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Koxbox - U-Turn


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Koxbox - U-Turn

Twisted Records

September 2006

 

Tracklisting

 

1 Crazy (6:56)

2 Buffer Overdrive (7:52)

3 No More Ghosts (8:24)

4 Next Stop (7:43)

5 FM 17 (8:08)

6 This Can't Be Real (7:21)

7 Acid Drome (7:27)

8 Side Effects (8:06)

9 Voice Of (8:49)

 

Here we have aneagerly anticipated album from a past master. As such some people are going to be dissapointed, some people wont care & some people will be thrilled. This is not the same style as any of the previous stuff but it's quality music as you'd expect from Twisted Records.

 

 

1 Crazy

A techy start then oh my god it's fullon!! Is that a rolling baseline I hear? Why yes children it is but don't let that put you off, please! This is one psychedelic monster. Everything works well, all the crazy sounds come together to create a damn good track. It has quite a melodic touch in parts which is unexpected & the baseline drives it really well.

 

2 Buffer Overdrive

Triiipy! Intro. I had a really strange dream repeats in my head even after it's stopped being repeated in the track. This is another fullon track as good as the 1st one. It makes me ask myself, if fullon can be this good then why isn't most of it? Another rolling baseline but it fits in well with the track and it's very psychedelic. I've never heard such psychedelic fullon :)

 

3 No More Ghosts

You can really hear Merv's influence. This track has some atmosphere about it. It feels dark in the same way the others did but didn't notice. The baseline in this is one of the best I've heard it's much different from the usual fullon stuff. It's dark and very very powerful & it really makes this track what it is. Monstrous! It's acidic & psychedelic too. Great stuff.

 

4 Next Stop

This track is (just) an above average fullon track. It can be quite psychedelic but you really have to listen carefully to get it. The sounds used are all pretty good and all but the whole is not equal to the sum of it's parts & something just doesn't do it for me. I think that the baseline in this isn't particularly good, too prominent & it makes the track sound generic.

 

5 FM 17

Damn!! Another trippy, high energy track without a prominent baseline. It's hard though & it's dripping with acid. Smooth, dreamy, metal acid! More indistinguishable vocal samples add to the dark industrial atmosphere.

 

6 This Can't Be Real

Random! Lots of random noises start the track but it settles down into a baseline driven dancefloor killer. It never loses the randomness though but it does start to feel like there is order in the chaos somehow coming together as a nice sounding track.

 

7 Acid Drome

Sounds slightly more sluggish than the previous tracks. The beat is still fast but it seems heavier giving it a slightly slower feel. This sounds like some heavy progressive. When you don't concentrate it seems to go nowhere but when you really listen there is actually a lot going on.

 

8 Side Effects

The same pounding paceof this track seems quicker than the last but has the same progressive feel. There is definately a lot more to this track than at first glance. You do have to listen to it though or it can sound quite samey if you're concentrating on something else. Quite progressive & really does work if you let it.

 

9 Voice Of

The finale stays in the same vein as the previous two tracks but just more trancey & more psychedelic. It sounds faster & more interesting on first listen and it holds up quite well on repeated listens although not quite aswell as the tracks on the 1st half of the album. It's a decent track but not very memorable.

 

 

So all in all I was impressed by this album & have listened to it a lot since I first got it. If you want another Dragon Tales or another Great Unknown then look elsewhere. As those two albums differed in style this is another complete overall of Koxbox's style. The 1st 6 tracks are very full on & most have the rolling baseline which is probably going to put of a lot of people. If you can get past your prejudices though you'll see that quality does indeed shine through & you can see that there can be very good fullon.

The last three tracks have a different feel, more progressive sounding, if very very heavy sounding prog. I don't think these are as good as the earlier tracks so the album has a lopsided feel for me.

Fullon/progressive with a very tech trance edge. It's a good album. If you don't have any preconceptions about this album you'll probably like it more.

 

Favourites #1, #2, #3, #5!, #6

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The first song is cool. It starts off slowly/interesting before taking off into this fast, somewhat more intense tech-trance. The MELODY(s)...They're catchy! Several others are cool but I like the first one most.

 

Unfortunately, after hearing other songs on this album....I don't find any of them nearly as engaging.

 

Track 5 sounds pretty cool with it's transistion change in the middle of the song...*whoosh* sounds that return the song to the more tech/trance-sounding rhythm. Track 5 has more character and sounds as it progresses which I like, and a cool little melody. But this album is NO Dragon Tales, or Forever After, or Great Unknown. Actually, it's not even being compared to their debut like the others so people may generally like this album more because it's in a totally different sub-genre me thinks.

