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Antix - Twin Coast Discovery


GaySatanicHippie

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Finally, after delay and delay, and after my recordstore of choice getting it a week after the online shops, I hold in my hand and have thoroughly listened to on an endless loop the newest release from my most favoritest of labels,Iboga CD 30, Antix - Twin Coast Discovery. As far as I can remember back, this has been on of the musically most fulfilling week of my life. First Midi Miliz - NonStandards, and now this. What have I done to deserve such aural pleasures, I dont know, but I must have been a very nice boy I getting offtrack, so here"s the tracklist:

 

1 FreQ - Return to the masters (Antix rmx)

2 The inkling

3 Forever changing

4 Cold nights

5 Little honey

6 Le lascard

7 Quiet is the new loud

8 Hiding place

 

After 2003's release Lull that was widely acclaimed as one of the best progressive releases of all time, some say even the best, Antix left some very large footsteps for themselves to fill. For me personally, Lull has been the record that I played when I didnt know what else to play, the Status Quo so to speak. One masterpiece after the other, each track on Lull stood out with careless ease and sheer musical brilliance. Because Antix's style is so dependant on subtleties and little details, it is very easy to fall into a meaningless drivel, as many acts who tried to follow Antix has proven.

 

But Im happy to report that Antic have taken things a step further, TCD is a lot "fuller"than its predecessor, meaning more sounds and lush harmonies, the incorporation of vocals on some tracks, and, most importantly, on the majority of tracks they go away from the typical pumping progressive bassline and use instead basslines that could be described "Infusion Light". To sum it up, even though Antix new sound is a lot more melodic, it has developed away from the typical prog. psy scene and will find many avid followers in the crossover crowd.

 

Regardless of what category this record falls into and changes in style, the red line that connects TCD with Lull is the feeling Antix produce in the listener. It is a feeling of of lighthearted carefree joy, a feeling of just living the day as it is, "joie de vivre", so to speak, and exactly that makes Antix the fallback record to listen to at home in all situations. To sum it up in a few words, its just fun to listen to, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.

 

Now I will elaborate a bit more on each individual track:

 

1. Return to the Masters: a remix to a Freq song, I dont know why its on here actually because its already released on a comp. Also it is quite a disppointment by Antix standards, the original is better, methinks.

 

2. The Inkling: This track is the one that sounds most like Lull, but it is a real groover. Lush warm atmospheres, a long build up without a bassline, then a break and then: VOOOOOMMM! Such a smooth grooving takeoff, no one does it like Antix. It would have been the perfect start to the album, it shows you right away what Antix is all about. A song that makes you wanna stomp all the grass away from the floor! Cool!!!!

 

3. Forever Changing: Here we are introduced to the ""Infusion light" bassline I was talking about, but not in full effect. Some qurky riffs thrown on top, plus lush soundscapes and a nice groove make for a nice tack, but definitle not the highlight of this CD.

 

4.Cold Nights: The most ethereal piece on this album, it takes you to a really deep place. The kind of music where you stare against the wall for 8 minutes and dont even notice. Hypnotic soundscapes composed of chopped up and repeated female voice samples, long pads, "Ïnfusion Light" bassline, its like one warm comfortable velvet cushion. When the cello comes sneaking in at the end, it makes you just wanna float in the air like a hot air baloon and look down at the world below you.

 

5. Little Honey: To use one word, this song is intense. But not in the common sense of the word as in 150 bpm blow your head up style. So many smooth, long, drawn out sounds are layered on top of each other with such skill and precision. But unlike Cold Nights, this bad boy makes just wanna get up and dance. This is trance in its purest form, a instantly recognizable string melody keeps creeping up, putting the crown on an already magnificient track. Again, chopped up voice samples are used with great skill to create a hypnotic dream-like effect. WoW!!!

 

6. Le Lascard: Almost epic in one way, yet very subtle in another. All the energy comes from the "travelling" basslines that morphs into a hymn-like melody evey now and then and the distorted male vocal sample, the rest of the track is actually very laidback with tweedly sounds floating and a pretty slow speed. All the dynamic in this track comes from that disparity, at one moment you find youself grooving along nicely, then all of a sudden you wanna get up and scream. An amazing, outstanding track, right now my favorite from this album. Pure MDMA material.

