Feast on this: Mediterranean chemicals!
Meet Al. – a 37 year old psychedelic trance-head from Malta. That’s right – Malta! This is the first Maltese psy-release ever – released on the first Maltese psy-label. Thus Butterfly Records may not sound like a very original name for a new record label, the background is tragic: the death of Sharyn ‘the butterfly girl’ – hence the name Butterfly Records. Aldo is a veteran in the trance trade, formerly known as Zaldonite. His biggest inspiration for creating music is his girlfriend Marie Clarie… Music wise the biggest source for inspiration is psychedelic rock and the masters Pink Floyd in particularly… Let’s find out what Malta has to offer…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: 1888 A.C. Train to Madness [138 BPM]
All aboard this psycho-train heading for madness! The dark, gloomy industrial intro is soon brutally shredded by the meanest bassline this side of the Mediterranean… Holy *** – this has got to be among the meanest, darkest teKk-trance I’ve heard since the Spirallianz/Midi Miliz era… Crude Boskhe-fodder… The ‘lazy’ bpm just adds to the horror-atmosphere along with the undecipherable monster-samples… Anti-melodic, minimalist terror-trance for the darkest moments of the night… Sweet! =D
#02: What Lies in the Shadows [138 BPM]
“I am not who you think I am!” We get off the train now, and find out what’s lurking in the shadows… Another techy, deeply industrial-sounding noisy night-tune… Repetitive, dirty, gritty, dark – and funky as hell… Check out the spooky wolf-howling samples…! Make sure you have a proper sound system – this tune will challenge your set-up! Raw and wriggling – like Gollum’s taste in fish!
#03: Piskumany [146 BPM]
“At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Umbrella Corporation had become the largest commercial entity in the United States. Nine out of every ten homes contain its products. It's political and financial influence is felt everywhere. In public, it is the worlds leading supplier of: Computer Technology, Medical Products, and Healthcare. Unknown to even its own employees, its massive profits are generated by: Military Technology, Genetic Experimentation and Viral Weaponry.” After a lengthy Resident Evil sample, we’re shifting into faster territory now – as the bpm indicator suggests… Apparently Piskumany is a word the daughter of Aldo’s girlfriends’ sister (!) made up, and used to furiously shout out when she was angry… And now, that word has been immortalized as a track-name… ;o) This is night-time hyper-trance… Digital farts, electronic burps, tweaking acid-lines and subtle guitars – alongside a twisted bassline! What else can you ask for? Reminds me a little of Rinkadink, only darker… Very cool track!
#04: Wake Up Call [146 BPM]
Good morning! Someone’s drinking coffee in the intro here… And the courtesy “ahhh” is sampled and used several times + some genuine yawning… Hehe – nice one Aldo! Time to wake up - this track incorporates the call-back message from the local Maltese phone company wake-up service… @ 4’20 everyone should be awake – this stuff will kick you right out of bed! Twisted, shifting, bubbling, vibrant psy-trance here… Like a cross between the Timecode & Parvati sound – with bastard influences from Ørebro, Australia and the Ruhr-district! Brilliant!
#05: Peace on Earth Remix [145 BPM]
“The universe grows smaller every day…Join us – life in peace!” Peace on Earth – now there’s a topic everyone can relate to… Parts of this track showcase the slightly more melodic side of Aldo’s talents… Not melodic in a melodic kinda way – just a tad more melodic compared to the previous tracks… This is still very much dark, deep night-trance – with the Maltese touch! Come to think of it, this is not peaceful at all – this is some severely ***ed-up brutal ***! … And that’s meant as superlatives! The track draws to a close with the voice of Kevin Spacey in K-Pax “You humans – sometimes it’s hard to imagine how you’ve made it this far” Another sweet track!
