Etnoscope - Drums From the Dawn of Time

Etnoscope’s debut album Drums from the Dawn of Time is a fantastic journey through ethnic trance music. Influences range across the spectrum, all united by the common element of the drum. After their first release in 2001 the group has accumulated a wide fan base thanks to their probings of the deeper realms of psychedelic techno, often fused with wicked tribal drumming. Their debut showed a maturation of capabilities, with a wider range of sound being showcased…

Dawn of Time is nearly four minutes of stylized tribal-electronic fusion, introducing the sound to the listener. Elements of the three primary instruments of the band (darabuka, djembe, and didgeridoo) combine with synthetic sounds to set the tone for the Etnoscope experience.

Sunrise is a stellar tune for open-air festivals featuring some beautiful vocals from Carola Szücs. A long introduction sets the mood with an artistic flair, after which the track really begins to grow in gradual steps. The tribal-organic rhythms are ideally balanced and loaded with subtle details. The background is sprinkled with cinematic atmospheres that cruise along unobtrusively. Every moment of this journey feels magical. In essence, this is a perfect morning song!

King Size Rizzla takes a turn towards house themes with a funky progressive number that grooves and shakes all over. Catchy vocal hooks draw the listener in as persistent electro-sounds quibble in the mid-range. The arrangement is irresistable, great fun to dance to, and totally carefree. Another excellent song.

Megastamp is yet another deviation from any notion of formula, this time firmly exploring minimal techno territory with the percussive experimentation in mind. The beat is an enormous lumbering dinosaur, with mechanical percussive elements in constant motion. Tribal textures provide the tension in key segments, and otherwise it is fairly static and linear. One for the techno heads.

Sneaky Drums starts to play with something of a retro flavour, mainly seen when the song makes a transition to a shuffle beat after a short 4×4 introduction. Nice harmonies emerge in the body of the song, and it sounds as if the Dr. Who theme might emerge at any moment. Another interesting exploration of the trance universe.

Metalixir is the hardest song on the album, a twisted tribal exploration of psychedelic trance. The rough beat clatters and rumbles with pounding drums throughout the intro sequence, driving towards a tortured breakdown featuring harsh digital manipulations of the beat. From here on in the song is a powerful exposition of rhythm laced in snarling psychedelic sound and a wailing vocal hook. A huge tribal breakdown five minutes into the song serves to provide momentary relief from the staggering onslaught of scorching hard beats. Rough and twisted tricks facilitate the return, and the song continues to drive forward with considerable energy. An incredible piece of work!

Qula is the track of the album. Haunting mystical vibes are manifested by a set of dark choral and vocal sounds that are beautifully manipulated by the artists, alongside some of their most excellent work with the tribal percussion. Much like Sunrise, the song takes sweet time developing energy with a slow progression of elements. The drums roll to signify transitions, building tension in small increments. Five minutes into the song the long break is initiated. Here the vocals of Lotta Hedberg are gorgeously spread out to accentuate another slow build. Out here there is no rush and return to the beat – elements slowly slide back in, raising the energy levels with delicate actions. Simply beautiful.

Silent Agreement is a short track, just over five minutes long. This sounds a bit more like the standard Scandinavian progressive trance that the label is known for, still with a unique touch and some tribal drumming of course. Sparkling atmospheres drift as the beat plods along, backed with vocals by Lisbet A. Lanne. The middle of the track features a lengthly sample: “most of the people of the world do agree that we can do more, that there is a grander version of humanity than the one currently being made manifest in our collective reality… in fact, you can scarcely find someone who disagrees with that… but this is what I call… the silent agreement. We all agree, we all agree, that there’s nothing we can do about it…” That’s certainly something to think about. Sweet sounding atmospheres flood back in again and the remainder of the song continues in an easygoing, contemplative fashion.

Ki Lan is a slower song that explores breakbeats and acid lines, with something of an electro feel. The song morphs to the 4×4 beat structure part way through, but there is little to hold the listener’s attention here. Five banal minutes of filler, though not unpleasant.

Harmony is the closing ambient piece, an easygoing arrangement of analog atmospheres with all the tribal fixings. A slow methodical beat provides backing for an assortment of melodic flourishes – spacious gated sounds that scurry across the sound field. I’m not as impressed with these final two tracks as I was with the rest of the album – they sound like afterthoughts. The unnamed secret song at the very end is good for a laugh – it’s a cartoony back-country hoe-down fit for all tweed-munching psychedelic farmboys.

Drums from the Dawn of Time is a primal rhythmic experience… it is really set apart from other psytrance releases thanks to a brilliant fusion of organic and synthetic elements. The album has several notable strengths: an unparalleled use of vocals, excellent tribal drumming on almost every song, and a diverse array of styles and influences are showcased. Following Qula the album starts to unravel, but it is enough that the body of the album is a solid masterpiece. Contextually the material here works well as a whole for home listening, and specific songs are suited for a variety of sets out in the woods and in the clubs. Thus it satisfies one of my key criteria for good music: adaptability to circumstance.

Digital Structures made a high-quality release of this, on CD and 2 slabs of vinyl (which lacks only the intro). The presentation of the CD release is top notch, with a nice cover and fold-out liner notes featuring some live photos and a few choice words such as: “rituals of rhythm are timeless and the playing of music becomes a travel through time and space.” I’m glad to say the band truly realized this vision on their debut album, and their future works are surely something to look forward to. Recommended to all trance listeners everywhere… the power of the drum is universal, bridging the gap into inner worlds.

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