Menis - Temporary Insanity

Temporary Insanity is a twisted journey into the mind of Menis (Nick Smith), a British artist who began producing trance alongside Iain Rive in 1996. They made their self-titled debut as Semsis on a Koyote Records vinyl single in 1996, later releasing material with Phantasm, Dragonfly, and Atomic. While Semsis was achieving some success in the golden years of Goa trance, Nick Smith began to explore his own individual sound at Sound Vandal Studios in Brighton, UK. His first vinyl single—the Fluff Killer EP released in 1997—was a perfect match for Koyote’s increasingly dark and demented vision of trance music. The full-length Temporary Insanity, which arrived in stores one year later, immediately became known as one of the most paranoid, disturbing, and, indeed, menacing trance albums yet released. Whereas most Goa trance had taken an idealistic view of the psychedelic experience—themes of enlightenment and cosmic awareness were central to the movement throughout the mid-nineties—Temporary Insanity plunged the listener into a terrifying world of primitive animalistic urges and lunatic intensity. As Jason C of TRiP mentions in a vintage review from 1998, “Menis creates possibly the most obviously dr*g-inspired music on the face of the planet—I mean, look at the track titles, engage the artwork, then listen to the music.” It was not merely that Menis had drawn upon drugs as inspiration (although that much is certain); the thrust of the album was to tear down the iconography of the past—the vibrantly coloured Hindu deities and glossy-eyed grey aliens bearing a message of peace. This was to be a different form of ego dissolution.

The title track Temporary Insanity opens the album with a perfect introduction to the Menis aesthetic. Nearly every song features a variation on the relatively weak kick drum and frothy bass line heard here. The arrangement gains immense strength from an excellent use of layering—a wide assortment of eerie noises flow into harmonious congruency as the track rushes onward toward bedlam. It makes for a great beginning.

Zeitgeist was produced with some help from Marc van der Vlugt yet it sounds very similar to the previous song. This piece develops considerable power from the surprise introduction of a massive shining lead in certain sequences. Ghastly sound effects adeptly compliment the crazy melodies in this piece. Another good one.

Fluff Killer is the song that really turned me on to Menis. Initially it sounds much like the others as frantic warbling melodies and creepy atmospheres slink across a curiously muffled beat. Any notion of normalcy is soon is soon obliterated by the incoming breakdown: sick industrial rhythms erupt from the darkness as a wicked new lead emerges from the murky abyss. The return provides a stream of chaotic riffs and tangled breakbeats before dropping into a relatively long ambient finale. This one is still a favourite of mine.

The Link is a strange collaboration with Dara-Lee that bridges the divide between murky downtempo and the more energetic side of Menis. It was widely panned as a frivolous intermission that upsets the flow of the album but I have always enjoyed the haunting qualities of this experimental creation.

Dara-Lee also helps with The Drugs Do Work, an unremarkable song with little to distinguish it from the general feel of the album. A live version of this rough and scratchy track was later released on the Enlightenment compilation.

Mushroom Maze is the other gem of the album. Unlike the rest of Temporary Insanity this could pass as traditional Goa trance. Strong hypnotic melodies weave a mysterious mood while a shifting organic rhythm pulses underneath. The production quality of this work also seems to suit the material far more than some of the others here. By all accounts it is one of the best on the album.

Insekure resumes the manic activity of the first three tracks as it channels another set of menacing alien vibrations. The eerie melodies surge and recede several times as the unbalanced rhythms shake and quiver beneath. Sketch plods along at a geriatric pace, never managing to develop an interesting theme. Both can safely be sent to the filler file.

The album draws to a close with what must be the most absurd title yet encountered on this twisted odyssey: Drug Slut. While this track has some measure of depth and subtlety it remains doomed to obscurity because it fails to offer anything new. It is essentially a somewhat more low-key version of Zeitgeist with slightly better production value than the previous two tracks. As a result, it is neither bad nor memorable.

Temporary Insanity may have been an underground cult classic back in the day but it seems to have been forgotten in the passage of years. Nick Smith successfully channeled something primeval—almost Lovecraftian—in producing this debut effort, but the overall quality level is not consistent enough to elevate it beyond obscurity. Several technical criticisms could be made: the mastering or production value varies, many of the songs sound alike, and the flow of the album is somewhat uneven. It lacks a layer of polish that might have otherwise turned it into an enduring classic. As it stands, Xenomorph is widely regarded as being the forefather of dark psychedelic trance, but consider this: Mark Petrick’s debut album, released on the very same label, followed Temporary Insanity by a number of months. Xenomorph’s popularity is partially due to his tenacity; he continues to release music in the same vein nearly a decade later whereas the Menis project dissolved in the year 2000. At least the ideas contained within Temporary Insanity were not left completely undeveloped—one can still discern a shimmering trace of the daemonic on Letting Go, the debut album from Semsis released in 1999. It is too bad Temporary Insanity did not meet its ultimate potential. I would only recommend it to those listeners interested in the origins of dark psychedelic trance.

Release Data

Artist: Menis
Title: Temporary Insanity
Label: Koyote Records
Format: CD/Vinyl album
Released: 1998

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