Hallucinogen - Twisted

[djmaxfactor1995]

It starts out in 12/8.

 

I am sure you are right. And, I appreciate you correcting me. But then it stays 4/4, right?

I just remember that I could mix with it. And most likely, start a set with this or just cue it to it's 4/4 to drop in.

[Rotwang]

I am sure you are right. And, I appreciate you correcting me. But then it stays 4/4, right?

It does that thing of changing gradually from 12/8 to 4/4.

 

I just remember that I could mix with it. And most likely, start a set with this or just cue it to it's 4/4 to drop in.

 

12/8 can be mixed into 4/4 effectively, can't it (guessing, I've never tried)?

[djmaxfactor1995]

It does that thing of changing gradually from 12/8 to 4/4.

 

 

 

12/8 can be mixed into 4/4 effectively, can't it (guessing, I've never tried)?

 

I don't know time signatures for the life of me. I can usually recognize differences but when they are interchangeable, I always default on 4/4 because it is formula for mixing. But I believe you can match the beats but the emphasis would be on the 2nd up beat, like reggae but this would be more akin to dancehall, right? Oh, I am listening to it now. Only the first twenty seconds are 12/8 then he drum rolls out into a 4/4 and he uses time stretching effects but the beat is still 4 on the floor. And, if you listen closely, it does not sound like a smooth transition. It is much more like he cut mixed them -- but they were at the same tempo. Of course that is why I love to discuss these things so I can learn. What do you hear?

[Rotwang]

No, I think you've misunderstood which bit I'm referring to. The 12/8 section is from about 0:27 to shortly after the 1 minute mark - before that there's not much beat so the time signature isn't really discernible. 12/8 still has 4 beats in a bar, it's just that those beats are split into three shorter beats, rather than 2 or 4; that is bbb/bbb/bbb/bbb rather than bb/bb/bb/bb.

 

e: For a more pronounced example, listen to this track; it's 4/4 before 1:44 and 12/8 afterwards.

[djmaxfactor1995]

No, I think you've misunderstood which bit I'm referring to. The 12/8 section is from about 0:27 to shortly after the 1 minute mark - before that there's not much beat so the time signature isn't really discernible. 12/8 still has 4 beats in a bar, it's just that those beats are split into three shorter beats, rather than 2 or 4; that is bbb/bbb/bbb/bbb rather than bb/bb/bb/bb.

 

e: For a more pronounced example, listen to this track; it's 4/4 before 1:44 and 12/8 afterward.

 

Yes, I understand, now. It is still 4/4 but it is compound so you have a 4/4 rhythm at 120bpm and a 3/2 rhythm inside at 240 bpm, so it gives that swing feel. And Hallucinogen definitely uses the 12/8 time a lot. That is another reason why I consider him The most talented EDM composer, ever.

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Hallucinogen
Title: Twisted
Label: Dragonfly Records
Date: October, 1995

1. LSD
2. Orphic Thrench
3. Alpha Centauri
4. Dark Matrix
5. Shamanix
6. Snarling Black Mabel
7. Fluoro Neuro Sponge
8. Solstice
8a. Angelic Particles (Remix)

"I believe with the advent of acid we've discovered a new to think... and it has to do with piecing together new thoughts in your mind. Why is it that people think it's so evil? What is it about it that is scares people so deeply? Even ... and if one is ... because they are afraid that there's more to reality than they have confronted. That there are doors that they're afraid to go in and they don't want us to go in there either because, if we go in, we might learn something that they don't know. And that makes us a little out of their control."

Wow. 8 pages. The last thing I'm gonna do is ramble on and repeat what people have said for, what is it? 18 years now? I'm just gonna do what I do boo.

If there was one album that you had to have in your collection this would be it. Well...maybe this one also.

 

 

It's the sh*t!

Simon Posford is arguably the master of all things psychedelic whether it's with any one of his other projects or his flagship Hallucinogen. This was his first album as Hallucinogen and instantly a storytelling classic was born. It doesn't get old. Just doesn't. It sounds like he coulda made this yesterday. You know when every track on your debut album is featured on compilations that you've cemented your legend.

The first track LSD is perhaps his most famous and ushered in a tidal wave of music replete with drug samples in an attempt to capture the feeling and awe inspiring curiosity generated with that sample. Often imitated yet never duplicated it set the standard for drug samples, if there is such a thing.

I've never taken LSD, but the crunchy leads and long drawn out melodies on tracks like Alpha Centauri and Dark Magus must've been a match made in heaven. I can only imagine what that was like all the colors and endless twirling. Acid affects people in different ways that's why I always went with what I knew.

Ahhhh.....that's the stuff.


The whole album has a flow to it that is continuous and the psychedelia never wavers. The tribal vocal manipulation in Shamanix is dream inducing and a platform he will experiment with throughout his career. I see hippies dancing in the dirt with no shoes in mismatched clothing and I'm just trying to get my parking validated. Little help?