 

7. Quiet is the new Loud: Apart from having the coolest trackname I have heard in a while, this track actually does its name justice. With a slow gentle groove that reminds a lot of Lull, this track goes very deep. There is not much happening really, except all those little details that make Antix the standout act that they are. There is not much else I can say about it, except that it is pure Antix. And that should be enough.

 

8. Hiding Place: I can already hear people bitching about Hiding Place, because it uses a sample that is not unlike something Tiesto and friends would spin. But listen closely, and will find Antix use it so tastefully, it becomes part of the fabric of the track. There is an innocent, naive and playful vibe about this track that wont let you get mad at them for being so cheesy. The groove is so effortless and driving, the sounds tweedle around your head so gentle, it wont be long and you wanna know that girls phone number. Very well done!

 

 

To sum it up, a more than worthy follow up to Lull. Some tracks have almost symphonic character, everything fits so well in its place and everything sounds so effortless and easy. But like mentioned above, theres a lot more going on and the almost minimal character of Lull is mostly gone. But just like Lull, its music to listen to on every occasion, in the car, on the subway, on the couch, in short, its a universal weapon. I find it hard to admit, but its almost as good as Atmos "2nd Brigade" last year. If you liked Antix's first album, or if you like good music, get it, you wont be disappointed.

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...couldn't wait, so... you know what I did ;)

 

It's great... imo, very optimistic, self-confident and professional, just beautiful!

 

... but I wish it was more psychedelic and less club-proggy-trance oriented :(

 

Anyway, this IS the best progressive release of 2005 so far!

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... but I wish it was more psychedelic and less club-proggy-trance oriented :(

 

 

259894[/snapback]

 

somehow im happy with what you just said :D

 

 

Its hard not to listen to the mp3s version, but im waiting... If next week it doesnt arrive here, then I listen to the mp3s :)

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somehow im happy with what you just said  :D

Its hard not to listen to the mp3s version, but im waiting... If next week it doesnt arrive here, then I listen to the mp3s :)

260060[/snapback]

Im waiting on Trance-Shop and also not d/l it. Hard though... :rolleyes:

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Hippie: Excellent review man. Your passion for the album really shines through.

 

As for me, I listened to the samples and was very impressed. Can't wait for my copy to arrive.

 

This style is what moves me lately. So much fresher than all that music with that baseline. Where do they get that baseline from anyway? Do you get one with each BigMac you buy or something?

 

La di da...

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man, this album is so great!

 

very very good stuff.. very atmospheric stuff, big fat effects all over...

 

pretty slow overall, compared to normal trance, but I really like slow

 

the only track that I didnt dig so much, because there were too little effects and sounds was track 7..

 

Appart from that, I really liked all the other tracks! Impressive how antix evolved but maintained their characteristics.

 

Some tracks are more clubby housy (6 and 8, with those vocals and all), some are more in the prog trance area (specially track 1.. phat prog trance), some are a mixture.. but all are excellent! very recommended to all prog lovers

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Guest Rain

after a second listen I notice it's not minimal enough for me... to bad... to housy... I still like it... it is good... but it's not the antix style I'am used to know... to many sounds... I liked the extreme but still minimal touch...

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Posted Image

 

Artist: Antix

Title: Twin Coast Discovery

Label: Iboga

Format: CD (with 6 page inlay)

Released: May, 2005

 

Review:

 

Two years ago, two brothers from New Zealand released an album that today stands as one of the best albums ever released on Iboga. The album I'm talking about is of course "Lull" from the Strom brothers – better known as Antix. Since then, not much has been released from the Strom studio, apart from a few remixes and collaborations – until recently, where Iboga announced the long awaited 2nd album from Antix: "Twin Coast Discovery".

 

First, let me start of with a small comment about the artwork – It's exquisite! In a scene where the vast majority of covers are overused cliché fractals or random 3d-shapes it's liberating with a very stylish and beautiful cover, that almost looks like a piece of art. Hinge (who also made the covers for the previous Antix album, the FREq album and many many more) really outdone himself.