 

The melodies here don't engage as well as few songs. I suppose track 6 is okay but that background repeating sound ever present throughout track 6 grates on me after a while.

 

Tracks 2, 3, 4 are too repetitive and uninteresting IMO. They never evolve into great action...dragging along as the minutes. Then again, this IS tech-trance. The artists add and subtract different psy-sounds as the song progresses. It's too basic sounding to me and I really enjoy a good amount of their earlier work.

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I'll post a review here as soon as I get the CD (should be around the weekend), but in the meantime I'd like to ask if those track-lenghts are correct, because the discogs' entry shows completely different times, especially for tracks #5 & #6.

 

What's up with that? :)

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I'll post a review here as soon as I get the CD (should be around the weekend), but in the meantime I'd like to ask if those track-lenghts are correct, because the discogs' entry shows completely different times, especially for tracks #5 & #6.

 

What's up with that? :)

614067[/snapback]

These are the track lengths shown on the CD I recieved from twisted records. They are correct unless my CD player is completely fucked up to remix every tune itself.

Or Twisted sent me a shortened version of FM. 15 minutes? Not on my CD, how about anyone else?

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The songs without the full-on bassline kinda remind me of the way they used to make tracks, but I think this album is too high in tempo as a whole to feel like a koxbox album. I reckon the Great Unknown was their peak, and Lunar Bin was like what Soma was to the Smashing Pumpkins. The other thing missing is irregular timings, wich they've done throughout their career here and there.

 

Also, The Great Unknown was a concept album - If you've read RAW's Cosmic Trigger, you'd note that the Great Unknown and the King of Jazz had excerpts from information supposedly channeled by Tim Leary while he was doing time.

 

This album thus far hasn't got that cohesiveness. I am not disappointed, because I am sure another album will come to fruition soon enough.

 

IN A WEEK WHO KNOWS, I COULD BE IN LOVE

(But for now, it is all minilogue/son kite)

 

Just putting it on again. I'd love to dance to this outdoors, but that doesn't mean it is a good album...

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Hi All !

 

The new KoxBox album is a double reason for be happy - this is actually the comeback of Mr. Frank E & more important - this is the life-sign from the most psychedelic label - Twisted Records.

" U-Turn " is presents the modern update style of KoxBox project with tons of hallucinate moments near some groovy parts. The album was released on September on the best label around - Twisted Records.

On the album you can find many combinations with a senior projects like Christof (Absolum), Merv (Eat Static) and more.

 

 

1. Crazy

The first track "Crazy" is a dance floor stormer with the unique vibe of Frank E. You can hear that the new materials of KoxBox are different from his old works, but I found it more mature and powerfull - hallucinate effects around with full-on'ish kick and of course a soft melody. Like the name, this is a crazy track which give us a clue about the continuance.

 

2. Buffer Override

This time KoxBox is unites forces with two legendary artists - Fredric Holyszewski & Christof. The result of this co-operation is excellent ! it's starts with super-psychedelic introduction, full of un-clear effects and some repeating vocal. I think the kick of the track is comes from Mr. Christof Absolum. "Buffer Override" is kind of combination between the 3D Vision's special power and the Twisted's unique atmosphere. "Track to the mind" .

 

3. No More Ghosts

Merv and Joey are the partners of Frank E now. "No More Ghosts" is a fascinating track, which remind me the old Twisted days. This is the perfect track for a listener's hallucinate trip around the world . The style is really similar to the Hallucinogen's style...the kind of tracks which play with the the brain again and again.

 

4. Next Stop

What a powerfull begining to this track. "Next Stop" is giving the brain a short break and focus now on the legs. This is a massive track with very pumping kick and smart baseline for an ultimate chaos. Some games like on 04:30 just take the track to higher levels of power and make more and mroe dust in the floor. Frank E & Christof - well done.

 

5. FM17

8 minutes of a dangerous experience. This is not a track I can desribe on words, because the feelings I get from the track are much more important than the track's structure. Try hear this one and understand what I'm talking about.

 

6. This Can't be Real

Track number six is a common work of Frank & Fredric. The track is full of delusions - when the listener expect for a full-power up (like on 0:50), he gets a calm flow, which gradually builds the track to the final target. The whole track is enjoyable for the ears, but it has nothing to do with the legs & hands .

