[DeathPosture]

V/A – Sanatonic Audio



Artist: Various
Title: Sanatonic Audio
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Sanaton Audio (Sweden)
Cat. #: SRCD002
Distribution: sanatonrecords.com
Date: 30 March 2006

Track listing:

01. 06’13” Donkey Shot – Ode To Fellow Casualties
02. 07’30” Procs - Frequenters
03. 07’29” Ka-Sol – Just Another Riot
04. 06’42” Zikdrury – Joconta Stories (Rmx)
05. 07’56” Traskel – Unknown Speakers
06. 07’10” Hallucinogenic Horses – The Stable Of Hooves
07. 09’03” Derango – Mellan Mitten
08. 08’01” Zalabim – Jiggsaw Tonic
09. 06’11” Hokus Pokus + The Vicious Spiral – Rusten Svensker
10. 08’11” Jahbo - Hashed

Review:

experiMENTAL!

Sanaton Records is a small, independent record label from Sweden. Basically it’s run by the Derango guys and in 2005 they released the debut compilation Boldly Audio – a critically acclaimed, low budget underground CD-R release which is already O.O.P. and thus sought after… For the second release, they upped the ante, and Sanatonic Audio is a properly pressed CD with a tracklist that instantly released gazillions of endorphins into my brain when I saw it… I mean, just look at this collection of freaks, perverts and deviants… I’m guessing we’re in for quite a ride here… Let’s pop it on!

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Donkey Shot – Ode To Fellow Casualties
“Errm, have you ever…? […] No thank you, I’ve already eaten!” Donkey Shot is Johan Hellqvist who is also a member of Syzygy who had a track on Boldly Audio. And blimey, this track is pretty damn psychedelic… A gabber’esque bassline is accompanied by some of the most demented melodies I’ve heard in a while… Flaring synth excursions and stabbing acid-lines… Weird, sick and twisted – and as with Finnish stuff, I have a hard time digesting some parts of this tune… It’s very interesting though – and deeply experimental!

#02: Procs - Frequenters
Swedish producer Mikael Stegman has always been somewhat of a favourite of mine. Ever since I heard the first Procs/Peyote People tracks on Scrambled Heads back in 2001 I’ve been a fan of Mikke’s unique, shroomy forest trance... IMO though, his debut album Stuck In The Oven With Me released in late 2005 by Trishula Records wasn’t up to par with those compilation tracks – it was too dark and despite the album’s über-psychedelic edge, it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped for… And yeah, this track is very similar to the dark, introvert style of the album… This is nocturnal, pitch black Helloween trance – that seems to be lacking some of the psychedelia that made me fall in love with Procs in the first place… ;o/ Don’t get me wrong, this is Procs after all – with an extremely well-produced track with a bunch of interesting ideas… So it’s still good – it’s just not as amazing as some of his previous work!

#03: Ka-Sol – Just Another Riot
Nowadays Ka-Sol is a solo-project by Christer Lundström who has yet to let me down with his extremely rewarding take on maximal psytrance… His compilation tracks on Apsara (Suntrip Records 2005) and Schlabbaduerst 007 were nothing short of amazing, and I can’t wait for the full album coming very soon on Suntrip… And fuck me, if Lulle hasn’t gone and done it again – with this track he steals the picture completely – this is a GARGANTUAN track… Packed to the rim with deranged synth-escapades, wall-to-wall bass devastation and maximal acid tweakage… 100% party music designed to annoy the hell out of neighbours, pets, friends, lovers, family and other non-trance entities… Full-on? This is full-off! Amazing track!

#04: Zikdrury – Joconta Stories (Rmx)
Zikdrury is Alex Vozikis (Zik/Matutero/Horror Place/Adrenal Glands) & Dennis Patsouros from Greece… The Horror Place track off M.o.E’s Trauma Trance compilation was downright evil and psychopathic… This track here is not *as* gruelling – it’s still pretty damn repulsive though… High-pitched acid-lines in all shapes and forms and some seriously demented melodies that don’t really seem to go anywhere… Sadly! Not a bad track, but especially the first half is too evil for my tastes – luckily it picks up towards the end…

#05: Traskel – Unknown Speakers
“There are many things even the wisest of us don’t know… We have seen illusion and reality begin to overlap…” Marcus Ryman from Ørebro, Sweden also had a track on Boldly Audio – which I sadly haven’t heard… Anyway, this is another no-bullshit, fast-paced, weird-as-fuck psytrance track… Bubbling with joy and the experimentation is much broader than the previous track… This is rich, shroomy forest trance complete with raven cries, fog horns, assorted string-instruments and high-pitched acid mayhem… Not bad at all!

