Echoes

Compiled by label owner DJ Pena, Echoes features sounds from across the spectrum between deep progressive and full-on psychedelic trance. A few years ago, some of this material would have been called “neo” full-on, but I have always disliked the term. Whatever you call it, Echoes is certainly a hybrid creation, gathering sounds from both of the major movements in modern psychedelic trance.

FREq opens the compilation in style with the curiously titled 16842, delving deep into the majesty of sustained reverbs. Few melodies come up in the early moments, but the fat and funky synthetic rhythms are enough to keep it thoroughly enjoyable. The lead that eventually develops in the body of the song is irreverent and playful, weaving back and forth without a care in the world. FREq manages to keep it simple without becoming boring, resulting in another great track from the master from down under!

Yotopia released their debut album Point Blank on Flow Records a few months after this compilation came out. In that sense, Pepper Ball is something of a teaser, showcasing the typical sound of this Israeli duo. This track is based on a fat wobbly rhythm, but it suffers from a nondescript upper layer. It doesn’t really grow or evolve, making this offering seem rather anonymous.

Echotek vs Side Effect – Another Era pounds away with a heavy synthetic rhythm encrusted with curious atmospheric effects. With a straight-forward hypnotic drive, this track relies on a clever use of filters and small hints of melody here and there. It is too static and direct for my taste, but the actual sound design is fairly interesting.

The original version of Hydrophonic’s Creepy Cheeky was some kind of an electro-breaks affair, released with the album Aquabatics. Here on Echoes, the artist remixes it into a chunky full-on anthem. As with most Hydrophonic creations, the bass line is deep and powerful, with crispy clean drum work and quality production value. Manipulated vocal hooks really make this track stand out, but might be too cheesy for some listeners. It passes all my tests, however. This is a good song for the style.

Quadra dives right into the more conventional full-on style with Beyond the Music. I enjoy some of Quadra’s work, but this song is lacking. It just churns along without any particular focus for the entire duration, and there aren’t any strong elements to offset a rather brash set of hi-hats. No thanks.

ManMadeMan continues in this vein with Absent Mind, dabbling around with muddy high-energy rhythms and various atmospheric accents. It seems as if it is missing a hook or otherwise memorable lead.

Now things begin to get interesting. Human Blue has become known for his sleek melodic creations, but Evolution is an exploration of the dark side of the Scandinavian sound. It drones on at a fairly rapid pace, with stark rhythms and a slick psychedelic ambiance. While the artist totally forgoes melody, there are still a number of interesting noises to pay attention to. The most notable lead undergoes a lengthly mutation for much of the last half of the journey, smoothly iterating through a number of mind-bending contortions. If new Human Blue tracks such as Woup and Screwdriver impressed you, this one should hold a strong appeal as well.

I have previously reviewed the Flow single that features James Monro’s Deeper, so here is the gist of it. James Monro’s background in the psychedelic trance field fuses admirably with a progressive house approach, resulting in an atmospheric tribal groove that is sure to appeal to the crossover crowd.

Sativa is an alias of Steve Good aka Double Dragon, a long-time favourite here at Ektoplazm. Fat Arse continues in the spirit of Clean Machine, exploring sterile progressive grooves with heavy psychedelic atmospheres. The sound design is simply unparallelled, sounding about as deep and intelligent as can be. Glittering atmospheric hooks and intricate tribal percussion make this a solid selection for any progressive listener.

DJ Pena maintains a high quality standard across this album, but several of these tracks seem to be lacking a vital spark. This is the problem with the hybrid style that fuses full-on with progressive: it usually isn’t deep enough nor busy enough to stay interesting. FREq makes it work, but Yotopia and Quadra don’t manage to achieve worthwhile results. The compilation only really gets interesting with the Human Blue tune, after which the music could no longer be said to be attempting any kind of fusion. This suggests that Flow Records should stick to the deeper end of progressive psytrance, which they accomplish with great skill. Echoes isn’t terrible however; it will find a cozy place in the binders of many DJs who play outside of the standard boundaries. Casual listeners would do well to investigate better compilations released in 2005.

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