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Decoy - Not Responding To Light


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Decoy – Not Responding To Light

 

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Hi-res cover: front + back

 

Artist: Decoy (Australia)

Title: Not Responding To Light

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Dance N Dust (Israel)

Cat. #: DNDCD06

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 13 February 2006

 

Track listing:

 

01. 07’05” The Ride

02. 09’55” Milkiness Of Infancy

03. 06’42” Snakey Wave

04. 10’10” Pio Pio

05. 07’15” The Feral Kid

06. 09’16” Akoha

07. 07’23” Playing 4 Time

08. 08’11” Rainwashed

09. 01’46” Afro Ken

10. 08’22” Ornette’s Nest

 

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/qjukp (all tracks!)

 

Review:

 

Progressive mardi gras…

 

The Aussie duo Decoy (Ian Chaplin & Philip Rex) used to make a living playing jazz and they’ve now successfully crossed over into progressive trance. I’ve only heard a handful of tracks from them, and especially their most experimental stuff has been very interesting… And judging by the long list of supporting musicians on this album, we’re in for something quite different here… And by that I mean real music, played by real people with real instruments… Sweet!

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: The Ride

The opening track is a slow-burning, afternoon venture into funky electro-groove… The live percussion is rich and the spoken vocals by Jeff Norris have stamina… It reminds me of a progged-up version of a Tristan… There’s nothing too complicated going on here, it’s just pure, edgy progressive trance with a fair bit of psy chunked in during the final run-down… Very tasty!

 

#02: Milkiness Of Infancy

The next track takes us further into cross-over territory… This is like a big melting pot of jazzy twirls mixed with ethno world beats and lush, plush progressive trance… Piano, didgeridoo and some hot vocal and throat noises by Mia Salsjo…. It’s like Kaya Project meets Tegma, and oh my, that’s a nice combo for sure… My only gripe is that this track runs for a little too long… It could easily have been slashed by a couple of minutes to avoid boredom…

 

#03: Snakey Wave

But do not despair, track #3 is here! And this is where it gets really interesting for me… This is definitely the tranciest tune thus far, and besides some thick morning psytrance influences we’re also exposed to a heavy dose of percussion trickery and some trademark Aussie phat reverbs… FREq meets Protoculture meets Antix meets Mr. Peculiar meets Kenny G… Yeah something like that... With a live rhythm section and a real trippy saxophone! Pretty damn nice!

 

#04: Pio Pio

And if the guys hadn’t crossed over yet, they sure do now… This is the oddball tune off the album which features the distinct Marcello Salvo vocals… Anyway, the basis for this track is a deep, rolling progressive morning tune… Packed to the rim with uplifting melodies and rich, groovy percussion – and of course the South American singing/chanting…Whatever it is, it sure is very different, and I nearly dropped my jaw the first time I listened to it… But after a while I got completely sucked in… I’m loving every second of this ethno-lush, Juno Reactor’esque bundle of joy… A stand-out track if there ever was one!

 

#05: The Feral Kid

The next track goes even deeper… This is ripe, tech-trance with enough phat progressive elements to satisfy both minimalists and progressive trancers… It’s kinda minimal but still has lush parts… A very mature and edgy track… Would be the perfect first track in an edgy, darkish progressive set – and in the same notion, I think this works less good for home-listening… But I’m not complaining, this is a pretty neat underground track…

 

#06: Akoha

Whereas the previous track was underground, this is way above the ground… Epic, uplifting and maybe not unlike 12 Moons, Gaudium or Antix… A little clubby and maybe even a little commercial – and in that regard, it reminds me of the Decoy on the recent Plusquam compilation Kodama… It’s not bad, but it’s just too silky-smooth for my taste…

 

