Urban Awakening

Urban Awakening caught my eye when I saw that the tracklist contained a number of veteran artists who aren’t heard all that often any more. This is also the first psytrance release from Costa Rica that I’m aware of, so I decided to take a blind chance on purchasing this compilation without hearing it first. Though the artwork is tacky and unpolished, an impressive 78 minutes of music can be heard on the disc itself.

THD opens the compilation with Bond, a track that obviously takes some inspiration from the veterans hosted here. There are hints of Dark Soho in some of the gothic cinematics, and a touch of Tim Schuldt with the guitar. The production and arrangement are not up to par, sounding rather amateur by today’s standards. Clearly it is an early effort from this project consisting of DJ Dusk and Sir G, though they do show some potential.

Wizzy Noise show off their long-established mastery of beat manipulation with Mind Bending, an epic ten minute long journey through the brilliant sound of these psytrance wizards. The bass line has a much more bubbly sound to it, rolling around in the undergrowth with a cheerful groove. The rest isn’t all that surprising if you’ve been hearing this artist’s developing sound through the years. It’s friendly and fun to dance to, with an arrangement that tends to flow more than drop, unlike some other Wizzy Noise productions. A distinct melody teases the listener in the breakdown with three minutes to go, and then the song charges off on the last run, with epic flourishes of light electric melodies pleasantly filling the soundscape. This proves to be one of the more sublime Wizzy creations, still a sure bet to trance out the dancefloor, but not one of their exceptionally remarkable compilation appearances.

Tim Schuldt has been off my radar since the release of Secrets on vinyl back in 2002. Stroke returns Schuldt’s sound to the trance fold, showing off an intriguing new facet to the master’s creative prowess. Inconcievable though it may be, I sense something of a progressive feel to this offering, with smooth and sublime transitions reigning supreme throughout the first half of the journey. Raw electric guitar work makes an entrance in the latter half, sprucing up the song with heavy riffs. Rather than bursting out in a fury of lead melodies as older Tim Schuldt songs would often do, this one remains fairly tame and low-key, all things considered. It’s a change of pace, but not entirely unwelcome.

Star-X teams up with Brasil’s DJ Feio to bring you The Trap. I find it to be an ordinary variety of scratchy full-on, though it is admittedly slightly deeper than the usual mainstream tripe from Israel. It’s all fairly anonymous until the big breakdown in the last third, during which the leads turn harshly digital. This annoyingly grates on my ears.

Dark Soho provide the gem of the album with Fairy Tales, a track that sounds as if it were a lost track from the album Combustion. Last year’s Light in the Dark was met with wide disappointment for failing to contain a track just like this one: raw, emotional, and adorned by excellent guitar work. The arrangement is fantastic, with several minutes of smooth beats that set the mood, followed by the sublime break out of the sick melodies and killer riffs that make this song so great. The lead is so bloody catchy, dripping with gothic flavour, that it should burrow its way into your head and stay there for weeks. The transitory bridge introduces some very sweet acoustic notes on the guitar, soon joined by more work on the electric. The last half mirrors the first, with another smooth build back towards the soaring heights of the sinister vision that Dark Soho has so magnificently created with this killer song. It isn’t all that structurally complex, nor does it break any new ground, but Fairy Tales deeply satisfies nonetheless.

Mino’s Tripology doesn’t immediately impress, as it comes across as somewhat dull for the first few minutes, with commonplace electrical zipping sounds serving as melodies over an unimpressive beat. Finally at the three minute mark the song begins to sound interesting, with dark orchestral sounds filling the space. This doesn’t last, as the lengthly “anything is possible” speech from Neo of the Matrix plays out. From here on in Mino reinstates a fair level of quality, with drifting atmospheres and a nicely composed dark mood. In the end it’s all right, although it clearly must be an older track from the vaults.

D-Tek is an artist who has yet to create a song I’d find worth playing anywhere, and Reeboot doesn’t change my mind. The production seems a little weak, the rhythms don’t sound all that tight, and while there are valiant efforts made with a dipping bass line, I am simply not convinced. Far too squelchy and messy to appeal to me. Full-on fans might dig it though.

Tim Schuldt and Detlef Funder offer up another solid piece of atmospheric psytrance under their Four Carry Nuts guise with SLT. Here’s a track that could have appeared on the Mechanical Age album, released last year. Everything is delightfully subtle and well crafted, and a great sample is featured in the heart of the track. Dark choral voices spice this one up with heaps of atmosphere, and the arrangement is satisfying for getting your dark groove on. It’s a nice balanced tune from 4CN.

Xenomorph’s contribution is Controled Freedom, another track which sounds as if it has been sitting around collecting dust for a few years. Thoroughly laced with Hollywood movie samples and inelegant guitar riffs, this actually sounds like a sloppy B-side from the last days of Koyote. Sadly it’s a contender for the most unappealing release from Mark Petrick, who is responsible for some of the genre’s best.

The last track is the second from label owner THD, and this one is slightly better than the first. It’s still clearly an early effort, following in the footsteps of the artists that form the bulk of this release. The results are certainly much better, as there is a more coherent flow to this track, and the stark staggered beats work well with the style. Some problems persist, including a rather naive use of stereo panning in some areas, and the general lack of flow, but once again Dusk and Sir G are showing they have the potential to be making some very nice dark trance in due time.

While Urban Awakening isn’t quite up to par when compared to internationally available releases from more established areas, I think it is important to give DJ Dusk and Ritter Records some respect for helping to develop the scene in their home country. Many of the songs here are obviously leftovers from years ago; miscellania that had not been snatched up by the bigger labels. Mastering was done in the Four Carry Nuts studio, so there’s a good chance that the Tim Schuldt tracks are actually new. Same goes for Wizzy Noise, who provide a decent tune here. Dark Soho’s contribution is among their best released works, and provides a clear reason to show these guys some support. Fans will not be disappointed! The rest is not so appealing to my ears, unfortunatly. Listeners with a fondness for the artists on the tracklist should try this one out first, while most tranceheads can probably safely avoid this inconsistent compilation.

Release Data

Title: Urban Awakening
Label: Ritter Records
Format: CD compilation
Released: 2005

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