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Fuzzion - Black Magic


RAH

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Artist: Fuzzion

Album: Black Magic

Label: Boshke Beats

Web: http://www.boshkebeats.com

CAT: BBCD006

Sonic-energy: http://www.sonic-energy.net/core/content/view/168/2/

 

Tracks:

 

01. Distort & Discord [120 BPM's]

02. Tango de Color Mango [130]

03. Black Magic [130]

04. C41 [130]

05. Frog on the Run [125]

06. Recharge [132]

07. Shezabitch [137]

08. Yellow Mellow [135]

09. Starfall[130]

10. Little Girl[125-28]

Bonus:

11. Sound Surface [120]

12. ICU [125]

 

 

What's This about?

 

Fuzzion is an understatement. I would refer to it more as percolate of styles, Vladimir Kozlov has been brooding with love since the early 90's to present new idea altogether of electronic music not easily categorized. Previously released in TIP world, Tatsu, Z.M.A, Hadshot, Horns and Hoofs and of course Boshke the time is right for the man to introduce his Black Magic for all those audiophiles in search of novel sonic entrainment.

 

 

 

Per-song Break down

 

 

1- Distort and Discord *

 

If there is anything Fuzzion can do well is distort those bass lines to near static junk and this is a good example of his work. The wind hurls of passing airplanes (or spaceships perhaps) give it a very outer space touch, accompanied by windy pads and little blips transporting us to a space-age anthem of noir, every-man for himself type of qualities. The line rest on top with delicate textures, as the drums rumble below with very convincing results for the overall package.

 

 

2- Tango De Color Mango

 

The mango comes loaded with unabridged electro influences and once again those scratchy distorted elements find a way to surface from the leads. The bass comes and goes like a lagging child suddenly delaying to near abstraction by bits. The percussion alone with half a gazillion different drums and novel use of hi-hats will work wonders in any progg-electro jumble.

 

 

3- Black Magic *

 

Black magic is a delicious treat that does justice to the self-titled album. Inside sounds bubble and oscillate like a loose electric cord, maintaining that strident pace Kozlov knows how to deliver so well. The rhythms allow a jungle of percussive elements to surface comfortably, since that is after all half of his knack. The magical touch comes from ancient gypsy line radiating to the plucked bass by the break with sheer brilliance.

 

 

4- C41 *

 

We're back to heavily distorted bass slices redoubling in the pace with all inhibitions thrown out the window and a clear invitation to bend those hips under the hypnotism of the crescent melodies. I'm not sure why it reminds me of the 60's version of batman, most probably because of the intent. A somber melody that no matter how low you shove it in the scale, it's still exuding a funky upbeat influence on the listener. < BAM! >

 

 

5- Frog on the Run

 

Frog on the run is another departure from an electro vein exploring break beats and a jazzy-aphex twin touch with organic dashes and classy accompaniments. The track switches by the middle with dense section of drums imitating a rock drummer more than a electronic pace-maker & it works.

 

 

6- Recharge

 

An all groove number with the classical slinky distortion and an undivided attention towards the rhythm with underlying accompaniments. This time around I find the charge a bit too scratchy and distorted, but a good tune to follow on the dance floor if you happened to purchase the new Bus album.

 

 

7- Shezabitch

 

Talk about the cheekiest set of electro bass lines coming out in a respected tune since… well I’m not sure, I don’t really listen to this type of music much. The lyrics say it all, and since there might be under aged audiences reading I won’t repeat it. Suffice to know Fuzzion does not like the ex and even though the lyrics clearly specify it, the rhythm is on the other hand begging her to stay and dance for a little longer. I have my days with this track while it mostly brings a corny smile to my face.

 

 

8 – Yellow Mellow *

 

Like the name indicates yellow is a rather mellow number with cute lines that recall a lot of the cinematic old-school IDM of the 90’s. The midsection brings very cool guitar bits Vladimir picked up in his teens for the alternative band he used to play in. I tend to agree with his vision.

 

 

9 – Starfall

 

Number nine, has ‘first summer love’ memories to reminisce, either hugging a pillow or even better a real person. Alternatively you might find a bit too sweet toothed for the stomach. It does retain a Russian scent of syrupy electro-pop-IDM and god knows what else that stands somewhere between Wolfsheim (without the lyrics) and Paraplan.

 

 

10 – Little Girl + Hidden Track*

 

Hidden girl is another emotional number with dreamy lines that stands bit further from “Starfall”, nevertheless using very cool guitar riffs and solid theme to close album. The hidden experiment starting after the 6th minute brings a departure from the song that defined the summer of love back in 1969 for Jefferson Airplane with “White Rabbit”. Grace Slyck’s voice thunders over the synth-adapted guitars with ease and by god this 3 minute blip will do wonders to open your sets with a cult flashback in time, asserting you as knowledge as savvy neo-hippie. Miss Slyck back in the 70’s once attempted spike President Nixon’s coffee with LSD and there was a whole plot, but sadly it never materialized. One can’t help but wonder what kind of world we would have grown in if this had happened.