#06: Hallucinogenic Horses – The Stable Of Hooves
“My skull is splitting in half…Well, well, well – what have we’ve got here then?” HH is Derango + Emil Wennborn… And yeah, this has Derango written ALL over it… Drenched in acid, synth-experimentation and forest madness, this is easily the most trip friendly tune thus far… Seemingly dark, yet über-trippy forest trance – very rich and very rewarding… The many changes in pace, the horse samples and the scary voice bits all help in adding to the spooky, yet totally mesmerizing atmosphere… Awesome!

#07: Derango – Mellan Mitten
And here’s Derango on their own. Yeah! Swedish studio wizards Jens Eriksson & Ola Eriksson released their stellar debut album TuMuLT on Inpsyde Media in the fall of 2005. This track pretty much picks up where the previous one left off – this is eclectic, immensely trippy psychedelia… Forest trance if there ever was forest trance – rich, versatile and totally groovy! Man, I’ll never get tired of Derango’s style… Rock on guys – this is the shiznitz!

#08: Zalabim – Jiggsaw Tonic
“He found about this ritual that would allow you to live forever…” Zalabim is Kim Bernhammar who until now has released his stuff on ResonantEarth.com … What we get here is gritty, relentless, full throttle night trance – absolutely soaked in acid! It’s a regular tweak-o-rama acid-fest of previously unseen proportions… I’m telling you; this would make Phyx run up a tree! Beastly good!

#09: Hokus Pokus + The Vicious Spiral – Rusten Svensker
“Ind i skogen allihopa!” Hokus Pokus is the moniker of Danish producers Anders Eskildsen & Christian Kaas Andersen (aka Dronebixie) – and they really impressed me with their debut track on the Pavarti compilation Psy Stories. On this track they are joined by none other than Brian Møller who AFAIK hasn’t released anything since his track on the 2004 Gi’iwa compilation Schizm… The track title is Danish and translates into ‘rusty Swede’ and the track also has funny Swedish samples... The music is subtle psychedelia – it’s not as hard-core as some of the previous trax, but believe me – the trip-factor is easily as high. Driving, bubbling oddball psytrance… Very nice and very energetic!

#10: Jahbo – Hashed
Røllike Jahbo from Denmark is one of the most respected and most productive producers in the Århus-scene… He has released plenty of compilation tracks both under his Jahbo alias, but also as a member of bunch of collaborations – including the infamous Meteloids… He has seldom let me down with his innovative, well-constructed take on hypertrance – and this track is no exception… As its predecessor, this track is less dark than some of the previous tracks – and relies more on studio trickery and shaman pharmaceuticals than bassline… The lengthy Saw II sample seems well-placed and overall I like this track a lot… It’s as mature as it is trip-friendly! What a sweet way to end a truly remarkable compilation.

Yes sir! This is the best forest trance compilation since Pavarti’s Psy Stories released in 2005. On this remarkable piece of plastic we get a very fine collection of shroomy, deeply psychedelic forest trance choons… It’s dark too, but not dark in the somewhat ‘predictable’ darkpsy way – this is much more versatile and eventually rewarding… A couple of the first tracks didn’t really rub me the right way, but they are easily outweighed by the rest of the tracks here – they are ALL stand-outs! Something that’s getting increasingly rare with psytrance nowadays… The cover art is extremely simple and doesn’t even sport the name of the compilation, but with it’s forest-like appearance, it totally fits the music…

This release is limited to 400 copies and it can only be ordered directly from Sanaton’s website – and believe me, it’s totally worth a purchase! It’s an essential buy for fans of trip-friendly, Swedish forest-trance like Stoneage, Schlabbaduest and so on – and to fans of rich, diverse psychedelia in general… Go get it now – it *will* sell out soon… Enjoy!

Favourites: 2, 3(!!), 5, 6(!), 7(!), 8, 9, 10

DeathPosture


External links:
Sanaton Records: http://www.sanatonrecords.com
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/654517

[Daze]

As expected I really dig this one too... right on my taste

That orchestra-like melody towards the end of the Derango track is beautiful! So unexpected but so daaamn well placed.

