Goodfellas

Here’s one of those shining examples of why it is beneficial to pay attention to the grapevine. Had I not stumbled upon a recommendation on an online forum, I would have passed this release over as just another full-on clone. There is no shortage of compilations coming out with an assortment of names not unlike what one will find here on Goodfellas—names that are familiar as well as unknown—that such a track list does little to excite the imagination. It gets to be very difficult to keep track of what is worth a shot and what can safely be packed away after a quick skim. In this instance, I was rewarded after having a deeper investigation of what is being offered here. Compiled by DJ Anahata, Goodfellas features a hearty dose of Spanish psychedelic trance. Barcelona is the source for seven of the tracks here, though one project hails from Madrid. While the cover art is rather sloppy, the tracks rock. Let’s run through them all…

Kali opens the album with Dream, introducing the powerful and melodic style of full-on that is the main theme of this release. This one is fairly standard, featuring commonplace electrical noises and plenty of melodic activity layered over a rolling bass line. It is strong and solid for dance floors, but not supremely noteworthy. It has been done before, but serves as a decent enough opening.

Delusion’s The Sacred Three is produced with a less beefy style that would ordinarily relegate this one to the filler department. Luckily the producers stray far enough from the standard full-on formula to make quibbling issues of production standards mostly irrelevant. See, this is a rare track that really manages to capture some of the old school flavour in the lead melodies, effects, and use of layering. With the style set, the artist exposes a high-energy dance floor oriented approach that is sure to get a crowd kicking up dust. The drops are in all the right places, the break is suitably thrilling, and in essence—this is another solid tune to rock the floor.

Mekkanikka has been known to deliver a good release on occasion, but I am of a mixed mind as to whether Abre Los Ojos qualifies. The sound is quite familiar; the artist’s trademark whipping electrical sounds are heard all across the track. Half-way through, the square-head bass line heard on their single Heavy Healing (see Global Psychedelic Trance 10) drops in to change things up. Electrical leads push towards an absolutely crazy build-up soon thereafter—the sheer amount of energy contained in the last few moments of this song will raise eyebrows. At times I would liken this to what is known as “hard dance” in the UK. It seems to lack the depth customarily associated with psytrance.

Project 33 vs DJ Fred from Brazil are up next with a track entitled The 60’s are Over. This is another high-energy full-on track, and the bass line that has some bite to it. The style is not particularly original, but the leads sound nicely psychedelic, and there is an appreciable use of layering to keep it interesting. I respect the drum programming on this one—it is all very crisp and nicely textured, with a few cool tricks thrown in at key moments. The arrangement is also above average for this sort of psytrance, flowing smoothly without ever letting the sound canvas get dry up. It might not be the most distinct tune out there, but it will serve well as another solid track for the DJs.

Each track laid out thus far has incrementally increased the energy levels, but Inner Action (a project of Delusion and Painkiller) really takes the cake. The first 13 seconds of Movements are, unexpectedly, a massive build-up! That must win an award or something, as I’ve never heard a track become so intense so quickly. Everything is on hyperdrive as more rough and grimy bass licks churn beneath the deep pounding kicks. Ripping atmospheres take very little time to build up, leading to some excellent layering of sounds and a dense sonic canvas of tweaked out noises. The drops and rushing builds come fast and heavy as the track cycles through several hair-raising sequences. Many of the drops are strong and epic, showing this to be full-on that doesn’t hold back. The builds frequently deliver, throwing wild synthetic sounds all over the stereo field as new melodies layer nicely. Killer dance floor material!

Painkiller teams up with DJ Anahata for the title track Goodfellas. There is nothing new in terms of sound here, but the artists manage to make an impression with edgy kicks and a strong bass line. Samples from the movie alluded to in the title can be heard all over the joint, including a sequence peppered with machine gun fire. Tension-raising feints towards the end of the song are sure to work wonders on the dance floor!

CPU has never impressed me with any of his releases, so it was with great surprise that I found myself absolutely captivated by this next song: Dark Matter. A first impression suggests this is a gimmicky sort of track that relies heavily on the unusual application of a vocoded sample, but there is more to it than that. I searched for the sampled words online and was led to the University of Cambridge web site; the words seem to have been taken from some kind of educational video, although I was unable to track down the exact source. At any rate, it is interesting to find that this is no mere Star Trek psychobabble; the “lyrics” of Dark Matter are highly technical—real science—which appeals to my enduring interest in astrophyics. CPU manipulate the voice of the original speaker to such an extent that the words gain a sort of sing-song quality that I find to be insanely catchy. CPU is using the human voice as an instrument in this song, and the technique really works wonders! The instrumental portion of the song itself is the usual sort of scratchy and energetic full-on that CPU is known for, complete with dippy bass lines, whizzing electrical sounds, and explosive builds. The results are completely effective; the dance floor response has always been phenomenal. Dark Matter is a clear favourite here!

Painkiller’s solo effort Every Single Sound is unlikely to provide much in the way of surprises after all that has come before it. This is another edgy full-on dance floor explosion full of layered melodies and sounds. There is a sort of rising noise that reminds me of a circus or video game for some reason, and I draw another parallel to the work of Triskell (Here Knows When). Once again, the build-ups are solid, but this decent track doesn’t manage to stand out.

Sum Sindhu provides the first drop in energy with Digital Therapy, an effort that seems more amateur than the rest of the material on this CD. It conforms to the full-on template expounded by the other artists, but the production doesn’t sound very rich, and the arrangement is not as dynamic as it should be. Despite being more melodic and morning-friendly, this track doesn’t far as well as the rest.

What a work-out! Despite how picky I might be when it comes to full-on, Goodfellas manages to satisfy. What sets this apart from all the rest? Several pitfalls are studiously avoided. That whole “neo” full-on movement always bothered me by sounding so wishy-washy, as if it were the caffeine-free diet cola version of psytrance. Many artists and labels have also been seeking a hybridization of the full-on and progressive movements, taking cues from both without excelling at either. Other producers, in the misguided attempt to innovate the psytrance sound, have turned to using vocalists and other more commercial techniques to the accompaniment of full-on psytrance rhythms. Thankfully, none of these approaches were explored on Goodfellas—this is an underground release that remains unmistakably pure in intent. The music shimmers and vibrates with ecstatic energy. Layers and melodies are widely used, which is arguably what makes this music psychedelic!

While I may praise this compilation, it is by no means perfect. This CD is obviously aimed at DJs, as it doesn’t fare so well in a home listening context. I prefer trance music versatile enough to work in different surroundings, but these tunes are unlikely to function well in anything other than a party environment. That being said, I have to hand it to DJ Anahata and Materia Records for delivering a release of unexpected quality. CPU’s offering is a sinister surprise, and I really enjoy Inner Action’s anthemic Movements. Some of the others are good, and most of the rest are quite decent. For DJs looking to spice up their sets with underground full-on sounds this is a good compilation to hunt down!

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