[DeathPosture]

Jikkenteki – The Long Walk Home



Artist: Jikkenteki (US/Japan)
Title: The Long Walk Home
Format: 2xCD (jewel case)
Label: PAR-2 Productions (US)
Cat. #: PAR002
Distribution: par-2.com
Date: 20 June 2006

Track listing:

CD1: Revelations And Moments Of Clarity
Samples: http://tinyurl.com/om3gg

01. 06’48” False Sense Of Security
02. 12’54” Ambiguity
03. 27’22” An Angel Takes Flight
04. 07’17” Chasing Raindrops
05. 15’31” Warmth In Cold Places


CD2: Moving Forward In The Real World
Samples: http://tinyurl.com/s6rxk

01. 14’00” Temporary Distractions
02. 08’46” Automagic
03. 08’33” Quietly Screaming
04. 07’12” Days Of The Weak
05. 06’20” Something New
06. 08’20” Different Paths
07. 09’11” Stepping Forward
08. 09’10” Warmth In Other Places

Review:

Double home-run!

Jikkenteki is American born/Japan-based producer Rennis Buchner who has been in the game for many years. He’s a founding member of PAR-2 Productions; he’s a raging music collector; a skilled DJ and a very talented producer of both party up-tempo and downbeat music… My first encounter with the works of this very talented producer was on the 2005 compilation A Walk Through Neptune’s Garden. That compilation and this debut album are both released on his own PAR-2 Productions label… The first release was an overlooked gem which I really, really enjoyed – and I’ve been looking forward to this double album ever since it was released… Let’s take a walk…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

CD1: Revelations And Moments Of Clarity

#01: False Sense Of Security
The album opens with a piece of melancholy, emotionally charged ambient… Well, it’s maybe more downbeat than ambient per se… The little nifty quirks and the echoing melody pieces and the subtle, sharply defined edge gives this track extra appeal… Wallpaper music that sticks with you!

#02: Ambiguity
Here’s another piece of extremely well-produced, well-thought-out, eclectic downbeat… Everything is subtle: The tribal percussion, the floating melodic pads, the dubby groove and the passionate synths… It’s sophisticated, dreamy and totally trippy! I think Rennis coined it completely when he described this track in the booklet… ‘It’s not completely dark, nor is it completely light. It just is’.

#03: An Angel Takes Flight
As most of the tracks here, this track has deep roots in life-changing events in Rennis’ life – and this lengthy tune is evidently a requiem for a close friend who passed away… And what a musical eulogy this is! This is story-telling – journey music if there ever was journey music! I cannot even begin to describe the many moods and the endless numbers of layers here – it’s like an entire album in itself pressed into one track… At first glance some of the melodies are maybe a little simple, but they are all part of something bigger and when they eventually morph into something completely different they’ll give you goose bumps... Trust me! It’s reminiscent of the way Aes Dana composes tracks really – only much, much longer! The weird ‘vocals’ made by a synth is pure, soothing ear candy. Very organic and very emotional! The guitar parts are frekkin awesome with their many surprising twists and turns… Same goes for the other solos with different instruments – all of them mastered to perfection by Jikkenteki… So yeah, all the individual elements kick some serious downbeat ass – and best of all together they form one hell of a majestic, epic, journey track! Hell yeah, this is awesome! Its 27 minutes of pure bliss and sheer talent mass!

#04: Chasing Raindrops
Up next is yet another eulogy track made for another one of Rennis’ friends who passed away… Even darker and deeper than Ambiguity, this is a piece of nocturnal, eerie downbeat… The pads are somewhat haunting and the melancholy toll of the bells is super emotional… You can cut the tension with a knife here – thrilling!

