RAH Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 Artist: Mr. Peculiar Album: Mind-Dala Label: Sonic Dragon Records Year: 2005 Format: CD Country: Australia Tracks: 1) Born on Mars 2) Compressing Time 3) African Soul 4) Brain Snake 5) Mind-dala 6) Timeline 7) Crystal Energy 8) Silver Clouds 9) Yellow Solar Human I've got to admit I'm not hugely familiar with Mr Perculiar, I have a few of his tracks on various compilations and they have always been excellent so I was looking forward to hearing his artist album Mind-dala. I'm not sure what I expected from the release based on my scant knowlege but this isn't it. Not better or worse, just different. What we've got hear is an incredibly solid and cohesive trance album, from the second it starts it oozes quality and the tracks seem to compliment each other so well that that - in the best possible way - they really don't stand out, they are all that good. When I originally put the CD on the first half of the album flew by so effortlessly that I soon lost track of which tune I was on I was simply drifting on the sound. And here was me worrying that full-on producers had forgotten about the "trance" part of psytrance. In fact, it wasn't until about two and a half minutes into Timeline (track 6) that I bothered to check where I was as a sublime riff built over one of the more chilled moments on the album before giving way to a clean guitar sound which picks it's way over the track in a style reminicent of Pink Floyd. I really couldn't believe at this point that I was two thirds of the way through the CD already. It's really not worth me going through and describing Mind-dala track by track, that misses the point somewhat. You put track one on and want to listen to the whole thing. It's not about having 7 minutes to stand out on a compilation, it's a true artist album. Just buy it. Especially if you liked the albums from the likes of Protoculture and Hydrophonic buy it right now. - MonkeyDo more reviews @ Sonic-energy.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tower Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Couldn't agree more. Well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Not better or worse, just different. What we've got hear is an incredibly solid and cohesive trance album, from the second it starts it oozes quality and the tracks seem to compliment each other so well that that - in the best possible way - they really don't stand out, they are all that good. When I originally put the CD on the first half of the album flew by so effortlessly that I soon lost track of which tune I was on I was simply drifting on the sound. And here was me worrying that full-on producers had forgotten about the "trance" part of psytrance. Bloody well said. This is silky smooth stuff, I'm reminded of Silicon Sound - pure analog, somewhat. This has been rockin' and seducing my ears for days now! With Spring around the corner, it fits just nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcinito Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 as far as I know he played a live last weekend in poland on moondalla festival... anybody been there? I wonder how did it go? I haven't heard this album yet, but the word goes that this is a hell of a piece of music!!! Remembering his work from Synchrosect, I guess there so risk at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rain Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 . This is silky smooth stuff, I'm reminded of Silicon Sound - pure analog, somewhat. 305994[/snapback] that statement creates more interest, I loved silicon sound pure analog when it was released back in the days... no so long ago ... 2 years I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted September 6, 2005 Author Share Posted September 6, 2005 i think i'm going to have to get this one, looks prety sweet on the whole... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 My review: http://www.ektoplazm.com/reviews/mr-peculiar-mind-dala/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shimmer Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 This album is so epic in its sound...the atmosphere is creative and Dustin has certainly done it again! And, just as I expected, the tracks were a great addition to his live act!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted October 8, 2005 Author Share Posted October 8, 2005 after having it sunk it, Crystal Energy and Silver Clouds really stand out from the CD for me. Highly enjoyable stuff im not afraid to listen and label full on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathPosture Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Mr. Peculiar – Mind-dala Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Mr. Peculiar (Australia) Title: Mind-dala Format: CD (digipack) Label: Sonic Dragon Records (Hong Kong) Cat. #: SDRECCD03 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 15 July 2005 Track listing: 01. 08’17” Born On Mars 02. 08’28” Compressing Time 03. 07’26” African Soul 04. 07’40” Brainsnake 05. 07’43” Mind-Dala 06. 08’19” Timeline 07. 07’57” Crystal Energy 08. 06’43” Silver Clouds 09. 06’46” Yellow Solar Human .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/abhm5 (all tracks!) Review: Eclectic full-on! This is the third album forged by Dustin Saalfield in his Peculiar Patterns Studio in Melbourne, Australia… Despite his rather large back-catalogue, I haven’t really heard much from this guy – but I’ve heard quite a lot of good things about his work… So I guess starting at the third album is as good a place as any to start… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Born On Mars “Ever been to Mars? …I was born on Mars!” A harmonic, floating intro is soon shredded to bits by stark, dripping electronica and a solid full-on bassline… Tweaks, bleaks, drips and drops… And enough uplifting elements to crack a big old happy smile on your face… Yeah – this is full-on morning trance, but oh my – it’s so good! So subtle, so powerful, so phat… The climax part sends memories back to early IM or recent Protoculture choons… Powerful stuff! #02: Compressing Time “It’s just an illusion. It’s not real!” A short intro followed by a heavily compressed bassline + tons of melodic pads… It shows that this guy has really put a lot of effort into the rhythm section here… It’s instantly groovy and has a progressive trance touch to it… Think Gaudium or Antix and add some full-on morning sounds and you’re pretty