 

 

1. FREq - Return Of The Master (Antix Remix)

First track is a remix of "Return To The Masters" – the creation of FREq, who must be considered one of the other great exports from down under. The track was also featured on the magnificent "Playground" compilation, and definitely has a harder and gloomier edge than the ever popular original. Hard, progressive stomper, but still maintaining the catchy elements from the original – I don't think it really fits as a first track for the Antix album though... It's just ... well, too much FREq.

 

2. The Inkling

The first "real" track from the Strom brothers is "The Inkling" – starting really simple, hard and techish, but slowly evolves, adding lots of heavily reverbed effects and subtle melodic structures. The atmosphere is quite gloomy in the beginning, but eventually gets very uplifting with epic choir-pads, that sends chills down the spine. Awesome!

 

3. Forever Changing

"Forever Changing" starts in somewhat the same way as "The Inkling" – really rough and techish, but also slowly evolves, seamlessly adding more and more elements. Around the 4 minute mark there's an amazing breakdown, and from there on it gets really interesting – building up the tension before the long, atmospheric peak around 2 minutes later. Splendid trancey track – one of my biggest favourites on the entire album.

 

4. Cold Night

"Cold Nights" is a bit more laidback and housey than the first 3 tracks, and it's the first track on the album where they really start to use voice-samples as an integrated part of the music. A chopped up female sample is looped to form a melodic element, and the mood is beautiful and blissful, yet with a slightly melancholic touch.

 

5. Little Honey

With "Little Honey" the album is again taken into more trancey territory, and again using distorted voice-samples and subtle melodic work. Very deep, and perhaps not that great at first, but it really grows on you with time (like the rest of the album actually) - the small details really shines through after some listens, and the result is very good and hypnotic.

 

6. Le Lascard

Next up is "Le Lascard", which will probably be one of the biggest hits of the album with its beautiful, intoxicating soundscapes - I get a headrush simply listening to it. The atmosphere is so wide, and it can really fill up a room. Stunning piece of music with an epic voice-sample – this incredibly uplifting tune will surely be played everywhere this summer.

 

7. Quiet Is The New Loud

Trackname of the year? "Quiet Is The New Loud" fits the track perfectly – a dark, very "Lull"-like track with an atmosphere that can easily be associated with being in an underground cave. Although the atmosphere is really intriguing, not much is happening and I think I would have preferred it with a more distinct peak. I consider it one of the weaker tracks here, but still it's clearly very suitable for the opening hours of a party.

 

8. Rhian Sheehan featuring Jess Chambers - Hiding Place (Fiord Remix)

The grand finale is the remix of Rhian Sheehan and Jess Chambers "Hiding Place" - a very blissful remix credited to the Strom brothers' clubbier Fiord sideproject, and previously released last year. As the only track on the album they also go all the way with the vocals here, and use the extremely sweet female as in a song. It never gets over the top cheesy though, but blends perfectly with the other elements, and with the right amount of luck I think it could receive a lot attention outside the progressive psytrance circles. A beautiful closure to the album, and one that certainly has me craving for more Fiord releases.

 

 

Bottom line:

 

"Twin Coast Discovery" is by far the most interesting progressive album released this year – so deep and with incredible sense of detail. I received the album Friday, and have been spinning it all weekend, but reviewing the album hasn't been an easy task. It's not easy to classify – progressive trance? Progressive house? Well, it certainly has elements of both, but putting it in a box would simply not do it justice – it's simply an amazing piece of music, and we're lucky to have talents like the Strom Brothers making music in our small scene.

 

No rose without thorns though – although "Return To The Masters" is a great track on its own, I feel it doesn't fit the overall theme of the album. That's just nitpicking though – all tracks are good, and as a complete album "Twin Coast Discovery" is simply stunning. Excellent for home listening, smashing on the dance floors – basically first-class music for every occasion.

 

 

Favourites:

 

2, 3 (!!), 6 (!!), 8

 

 

Verdict:

 

9/10 – Highly recommended!

