Hybrid - Morning Sci-Fi
Just got my hands on a promo of Hybrid's upcomming album "Morning Sci-Fi", and all i can say is wow ! Hybrid may have gone some changes in personal with a new vocalist joining the group, and original member Lee Mulin departing. But the core, Mike Truman and Chris Healings have remained intact, and with them so has the distinctive Hybrid sound which has won over so many clubbers.
Leading off with the gorgoues vocal induced cut "This Is What It Means" the hybrid experience sets sail on a dreamy auditory voyage which takes the listener through some familiar atmosphereic breaks terriority while still managing to elevate and find higher ground on almost every track. By the time the journey winds down courtesy of the slow haunting vocal track "Blackout" you are left with an overwhelming feeling of calm, such is the timeless nature of the music presented here by Hybrid..
Along with the 10 new songs, the album is also peppered with a few known songs that have already made appearences on the last two GU compilations. Still, i don't think anyone would complain too much about the inclusion of "Visible Noise" or "Gravstar" since both are excellent prog-break tracks. This being said though, they are also not the typical Hybrid material we have gotten used being more progressive, less melodic and tinged with a darker edge.
A little more subdued perhaps when compared to the early work they put out which had more of a trancey-breaks element. But don't get me wrong, this is no boring run of the mill progressive fare. All of the tracks have depth, and though they stray towards the darker spectrum at times, the lush soundscapes created with each track always manges to invoke feelings of euphoria.
Mike Truman mentioned in a recent interview that the Hybrid sound has grown up, and this is evident in every track. There is still energy, but it's refined and more controlled. Hybrid have clearly taken their time in crafting this album, and it shows in the final product. The sounds are crisp, the chords well choosen and arranged, the breaks powerful and captivating and a mood that floats effortlessly from dark and brooding to soaring euphoric bliss and then back down again into some truely exceptional breakbeat sequences. The orchestral strings that made "Unfinished Symphony" such a classic are also once again used in one of the many gems on this album titled "High As A Skyscraper". Both this cut and "Out of the dark" which appears towards the end of the album are prime examples of Hybrid at their finest and are surely destined to make themselves a fixture in many a break DJ's record box.
I guess my only quibble then is that there is one track too many featuring the male vocalist, and although he is obviously talented i would have liked to see more of a variation in the people that Hybrid approached to sing for them. An inclusion of a track featuring the vocal talents of either Kristy Hawshaw or even Sarah Mclachlan just boggles my mind. Still, the lack of diversity in the vocals department is only a minor blemish on an otherwise superlative piece of work.
All in all, I think this album will be well recieved by Hybrid fans. The material retains the Hybrid sounds and flavors that we have all come to love, but it has also evolved smartly enough to keep us comming back just to see how high Hybrid have raised the bar.
Like all Hybrid fans i wait for the release date in June to go and buy my own copy of Morning Sci-Fi...till then, i guess the Distinktive promo will have to do 
Tracklist
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01 Hybrid - This Is What It Means
02 Hybrid - True To Form
03 Hybrid - Know Your Enemy
04 Hybrid - Marrakech
05 Hybrid - I'm Still Awake
06 Hybrid - Visible Noise
07 Hybrid - We Are In Control
08 Hybrid - Higher Than A Skyscraper
09 Hybrid - Steal You Away
10 Hybrid - Gravastar
11 Hybrid - Out Of The Dark
12 Hybrid - Blackout
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"Hell is full of musical amateurs; music is the brandy of the damned."
~ George Bernard Shaw
Last edited by Kytracid on May-09-2003 at 20:38
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cant wait till the new album has came out, btw do you know why Lee Mullin left Hybrid?
