abasio Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 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... 629338[/snapback] Never thought that people might have different taste to you? I liked this album, it didn't thrill me but I could easily see how others could be thrilled by it. It is good, I'm just not that in to the style. 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... 633614[/snapback] Case in point! I quite liked it mate but not as much as you it seems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 One of the best releases this year (well, so far)... True it doesn't sound like other Twisted stuff, and doesn't remind old Koxbox a single bit... But, who cares? When I first saw the cover few months ago I've immediately spotted the alien-eyes from their first album and thought to myself "this is a good sign!" The album makes full 180-degrees turn musically (hence the "U-turn" title) and goes back to their techno roots. There's much more techno here, than there is goa/psy. That's why I can understand many people being dissapointed, however I cannot subscribe to that point of view. Remember "The Great Unknown"? How many people were pissed of at the direction they've taken on that album? Many were saying about them "losing it", "selling for money" etc... But, from perspective of time it is now regarded as one of their best works. This new album is similar. There's only one member now, but he collaborated with other artists on all tracks and this makes for great variation of sound / moods on the album. Some tracks are full-on, other are more technoish and then some feel more progressive. But, they all have that cyber- / alien- dark feeling beneath them, which is what I liked best about it. Some tracks are instant floor-killers (1, 2, 4 and 6), while other need more focus and effort to truly appreciate the mastership (3, 5 and 7). It really makes me wanna laugh when I think about stuff people nowadays call "dark-psy" or "tech-trance", because this is so much better, so much more mature. If there's anything "wrong" with this album, then it's probably track order. Personally, I'd rather have it starting with more progressive tracks and ending with full-on ones. But that's not a problem really and I can understand why they've put the most powerful tunes in the beginning (buying based on previews). 4.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healium Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Never thought that people might have different taste to you? I liked this album, it didn't thrill me but I could easily see how others could be thrilled by it. It is good, I'm just not that in to the style. Ok maybe I'm being a little closed-minded but still... Let me say it like this - if this wasn't Koxbox but some unknown act that released this album, I bet it wouldn't get much notice... Music is weird though, sometimes when I hear something at first I just don't "get it" at all, and later I do... The first couple times I've heard this album it isn't bad, but sounds an awful lot like a bunch of other stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackCheese Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I was surprised reading that damion psyreviews of all people rated this album 10/10 (yeah I like his reviews). Can't believe I overlooked this release.. although other people told me this was just another 'legends-turns-into-random-fullon'. What the..! I wonder who's closest to the truth (apart from the fact personal taste always differs anyway) *mind-boggled * Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I was surprised reading that damion psyreviews of all people rated this album 10/10 (yeah I like his reviews). Can't believe I overlooked this release.. although other people told me this was just another 'legends-turns-into-random-fullon'. What the..! I wonder who's closest to the truth (apart from the fact personal taste always differs anyway) *mind-boggled * 634886[/snapback] If you expect old Koxbox from this release, then you can easily skip it and save us comments from another dissapointed bloke, who will moan about it being different than "Dragon Tales". If you however take the music for what it is, then you can actually enjoy it as much as I - and many others - did. I'm far from Damion's enthusiasm on this one and I can't say it's the most important psytrance release since... whatever. It's just good, better than most of today's so called psytrance. It's got a lot of techno in it, some full-on and some progressive / electro. It's an eclectic album, because it was written by a bunch of people. Some may call it 'inconsistent', I call it 'diverse'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackCheese Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 If you expect old Koxbox from this release, then you can easily skip it and save us comments from another dissapointed bloke, who will moan about it being different than "Dragon Tales". If you however take the music for what it is, then you can actually enjoy it as much as I - and many others - did. I'm far from Damion's enthusiasm on this one and I can't say it's the most important psytrance release since... whatever. It's just good, better than most of today's so called psytrance. It's got a lot of techno in it, some full-on and some progressive / electro. It's an eclectic album, because it was written by a bunch of people. Some may call it 'inconsistent', I call it 'diverse'. 