 

7. Acid Drome

People be ready for the most complicated track you'll hear for long time. The "Acid Drome" is a track which hard to figure out from the first listening but when you hear it again and again - the special story behind is obvious. I see it as a Acid's syndrome, which starts to influence slowly and become stronger later. On 05:30 is the highlight of the Acid, which finished the process of controling the brain.

 

8. Side Effects

Her is the same cooperation like on the last track (Frank E & Lan Lon), but the consequences are different a bit. This one is more groovy and dancealbe with brilliant kick's enterace. The brake on 04:50 is turn the track to his deeper side with a nice melody, which followed the track on the next minutes together with more strange side effects.

 

9. Voice Of

The final track is a best choice for end this long, confusing & complicated journey. All you need to do is close your eyes and let the body respond automaticlly to the tunes. Too bad this trip is ending because "Voice Of" is leave taste for more.

 

All in all, the new KoxBox album is very special because it isn't has an one clear direction, it is varied and colorfull, due to all this cooperations, which always taking the tracks to different places.

People, if you like it - please show some support and respect to the artist & label by buy this CD original :

http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/twi/twi1cd029.html

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Tracks 1-4: Average

Tracks 5-9: Above average

 

Because of the many collaborations this is not a journey album, and that's a disappointment. A non-journey album can still be a solid album, but this one fails to be that because of the first four average/filler tunes. We should expect a lot more from an Eat Static + Frank E and Absolum, Deedrah + Frank E combo.

 

Reminder: Frank E and Ian Ion used to be Koxbox. Frank E and friends, that's something different.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Every track on this album has a one-note bassline (two at the most). Generic full-on kicks/hats, and absolutely sod all melodies, except the usual generic arpeggios. Oh sure, all sorts of acid-y, trippy psychedelic sounds and samples... but WHERE ARE THE MELODIES?

 

FM 17 has an okay main acid line but it takes ages for it to appear, and This Can't Be Real has a really nice 303-style bass line - yes, a real melody - but neither really develop beyond the usual psychedelic sounds and build ups. Acid Drome is interesting though: it's more of a hard acid techno track.

 

http://www.psyreviews.net/index.php?option...d=308&Itemid=46

 

I'd like to hear the album this guy heard, cause U-Turn bloody well ISN'T it. U-Turn = Overrated generic full-on trance album number 289257651 (but with some mildly creative acid sounds, rarely).

 

*Runs back to Shout Aluma*

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Every track on this album has a one-note bassline (two at the most).  Generic full-on kicks/hats, and absolutely sod all melodies, except the usual generic arpeggios.  Oh sure, all sorts of acid-y, trippy psychedelic sounds and samples... but WHERE ARE THE MELODIES?

 

FM 17 has an okay main acid line but it takes ages for it to appear, and This Can't Be Real has a really nice 303-style bass line - yes, a real melody - but neither really develop beyond the usual psychedelic sounds and build ups.  Acid Drome is interesting though: it's more of a hard acid techno track.

 

http://www.psyreviews.net/index.php?option...d=308&Itemid=46

 

I'd like to hear the album this guy heard, cause U-Turn bloody well ISN'T it.  U-Turn = Overrated generic full-on trance album number 289257651 (but with some mildly creative acid sounds, rarely).

 

*Runs back to Shout Aluma*

622743[/snapback]

hehe, its because its released by twisted, thats why it has such high rating :rolleyes:
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Some decent tracks (such as 7, 8 and 9), but I think some of the praise in this thread is excessive. It is above average full-on, but not that special.

 

In its genre, I have heard far worse. And yes, I am damning this release with faint praise.

 

 

 

Pedro

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I like the first impressions I have had from this album, I hav'nt been able listen to it all the way through in one go yet... Seems to be loosing the focus, it might come though, so far really like some of the first tracks :)

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I like this ok at times, and a couple tracks have some moments...

 

Overall though this is way less inspired sounding than earlier Koxbox...

 

I can't figure out the guy at www.psyreviews.com - I'd say he was plugging the album either for kickback's, or just to be a kiss-ass...

 

... But then again he totally pans the lame or mediocre albums - it's not like he's worried about people not sending him promos...

 

I just can't see how he could be THAT into this new Koxbox album, unless he was fantastically high when he heard it... I don't see how this album could be construed as anything remotely revolutionary or definative...

 

Does sound like fun dancefloor music though...

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had to post... reading the reviews here-- u-turn is simply not getting a fair shake. it's simply brilliant... an expression of pure form in fullon as opposed to an experiment. all the tracks resonate heavily in the head. overwhelmingly impressed in the versatility of koxbox over years... unbeatable...

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