 

 

 

All and All

 

Following on Horns and Hoof’s footsteps last year with Kino Oko, Boshke has delivered another solid piece to sink your brain in original material, I would categorize it as adult listening (forget electro, techno, IDM, boogie-woogie… those terms turn meaningless here). The sincere effort to pull away from progressive beats you could swear has been repeated a thousand times, albeit with the same speed. Fuzzion’s riding a distinct wave altogether to poise dance floors with new a proposal, influenced by Kozlov’s background as progressive rocker and his electronic experiments. All that remains in my head after listening to Black Magic for a less than week is Grace’s voice repeating the words “Feed your head… feed your head”.

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nice review as always, Rah. You really do have a unique way of analyzing songs, very technical yet playful and creative.

 

I just got it yesterday and so far Im really digging it! Especially the second part of the album rawks (including the two extra songs, hail DC++), my favorites being the emotionally-stunning Little Girl and the White Rabbit Remix. I have had the Little Girl melody in my head all day long, that song seems like some weird Fusion of Cosmic Baby and an Alien, just perfect. Anyways, Fusion seems to be at his best when he gets more melodic and soft, but maybe thats just my personal taste.

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awsome release !

 

really in a style of its own,a fusion of many techno genres(electro,tekno,idm or whateva) into a freestyle album which doesnt give a fuck about today's dancefloor "rules"...

was surprised to hear track n.2 here(Tango de Color Mango) as ive had it for ages on an old TIP compilation...great track!

 

recommended to everyone who's into electronic music :rolleyes:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest The Journey Man Project

Well... what can I say, it is pure Fuzzion so if you have enjoyed any of his earlier works, you'll love this... he caught my attention clearly with E=Mc2 on Clangour, then spun me around as I purchased as many release of his as I could get my hands on... whilst many of the techtrance acts seem to be heading the elector style,and this could've caused some issues for this release, Fuzzion has been using the sound right from the start, and proves his knowledge of all things deep, dark and dirty grooves... for sure a classic release in the entire electric music genre...the best of retro sounds made modern... cannot wait for the next from Boshke Land, looking at the web site it looks like the Midi Miliz - "Passages (Remixed" album is up n coming...

 

oh and I got the neat Japan only release with 2 extra tracks...

 

 

Shezabitch (Remix)

 

Black Magic (Live)

Edited by The Journey Man
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awsome release !

 

was surprised to hear track n.2 here(Tango de Color Mango) as ive had it for ages on an old TIP compilation...great track!

 

recommended to everyone who's into electronic music  :rolleyes:

449864[/snapback]

 

I was also surprised to see Tango de Color Mango on this CD since I have it on the Digital Collusions compilation from 2003. I also remember Fuzzion using this track in his set in Boom in 2004. So it is not quite fresh off his hard drive.

 

At any rate, I too have enjoyed this album. Almost all the tracks are strong ones (exceptions: track 6, 11 and 12).

 

The syle is a bit more electro and less technoish than one might have expected. However, that is hardly a complete shock - Fuzzion's track on Chronika Chapter II (City Limit) already indicated Fuzzion's electro tendencies. I suppose he feels this is a bit more chummy and cuddly...

 

The White Rabbit interlude is more interesting than amazing.

 

 

Quite recommended.

 

 

 

Pedro

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Hmmmm.

 

I can't get into a lot of this release. Fuzzion is excellent at what he does, I'm just not keen on digging up electro out of its grave yet again and polishing it off as something relevant to a post-16-bit world. He does achieve good sonic depth here, and it's not all electro. There is some ambitious IDM integration too.

 

In particular, tracks 3 and 6 stand out.

 

Several others have a noodly, indulgent quality that is perhaps interesting in some contexts, but hasn't really gone anywhere for me just yet. Maybe I need to listen to it from the couch or something.

 

So, I wouldn't say it sucks, but I'm tentatively giving it 7/10 :unsure: for now. It's probably worth owning on the strength of tracks 3 and 6 alone.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The album is very good as it is really original , outlandish among current psytrance releases and also has a whole dark, cold German atmosphere that really makes you understand why are all these tracks put together. Unlike many other artists, Fuzzion has given to all the tracks the same coldly melodic (sometimes even coldly nostalgic, emotional) background, so this alone puts this album as really an album and not a simple collection of tracks with very different ambiances.

The album starts up very nicely (if you like cold basslines and a bit sad of a background) as tracks one two and three unfold. Then it gets heavier but does not loose its original dark "every man for himself space-age" atmosphere. I really think this is truly brilliant work that stands as very German.

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... track 7 is excellent.