 

 

Links:

 

Iboga: http://www.iboga.dk

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this album just gets better and better

 

excellent work

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I take back what I said about track 7

 

the whole cd is amazing

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Antix – Twin Coast Discovery

 

Posted Image

High res: cover

 

Artist: Antix (Australia)

Title: Twin Coast Discovery

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Iboga Records (Denmark)

Cat. #: IBOGACD30

Date: 25 April 2005

 

Track listing:

 

01. 08’26” FREq – Return to the Master (Antix Remix)

02. 07’56” Antix – The Inkling

03. 08’46” Antix – Forever Changing

04. 08’47” Antix – Cold Night

05. 08’18” Antix – Little Honey

06. 09’05” Antix – Le Lascard

07. 08’49” Antix – Quiet Is The New Loud

08. 09’11” Rhian Sheehan feat. Jess Chambers - Hiding Place (Fiord Remix)

 

Review:

 

Lush, plush, antics…

 

Antix is the brain child of Australian twins Barton & Hayden Strom… The debut album Lull was released by Iboga Records in 2003 and is still holds a leading position among the most acclaimed progressive trance albums ever released… That’s quite an accomplishment and the expectations for the long-awaited follow-up have been enormous… But if anyone can pull it off, it’s Iboga… Let’s find out what took them so long…

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: FREq – Return to the Master (Antix Remix)

Australians remixing a fellow Australian… This track was originally released on my all time fav’e prog album: FREq’s Strange Attractor released by Iboga in 2004 – and this remix was already released on the Playground compilation… So why release it again? It’s not a bad track at all; I would just have preferred more Antix…

 

#02: Antix – The Inkling

Prior to looking up the word ‘inkling’ I had no inkling what the hell it meant… *sS* Anyway, this is pretty much where there album starts – and we’re immediately exposed to the rich, phat, progressive Antix sound that we have come to love so much… Stripped down at first, but slowly more FX are added until the track is full-blown funky-ass progressive trance… I can’t wait to play that breakdown + take off bit during a hot summer day at the beach while sipping margaritas… And this track is dying to be mixed into a Buzzmonx or a Kooler track… Sexy choon!

 

#03: Antix – Forever Changing

Again we start out with a pounding rhythm section – tribal drums, rich percussion and an overall ass-wiggle-friendly atmosphere… After a couple of minutes we head towards more housy territory which leads us to the break… Reminds me of Krüger & Coyle in some aspects… The build-up creates tension sure enough, but the climax isn’t really a climax… Ah rats! Well, it’s still ultra-smooth, groovy progressive trance with almost epic qualities… Good but not amazing – I could’ve wished for more edge here…

 

#04: Antix – Cold Night

We’re definitely still in club-land on this very housey number… The basslines is super groovy – rich, deep and pounding… And the percussions works wonders… Actually everything is fine and dandy – and no matter how much I try to convince myself that this is too cheesy, I can’t help but like this track… There’s something hypnotizing about it… Very mesmerizing… Somewhere in between 12 Moons and the Saiko-Pod house remixes… Sweet!

 

#05: Antix – Little Honey

This track really shows how talented the Strom brothers are in the studio – I mean, just listen to the first couple of minutes… What the hell are those sounds used as percussion? Native American chanting? Some kind of filtered bell-sound? A frog? Whatever it is, it sounds very original – and very nice! The accordion & string arrangements are cool and so are the cut-up voice samples… This is highly melodic, multilayered progressive trance – with all kinds of cool FX thrown in… When I listen to this, I just wanna close my eyes and drift away… By far the most uplifting Antix track I’ve ever heard… ;o)

 

#06: Antix – Le Lascard

This is the obvious hit of the album – it has the widest appeal and it was the first track I really took notice of when I first listened to the album… It’s not as uplifting as Little Honey, but its close…The soundscapes here are wall-to-wall… Drenched in an equal amount of prog and melodies… Absolutely massive! The undecipherable voice-samples are strangely familiar and the dance potential is evident… Knob adjustment executed to perfection – the filtering and morphing is indeed impressive! Sweet track!

