a great release, but it has some great tunes, and the filler isn’t all that bad. Full-on DJs might even find this to be a useful addition to their collection. Dusk Till Dawn is a tricky proposition for old school fans with no interest in hearing the filler, but as luck would have it, the entire compilation is currently available in MP3 and WAV format from trackitdown.net. Everyone wins!

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