Mr. Peculiar - Elements

Elements arrived on the scene fresh from the underground, letting a new star shine on the global scene. Mr. Peculiar had long been known for amateur productions on the net, and had gradually made the shift to commercial releases with the newly formed Tribe-adelic Records of Australia. The Australian trend has long been one of weird hybrid sounds and strange funky excursions, always vying for the title of who can make the most screwed up noise. Around the turn of the millennium several new Aussie artists started to play it straight, and soon emerged as talented producers of psychedelic trance more in line with the global approach. This debut album was warmly received after its release in 2002. With 71 minutes of music and a fairly decent jewel-case cover it has good value as well.

Tribes of Resonance opens the album at 140 BPM. The style is about as close to the original definition of psytrance that you can get, with synthetic leads and huge throbbing bass lines. All manner of squelching and bubbling noise ricochet across the sound field as scratchy leads reach in to stab with melodic emphasis. There are some deep tones to be heard here as well, with evocative atmospheres and a very slight chant at certain moments. A big breakdown late into the song returns with extensive layering of bubbling sounds, reaching a climax as a sinister melody sneaks in behind all the dense effects. All this slowly slides out as the song comes to a sublime understated conclusion, fulfilling its purpose as the introduction to the artist’s sound. A decent opener on the deep side of psychedelic trance.

The sounds of a basketball court greet you as Bouncing Brains begins. The kick throbs with a greater intensity and bass lines remain on the deep side. Plenty of those noisy digital sounds percolate through the atmosphere, but the song manages to take on a deep cosmic feel from a few melancholy pads that sweep by, nicely contrasting the heavier sections of the song with some spacious contemplative modes. As the expectant tones fade sublimely new melodies enter, soon showing off the sinuous sounds that are partially dark and yet somehow uplifting and transformative. This song has several great strengths, from a variety of moods and dissimilar portions to the balance between full-on sounds and the deeper realms, all transitioned with grace and tact. Another great piece.

Ritual Horizon is introduced with more distinct sounds, tribal tapping with a sitar wailing over some processed didge work. Before long a clattering breakbeat interrupts, leading the track into a dark beginning. Rough and raw, the beat is intense like you might find on newer Russian releases in 2004. The song drifts between mystical flute overtones and heavy acidic riffs that go whirling by at a frenetic pace, fully charged with psychedelic effect. It rumbles through numerous stages of insanity, never quite climaxing, but satisfies with an interesting journey through paranoid mental landscapes. While the sound quality is a little rough the composition is excellent for this style of night-time madness.

Next the listener is caused to consider What is Real? “What if your mind is playing tricks on you?” Here is one of the elementary intents of psychedelic trance – consideration of metaphysical issues through auditory stimulus. The beat picks up from the last track with more bounce, effects emerging to greater prominence in short order, soon filling the sound canvas with a variety of whirling psychedelic melodies. Approaching uplifting territory in small bursts, the mood often returns to evil realms for extended sequences, driving the track with menacing riffs and spooky atmospheres. It doesn’t stand-out on the album but is once again nicely composed with dynamic evolving sounds and a distinct storyline involved.

Digital Humanoid initially sounds more linear than the songs which precede it. Straight rhythms throb for several minutes as small melodies sneak in to provide another dark mood. There is a roughness to the sound here which doesn’t entirely compliment the style, but it does get better after the first half. A catchy psychedelic lead comes spiraling in from the darkness, soon flying all over the song while undergoing continual sonic manipulation. This one hasn’t aged so well but I still enjoy it for that one addictive melody.

Dynamo is a noisy pumping track with fat bass that drives with intensity, thoroughly laced with dark acidic melodies that come spiraling in from all corners. This is another song that I find to be very similar to modern dark sounds from artists like Kindzadza and Para Halu. After the moody sequence at the five minute mark the song erupts into an insanely heavy set of riffs, peaking with a big display of grinding acid sounds. Somewhat too noisy for my ears nowadays, but still fully psychedelic.

Source of Rah is the highlight for me. Mr. Peculiar has taken the sound from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and turned it into a kicking psytrance anthem, as he did with Charlie’s Trip. I’ve played this out on Halloween to start sets and it always receives an excellent response. Much of the song’s greatness lies in how integrated the theme is – with the loping horn sounds curling with grace over a throbbing beat. Transitions are all handled with an artistic flair, letting little elements of the original tune shine through before blasting the listener with another sequence of fat synthetic rhythms and acid sounds. Melodies build to a feverish pitch in the latter half of the song as all the elements come ripping out of the speakers for maximum delight. Simply a fabulous piece of dance floor-friendly psychedelic trance.

1000 Tablets is more on the groovy psychedelic side with deep rolling beats and bubbling effects laced throughout. One can become lost in the eerie moods conjured here, with drifting atmospheres spiraling past as the listener travels further into the cryptic soundscape. After a hearty stomp session near the middle a set of distinct melodies enter, providing even more delicious trippy noises. In an understated way the song proceeds to the end, dripping with hallucinatory sounds. Fairly decent, and it still sounds good.

The final dance piece on the album is Last Chance, which finally approaches the idea of morning trance with the Peculiar sound. The kick is more high-pitched and throbs with less of the dark intensity that is heard throughout most of the album. Some nice wistful melodies emerge half-way through, and the song alternates between epic sequences and a few tension-breaking passages where the mood carries some melancholic weight. I find this one better than some of the rest with a clear sound picture and some entrancing melodies.

Crunchy Nutter closes the album with a completely different sort of sound – some kind of relaxed and jazzy breakbeat number. I’ve always found it to be cute.

Historically, this album arrived about a season before the full-on craze really began to flood through the global psytrance community. Modern conventions were not yet set – and there is plenty of experimentation to be heard on this hard and heavy album. Sounds constantly evolve into new shapes and forms, and there is seldom a dull moment on this album. Bouncing Brains in particular is all over the place with several concurrent stories meshing nicely together. There are a few downsides however, as several songs sound rough and unpolished… this is to be expected for a debut effort. To relate the sound here to some other artists, perhaps you could call the work on this album a cross between Fractal Glider meets Infected Mushroom (or Rastaliens). Mr. Peculiar has definitely improved his sound in the two years since this was released, though I fear that his modern productions don’t retain the same kind of wild dynamism heard on many of the songs on this fine album. If you enjoy dark full-on sounds of psytrance today, it’s well worth taking a trip back a few years to give this cult classic a listen. Despite the roughness around the edges this release still has more ideas than most of the highly polished modern releases in the energetic strain of full-on psytrance.

Release Data

Artist: Mr. Peculiar
Title: Elements
Label: Tribe-adelic Records
Format: CD album
Released: 2002

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