#05: Warmth In Cold Places
Of all the snippets, samples and half-completed tracks I heard before this album was released, Warmth In Cold Places was always the one that impressed me the most… This is an AMAZING piece of music! It’s epic, deep ambient at its best… It’s dubby, soothing and mellow. Kinda old-school too – like the missing track off the legendary Mystery Of The Yeti compilation… Obviously the Shpongle-link is evident, but this is very far from being just another clone – this is highly original, versatile, expanding downbeat music… From the mellow chanting to the dubby vibe and the enchanting melodies… Awesome stuff!

CD2: Moving Forward In The Real World

#01: Temporary Distractions
This track serves as a bridge between the relaxed, downbeat vibe on CD1 and the more up-tempo, danceable vibe on CD2… So basically it starts as chilled musica and eventually transforms into a flaring, pounding trance tune… I find the full-power part of this track the best – it’s so unbelievably powerful and full-on (used as a superlative here…). I mean, just listen from the 10 minute mark and onwards! Wauw! The many twisted little quirks are just the icing on an already very tasty cake… Lovely!

#02: Automagic
This track has a pretty basic pattern of progression… A short beatless intro soon evolves into more head-bop friendly trance with the inclusion of subtle kicks… Nice and suave! What really elevates this track into another dimension is the phat, twirling acid lines that’s included for good measure later on… Rennis’ love for psychedelic dance music really shines thru here, and I’m certain this is a friendly nod back to the great producers of the past… It’s not old-school per se, but the acid lines sure are nostalgic… Nice track!

#03: Quietly Screaming
This track is a burst of rage – and the first track off the album to use a non-standard time signature… The non-linear structure works wonders here, and gives the track the ever-sought-after edge… I mean, those breakz and the flaring synth exploration bits are trippy and the general feel here is equally chaotic and simplistic… And whilst it might not be a stand-out track here, it certainly is unique… Break yoself fooL!

#04: Days Of The Weak
The chaotic, fragmented style continues on the next track which’s title is a FLA’esque play on words… The old-school intro is daring, but it pays off when the track eventually turns into a phat, banging party-choon… Equally melodic and wiggle-your-toe friendly… Again, it’s not a stand-out track, but the quality level is so high on this album, that this is still a very nice tune…

#05: Something New
Once again, Rennis experiments a great deal and seeks new adventures… And this track is definitely the oddball one off the album… It’s written in an odd time structure from front to back – and that does not go unnoticed… Despite the irregular beats and the non-linear structure, the track still possesses a very calm, soothing quality hidden well in behind all the alleged chaos and mayhem… In that regard, this track will please stoners, trippers and aliens alike… Another very unique tune… Check out the huge balls on Rennis! Ha!

#06: Different Paths
Next up is a turn back to more traditional morning trance… But hey, don’t get me wrong, this is still Jikkenteki and his music is anything but generic, so expect a lot of progression, evolution and sonic sound morphing… But in essence, this is still a very uplifting morning tune… Destined to crack a lot of smiles on the dancefloor… It’s fluffy in the non-cheesy fashion! I know I’m rocking out to this sweeeeeeet tune!

#07: Stepping Forward
And if it wasn’t party time before, it sure is now… This is an enormous, hair-splitting piece of 100% pure, unfiltered party music… Full-on? No way, this is fuller-on! Fast-paced, fully focussed, in-your-face, relentless psytrance… Extremely well-produced and both dancefloor and living room friendly… In the immortal words of Beavis; This rocks!

#08: Warmth In Other Places
To end the journey, Rennis has made a tranced-up version of Warmth In Cold Places from CD1… It’s another highly evolving track, which goes from mellow downbeat, to progressive sleekness over morning trance and finally ends up in full-blown party music… The breakdown is particularly well executed – and again I’m amazed by the sheer versatility of Rennis’ production talent! What a sweet tune!

Releasing a double album as your debut, might seem pretty adventurous and indeed brave in these trouble mp3-times, but Jikkenteki pulled it off – this is a VERY fine release! Some of these tracks have been years in the making, and that fact does not go by unnoticed... This is extremely well-produced, highly nurtured, detail rich, multi-flavoured music. Without being over-produced mind you! Both CDs are excellent, but the killaaaargh-factor is slightly higher on the first downbeat CD... I mean, just check out the two longest tracks – they are in a league of their own! Awesome stuff!

