Genetic Spin - Backspin

Genetic Spin return with a second album, significantly changing their style from their relatively dark and minimal debut ON/OFF on CreamCrop Records. This time out they’ve produced an album with sounds that fuse the dirty progressive approach with smooth full-on psytrance, creating a style entirely their own while balanced between these two vibrant movements.

Birds opens the album with some muddy breaks and an assortment of percussive elements. The beat officially kicks about a minute and a half in, deep rolling bass and airy atmosphere alongside. As the mood becomes settled, precise noises start to flow. Short notes and sharp little twists begin to form some pleasing melodies over the balanced array of bass and percussion. Half-way through, the break is achieved with a sample: “I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged… their feathers are just too bright… and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice.” The organic rhythmic textures from the intro return, then the song gets moving once again, drifting along on a synthetically prepared groove. Structurally this is very basic but there are some nice sounds in use here. As an intro it works well, showing the artist’s fusion of progressive and full-on styles with a sleek Danish touch.

Lord of the Strings was the initial stand-out for me… heavily laden with samples from Gollum as you might expect. I am no huge fan of movie soundbytes, but I have found a fondness for their usage here. The beat is smooth as liquid in this one: pulsing bass and deep kick. This song is big on atmosphere with multiple layers of activity, harmonies and melodies playing back and forth. It retains a brooding character with occasional forays into a lighter, more easygoing reverie. At about eight minutes in length it begins to drift after a while, but that’s not a bad thing in this case, as the journey is pleasant. Overall, an excellent song.

Flowmotion opens with a filtered sample: “you will find that you go completely calm and your mind will go crystal clear and you will feel a surge of energy and peace flowing through your whole body and within a certain point within a few minutes your mind will begin to flow…” Immediately following this the beat kicks, and there is tangibly more energy at work here. The bass line is very rich and heavy, percussion is smashing down with a bit more force, and spacious pads begin their layering advances. Three minutes in a lead strikes – tenuous liquid chords that float over the rolling beats. Another break later on gives the beat a chance to shine once again, and samples about powers of the mind continue to ring off once in a while. Very good track with a tasteful balance of elements; I’d call it the pick of the album.

Aclon continues the style with some rumbling bass and pulsations all over the place. A whispered vocal hook and some loon sounds inject some character as the small melodies dabble around the soundscape. Some drawn out atmospheres appear during a break and return at various points later on. Several layers develop in the latter part of the track but it takes some close attention to notice at first. Far more subtle than some of the rest here, taking a few cues from Oryx perhaps. Decent track.

Local Dadios features a thick rolling bass line and plenty of distorted and manipulated choir sounds… sublime melodies intertwine with doppler-shifted voices on air for a mystical effect. After the mid-point break the song focuses more on the melodies for a while before those choir sounds return to work their magic. Another good song.

Side FX is one of the more interesting pieces on the album… a deep kick gets it going with short pulses and an off-beat snare. The sample sounds off: “this is the beginning” and then the rolling bass kicks in. Shimmering effects come into play and those short pulses continue as the song begins to throb. As time goes by the subtle layers grow dense with detail, floating noises, effects, and sharp little sounds. The half-way break lets an enourmous industrialized sweep come to the forefront – deep, digital, and electric. With the pulsating bottom-end, shimmering synthwork in the mid-range, and atmospheres on top, the song builds a great deal of nervous tension. The end result is something rather unique – a highly synthetic, deep, and gritty futuristic song. I might compare it to Tetraktys and Burning Palace – there is certainly an electro vibe at work here. Sick track!

Full Onion is an obvious play on words and features some of the elements you would expect from the title. A bit of a rolling bass line, moderately strong kick, and some snarly noises ongoing. The progressive approach can still be found here however, even as the sounds utilized begin to parallel some of the more mainstream artists. In the end I find it somewhat dull and mediocre – there just isn’t enough here to make it stand out.

The last track is a remix from Silicon Sound to Lord of the Strings… I didn’t think the original song needed to be changed in any way, but it is interesting to hear what an actual full-on artist has done with these hybrid sounds for comparison. The sound layers have been stripped back to their essentials, melodies are now clear and present rather than sublimely integrated, and the song has a far more uplifting feel to it. Altogether it sounds like most other productions by this artist, not a stand-out. It’s a smooth way to end the album, although the original is superior in my view.

Genetic Spin clearly avoid the problems usually associated with blending progressive and full-on. Whereas the “neo” sound tends to drift off towards the mid-range, the bass is incredibly strong on this album, providing a strong foundation for all the liquid effects laced on top of their work. The sound density is closer to progressive, contrasting with the more energetic bass lines and beats. The album itself flows nicely through an assortment of moods, operates mainly on a subliminal level, and never becomes too busy. For a hybrid of styles it is great work, but I fear that this will be too much for progressive fans and too little for full-on fans. People who appreciate deep music somewhere in between will likely find this to be a satisfactory release. DJs in particular should take note, if they’re seeking quality music to bridge the gap. Overall, it’s an original and noteworthy release.

Release Data

Artist: Genetic Spin
Title: Backspin
Label: Nervine Records
Format: CD album
Released: 2004

Buy This Release

Saikosounds: Physical mail order shop based in Hong Kong. Recommended.

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