Found at: http://trance.net/article/articleprint/533/-1/28/
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Infected Mushroom "IM The Supervisor"
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Top level
Music reviews
Psytrance reviews
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Author: Psytones
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Publishing date: 06.10.2004 08:23
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Amit Duvdevani and Erez Aizen are out with "IM The Supervisor" after their hugely successful albums: "The Gathering" (1999), "Classical Mushroom" (2000), "B.P. Empire" (2001) and "Converting Vegetarians" (2003).
After the huge commercial success of "Converting Vegetarians" (incidentally, this album is considered a disappointment by many fans), lots of psytrancers have been anxiously anticipating this album, fearing that Infected Mushroom have lost their "mushroom" sound. First of all I would like to say that Infected are my favourite psyact. They are the main reason why I fell so much in love with the world of psytrance. For me, it all started in 2000, with the time-honoured album “Classical Mushroom”. Here follows a track-by-track review of their new album:
Infected Mushroom "IM The Supervisor" BNE 2004 (YoYo Records/BNE Ltd. RESISTCD10)
1. IM The Supervisor
2. Ratio Shmatio
3. Muse Breaks RMX
4. Meduzz
5. Cities Of The Future
6. Horus The Chorus
7. Frog Machine
8. Noon
9. Bombat
10. Stretched
1) The intro of “IM The supervisor” kinda reminds me of an intro to a dark rock band, with creepy noises and a generally dark feeling. Then boom. The Supervisor says, “I'm the supervisor, can i get a taxi numba”. And the initial creepy, ominous feeling of darkness is gone. It has a bassline thats kinda bouncy, and i see what Infected are doing. They are making Full-On party music for the younger generation, floor-fillers for the dance crowd. The track itself isn't all that bad if you take your mind off that its very childish. When the take-off starts at 04:45 with the very cool drums and the voice saying/screaming "Dance with me, come on come. Dance with me”, you can’t help getting carried away. Its not a strong! track, but it’s a floor killer, the fun kind.
2) “Ratio Shmatio” follows the main sound in 'Converting Vegetarians - Trance Side”, bassline and everything else. It's got some great cute sounds and melodies at the start. Then it tries to break out by turning into a more melodramatic soundscape. Again a full-on track, made for the dance floor, but with beautiful melodies that actually remind me of the good old trance days in 98 (The “Magik” and “Forbidden Paradise” series). Cheesy? Hell yes. But they get away with it.
3) “Muse Breaks RMX” is a remix of 'J.views (Jonathan from 'Violet Vision) - Muse Breaks' with the lovely Michele Adamson singing and if, I'm not mistaken, Duvdev screaming. It’s a reggae-inspired track with a great melody coming and going. I'm sorry to say that I haven’t heard the original yet. But I'll bet it's better then this remix by Infected.
4) “Meduzz” is a strange track. It starts off with this, well mushroom-like, bouncy beat, but after a minute it’s back to the same bassline as all the other tracks. And then the 'Blues Brothers' organ sound drops in, and things get more interesting. “Meduzz” is all about the build up and the guitars. And the guitars have great sound, very epic. But, somehow, there is still something missing. The production is fantastic, as is the whole album, but where is the depth and the multiple layers? After a few listens, it gets to boring for me.
5) “Cities of the Future”. Before this album was realised, BNE published this as a taster single. What a joke I thought it was. It sounded like a psytrance track by Cher. I liked Duvdev's voice twitching in “Deeply Disturbed”. But this is too much for me. This makes the album sound like a psytrance album for kids. Not one of my favourite tracks, not by a long shot.
6) “Horus The Chorus” follows in the footsteps of 'Ratio Shmatio'. Long build up, which I like and appreciate. It has a great powerful melody. Too bad it stops there.
7) “Frog Machine” has sounds like a mix of the track 'Converting Vegetarians', but without the voice and with a full-on thumping bassline. It’s maybe one of the best tracks on the album with a great drive and good sounds running around the beat. It sticks out from the other tracks by giving it a whole new drive and atmosphere. Great track indeed.
8) “Noon” seems to be a very empty and boring track with little inspiration. But listen closer. This a very floating track with no special melody and many interesting sounds. Not the best and it doesn’t stand out amongst the other tracks on the album, but it’s a nice, trippy track. It needs a few listens in your headphones to be properly appreciated.
9) “Bombat” has got a very, very nice synth sound, a very good drive, and the melodies are powerful and energetic. But is that all the mushrooms can offer us in 2004? Again, something is missing.
10) “Stretched”. If this is a new attempt to make a “Dancing With Kadafi” track, they have a success on their hands. I love the amazing guitar, the melodies and the variations of the track – the very soundscape. For an album that at times seems plain and almost half-hearted, this is a very nice ending indeed. If only more tracks were as varied as this.
The album in general has a great clean production and it seems like a logical progression of the “Trance Side of their last full album ”Converting Vegetarians”. It has the same bassline and same general feeling overall. The difference is that they seem to have focused more on making great melodies, unfortunately on the edge of cheesyness. When it comes to Infected’s more full-on beat-centred albums, I definitely prefer the masterpiece “B.P. Empire”. This album is a great, if their goal is to make kids like psytrance. Perhaps Duvdev and Erez are trying to convert the world? If so, the next step for BNE should be to make a music video for MTV.
- watch out, the infection is spreading.
psytones (psytones@gmail.com)
