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Psy-Trance :: Talpa - The Art Of Being Non :: Album Review
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| Dan1584 |
Artist...Talpa
Title.....The Art Of Being Non
Label...Sundance
In July of 2003 I posted a topic about an upcoming psy-trance producer called Talpa. I posted a link to download his live set at the Transplant 10 show last year. Well finally over a year later his label has finally released his album. What a damn wait it has been too...
I wrote a long and in-depth review but ing AOL froze up and I lost all of that post...god dammit! Anyway, here is a shorter review...
Following are short descriptions of each track, followed by a conclusion :)
TRACK DESCRIPTIONS
01. First Ray Of Light
Do you like shpongle? Well then this is the song for you! This opener is a nice trippy but chilled track full of a a mesmorizing flute that flows in and out of your soul like a needle through fabric. There are weird, eerie and crazy effects bouncing all around your confused brain sending you into psychedelic overload. If that isn't enough then the percussive ending will get you ready for what is next to come...
02. My Kingdom
You want energy? Come no further than the first track on the album. It's full on psychedelic and melodic energy that's never resting. It charges every cell in your body and then sweeps you off your feet with gorgeous melodies that sound almost gothic-church-like. Before you know it your back thrusted into the mayhem and your skull gets blown apart from all the musical madness. This is quality psy-trance.
03. Trust No Goblin
Imagine eating a quarter bag of psychedelic mushrooms and then getting shrunk and placed inside a goblins mind. If you can't imagine what that would be like then listen to this song and you'll have a pretty good idea. No, seriously...The effects and sounds in this song are weird, demented, twisted, playful and at times almost laughable. A true testament to psychedelic effects and manipulation.
04. No Place To Hide
Funk, groove, energy, melody you name it this song has got it. It's full on and attacking but playful and very groovey at the same time. The melodic sections are very energetic and get you moving. The effects are twisted and funky and they carry you towards an amazing energetic ending which almost sends you flying through space.
05. Dragon Tale
This song is full of top notch fun energy with great vibrant synths to move you like your quantum leaping through a psychedelic portal. Definetly one of the highlights of the album, it catches your attention and never lets go. If this album was Infected Mushroom's "Classical Mushroom", "Dragon Tale" would be this albums "Bust A Move."
06. People Are Animals
With a weird vocal sample that talks of drug induced hallucinations of people turning into animals starts off the track you get propelled into a frenzy of crazy effects and goove. While all the psychedelica is keeping you in a whirlwind you get attacked by a monsterous melodic climax which rapes you soul with it's musical glory.
07. Flybeereligion
This crazy song, is funky, tripped out and everything inbetween. Mid song incredible melodies soar through you as your lifted in amazing psychedelic energy thats only rivaled at the end of the song when a more dreamy melodies swoop in to carry you off into la la land. Definetly another highlight.
08. The Moon
With a great dark vibe and eerie singing vocoded vocals this song tickles you in all the right places. The vocals, while good, are not the most amazing thing you've ever heard. There is really no climax like in the previous songs but the whole vibe of this track is enough to satisfy anybody at this point. It's eerie and groovey enough to make you grandpa run around in drag and dance like a witch calling upon a spell.
09. Rebirth
The final dance track on the album is a winner as well. It contains a great bassline and amazingly trippy effects which play around with your senses. The build up is great and the climax is even better because it's full of the desired energy you want and the chaotic psychedelica your mind could possibly handle. It's a great song to end the dance portion of the album.
10. Back To Dreaming
Just like in the begining you are treated to another chilled out trip fest. This time you have a strange string instrument and a flute to carve into you. The flute invites you to dance with it's beautifully groovey melody while the psychedelica once again masturbates your senses until you have reached an sensory orgasm, which after listening to this album you surely have already done, 9 times.
CONCLUSION:
In my opinion there are 3 Psy-Trance producers which have made themselves famous by being the best at what they do and those artists are Infected Mushroom, Simon Posford (& Raja Ram), and Astral Projection. Those 3 are the veterans of this genre and now that their time is almost up the new commers are coming along to make their profound statement within the psy-trance history books.
These new hopefuls are Violet Vision, Astrix, Misted Muppets and now Talpa. Each of these artists have decided to not follow trends but make them...they are the bold, the brave, and the light at the end of the dark tunnel full of wannabe's.
Talpa has created an album that is not only aurally pleasing but also very original. While it has the same "Je Ne Sais Quoi" as Infected Mushroom's "Classical Mushroom" it also carries the intelligently twisted manipulation of effects that Shpongle so creatively pioneered. The soundscapes are not only extraordinarly rich, vibrant and colorful but also unique and creative. This album may have influences of artists past but thats where it ends. Talpa has taken brilliant ideas and turned them into his own vision. He has created possibly one of the best psy-trance albums of the past couple years. An interesting fact was that all but one of these tracks were created years ago, some where even made back in 2000. This has been the work of a great mind, and hopefully in the future he will continue to make vibrant albums such as this.