The second dancefloor CD also has a high concentration of stand-out tracks... A couple of the more experimental tunes don’t amaze me as much as the rest, but it’s not like they are bad... There is no bad music here at all – on the contrary, the quality level is impressive! And those stand-out tracks are absolutely gorgeous! Top drawer material for sure! It’s also impressive to observe just how wide-spanning those tracks are musically... This is a record store clerk’s nightmare... It’s gonna be impossible to file under a certain sub-genre! But Jikkenteki doesn’t give a fuck about puny details like that... He just wants to share his musical vision with the world... And what a vision that is!

The cover art is pretty nice too – without being overly impressive! The real gem though, is the informative booklet that holds interesting information on all tracks and so on... All in all, a very nice package – and best of all, it’s available directly from the PAR-2 website for only $13 including worldwide shipping! Now that’s the best damn bargain I’ve heard for a while! A safe purchase for fans of eclectic, psychedelic downbeat and versatile, up-tempo psytrance... Enjoy!

Favourites:
CD1: 3(!!), 5(!!)
CD2: 1, 2, 6(!), 7(!!), 8(!)

DeathPosture


External links:
PAR-2 Productions: http://www.par-2.com
Jikkenteki: http://www.myspace.com/par2jikkenteki
Discogs link: http://www.discogs.com/release/706745
Yahoo Shopping: http://tinyurl.com/olbxp
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/rof3c
Ebay: http://tinyurl.com/s2d6x

[abasio]

This really is a very nice album. Usually it takes a while for me to appreciate good albums but this one hit me straight away. I've only had it a day but I've listened to it quite a few times already.
The downbeat CD is very deep and involved & I expect to discover new levels in this with each listen. Great stuff.
The upbeat CD is great too. Although I don't like anything as much as his Slippery Slopes (absolutely amazing track) from the walk through neptune's garden compilation, each trach is very good and quite different.
Definately one to buy

[SkeletonMan]

Jikkenteki's TLWH has been spinning intensive around my house lately. And why the hell not? With its' combination of chill and psy there's something for both downs and ups here, and generally I'm well entertained throughout both disc 1 and disc 2.

The chill-out cd exhilerates in long tracks - Warmth In Cold Places clocks in at 15:31 and An Angel Takes Flight at a dazzling 27 minutes+! I'm a big fan of long, epic tracks and this certainly lives up to those criterias. Angel is not quite able to pull of the stunt, though, with a couple of less interesting periods here & there. And that description overall fits the chill-out cd. Most of the way it maintains my curiosity, but sometimes it drags on a little too long. But this comes down to taste, I guess. Cd 1 is a mood setter and as such succeeds pretty good.

But the psy cd2 is my pick of the two. This has some great psychedelic sections with lots of layers and tons of stuff going on. Nice! I've enjoyed this already at home volume levels with a smile, but it's when the headphones comes on this cd comes to its' right. Hell yeah, there are still releases to please fans of melodic psychedelia.

The VERY reasonable price aside this is a double cd that should please most psy fans. Recommended if not groundbreaking revolutionary.

[U.F.Orb]

This is some top notch music,not much to say,just get it while you can.
Timeless music is here.Thank you Jikkenteki:)

[advance]

I'm afraid that, not unlike Tripswitch last year, this amazing album will just fade away without anyone giving it a try.

Listen to it! It's great!

[advance]

The more I listen to the album, the more I love it. This is no-expenses-spared lovingly crafted amazing music. I'm going to have to write a review giving this double album the respect it deserves - coming up soon.

[abasio]

advance, on Nov 22 2006, 08:48 AM, said:

The more I listen to the album, the more I love it. This is no-expenses-spared lovingly crafted amazing music. I'm going to have to write a review giving this double album the respect it deserves - coming up soon.