635029[/snapback] I'll always take the music for what is, I'm not even that familiar with the old Koxbox. Sounds good enough to be checked out to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathPosture Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Koxbox – U-Turn Artist: Koxbox (Denmark) Title: U-Turn Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Twisted Records (UK) Cat. #: TWSCD29 Distribution: Twisted Date: 21 September 2006 Track listing: 01. 06’56” Crazy 02. 07’52” Buffer Overdrive 03. 08’24” No More Ghosts 04. 07’43” Next Stop 05. 08’08” FM 17 06. 07’21” This Can’t Be Real 07. 07’27” Acid Drome 08. 08’06” Side Effects 09. 08’49” Voice Of Review: The triumphant return of Koxbox… Legendary act Koxbox has always been trance royalty – in all shapes and forms. Founding members were Danish pioneers Frank Kiehn Madsen (aka Frank'e), Ian Johansson (aka Ian Ion), Peter Frellesen (aka Peter Candy) who left the group in 1998. The musical styles they offered ranged from technoid EDM over progressive tech to full-fledged acid-drenched goa trance. Their various guises have also included Psychopod and later Saiko-Pod which was an offshoot for more in-depth electronica. When the Danish group first catapulted onto the acid-techno scene in the early 1990ies their sound was already lusciously refined EDM, and the band has successfully managed to revamp their sound throughout the last decade. When the global goa trance movement was preparing its worldwide assault in 1993/1994 Koxbox was omnipresent with their acid-ridden teKkno and when they released their debut album Forever After (Harthouse/1995) they successfully fused old school techno with (at the time) modern day goa trance. A legend was born. What really elevated the group’s status was their triumphant 2nd album Dragon Tales (Blue Room Released/1997) which is unquestionably their opus magnum and an album that has forever carved its name on the list of most seminal goa trance albums of all time. Just before the turn of the millennium Peter Candy left the group and Koxbox took a new direction with their very mature and progressively built The Great Unknown (Liquid Soundz 1999) album. Seven years later Koxbox is now a one-man act (Frank’e) though old-time pal Ian Ion joins in on a few tracks here… I’ve always been a huge Koxbox fan and I still remember the first time I saw them live @ Hurricane Harbour in Aalborg, Denmark in 1997. An amazing experience which will be etched in my mind forever. Suffice to say, I’ve been VERY excited since this come-back album was announced on the legendary UK-label Twisted. The impressive list of guest stars on all the tracks didn’t do much to curb my enthusiasm either… Let’s find out if the magic is still there… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Crazy The first track was made with Tube (Pini Alon) one of the Chemical Crew guys… I’ve never been a Chemical Crew fan, but this track sure has its moments despite it being blatant full-on… I’m not a fan of the guitars or the rolling bassline… But everything else here works like a charm… The twirling synth cords and the heavy tech-reverbs are really lush. The melodies are plush and the stretched pads are the sexy icing on the cake along with the subtle touch of ancient psychedelic Koxbox. One of the better Ibiza-trax I’ve heard recently… Approved! #02: Buffer Overdrive “I had a really strange dream…On television!” Next up is a track that Frank’e made in cahoots with legendary French goa maestros Frédéric Holyszewski (Dado, Deedrah, Synthetic) and Christof Drouillet (Absolum) – together better known under their Transwave alias and that fact does not go by unnoticed here. The familiar flaring, uplifting melodies from 10 years ago are still very much present in this delicious track. Transwave has been dissed a lot lately for their disappointing turn to generic full-on, but luckily there’s nothing boring or formulated about this… Sure, it’s full on, but it’s damn tasty full-on and I’m sure it will revive some people’s faith in modern full-on. Mine included. This is trippy, smile-cracking full-on psytrance. Lovely. #03: No More Ghosts “No more ghosts, no more fuzzy pictures!” On this track Frank’e is joined by none other than Eat Static/Ozric Tentacles (Joie Hinton & Merv Pepler)… And this is where the fun REALLY starts. The plot has thickened, the ante has been upped, the stakes have been raised and the old party-boom stick has been hammered to the ground