If you are a fan of psy-trance and are desperatly in need of some phenominal and orginal music then head over to Psy-Shop or Saiko Sounds to purchase your copy as soon as possible.
- Daniel |
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| cybernetica |
| Thanks Mate, I'll check it out, sounds psytastic :) |
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| Darki |
One of the best album everrrr
realy remind me the albums of Infected Mushroom :
Classical Mushroom
And
B.P.Empire
And its only his first album
Is gonna be one og the greatest artists in the future! |
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| Brady |
| Thats so wierd. I went to psy shop and bought 3 random cds 2 weeks ago and i happened to buy this cd. It is in fact awesome. |
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| TranswavE |
| But wait! theres more! Eskimo, Psysex, BPC, Human Blue, Alien Project, 12 Moons, Suria, Space Tribe, Texas ******t, Wizzy Noises, Xerox, just to name a few (old and new) Man With No Name is up there with IM and AP. |
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| Goonerine |
| Great review man, i'll definately check it out. I have been into psy lately, absolutely love infected mushroom, astral projection and hallucinogen. keep it up, i hope to see some more topics about Psy |
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| TranswavE |
| Another rippa! Suria - The dark side of the sun. :eyespop: :eyes: :tongue3 |
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| MaxC |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dan1584
In my opinion there are 3 Psy-Trance producers which have made themselves famous by being the best at what they do and those artists are Infected Mushroom, Simon Posford (& Raja Ram), and Astral Projection. |
I'll agree with you there, those are certainly the "big three" in my book (although one can argue Etnica/Pleiadians deserve to be there as well).
| quote: | | These new hopefuls are Violet Vision, Astrix, Misted Muppets and now Talpa. Each of these artists have decided to not follow trends but make them...they are the bold, the brave, and the light at the end of the dark tunnel full of wannabe's. |
This is where I have to disagree. I can't speak to the other artists you mention, but this Talpa album was, in my opinion, highly derivative. You said it yourself: like Shpongle? listen to Track 1. The only problem is that, for all its Shponglesque mangling of sound, it lacks any of the magic that has made Shpongle so successful. The samples from circa 1990 don't add much to the originality factor either (anyone who has heard the first Northern Exposure album should know what I mean).
Like Infected Mushroom? Listen to most of the other songs on the album, because I.M is obviously the dominant musical influence throughout. Throw in a guest appearance by what appears to be Tim Schuldt on Track 2, and there can be little doubt that this album is little more than an emulation of already established psytrance producers.
The bombastic use of sampled phrases ranging from the bizarre to the downright annoying is also a turnoff. Some parts are reminiscent of The Green Nuns' "Klunk!", on steroids, minus the musicality. The fact that some of the instrumentation sounds like it was downsampled and truncated after recording diminishes the appeal of some pieces as well.
I don't mean to disparage Talpa's skills as a producer (the man obviously knows his way around a sampler), but I was unimpressed by this album by and large. The lone bright spot was the brilliant monologue in Track 6, which really embodies the spirit of psychedelica that so pervades the genre. |
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| Dan1584 |
| quote: | | I don't mean to disparage Talpa's skills as a producer (the man obviously knows his way around a sampler), but I was unimpressed by this album by and large. The lone bright spot was the brilliant monologue in Track 6, which really embodies the spirit of psychedelica that so pervades the genre. |
You make decent points, but I still believe that Talpa made an original sounding album with influences from his favorite artists. Yeah you may be able to point out the influences BUT he has hardly copied them to try to become them. He has made his music from his inspriations and I don't think that, that is bad. You pointed out how track # 6 was your favorite and the funny part is that, that track was the most recent one he has made. The other tracks on the album were made anywhere from 2000 till recently. "People Are Animals" represents his style currently. I find it rather impressive that a lot of these songs where created so long ago...
We'll see what he has in store for us next. Thank you for your indepth review and opinions, very much appreciated and respected :) |
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| trancedfarmer |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dan1584
You make decent points, but I still believe that Talpa made an original sounding album with influences from his favorite artists. Yeah you may be able to point out the influences BUT he has hardly copied them to try to become them. He has made his music from his inspriations and I don't think that, that is bad. You pointed out how track # 6 was your favorite and the funny part is that, that track was the most recent one he has made. The other tracks on the album were made anywhere from 2000 till recently. "People Are Animals" represents his style currently. I find it rather impressive that a lot of these songs where created so long ago...
We'll see what he has in store for us next. Thank you for your indepth review and opinions, very much appreciated and respected :) |
Frankly, I think this is weaker than most of the psy out there. But I'm hella in picky, and I don't usually like 4/4 anymore. Astrix and IM don't push limits enough and of course there are a host of other artists that emulate that sound. It gets old real fast... especially the basslines! . This form of music is far too easy to make to accept formulaic tunes.
I suppose you can call what simon does "magic", but in actuality he just puts a lot more effort into his music. He is a good senquencer as well... |
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