I used to think Snarling Black Mabel was not as potent as the rest, but tonight it hit me like a senior citizen backing out of a handicapped spot. Juicy psychedelic froth at its finest! It gurgles and sh*ts razor blade rainbows, but I can't help trying to catch every bit of color. Fluoro Neuro Sponge has so much going on that it is a testament to his ability to create such a cohesive masterpiece. What you didn't see was a familiar sponge suffering through possibly his worst trip. Ever.



find your happy place Squarepants. Your happy place.


He ends (kinda) with the gentle (kinda) Solstice, and even that takes out the 303 barb wire. But then there is a little ambient surprise. The remix of Angelic Particles comes in after 6 minutes of silence (I hate that sh*t, just make another track) but it is a haunting and spiritual dream making for a perfect ending.


Like I said, I'm not rehashing what the world has said and already repeated ad nauseum. I'll give my take like this. If Christianity has it's bible, Islam has the Koran, Mormons have whatever the f*ck they have...then this is the psytrancers book of life instruction.



Mdk

[Oopie]

 It's quite a task to decipher this immortal album into mere words, but I feel obliged as plus twenty years later this album still gives me the shivers and amazes me with its technical superiority. This album was written I believe mostly in 1995, but some of it even dates back to 1994. The first Hallucinogen release ever, the LSD/Alpha Centauri 12" on Dragonfly Records, is from April 1994. So to just sum things up - the whole album was written in roughly a two-year period. 

Musically speaking this album is nearly flawless in my ears. Hallucinogen has an uncanny talent in using weird yet strangely charming synth sounds and effects and manipulating them thru effect units like a mad scientist. The result? It may sound funny but the guy is still touring around the world playing these exact tracks! Okay, there's usually the combo-package with the latest Shpongle but still... this album carries such a staggering level to detail and brilliant songwriting that it still works on the dancefloor and gives you a great trip - even without stimulants. 

I love the almost "punk rock" attitude Hallucinogen has on this album. It's raw, powerful, twisted (as the title would suggest...) and mysterious all at the same time. 'Twisted' feels like a perfect example of that 1994/1995 musical period when Goa trance was taking its form and was free of any pre-defined concepts how psychedelic music ought to sound. At the same time its maturity was years ahead of the game and still continues to inspire countless of artists - yours truly as an example. I truly believe 'Twisted' is the magnum opus of Hallucinogen. Now, I do think also 'TLD' is a great album, it might excel this album in its technicality, but it lacks the certain rawness and craziness that make 'Twisted' one of the standout releases in all 90s electronic music.

[Jaza]

On 29/04/2011 at 5:51 AM, djmaxfactor1995 said:

Yes, I understand, now. It is still 4/4 but it is compound so you have a 4/4 rhythm at 120bpm and a 3/2 rhythm inside at 240 bpm, so it gives that swing feel. And Hallucinogen definitely uses the 12/8 time a lot. That is another reason why I consider him The most talented EDM composer, ever.

One of the craziest things about the time signature stuff is that he only half understood it.

Approx 5 years ago (maybe more? 7?) there was a discussion about this on the Twisted Records music forum where he replied with a post asking what the second number means in a time signature. He explained he played around with settings on his sequencer but only really paid the first one mind.

Staggering.

[Tsotsi]

I really wasn't into old school Goa for a long time. I was all about hard punchy kicks and hardcore production. I listened to AP... nothing. Asia 2001... Nil... MWNN... Nada.

Then one night, after a little bangarang, just a small hit of dat exo, only a poofteenth of some devils lettuce, a slight suckle of the cheeba, an innocent touch of da gazon, a blaze of the reggie reggie and everything changed.

I thought fuck it, let's finally do this, let's listen to number 1. Tsotsi was ready.

And really that's what the music was designed for in the first place, high people. The album is a gosh danged acid trip. Sometimes it takes some help to get you there, but once you here it there is no going back. The absolute rawness of tracks like Orphic trench literally felt like our boy Simon had created a sonic dragon that was spitting flames of euphoria at us. I cant even imagine the dance floors when this came on. All i knew was all of a sudden i was immersed in the demented, psychedelic, dare i say Twisted world of Possy F.

It is awe inspiring work through and through, that's coming from someone who used to say that old is not gold, Tsotsi be humble.

Since Twisted the world of old school has been opened up to me, funny thing is, Artha was the artist that opened new school Goa to me. What a strange but wonderful world it can be.

[Jaza]

You're an Aussie, yeah?
I take it you missed his master-classes at Rainbow Serpent 2011 and 2017?

[Tsotsi]

On 1/26/2019 at 2:31 PM, Jaza said:

You're an Aussie, yeah?
I take it you missed his master-classes at Rainbow Serpent 2011 and 2017?

Yea I'm pretty Aussie. Just moved to Brisbane. 

2017 was my last Rainbow, I'm about to lose all cred but I left the Shpongle opening set to go put warm clothes on and also ignored all master classes. Was either at camp or on the dancefloor the entire time.