Favourites: 2, 4, 6(!!!), 7(!!!), 9, 10

[X-scream]

The Ka-sol is a (!!!) track damnit!
My f@wking god, jaw dropping to say the least..

And the rest is very good too, I pretty much like all of 'em...

[Narr]

I didnt even bother with the samples before ordering. I voted boldly audio as best album 2005 and this one is.......its exactly as good as boldly....

fantastic!!

[Drosophila]

X-scream, on Apr 6 2006, 11:42 PM, said:

The Ka-sol is a (!!!) track damnit!
My f@wking god, jaw dropping to say the least..

And the rest is very good too, I pretty much like all of 'em...

I agree the Ka-sol track is mind-blending! I can't believe how intense it gets, and that deep bassline is crazy! Some of the most acid-ridden sounds a have heard for a long while!

I love the Procs track aswell so deep and chrunching! Nice primal vibe in a way, it talks to the caveman inside me

Hallucinogenic Horses never lets u down! One of my favorites on Boldly Audio aswell! I can't get enough of those weird, funky, twisted, bubbling basslines and wickling sounds! Slits my skull in half! Can say the same about Derango's track Just right up my ally!!

No bad tracks here! All in all just a great cd!!! Sanaton strikes back Best release of 2006 so far! IHMO

[Nefarious]

Drosophila, on Apr 8 2006, 09:27 PM, said:

I agree the Ka-sol track is mind-blending! I can't believe how intense it gets, and that deep bassline is crazy! Some of the most acid-ridden sounds a have heard for a long while!

I love the Procs track aswell so deep and chrunching! Nice primal vibe in a way, it talks to the caveman inside me

Hallucinogenic Horses never lets u down! One of my favorites on Boldly Audio aswell! I can't get enough of those weird, funky, twisted, bubbling basslines and wickling sounds! Slits my skull in half! Can say the same about Derango's track   Just right up my ally!!

No bad tracks here! All in all just a great cd!!!    Sanaton strikes back Best release of 2006 so far! IHMO

Yep, two very solid releases fron the Sanaton crew.

Best of luck to this label for the future.

Great stuff.

[D3lirious]

Awesome forset sound! i ordered my copy today. I hope it is not sold out yet

[Sawfly]

Yep, this was just what I expected Demented forest-trance just the way I like it.
Three tracks I didn't get at all (1,2,5), but it had three fucking great ones (3,6,7) and the rest were "just good" or great.

[SkeletonMan]

Ordered it Monday, received it Wednesday , just popped it on and sense trippin approaching

All is said in the reviews above for now. Dark and dirty psychedelic forest trance.

[Gnome]

Very nice

[Lauryn]

yayyy Vicious Spiral!!!

[RAH]

Compilation: Sanatonic Audio
Label: Sanaton Records
Web: http://www.sanatonrecords.com
CAT: SRCD02
SE.net: http://www.sonic-ene...ent/view/223/2/



01 - Donkey Shot - Ode on Fellow Casualties [150]
02 - Procs - Frequenters [143]
03 - Ka-Sol – Just Another Riot [145]
04 - Zikdrury – Joconta Stories (Rmx) [154]
05 - Traskel – Unknown Speakers [148]
06 - Hallucinogenic Horses – The Stable Of Hooves [148]
07 - Derango – Mellan Mitten [148]
08 - Zalabim – Jiggsaw Tonic [147]
09 - Hokus Pokus + The Vicious Spiral – Rusten Svensker [146]
10 - Jahbo - Hashed [146]


According to allrecordlabels.com, Sanaton specializes in an eclectic blend of Boogie Woogie, Fractal, Ghettotech, and Screamo within the realm forest psy trance (laugh, it is apparently a joke). If we attempt to trace this fascination with the green forests, in a seemingly designed musical strand that characterizes by this type of environment, even if they are now saying "hey man, this works pretty much everywhere" I would like to understand why. Looking for answers I turned to the Swedish history records and curiously enough, the first picture that sprung out of Google was some Vikings and a hot mami in the middle of – you got it right- a forest. A subsequent search for updated images of the region revealed the place has not changed that much since. Would it be out of place then, to assume there is a genuine sub-branch of psychedelic trance that has evolved organically from an adaptation to the surroundings? Let’s fast forward to the present, where does it lead? Back to Sanaton: A loose group of enthusiasts sharing their love for music and good times, that figured there is enough bark amongst them to let it bloom. Sanatonic Audio is the second sampler from their cauldrons, reserved for those who have acquired a taste for manic, immersive, cranial proposals that boldly go where no synthesizer has gone before…
/ play ‘Star Trek’ theme.