unleashing an unprecedented wave of psychedelia… Hell yeah, this is AWESOME stuff… A pounding, heavily filtered marching bassline pumping alongside an unsane doze of tweaked acid-lines and sonic TIP.World’esque antics… A gargantuan track which continues to render me short of breath… Awesome! #04: Next Stop Christof is back for round two on a track which unwillingly becomes a little less appealing following such a monster of a track… It’s not bad though – this type of acid-ridden full-on is still miles above the mind-numbing, generic stuff pouring out of Israel these days… What we get here is high-pitched, fast-paced, cord-catapulting, drilling psytrance which is bound to keep most dancers extremely busy on the trance floors… In essence it’s DJ friendly stuff. In-your-face dancefloor napalm – that’s less efficient for wholesome sofa trancing… A quality ‘filler’ so to speak. But miles above what would normally be described as a filler or transition track. #05: FM 17 Old-timer Mino (Meir Vaknin) of Orion-fame joins Frank on this track – and this is another instant classic that will teleport you right back to 1997… After a somewhat eerie and minimal intro, all hell brakes loose when the track morphs into a pure old-school techno fest with a hard-hitting, pounding, steady bass… The trip-factor is taken up a notch when the synths enter the equation and everything goes ballistic half way thru when the pace increases and unreal amounts of acid is unleashed… Forget everything about uplifting full-on and fluffy melodies; this is über-murky tech-trance with enough acid to kill a middle sized African country… This will suck you in, chew you up real good and spit you right back out in a matter of seconds… Un-fucking-believable! Stellar track! #06: This Can’t Be Real Frédéric Holyszewski is also back for a second track with Frank’e and whereas their first attempt leered heavily on full-on this is much deeper psychedelic techno… The main attraction here is the hypnotizing, deep pounding mesmo-beat which this track is built around… Driving, focussed cross-over trance which has an unprecedented fresh sound… Great for dancing, but even better for trancing and romancing… It’s pretty simple really, but so very lush too… Very interesting! #07: Acid Drome And for the final three tracks Frank’e is joined by his long time companion and fellow Koxbox founder Iao Ion (Ian Johansson)… The Overlord himself! And yeah, this is exactly what it says on the box: Old-school, acid-ridden, low-ripping, flesh-stripping, overwhelming psychedelic techno with more than a few surprises in store… The punch is relentless and the stamina is downright impressive… These guys still know exactly how to fuck with our heads, move our feet and drop our jaws… Resistance is futile – you *will* surrender to the vibe… Trust me on this! A massive choon! #08: Side Effects This is another one of those Ian Ion/Frank’e trax that you’ve had wet dreams about for years and years… That’s right; this is Koxbox at their best almost up to par with their prime work 10 years ago… Fast-paced, propane-injected, dancefloor-friendly, spliff-worthy psytrance with a big old slice of techno thrown in just to freak you out even more… Murky at times, nightmarish at others, but always 100% focussed and incredibly well produced… I’m running out of superlatives here, so let’s just say that this is another sure-fit instant classic on so many levels. Eclectically brilliant! #09: Voice Of On the final track Frank & Ian are joined by techno-wizard Xavier Morel – and oh my, I’ll be damned if it doesn’t manage to get even deeper, murkier and more deranged… This is pumping, slap-in-the-face psychedelic techno… Wall-to-wall maximal stuff that will freak out your cat, annoy your neighbours and scare the living shit out of your mates… Heavy stuff, but so well carried out that you can only ponder what the fuck just hit you… Immensely thrilling stuff and the perfect way to end a truly remarkable album. So there you have it. An absolutely essential Koxbox album which has immediately earned itself a place in the annals of psytrance history. As always the Koxbox sound has matured, evolved and sought new directions – which undoubtedly has left old-schoolers and purists disappointed. Not me though – I love how this album flirts both with disaster (full-on) and gives the finger to the same full-on crowd (techno) and still manages to pay homage to legacy of ancient goa trance at the same time. There are no bad tracks here, but obviously some are better than other – and seen in that light I prefer the technoid tracks over the full-on ones… But as a whole this album works as the near-perfect entity underlining that Koxbox is still very much alive and well. Hats off to Frank’e + friends for creating something so special and eclectic. This will stand as a benchmark album for years to come. Trust me. The stand-out tracks rub shoulders here and especially the second half is absolutely riddled with one monstrous