Trojan

Trojan is just another heavy, blasting compilation from the demons at South Africa’s original hard psytrance label: Timecode. There is no special theme at work here—Trojan is built for DJs and doesn’t beat around the bush. Although it is a South African compilation with the strong imprint of that nation’s characteristic style, fully half of the material is sourced from artists on the international stage. With adequate cover art and mastering by Artifakt, we’re ready to rip into this one.

Artifakt—possibly the most original artist on the South African circuit—delivers another killer in his dark and demented style with Mr O. The beats are tough and distorted, with a fat thrumming bass line and plenty of cinematic flourishes. After setting the mood, the track digs in for a while, eventually exploding in sick, twisted outbursts. The eventual climax doesn’t break the sound barrier, but it still delivers. Solid material from Artifakt.

Some people like Phyx, some don’t. I’m usually indifferent. Spectre is another tight South African track similar in many respects to what one would expect from Shift. Psytrance seldom gets any more synthetic than this! The ripping melodies are loaded with energy, and the track maintains a haunting edge in peak moments. One for the DJs and fans.

CPU have their own brand of high-energy psychedelic trance that is hard to mistake for anything else. Tactical Interface is better than average for what I have heard from them, loaded as it is with all manner of technical trickery. The bass lines are absolutely out of control, and the track is doused in those squiggly electrical sounds that infest 3D Vision releases, but it has its time and place. Dance floor destructor!

Israeli act Abomination teams up with Phyx on Flatline for another squelchy romp into digitalized insanity. It sounds as if it has been done many times before, but isn’t inherently bad. Another satisfying track to rock the floor—nothing more.

Absolum vs Theoreme – Weekly Mansion 402 is an extreme tune: aggressive, menacing, dirty as hell. What really pushes it over the edge is the nearly three minute breakdown that seems to never end. It drops right out into the abyss and then builds it all up from scratch, pushing the envelope with a powerful rush of frantic kicks and wild flying noises. Usually I might doubt the efficacy of such a bloated beast on the dance floor, but experience has shown this one can conjure tremendous crowd response. It’s a deadly weapon for the discerning DJ’s arsenal.

Hydraglyph’s System Critical is plainly derivative. It creaks and quivers, suffers from loads of those screeching pterodactyl noises, and generally whips up a frothy mess of synthetic beats. Filler.

Azax Syndrom & Seroxat deliver a dark trance anthem with Big Mystery. The drive is raw and unforgiving, layered in haunting atmospheres, and loaded with crazy production tricks. The razor-sharp way in which the beats are warped and manipulated into ornamental configurations is simply excellent. Ripping psychedelic sounds fill the air with feverish energy, complete with the added grind of some mock guitar riffs. The build-up, complete with an ironic sample, is nicely constructed as well. Azax Syndrom has better hits out there, but this is still good!

Menog provides a change of pace with Timecodes, a spooky slice of of Gothic trance in the style of his full-length album Emotions. This has all the right ingredients: layered melodies, wailing leads, plenty of atmosphere. Too bad its a tough one to fit into a long mix—Menog seldom abides by a steady structure in the early minutes, leaving DJs scrambling to sort out a mishap when the beats drop unexpectedly. Practice with this one first, it is worth playing out.

Tickets, brother to Phyx, completes the cycle with The Toy. Some people have taken to calling this style “twilight trance,” as it features aggressive night-time rhythms with euphoric morning melodies. Whatever it may be, dance floors seem to love it. With all the big breaks and strong leads, this one wins plenty of smiles all around. It isn’t subtle in the least—this is more like bashing someone over the head with a fuzzy hammer—but I cannot argue with results. Learn it well, use it sparingly.

Trojan is a decent compilation for those who enjoy the harder side of full-on psytrance. The worst part about it is how similar some of these songs sound, but at least the quality level is maintained. This is designed and built for the dance floor, not home listening. DJs of the style will want to check it out, but most others could probably pass on this. Trojan is unlikely to have a long shelf life, so act now to enjoy the goodness of these tunes before technology surges ahead.

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