 

I just wish it didn't have the vocals, especially "bitch .. bitch .. bitch .. bitch ..".

 

In this very PC country, playing stuff like that raises the stinkeye and can take away from an otherwise deep nuanced atmosphere.

 

Track 1 is promising, if it can hold together under stress of being pitched up into the mid-to-high 130's BPM. I haven't tried it just yet. Tracks 3 and 6 are still very good too, especially #3.

 

Track 2 is techno-soldier triplets, too jackboot-porn for my taste.

 

Still, I have to nudge my rating on this one to a "buy".

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fuzzion_black magic

 

What can i say : i like all tracks a lot .

 

i agree with Freak 51, about she´s a Bicht !

 

but is fuzzion ideia ,, we have to respect ,,,

 

its a great album for the dancefloor ... .. you have to get it !

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My sister studies fashion design, and she is using "Shezabitch" for her final fashion show. She already played it to her (extremely gay) fashion professor, and he loved it as well and copied it from her, and now they always listen to that song in class when they work on their clothes..

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My sister studies fashion design, and she is using "Shezabitch" for her final fashion show. She already played it to her (extremely gay) fashion professor, and he loved it as well and copied it from her, and now they always listen to that song in class when they work on their clothes..

512328[/snapback]

 

 

hahaha , dude .... . . nice !!!!

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i agree with Freak 51, about she´s a Bicht !

 

but is fuzzion ideia ,, we have to respect ,,,

512312[/snapback]

We're nihilists, we don't have to respect anything!!!

 

Posted Image

 

 

Any way, good album, the bitch song is out of place though.

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Is it different? Yes.

Is it experimental? Definitely.

Is it enjoyable? Not really.

 

I have liked a lot of the earlier Fuzzion-releases, and looking at all the praise and hype concerning the album, I really wanted to like it. Musically it's a very interesting and diverse album, but at the end of the day, I guess I simply don't understand what all the fuzz is about. I have heard it over and over again the last couple of months, but I often grab myself thinking "what's so amazing about it?". It simply doesn't grab me, and to be honest I found the whole thing rather pointless. Luckily taste differs though.

 

The only good tracks in my opinion where "Little Girl" and the "White Rabbit" remix.

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Guest The Journey Man Project

I guess if you were expecting some of his heavier techtrance works tis would be dissapointing,and at first it didn't grab me... but as I'm a pretty big fan of the neo electro influences that have entered this genre it has grown on me a quite a bit bu the only real stand outs for me are:

 

2, 7 and 9... the rest are nice and pretty original, but don't really grab me so much...

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This album is a must....you have to listen to it with real attention and especially enjoy morning trance... there´s a lot of nice tracks that can be great for both morning and midnight dancefloors.

Somewhere I wrote this album sounds typically German! And it does, although Vladimir is from Russia. Anyway, it sounds nordic, cold yet somehow magically (or black-magically) hypnotizing and lovely... it´s the type of thing that trance purists will not like but people who enjoy Scando sound will probably like a lot.

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I really don´t think you get the idea the first time you listen to the album... only after a detailed appreciation of this album I could get the idea behind it.

The idea is: the world is ending, the guy *(vladimir)* hates his ex-girlfriend and has become a black magician... now he´s authoritarian like hitler yet he shows that there is still some love in his heart in some tracks. He just went nuts and made a great album, like Picasso... it´s hard to fully get his ambiance but once you get it you won´t want to leave it. He combines deep pain and ecstasy in an authoritative, powerful, imposing sound. Great for dancefloor especially morning.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

judging from the samples alone i'd say it could be enjoyable..

sounds very well done, good production, cool basslines... and good atmospheres.

this would be cool to listen driving home from a festival on an acid comedown.

might be a bit too weird at a party for most people's tastes tho...

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I really like this album. A breath of fresh air just because it sounds different. It is also very high quality and just what I like. Favourite track is Tango de Color Mango. Fantastic plodding track.

 

 

 

Gutty, your avatar looks very familiar, thought you were technossomy for a second there.

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I really like this album. A breath of fresh air just because it sounds different. It is also very high quality and just what I like. Favourite track is Tango de Color Mango. Fantastic plodding track.

Gutty, your avatar looks very familiar, thought you were technossomy for a second there.

563584[/snapback]

hey i have a double

you realise "gutty" that i own the rights to this cat

and i only take payments in old school goa

awaiting your first installment

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Weird album.. but has some really nice tracks.

My opinion:

 

Distort & Discord - very good

Tango de Color Mango - average (read: bad)

Black Magic - above average

C41 - bad

Frog on the Run - bad

Recharge - bad

Shezabitch - good

Yellow Mellow - average (read: bad)

Starfall - bad

Little Girl - good AND bad

Sound Surface - very good

ICU - very good

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  • 4 years later...

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