I must also find the time to write a review that is worthy of this album.
All I will say for now is that 5 months on it is even better than when I first heard it. I'll get writing!

[healium]

Just got this album - am VERY impressed!

The chill CD is just fabulous! Jikkentekki has his own style for sure, hard to describe exactly but it rocks - and it's all just very psychedelic and deep - this music will take you there...

The Trance disc reminds me a little bit of Koxbox circa "Forever After", but not really like that at all either, very cutting edge but yet somehow old-school in terms of the sense of spirit - some of the sections are just wicked - heavy heavy atmospheres - pure psytrance, not the over-polished full-on garbage this scene is saturated with...

I can't believe this double CD was only $9.99! I'd pay more than that for each disc on it's own... This though is clearly music released as art, not as something designed to please anybody...

[AkumaSama]

I is love this album! Why no more comments.
My number one like album this year!
Brilliant psy
psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy psy

[longloststar]

Such a beautiful and original piece of work and art. My favorite release of the year.

[abasio]

Artist: Jikkenteki
Title: The Long Walk Home
Label: PAR-2 Productions
Cat. #: PAR002
Date: 20 June 2006

Track listing:

CD1 Revelations And Moments Of Clarity


01. 06’48” False Sense Of Security
02. 12’54” Ambiguity
03. 27’22” An Angel Takes Flight
04. 07’17” Chasing Raindrops
05. 15’31” Warmth In Cold Places

CD2 Moving Forward In The Real World

01. 14’00” Temporary Distractions
02. 08’46” Automagic
03. 08’33” Quietly Screaming
04. 07’12” Days Of The Weak
05. 06’20” Something New
06. 08’20” Different Paths
07. 09’11” Stepping Forward
08. 09’10” Warmth In Other Places

After listening to Jikkenteki's tracks on the compilation, A Walk Through Neptune's Garden I knew I wanted to check out whatever he was going to release in the future. I knew this album was going to be good but damn, I didn't know it was going to be this good. How good is it? Let me tell you...

CD1 Revelations And Moments Of Clarity


01. False Sense Of Security
A long slow introduction to the album. A long continuous ambient drone, piano, squelchy synths as well as various other melodic sounds are introduced as this slowly builds up the album.

02. Ambiguity
Now we really get going, Follows on from False Sense of Security in that the intro is beatless. Floating, rushing ambient sounds under IDMish bleepy noises for a few minutes before a high hat heavy beat on 5 minutes & we're building a little but it's a slow momentum. The chiming melody is superb. It breaks down for a bit but builds itself backup for a soft finish!

03. An Angel Takes Flight
What a monster of a track! 27 minutes long but it doesn't get boring. It starts slow with another ambient drone in the background some soft slow tribal drums & a little bit of melody. More of a beat comes in as well as slow hard synths as a twisted melody unfolds into something very pleasant. This creates a very nice atmosphere, I feel like I'm floating on top of purple clouds surrounding Mt. Fuji at dawn. The track changes direction through the duration, the melody comes & gets more prominent, then sits back again. The beats drop away then kick in harder then drop away again. But it does all this slowly, it's not in any hurry to get to the destination, it's the journey that counts. I love all 27 minutes of this, it's a beautiful melancholic journey. In the end soft vocals scream from somewhere distant & I just sigh. It's over

04. Chasing Raindrops
A darker intro to this track sets another melancholic mood. A very cool disjointed melody pianos it's way over disjointed synths all over a drone like whoosh. It feels like I'm floating in the air until the end when it suddenly starts to feel like I'm slowly falling with the ground rushing up to meet me. You can here raindrops hitting the ground (nice touch)