#06: Batidas Por Minuto [148 BPM]
Skazi – this is how you use a guitar in creative way! Batidas Por Minuto translates into ‘beats per minute’ – and this track has 148 of those, so yeah, it’s another brutal noise attack... Aldo is playing around with filters here – slowly adding layers with different psychedelic FX… Guitars, percussion, stomping bass and some mean-ass synths… This track has an interesting composition – the beats are cut and it’s like constantly something is lurking under the surface waiting to be unleashed… That ‘held-back’ technique is very effective in creating a mesmerizing track… I like all the nifty little FX that are sprinkled around the track: Acid galore, digital birds, etc… Highly psychedelic trance here… Very tasty!
#07: Twisted Parameters [148 BPM]
“Do you like to watch? … Come and find out!” Yeah baby, don’t we all? Some horny chick is trying to mess with your emotions here… Don’t let her get to you! Aldo does his best to save us here – with sharp, metallic hisses and haunting, scary pads creating an overall spooky atmosphere… Again! This track has a certain drive that I really like – it’s kinda purposive… The flow here is very focussed, and at 148 beats per minute, it’s done at an incredible rate… But beware, there is something disturbing about this… Slightly perverted even! Aaargh, I fear to watch, yet I cannot look away… She got to me!
#08: Klassic-Al [148 BPM]
“You don’t like it; you can kiss my furry little butt!” Ahh, the odd-ball track… Check out the very cool piano-intro – brutally interrupted by one of the most twisted basslines I’ve heard in a long time… This is soo repulsive – it almost has a physical effect on me when played loud… I love it! ;o) Soon it’s time for some fun - This is obviously a piss-take on Aldo’s behalf… Trumpets, jazzy atmosphere, etc… We’re really exposed to this guy’s immense talent now – he intelligently incorporates the familiar melody from Mozart’s Für Elise – creating a no less than AMAZING track… Hands down, the best track here! Magical!
#09: Z.Zora [90 BPM]
And finally it’s time for some chilling… This reminds me of the chill-track of the Digital Talk album – which is spooky chill! This is deep, heavy, dubby chill… Created to let you catch your breath again, but still puzzle you – leave you with a ‘what-the-***-just-hit-me?’ goodbye greeting… Very nicely done – very well-fitting outro-track for a truly impressive album! The track finished off with another lengthy Resident Evil sample: “The Hive has its own defence mechanisms... all computer-controlled. A nerve gas was released into the house. Primary effect of the gas: complete unconsciousness, lasting anything up to four hours. Secondary effects are varied but can include acute memory loss. For how long? Subjective. An hour, day, week. So you're saying this place was attacked? I'm afraid things area little more complicated than that… Sir! We've breached the Hive.”
Well, this album was definitely a big surprise for me… A big positive surprise! Judging by the name Kemic-al, I was afraid this was another boring Skazi-clone… But luckily I was proven wrong… Very wrong! This is among the finest darkish night-time trance I’ve heard for some time… I’m no technical buff, but to me the production and mastering sounds like a lot of effort has gone into it… And I’m even more impressed that this is a debut album!
The sound spectre is very impressive here – though mostly dark hyper-trance, we get hints of other styles ranging from full-on to dub, and from tech-trance to melodic goa in the good old sense… Diversity rules! Also this has it’s own, unique sound – one of the many cool features is the way Aldo ends his tracks – it’s usually 10-20 seconds of added value fun… Playing around… Nice!
Al.is a busy man, and the second album is already in the pipeline – along with upcoming compilation tracks on Alkaloid Rec., Golden Dawn Rec., Temple Twister Rec., Trishula Rec. & Disco Valley Rec… Fans of these labels have something to look forward too – as do anyone else interested in intelligent night-time music… This album rocks! Highly recommended!
Favourites: 1, 3(!), 4, 6, 7, 8(!!!)
DeathPosture
External links:
Kemic-Al: http://www.kemic-al.com
Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detail.jsp?showDetail=67823
Saiko Sounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=4551
Beatspace: http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=1497