 

#07: Antix – Quiet Is The New Loud

Let’s turn the epic meter down a notch or three… This track takes a more minimal approach and gone are the flaring, epic melodies… The impressive rhythm section is still very much present though and I like the electro-tribal feel halfway through… This is a little darker and more introvert than the previous tracks – and I embrace that… I wouldn’t mind grooving to this tune in a dark abandoned warehouse somewhere… Nice!

 

#08: Rhian Sheehan feat. Jess Chambers - Hiding Place (Fiord Remix)

We continue down Epic Street, and take a left on Crossover Drive… This track was originally released by Kiwi Rhian Sheehan on his 2004 album Tiny Blue Biosphere – and the Fiord remixing it, is a more commercial Antix outfit… I haven’t heard the original, but I’m guessing that’s where all the cheesy elements stem from… The female voice-samples are a little over the top as are the overused strings… A little too Balearic for my taste, but besides from that this is a pretty nice track and the phat percussions save the day…

 

Loads of people have already dubbed this the best progressive house/trance crossover album of the year so far… I don’t agree… This album is indeed very good, but personally I prefer the more edgy Tegma and Beat Bizarre albums over this… But this comes in as a close third so far…

 

As always with Iboga, the quality level is extremely high… Personally I could’ve wished for more edge here – sometimes it gets a little too epic and well-polished for my tastes… But overall, it’s a nice album. The production is flawless and the cover-art stands out as highly original… Well done! I can’t say I like this album better than Lull – it’s equally good and they complete each other nicely… Fans of rich, groovy, well-polished progressive trance/house with immediate crossover potential will most definitely get pleasure from this… Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 2, 4, 5, 6(!), 7

 

DeathPosture

Posted Image

 

External links:

Iboga: http://tinyurl.com/bwd9n

CDx: http://tinyurl.com/be5ga

Loud: http://tinyurl.com/aamth

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/cw7hk

Psysale: http://tinyurl.com/77zqu

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cl9ew

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/anf53

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/8pks7

Radiokiosk: http://tinyurl.com/83omv

Trance Shop: http://tinyurl.com/c6nxf

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/bah4e

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Im really impressed by this album... damn.. hahaha

 

fking awesome!

 

9.5/10

 

the detailsssss... ohhh the detailss.... :D

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Oh dear!

 

What an awful release by Antix. It is nothing like their first CD (which the more I listen to, the more over-rated I feel it is).

 

The cheese factor here is so high that it would make Roquefort in comparison taste like marmalade.

 

Songs like Hiding Place, Le Lascard and Little Honey have to be heard to be believed. How were the good people at Iboga (a label I respect) convinced to allow something like this be foisted on to the unsuspecting psy trance community?

 

I wonder what Iboga are going to give us next as atonement for this...

 

 

Pedro

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[opinion above disregarded]

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Guest .::E.P

Oh dear!

 

What an awful release by Antix. It is nothing like their first CD (which the more I listen to, the more over-rated I feel it is).

 

The cheese factor here is so high that it would make Roquefort in comparison taste like marmalade.

 

Songs like Hiding Place, Le Lascard and Little Honey have to be heard to be believed. How were the good people at Iboga (a label I respect) convinced to allow something like this be foisted on to the unsuspecting psy trance community?

 

I wonder what Iboga are going to give us next as atonement for this...

Pedro

271603[/snapback]

Well Pedro Iboga dosen't really release music for the typical psytrance person. They release progressive music. I guess you failed to see that.

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Thanks, EP, for letting me know that they release 'progressive' trance. After purchasing so many of their albums, I had no idea that they released 'progressive'. Wow! I thought they sounded more full-on and had them labelled as a Scandy version of Spun records.

 

Thanks for setting the record straight!

 

On a more serious note...this IS a relatively poor release whether you are aware that it is progressive trance or not (as EP seems to think I am).

 

 

 

Pedro

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this IS a relatively poor release whether you are aware that it is progressive trance or not (as EP seems to think I am).

Pedro

272653[/snapback]

hmmm.... no

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