Per Track

1- Donkey Shot – Ode on Fellow Casualties

The first public appearance of Johan Hellquist is an ode to our fellow travelers who got lost along way and now slide seamlessly between realities, most probably in a mental institution. For an opener the donkey shot is felt quickly in an incongruous arrangement of destructed elements with woobly lines, scream-infused atmospherics and fractal effects edging on dissonance.


2- Procs – Frequenters *

In retrospect I find ‘frequenters’ a freak child from Mikael Stegman’s usual production. The beat is easily the muddiest, dirtiest one I have heard so far and it takes good stereo to let the groove shine. The whizzing air-like effects, the twilight pads and the trumpets in the break are all –apparently- working towards a humorous resolution. The moniker stands comfortably on la-la land, up there in cloud nine.


3- Ka-Sol – Just another Riot *

I guess I should just come out and say it. The only Ka-Sol I’ve heard was in Apsara last year and the sound is pretty new to me. It retains some of that classic Goa, with detuned glissandi giving a new meaning to the word maximal. Leaning on Goa is not my style lately but I have to admit this is pretty damn tasty.


4- Zikdrury – Joconta Stories (Rmx) *

The Greek influx continues even in the Sanatonic front-line and the latest import is Alex Vozikis & Dennis Patsouros. Their offering here is one dizzyingly involving number with scattered female chants giving way to more nauseating effects, gently unfolding in stereo mode to magical lines all fragmented and distraught. Playing in the 150’s club with refreshing rhythmical proposals is always welcomed. That said, a little more depth in the lower ranges would been even better, since this thing is moving like hammer -I might as well feel it. The hurricane of interaction upstairs makes up for it though. Oh, and if you thought you were the only one thinking about the Gioconda, idling away with the picture as the Greeks did their job… well, you weren’t the only one.


5- Traskel – Unknown Speakers *

The Swedish gnome Marcus Ryman is behind the Traskel project, which translated roughly means ‘Monkey Poo’ in Hopi (ok, ok I made that up). His style is usually disjointed, mechanic and utterly shit-for-brains inducing. The beat elements keep the ear interested while the effects replace any form of melodic intent.


6- Hallucinogenic Horses – The Stable of Hooves *

Hallucinogenic Horses are composed of the Eriksson’s and Emil Wennborn that was responsible for the artwork in their album Tumult released last year. Like most derango-infused work, it is very hard to point out characteristics: everything is an assault on the senses, constantly morphing. Standing out is the beat, the use of everything from toms to horse whiffs… is a riot and not the quiet kind.


7- Derango – Mellan Mitten *

Would it be fair to say ‘forest’ has turned into a euphemism with these two? Inside the mellan of the mitten is clear Derango still has it. Their work is more entertaining than watching a Jerry Bruckheimer film. What is so great about it? Probably the way they manage to infuse chaos with droopily liquid harmonies and disorienting effects, in such a way that it still retains some harmony… well barely there. The prevalence of an individual style, showing a great deal of ingenuity in every track at the same time gets them extra-brownie points too.


8- Zalabim – Jigsaw Tonic

Zalabim is another newcomer I have no recollection of hearing and the surprise was rather pleasant. The twisting and stretching synths meddle infinitely in a rather catchy tune with steady backbone. It’s a little humdrum in retrospect but I honestly can’t wait for the old plug and chuck to see how it works out.


9- Hokus Pokus + the Vicious Spiral – Rusten Svensker *

Back on track, the ninth chapter is a collaboration of Hokus Pokus that got featured last year in Parvati and the Vicious Spiral (previously heard by the Gi’iwa corner). The bottom end sinks deep in between an artifice of high-ranged madness and some squeakers that bring back memories of ‘Zim Zalabim’ at times, by part of Hokus Pokus. The end result is a no nonsense jumpy groove throwing up the nastiest chunks of binary regurgitations I’ve heard in a while. The real kicker is finding out it actually builds to a monster around the fourth minute, in a noisy climax to leave even the most depraved listeners satisfied… *sigh* now go get me a smoke.


