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Music reviews
Here comes something I have been looking forward to. The debut album by Tikal! They are releasing it on Italian Neurobiotic Records, one of the leading labels out there when it comes to melodic full on psytrance. The cover art on this CD is one of the best I have seen in a long time. Finally we have a group that manages to use the creativity we find in goa trance made ten years ago, but also make it sound super fresh with the sound of modern full on.
Tikal "Ritual Cycle" Neurobiotic Records 2004 (NBRCD09)
1. Equinox
2. Sunshine Middle East
3. Time Is Running Out
4. Breath (Rmx)
5. Jazzistique
6. Mr Pink
7. Aura
8. Horn Travel
9. Canicule
Already in the first minute we get a hint of how varied and interesting this album is. It starts with some nice drums, a floating atmospheric sound and some Arabic vibes. Then we get a melody I find really terrible and ugly. Too bad they chose to put in that in this track, but things get a lot better after a little while. The rhythm drift and massive, crispy sounds reminds me a bit of Bamboo Forest, but this one is much more melodic. Then comes the good part… We get a relaxing break with that atmospheric floating sound again, plus a really beautiful female voice singing. This voice continues when the intense rhythms starts rolling again. A great track except for the terrible melody. You find more variation in this track than in most other full on releases I have heard. Track 2 starts pumping almost from the first second. Here we get some kind of mystic vibe and a fantastic male voice singing. I think it’s African. Here we also get a very drifting rhythm drift with crispy sounds swirling around, which is probably inspired by Bamboo Forest. This is my favourite track on this album and for sure a big hit on full on dance floors around the world this summer. Track 3 starts with a funny little melody. Here we get an almost scary, dramatic vibe. Great variation, which reminds me of old school goa trance, but with a modern full on sound. Track 4 is the classic track called Breath, which probably most psytrancers have heard before. This one is originally made by Bamboo Forest, but here we get a new fresh remix by Tikal. I love the original and I’m not sure we needed a remix of it, but the remix doesn’t sound very different from the original, and it’s probably a good excuse to play it more at parties… Beautiful vocals and a totally drifting, tripped out vibe.
Track 5 starts with some beautiful female vocals too. Then the drifting Bamboo Forest inspired rhythm drift hits back again, and we get a great variation of beautiful melodies and sounds. You even get some jazzy trumpet music mixed in there, followed by Arabic influences and tons of other things. Music it takes a lot of listens to get tired of. Fantastic track! Track 6 starts with a funny voice sample. Then we get thrown into a massive madness of sounds and melodies. Again it reminds me of old goa trance times. This track is sort of rock influenced too. Track 7 starts with a dramatic voice saying something in French. Then we get the sound of a choir together with a stumping beat. Totally trippy, drifting track. One of the best tracks I have heard this year and my favourite track on this album. Track 8 starts with ethnic vibes. This is a relaxing down tempo track, with happy melodies, several ethnic influences, some jazzy almost samba trumpet sounds and tons of other things. Tikal sure likes it varied, which fits perfect to my taste. The last track we get on this surprisingly good album is a very relaxing, chilled track. You get the feeling of being outside, with birds singing, relaxing drums, samples of people talking, horses and other things. A beautiful flute follows the track trough. Here they prove again that they can make fantastic chill out music too. Great finish on this album.
In my opinion, Tikal delivers one of the absolute best psytrance albums this year. Great creativity and variation in all the tracks, totally refreshing and different from all other psytrance being released these days. Let’s hope Tikal keeps up the good work! Recommended!
PK (shivapks@hotmail.com)