05. Warmth In Cold Places

What a great track to round off a great chilled journey. Shpongle like vocals (used like shpongle never could) intro with with a soft little melody leading into quite an emotional synth like melody as the beat kicks in. As the beat goes, the melody twists & the vocals seem more intense like the speaker is in pain. All the sounds disappear & you feel as if the tracks about to end. It has an outro feeling. Melody a slow whoosh but then another melody & the beats come back in & oops I think I messed the front of my pants.
When the outro does eventually come it's long and slow, it takes it's time not rushing anything. All the elements slowly disappear until we are left with the song of the cicadas. A very common sound in Japanese summer


CD2 Moving Forward In The Real World

01. Temporary Distractions
This is supposed to be a bridge between the 2 discs & so it feels a lot softer than the other trance tracks with a lot of the elements used on the 1st CD. A soft ambient drone in the background, a chiming melody! The beats are stronger though & when the trance beat actually kicks in it seems so natural & effortless. Fast lazery synths follow as do a load of other sounds creating a nice plodding feel like it's about to explode, which it promptly does on 10 minutes. The beat kicks in harder the synths sound more twisted & the melody more acidic. Fantastic!

02. Automagic
Piano starts, a background wail, a bit of a baseline then beats. Yeah! I'm loving it when the melody comes in (sounds like a recorder) it fits in nicely. Acid really kicks in around 2 minutes & the track goes a bit nuts before it breaks down again, building, building, kicks back in Ooohhhh that's good. Very psychedelic but more controlled and focused! Great!

03. Quietly Screaming
Heavy synths drive this track at an excellent pace. Amazing background atmospheric whoosh. A sublime if a little reserved melody all creates a great mood! I feel like I'm flying again but this time I'm flying at trance speeds. A very nice track that moves this album up a gear.

04. Days Of The Weak
This track moves all over the place, the melody to me seems to shift from side to side & driving synths under a sweeping beat kicks this track forward when I really feel like it wants to derail itself & steam through off road, but it keeps moving forward & it reaches it's destination on Time. Very trancey, very psychedelic, VERY GOOD!

05. Something New
Can be hard to tell it's a new track as it follows Days of the Weak without seem. Something new is quite fresh but still feels like old school goa. Nice melodies, driving synths, trippy & warm it's very nice. Like music used to be but better

06. Different Paths
I like the trippy beats underlying the main beat in this, something I wish was done more nowadays. Different Paths sounds like it's right out of the 90's but with a fresher, more polished feel like Something New! Synths, melodies, beat, background all come together to make a very nice nostalgic sounding track.

07. Stepping Forward
WOW OMG PCG!!! I LOVE this track!! Best on the album for me. The melody is simply nice but the synth work is unbelievably fantastic, reminiscent of technossomy for me. This track seems the fastest on the album too as if everything has been leading up to these 9 minutes of bliss. Amazingly half way through the synths get even better as they just kick off into hyper spaced JOY! It's hard to describe how good this is! Pants creamingly good everytime

08. Warmth In Other Places
To end on a high note is a difficult thing to do after the preceding masterpiece but amazingly Jikkenteki manages it with Warmth in Other Places. A slightly slower pace but still kicking! A great little melody played with different sounds along the way. A remix of Warmth in Cold Places it may be but it's so much more & it sounds great in a different style. An excellent way to end what has been an unbelievable journey through sound!



Well Jikkenteki, I would like to thank you for creating this masterpiece of an album. It's not just my favourite release of 2006 but one of my favourite albums of all time! I love every minute of it but some of the tracks take me even higher than the love I felt for the others. How do you do it?
If anyone feels that psytrance nowadays is poor or it has stagnated then you need to give this a listen. It proves that great things are still being done in the scene.
If you haven't got this album then get it I implore you!!!

Favourites

CD1 1, 2!!, 3!, 4!!, 5!!

CD2 1, 2, 3!!, 4!, 5!, 6!!, 7!!!, 8!!

Yes that's every single track

[Jon Cocco]

SkeletonMan, on Aug 30 2006, 06:00 AM, said:

The VERY reasonable price aside this is a double cd that should please most psy fans. Recommended if not groundbreaking revolutionary.