10 – Jahbo – Hashed *

Jahbo ends the ride with a thick brown brick the size of Rastafarian newborn. Standing out in my ears are the jazzy snares plugged right into the drum matrix with satisfying results. The rest is jumble of corroded melodies rasping the speakers like liquid sand paper... and you're gonna love it.


All in All

Every now and again a CD falls in my reach with such disturbing material, I have difficulty breaking the sonic spell to attempt writing words about it. Obviously this a sign the music is great (in a psychedelic way), but it also means I will need to rub my chin for few extra days to spit something out that merely attempts describing what is being heard. Suffice to know despite having a big number of relatively unknown names, the quality is standing as a benchmark. I don’t own Boldly Audio, but the jump in terms of professionalism is noteworthy: Mastering by Chromatome, pressed CD’s, neat artwork (I like the alien in the back cover better btw), and a great selection of tracks. The fact Sanaton has released only 400 copies, makes a statement this is not geared for the masses -but then again- we knew that already just by looking at the track list. Briefly put, this baby is a rare forest berry… or whatever the hell it grows down there.


Where to Buy

http://www.sanatonre.../orderframe.htm

[Drosophila]

Nice review RAH

I can only agree with you all the way!!!

[SkeletonMan]

Can also be purchased at
http://www.beatspace...lio.asp?id=2795

edit: Beatspace is emphasizing
***TOP PRITORITY RELEASE***
Unavailable anywhere, book now your copy the stock is strictly limited!
Beatspace just have very very few copies ! No more in the future.

Wonder how they got them

[RAH]

my guess is they prob. bought them from the sanaton website? o0

[SkeletonMan]

RAH, on May 9 2006, 09:17 PM, said:

my guess is they prob. bought them from the sanaton website? o0

You think

My point was merely whether that was sananton's intention. Anyway

[SkeletonMan]

The Emperor's new clothes ?

Listening to a record like this I can't help thinking whether the psytrance community is kidding itself. Is this good?! Infinitely far away from the midnineties psychedelic trance/dance music this type of music stems from, it's possible to love the forer genre and hate the latter. Or vice versa. No straight forward melodies. No easy recognizable themes to associate with each track. No straight, full-on dancing codes to decipher. Just relentless sound attacks, dark monotonous basses, creepy samples, disturbing moods. Psytrance's equivalent to death metal. How is this enjoyable?

Well, I believe two things are given. Firstly, this music only comes to its fullest potential when experienced at a festival/party. This has to be played LOUD on high-end equipment. Secondly, it has to be played at the right hour when I'm ready for tricky, hard digestable, highly psychedelic, multi-layered, aggressive music. At the wrong hour, it might make me wanna elope the party all toghether.

But then this music could supply the ticket to psychedelic Nirvana. And the recipe I would prefer for this trip is firstly Ka-Sol's Just Another Riot. The bass here is like hardly anything else around, the sounds creepy and scary, the track constantly developing and changing, the mood infinitely deep, disturbing, scary, and psychedelic. Or Zalabim's Jiggsaw Tonic setting out with a scared girl's voice. If you want to try this on psychedelics, you better be among friends to supply warmth and comfortability! When you are able to follow a track like this through all the way, you may come out a changed person. Likewise something like Traskel's Unknown Speaker could change your perspective on life and reality.

Picking a track, though, is hardly worth the effort. All tracks here provide the same type of musical experience, and if you're able to get on the boat, what at first may seem as a less appealing track, may prove in the end to be the most rewarding one.

Grading this album is therefore almost futile to me. At the right moment this could be THE 6/5 star album if there ever was one. At the wrong hour I could angrily pronounce this to be the most shitty and reserved music ever to have been published. In a close battle with Derango's Tumult.

The Emperor's new clothes or not, it surely makes you take a stand. Still, my stand for now has to be "well, ...".

[Tashness]

MY MY MY MY!!!!

the HH track, farking killargh samples!

and the Derango has done it again!

full power forest muziks!!

[Gutty]

Is there a high resolution version of their first compilation's album cover somewhere?
it looks quite wicked

[RAH]

after repeated, and i mean repeated listens i find the Zikdrury track amazing... simply amazing... those voices... hmmm