Elysium Project - Regenerated

[Guest Michael]

Elysium Project - Regenerated

 

Artist: Elysium Project

Title: Regenerated

Label: Avatar

Date: 2002

 

Track listing:

 

01. Liquid Overture

02. 94 RPM (Continuous)

03. Dust

04. Keep It Cool (2001 Rmx)

05. Retro Song

06. Peace And Love

07. Utterances From The North

08. Pure

 

Review:

 

Our very own Elysium Project takes time out to show us his more sensitive side

This is a collection of 8 crystal clear tracks demonstrating why EP has

made a name for himself as a producer.

I warn you now that I am not in the league of say EA or Bomble when it comes to

reviews, but I'll do my best.

Track 1 - An atmospheric introduction to the album. Lush soundscapes that have

a certain soundtrack quality to them. Sets the tone for the album I think as

the tracks are an even mix of ambient/downtempo & trance.

Track 2 - Great intro sample. Thoughtful melodies. I dig the James Bondesque

piano that kicks in around 3.30.

Track 3 - This is my favourite track I think. Very groovy dancefloor chugger.

Danish bassline as good as Danish bacon. Sometimes I have make little musics.

Track 4 - Bouncy & light. Like mashed potatos. Um, well if you live in our

house anyway. I told you I was rubbish at this review lark. Theres a

percussive/wind/pluck sound (that should cover it) that kicks in around 3.00

which really stands out for me. It lends the track a magic faraway feel. EP's

trademark ethnic samples are put to work here too.

Track 5 - The vocoder certainly does sound retro. The beats make for a nice

change from the usual four to the floor. Didgeridoo makes an entrance here too

at the 2.00 mark or so. Something for all the family

Track 6 - The track runs smoothly, although I'm not that keen on the main

melody. The dustbin lid percussion is good in this, & the bass line is funky

too which is always a bonus

Track 7 - This one paints a picture. The sound of a train running through the

countryside at night. Very open & non-intrusive. The guitar works well. In

fact, the whole track works well. Devoid of beats, but plenty of textures to

keep the ear interested.

Track 8 - A stomper to end on. Hungarian womens' choir meets wolves & hypnotic

acid lines.

All in all I think this album is very cool & well worth the paper it's written

on. Colin OOOD has listened to it too & he agrees that it's very well put

together. So if that's not a selling point I don't know what is. Nicely done

EP Two thumbs fresh!!!

[Guest Rx7style]

Very smooth tracks indeed. Lots of work with the piano -- kind of reminds me

of Robert Miles, but I've always liked Robert Miles' dreamy atmospheres, and I

think EP has done it better. I kind of object to the tonal high hat that's

used throughout tracks 2 & 3, it's not that I didn't like it, but it was used

for the entire duration and it began to draw too much attention to itself.

"Retro Song" has clean synth lines that maybe could have used a filter of some

kind, but the track really fits the title and it was a most enjoyable &

soothing listen. Unfortunately in "Peace", nothing really stands out too

much, so that's why I can only say it's average. "Utterances From The North"

was great as I'm a big fan of ambient/downtempo and this is right up there

with some of the "greats" in that genre on the minimal and atmospheric side.

Very nice. That last track is indeed a stomper as Michael has indicated.

Very tribal vocals fit with the harmonics, and it's a great final hoo-rah for

the album. I liked the swirly percussives the best as they added a level of

psychedelia that was really needed to finish off strong. Good work my friend!

[Guest Dragonsoul]

I discovered The Elysium Project from the links section on

astral-projection.com. The songs are so amazing on this cd! Here's what I

think of each track:

 

1. Liquid Overture: I LOVE that piano! This song is very downtempo/ambient and

is a cool relaxation song, sounds cool with the added piano riffs.

2. 94 RPM Continous: Sounds interesting with the opening vocals and synths. It

kind of freaks me out, but in a good way. Then you get the piano coming in and

it's great. Somehow the songs sounds like ... electricity flowing with that

background noise.

3. Dust: This is the best song!!! Once you start the track you know it's great.

I like the vocals that come on later. Great flow.

4. Keep It Cool(2002 RMX): This song gets my attention with some cool

instrument in the beginning(xylophone?). The vocals that come later are cool.

5. Retro Song: This song has a funky feel in the beginning. The atmospheric

synths that come later add to the relaxation element.

6. Peace And Love: Sounds very metallic, or something in the beginning, but

that's fine. They start a cool instrument at 1 minute.

7. Utterances From The North: Very cool with the relaxing nature sounds on this

track. This is a very quiet song to help you sleep.

8. Pure: This is the second best song on the cd. It's awesome once the new

sounds kick in at 17 seconds! The beat progresses and increases in speed

later. I love it when the women screams!

 

Overall I love this music!! Especially Dust and Pure! I recommend visiting

elysiumproject.dk and checking it out too. This is a great cd for those who

like ambient/downtempo mixed with a little trance. Cool!

[PKS]

Kristian Tinning (Elysium) from Denmark is out with another album. Earlier, he

released music on Nova Zembla Records, which sort of tricked him and took all

the money that came out of it. He has probably never got the respect that he

deserves from that label, because this guy is a really talented artist! He has

also collaborated with many other famous psytrance artists. A few years has

gone by, without any new album releases, but now he is finally out with his

new album Regenerated, released on the Israeli label Avatar Records. Let`s

hope he get better treatment from the label this time.

 

Elysium has mostly made some tribal trance, mostly down tempo trance and

psyambient. The first track is a beautiful one. Atmospheric and a floating

sound picture with a little piano. This is almost rhythm free and extremely

pleasant for home listening. Track 2 has got more psychedelic sounds, but soon

it gets back to a floating vibe, with a little vocal and some more rhythms.

You get some piano in this one too. Elysium likes to put some nice piano in

his tracks. Just take a look at the track he made with Avi Algranati (Space

Cat) last year, released on the Life Is compilation. (YoYo Records)

 

In track number three, we go back to the good old Elysium style A fantastic

track with exotic female vocals and pleasent trancey, deep, down tempo

rhythms, with lots of nice sounds and melodies. Track 4 goes about the same

tempo. Again floating and very tribal, with some voice samples that brings

memories from an old classic track released on the album Dance For The

Celestial Beings (Nova Zembla). This is actually a new remix of the old Keep

It Cool track!. Very nice. Track 5 is an interesting down tempo track, just

like much of the old slow goa trance was like before. A groovy nice track

that I like a lot!

 

Track 6 brings memories back to old hard trance and goa from the start. This is

really the good old Elysium style! Nice to hear that he is back! A voice

sample that repeats the words Peace and Love, a groovy trancey down tempo

rhythm and pretty melodic. Track 7 is a really nice ambient track, where he

has sampled some birds singing. Beautiful, exotic and totally relaxed chill

out! The last track also starts out in the ambient style, but then goes back

to the typical Elysium style, with trancey rhythms. This is the hardest track

on the album, but at the same time not very hard. Here you get laughter and

exotic vocals that I`m sure some of you have heard in another track, but I

can`t remember which one!

 

The Regenerated album is really good! Nice to hear that he still makes good

music, and that he hasn`t moved away from his style like too many trance

artists do these days. Recommended!

PK