I agree with you on the $9.95 price tag I just saw at saikosounds while listening to samples.

http://www.saikosoun...ase.asp?id=5872


What I don't understand (or hadn't understood before) is why so few reviews on an album appearing in so many peoples top 5 lists in the "2006 Top 5 best albums" thread.

advance, on Oct 22 2006, 06:48 PM, said:

I'm afraid that, not unlike Tripswitch last year, this amazing album will just fade away without anyone giving it a try.

Listen to it! It's great!

I listened to the samples months apart and initially I couldn't see what was so special or good about it.. You have to be in a certain mood to appreciate this, and I'm not trying to be general here. This is an album that seems better and deeper than on first impression. It's mind-candy so to speak lies underneath the coating in a sense.

The second or third time I returned to hear samples my attention was held stronger, and how certain songs made me feel.

CD 1 - Tracks 2 and 5 for starters, both sound very well done, unique.

CD 2 - Tracks 2, 3, 8. (oh yeah... for starters ) That last track really sounds special. Fuck me if that's not good downtempo goatrance!! I really like that!!

This is thoughtful, almost what new-age/ambient may sound like if it was psychedelia/psy and fairly downtempo influenced at times. Sure I don't find every song that good or great based on samples but based on samples I can see why this is unique and worth exploring, checking out, and considering buying.

PS: More albums should be priced like this IMO. They'd sell so many more copies if they'd make the prices just that much more reasonable to so many people who agree that 18-20 dollars for one album is over-priced. This is a double album selling for 9.99 DOLLARS (!!!) last time I checked. That price for a good or great album, especially double album is IMO great, maybe too nice. Obviously they most care about GETTING THE MUSIC OUT THERE!!! This shows me that people will come, praise an artists work, and more time and money will be shared. Word of mouth has the power to do amazing things, especially in todays technology internet time.

I am even more drawn to the album based on these positive things with exception that it's GOOD and I LIKE IT. I'll buy this and add it to my top 10 of 2006 probably even though it'll be too late.

[exotic]

I cant get enuf of the last three tracks on the upbeat cd !! This is fantastic stuf to say the least , which grows on you over a period of time. Again i gave this the sleep test last night and i was floating in beautiful atmospheric imagery filled dreamy sounds ... Track 6 Different paths has acquired a special place in my heart .. One of the most outstanding tunes of 2006 .

[stupidfatugly]

This has got to be one of the most listened to cds in my collection. Especially the first disc! It's got some of the most beautiful music on it . For a while there I listened to it every night while drifting off to sleep. The second disc is pretty awsome too. Good Stuff! Keep up the good work!

[Klas]

Both of the disc´s names have the same name on the back of my cd-case...

Disc 1 - Revelations and moments of clarity
Disc 1 - Revelations and moments of clarity

Haha, anyone with the same "problem"?...

[abasio]

Klas, on Mar 6 2007, 12:06 AM, said:

Both of the disc´s names have the same name on the back of my cd-case...

Disc 1 - Revelations and moments of clarity
Disc 1 - Revelations and moments of clarity

Haha, anyone with the same "problem"?...

I think all of them have this!
It's right inside though

[Klas]

Ah, ok! Did´nt want to remove the plastic... Thought it would be worth some $$$ some day... But fuck no.

[abasio]

You must remove the plastic so you can listen to the beautiful music in side

[Drosophila]

How did I miss replying to this review

Well I think most is already said, but I can only add that I find this album the best value buy of 2006 (and one of the best releases of 2006)^IMO u get a top notch chill CD and top notch trance CD and thats for 10 dollars (roughly), if u don't own this already, be sure to treat yourself with this one! DO the right thing!

I must say it took me some time to get into this one, but that just made it the more satisfying afterwards, great work Jikkenteki! Looking forward to the new one coming from u soon I hope!

[Jon Cocco]

double post, will use the first on page 3.