Street Art

Streetwise knack!

Czech label Tribal Vision was recently voted �best new label of 2005� by the Isratrance forum community� And I totally agree on that! Slater & Co. have fast become major league players in the progressive world, releasing high quality albums + compilations� This is the 6th release, and once again the track list looks very impressive� Let�s head downtown and check out the high street performers�

Let me take you thru the tracks�

#01: Absolut & Greed � The Other Side [132 BPM]
Swiss producers Andr� Abt (Absolute) and Tobi Wirz (Greed) have teamed up on this intro track� Whereas Greed is not a project I know too well, Mr. Abt has indeed impressed me with his aggressive progressive style� And yeah, I guess aggressive progressive is also the keywords here� The track doesn�t waste time with boring intros, and the first sound is a kick-drum, which immediately gives the track a raw edge� After about a minute, more FX are added, like a nifty little melody and some tweaked synths thrown in to add to the groove� A very nice track, but I could have wished for a climax or two � and what�s up with the long boring ending? But still � a fine opening track!

#02: Rai � Let�s Dance [129 BPM]
Rai is Roman Horinek from the Czech capital Prague and he had a well-polished (subsequently a little too clubby) track on the Lime Light compilation released earlier this year�And whereas his previous tracks were maybe a little too Balearic, this track digs deeper into electro/progressive house territory� Synth galore with �ber-smooth sequencing and a tight rhythm section� I�m still not a big fan of the cheesy vocals, but in this track they don�t bother me as much as they could have� So IMO, a step in the right direction for Rai � the future looks promising�

#03: D-Nox & Beckers � Jet Lag Slave [128 BPM]
This German power house duo consists of Christian Wedekind (D-Nox) and Frank Beckers - and they�ve been all over the place recently� To be honest, I never really got Becker�s mega-hit Switch, but combined these guys have made some absolute corkers� This track was already released on wax by Baroque Records, but now it�s available on CD too. Anyway, the track itself is a sure-fit progressive little beast� Somewhat minimal in structure, but with enough depth and warmth to satisfy progressive elitists� The middle bridge part is nothing short of impressive, and reminds me a great deal of the latest Son Kite album� Sweet tune!

#04: Minilouge � Spam [130 BPM]
�She was kneeling beside him and gently lifting the tearstained face from his arms. I�ve got something to show you. She removed the pencils, one at a time, and placed them on his desk. Do you love yourself? You may think that you do, but do you really? There is only one way to find out � by taking a closer look at what you think, say and do. You might not like some of what you find, but if you�re serious about really loving yourself, then take a closer look!� And hey, I was just talking about Son Kite� Minilouge is of course a Son Kite alias, and the Swedish wizards Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson have seldom let me down� As with the previous track, this was also released on wax by Frosty Music in November 2005... It�s great to be able to listen to it on CD also� Anyway, this sounds just like I�d hoped� Son Kite-like progression and break, Kooler-like rhythm section and Minilouge groove� So fucking sweet! Disable your spam filter people � you do not want to miss out on this funky number! Stellar!

#05: Sonify � Sonifunk [130 BPM]
Israeli sensation Andy Yakovlev really, really impressed me with his ProSect track Sonified released on the Inner Circle compilation in September� One of the best progressive tunes of 2005! And whereas this is a very mature, experimental track, I�m afraid it doesn�t live up to my expectations� It�s not that I don�t like the electro/trance outfit � not at all� I like genre bending stuff, but it just seems so oddly out of place here� Also, I�m not too impressed with the ragamuffin vox � they suck! Anyway, the track is not bad at all; in fact I�m sure it would be a real stomper without the vocals� But - it�s just positioned wrongly on the CD...And that�s a shame!

#06: SAN & Sebastian Moore � Interceptor [128 BPM]
This is my first encounter with the music of Dutch producers SAN (Sander Jongerius) and Sebastian Moore, but apparently they�ve gained massive playtime amongst some of the biggest DJs in the club scene� Despite the low bpm, this seems like one of the fastest tracks here, mainly because of the pounding bass/kick session� Later the track takes a clubbier detour into more housy realms � complete with a break down, reverbs and floating, uplifting melodies� I like it for the most part, and especially the final tribal run is pretty nice� A nice little tune!

#07: Sonic Cube � Cloud Buster (Andr� Absolut Remix) [128 BPM]
Sonic Cube are Swiss producers Daniel M�ller & Ueli Schill perhaps better known as Sonnenvakuum, and their Cloudbuster EP was the first vinyl release by Tribal Vision� From that we get another visit from Andr� Absolut with this, his remix� And what a remix! Oh my, this has �funky� written ALL OVER IT� From the minimal tribal intro, to the huuuuuuge groovy pads, to the uplifting melodies and so on� A huge, epic progressive hit � with enough depth and edge to keep me entertained! Fantastic!

#08: Flowjob � Life Extensions [129 BPM]
�Life Extension, or LE as we like to refer to it, is a glimpse of the future. It's a ticket. Not in the juvenile sense, but in the deeply meaningful sense. [�] The dream of peace!� Danish producer duo Flowjob (Joakim Hj�rne & Mads Tinggaard) has also had a successful year, with stand-out tracks on both Lime Light (Tribal Vision) and Set/5 - Summer Collection (Iboga Records)� And here�s another trademark Flowjob choon � rich in floating, well-polished, feel-good progressive trance with well-fitting samples from Vanilla Sky� This is funky as hell and definitely sexier than anything else on this compilation! I for one cannot wait for the debut album coming soon on Iboga Records� Another fine tune!

#09: Vibrasphere � Manzanilla (Ja�a Remix) [135 BPM]
Behold the battle of the giants! When I first read the track list to this compilation, this track was the biggest piece of eye candy� I mean, come on � the classic downbeat track by Vibrasphere remixed and tranced-up by another legendary producer - Ja�a! And the track sure doesn�t disappoint � this is fast-paced, edgy progressive house with more than a few excursions into uplifting, twisted morning trance� And what is that strange sound � a cello perhaps? Whatever it is, this is a mighty fine, uplifting tune that crosses well over into different genres� A brilliant hybrid track and a fine way to end the compilation�

With Street Art Tribal Vision removes the last shred of doubt in my mind � this is one of the best labels within progressive trance! Right up there with Iboga Records and Digical Structures! Damn, I�m impressed by these visionary Czechs� By looking at my indication of favourite tracks below, it should come as no surprise that this is indeed one of the very best progressive trance compilations of 2005 � and it will remain a fav�e well into 2006 too! With only a few minor glitches, everything on this CD is solid gold�

As always, we get the full package here � stylish artwork by Quapim, and a phat color booklet with info on all artists + a handy DJ slip� Stuff like that always sends my thumbs in the air! Well done Slater & Schwa! So, to conclude � this is a very solid compilation, that will appeal both to progressive dancers, sofa trancers and groove connoisseurs� An essential purchase! Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 3(!), 4(!!), 6, 7(!!), 8(!), 9(!)