#07: Playing 4 Time

“Time does not belong to you. It spreads itself like air…” This track pretty much stays in the same clubby lane as the previous one – though with a distinct harder edge… And edge is just what tickles my nuts, so I appreciate this cross-over track a great deal more… There’s a great deal of instrumentation going on here, and I can vividly visualize the guys jamming with their mates in their studio… The AOL-txt-language title doesn’t do the track justice… It’s actually pretty neat, and works better for sofa trancing than trancefloor dancing…

 

#08: Rainwashed

Another highly uplifting, melodic piece of epic morning trance with deep progressive roots… The intro seems to sample some Badalamenti melodies or something similar… Whatever it is, it sure is trippy… Floating, melodic and epic trance with a distinct fusion-jazz touch to it… Unique yes, but I tend to like the previous track over this one…

 

#09: Afro Ken

This track is a short transition/intro track which features some hardcore live percussion – possibly by Afro Ken!? Deep, hypnotizing, tribal stuff… Very nice – but I’d have preferred it to be a more integrated part of the last track…

 

#10: Ornette’s Nest

The final track is a good example of what Decoy does best: The fusion of rich progressive trance with an array of diverse music influences… Piano-riffs and jazzy saxophones are not exactly what we’re used to hearing in progressive trance, but it works like a charm here… The framework is distinct, reverb-soaked Aussie proggy pads… Guaranteed to throw a bunch of hands in the air and get some asses wiggling… Funky, groovy and totally sexy! A brilliant way to end the album!

 

So, what are we dealing with here? I’ll tell you what… Build around a framework of lush progressive trance; this is an eclectic, unique album of rich, diverse musical influences… Ian and Philip’s jazz-background shines thru in a number of tracks, but we’re also witness to dub, ethnic world music, morning-, club- and tech-trance here… Not to mention the frequent usage of live instrumentation… Something that’s getting rare within our scene! And when it’s done as good as on this album it makes me smile… Sure there are a couple of tracks here that is a little too clubby for my tastes, but they are easily outweighed by the many great tracks…

 

The cover art it absolutely pants, but the music more than makes up for that… So, to conclude I’ll recommend this to fans of diverse progressive trance – which crosses well into other genres… Also the broad spectre of real instruments should draw some attention – it’s not up to par with Juno Reactor, but who knows what the future might bring? I for one was positively surprised by this debut album… It’s lovely! … Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 1, 3(!), 4(!), 5, 7, 10(!)

 

DeathPosture

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External links:

Dance N Dust Records: http://www.dance-n-dust.com

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/623913

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/ocwe6

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/ngqz5

Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/qckux

Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/rumva

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/pvyfg

Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/rnd7z

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/pysjf

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  • 2 months later...

I seldom read anything positive about the jazzy influence on this one, but it's there - and I like it.

542930[/snapback]

 

Ugh, "jazzy" isn't a word I like to see in relation to psy. :(

 

I will still take a listen to the samples and see what's what.

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I seldom read anything positive about the jazzy influence on this one, but it's there - and I like it.

542930[/snapback]

yes some nice sounds there...

jazzy trippiness

prog structure and 'funkyness'

psychedelic effects and sounds now and then..

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I dont like ´psy sounds´... dont find them psychedelic at all :(

 

 

will check this out though, its not the first time I heard about it :D

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well this album is good for sure...and have unique sound, yes is progressive style but with many different elements in!!!little weird sound! i like to listen this album at home not so much in dancefloor cause sometimes losing his groove...

So i like very much the following tracks:

Akoha

The ride

Playing 4 time

the other tracks i prefer to listen at home cause as i said is too weird for dancefloor!!!!

 

cheers :)

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Too weird for the dance floor?!!?

 

My usual problem is that DJs play music too tame to get me moving :) weird stuff is fun!

543160[/snapback]

Yes to weird for me! i like to play in my dj sets more groovy tracks not so weird like decoy tracks (not all, some are very groovy)! well is my opinion!

When i said the album is weird i mean sometimes loosing his groove cause it becomes very complex with many different elements like jazzy...

So..my opinion about this album, didnt impress me!!!except 2 tracks!

Rated : 4/10

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