close to the sound of this track… Generally I like it, although it’s not as potent as the previous track… Maybe even a little cheesy… Only a little though! #03: African Soul Flaring, floating full-on here – extremely melodic, and uplifting as fuck… The African touch isn’t too evident, but I’d like to think I can hear some rain-forest/savannah influences here… Again we’re in the better end of the full-on spectre – but it’s still not as good as the first track… I do like the acoustic touch though + the melodies + the crisp ‘n’ clean, distilled sound here… Fine track! #04: Brainsnake Feast on this tribal-slash-melodic, ass-shaking, foot-moving, head-bopping, quality piece of uplifting music …It’s like there’s a snake in your brain! …Well, maybe not, but this is most definitely a nice track! Very well-constructed and tasty… #05: Mind-Dala Welcome to full-on track construction 101 – this is how it’s done! Oh yes, this title track is exactly the reason why I never fully gave up on full-on… It’s still alive and thriving! Melodic yes, but it also has some harder elements (acid!) which I really take well to… This will work wonders both at home, but most definitely also on the dancefloor… Observe how the track evolves – it builds and builds until that final bit – and then the subtle come-down to regain your strength… #06: Timeline Oh my, now this is uplifting morning trance if there ever was uplifting morning trance… Again the Protoculture-comparison is an easy one to make… Also stuff like Silicon Sound, 12 Moons or early-morning Jaïa springs to mind… Beautiful floating melodies seasoned with more acoustic guitar, a progressive rhythm section + all kinds of soothing, placid filtering… All this without crossing over into cheesy territory… Now that’s impressive! A nice little track… #07: Crystal Energy We stay on the same, well-polished, take-chances full-on morning path here… Only this is slightly harder… I like it hard (no pun intended!) and where the previous track maybe lacked a little bite – this one has the bite… I really like the orchestral touch this track has – those massive, wall-to-wall reverbs go down really well… Yeah – this is one of the best tracks here! #08: Silver Clouds More morning trance fuel here… This is just as ultra-crisp and uplifting as the previous track, though perhaps a little less eclectic… The soft, calm voices floating in the background would normally piss me off, but not in this track… It all comes together so well here… The perfect soundtrack for the exact moment the first ray of sunlight breaks through the silver clouds… Another very well produced track! #09: Yellow Solar Human The last track is another exposure of high quality full-on – Mr. Peculiar breaks out the last batch of well-polished, dancefloor approved trippy elements… Spicy full-on designed to boost the energy level of people who have danced the night away… Subtle, melodic, danceable morning trance – that never gets tiresome! Sweet track! What a remarkably nice album! Yes, this is good full-on morning trance! I’ve often bashed full-on for being formulaic, predictable and boring… But this is so very far from being boring – this is highly eclectic and evolving… And extremely well-produced! It’s all good – but the best thing is, that this doesn’t cross over into clubby, commercial cheese… Nice going Mr. Saalfield! The album was released back in July 2005, but I don’t see it as a summer album per se… No way – this will works wonders 365 days a year for years to come… Obviously there are tracks I like better than others, but in general terms the quality level is very, very impressive here… There are no bad tracks, and the favourite tracks are little wonders on their own… Mr. Peculiar also made the beautiful artwork here - I see it as a picture of a person with thousands of thoughts/ideas/sounds emerging from that person’s mind… This fits the music perfectly! Morning trance aficionados should not be without this album, nor should fans of intelligent, uplifting full-on… It’s pretty damn great… Enjoy! Favourites: 1(!!), 5(!), 6, 7(!!), 8, 9 DeathPosture External links: Sonic Dragon: http://www.sonic-dragon.com Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/490300 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/azrcu Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/8bt6b Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/cxfpz Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/8qfks Juno: http://tinyurl.com/dlvfh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khogg Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 I must agree with the comments above. Really smooth album with great power. Not much hype around this though? Actually, the comment above about Silicon Sound - Pure Analog is what made me check this out. I got it and can't say I'm dissappointed with any tracks. It's all good. A great album to listen to start to finish. In my opinion, it's not like Silicon Sound, but if you like that sound, then you'll probably like this, if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exotic Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great great album! This psyharmonical full on I can never get bored of. Cant wait for Infinite Evolution ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Both artists by this guy have been good/great stuff, different to each other aswell. Looking forward to the next album Ever been to Mars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Ever been to Mars? I was born on Mars! Looking forward to his third album, should be out in 1-2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I was born on Mars! Looking forward to his third album, should be out in 1-2 months. Yey! Definately looking forward to that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longloststar Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 This is one of my favorite morning full-on albums, along with Psydrop - Fantasy Seeds, Intergalactic - The Future and a few others. As others have pointed out, this is a really smooth release, it never gets annoying, it never gets boring and it never requires a too big part of your concentration, something characteristic for smooth music, I feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laserflip Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 His best effort IMO and one of the best morning psy albums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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