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Poly 61 - Hirabo Invaders EP
Thirteen Productions 2001 (CD Single)
(Reviews) Author: Basilisk :: Posted: March 31st, 2008 :: 68 views
02 :: Hirabo Invaders (6:07)
03 :: Hirabo Invaders (Squaremeat Remix) (7:08)
Poly 61 is an obscure Finnish Goa trance group with only a handful of songs in their discography. Thirteen Productions released this surprisingly authentic CD single in the dying days of the old school movement, just as minimal and techno influences were taking over. It never seems to have made it to the major web shops and ultimately seems to have suffered from a lack of proper distribution. Had it been released two years earlier I suspect it would have been a major hit but, as fate would have it, this release slipped through the cracks.
Musta opens the release in style, immediately drawing the listener into a mystic realm of Eastern melodies and tribal-organic beats. There are numerous hints of acoustic or real-world instruments in this piece: a dash of xylophone, a hint of panpipes, and so on. Every instrument is integrated into the whole—there is nothing gimmicky about their usage. The results are very balanced, offering both musicality and emotional depths. My only complaint would be that the duration of this piece is somewhat too short!
Hirabo Invaders is another captivating trip into the heart of old school Goa trance spiritualism. Spiralling lead melodies and free-flowing cosmic atmospheres fill the air while energetic beats churn beneath. It ends up sounding a bit like an ad hoc blend of Ubar Tmar, Elysium, and BTI-era Juno Reactor. The arrangement isn’t as polished as the others but the nostalgic enthusiasm of the piece more than makes up for it.
The Squaremeat version remains faithful to the spirit of the original while providing a completely different interpretation. Changes have been made in the rhythm—Squaremeat infuse Poly 61’s exotic Goa trance mysticism with a mild dose of Suomi-style funkadelia. The tempo has also been decreased, deepening the groove and giving every sound a little more breathing room than on the hectic original. As a result, this is a very good remix.
The Hirabo Invaders EP is an obscure relic of a lost age of Goa trance. Often it is found that rare releases are rare for very prosaic reasons—they aren’t very good—but this is one notable exception. Poly 61 successfully in capture the authentic spirit of the old school masters. If Poly 61 had continued to develop their sound we might regard them as an important forerunners of the modern Goa trance movement alongside artists like Dimension 5, Ra, CHI-A.D., and Electron Wave. Although Poly 61 didn’t remain active in the scene long enough to make a lasting impression at least they provided history with this hidden gem.