track after the other… The star parade of guest stars all contribute interesting input and Frank’s touch is still as magical as it was back in 1991. The subtle, but lovely artwork also sends a friendly nod back to the artwork of 1995s Forever After. Well done Twisted Records for once again catapulting Koxbox right onto the psytrance A-list. This album is absolutely essential and I’ll give it my warmest recommendations… Enjoy! Favourites: 2, 3(!!), 5(!!), 6, 7(!!), 8(!!), 9 DeathPosture External links: Koxbox: http://www.koxbox.dk Twisted Records: http://www.twisted.co.uk Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/792578 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/uoher Selectadisc: http://tinyurl.com/y7fg45 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/y5n4c3 Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y8mk2r Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/sdutc Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/u69le Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/ta3pd Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/wrr9h Play: http://tinyurl.com/ukt2v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dajek Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 buffer overdrive is ok to my taste... would need some better construction and building-up tho... progression u know. Rest of the album doesn't cope with me too well.. maybe it will grow on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 I swear every month there's some CD that people are claiming to revolutionize trance or whatever. I don't see what the fuss is about, these tunes are generic as fuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 I swear every month there's some CD that people are claiming to revolutionize trance or whatever. I don't see what the fuss is about, these tunes are generic as fuck. 643944[/snapback] Oh come on! That's a bit harsh, don't you think?! Point me to tracks similar to "No More Ghosts", "FM17" or "Acid Drome". I'd be grateful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 astrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 astrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time_Trap Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 astrix 644873[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 :R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted November 17, 2006 Author Share Posted November 17, 2006 astrix 644873[/snapback] What the fuck are you talking about willis? Astrix never made anything close to this! Don't slag something off before you've listened to it! Just hearing the fullon baseline doesn't give you the right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 k actually i just typed the first fullon guy i could think of. but seriously ive never gotten the hype around koxbox. and for the record i have listened to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted November 17, 2006 Author Share Posted November 17, 2006 k actually i just typed the first fullon guy i could think of. but seriously ive never gotten the hype around koxbox. and for the record i have listened to it. 644948[/snapback] Did you give it a good listen? Or did you give it the sort of half hearted listen you give things when you expect not to like it? I've been guilty of that myself many times in the past & some of the stuff I listened to later & was fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exotic Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Good album ! Really enjoy track 2 the most. Nothing groundbreaking but still pretty darn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 It's not that I don't like the album, I did find some songs catchy/good. I never said it was BAD, I'm just saying people are hyping this up like it's something radically different when it's not. And it happens so much on here that it's getting lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 It's not that I don't like the album, I did find some songs catchy/good. I never said it was BAD, I'm just saying people are hyping this up like it's something radically different when it's not. And it happens so much on here that it's getting lame. 645000[/snapback] You accused it of being 'generic as fuck'. But it's far from being generic. There is a fullon bassline in 1, 2 & 4 but that's just about it. I don't think it 'revolutionised the genre' as Damion said, but it is still levels above most stuff released nowadays. We have to accept, that currently all releases will have some sort of full-on influences, because otherwise they will not be seen as 'psytrance' by majority of today's market and artists need to sell their music to survive. But, there is much more to 'psytrance' than only the bassline, and this is where this CD shines through. It's almost like you were arguing about some rock band being sucky, because they use drums, guitars & vocals... To some extent it is not about what sounds you use, but how you use them. Koxbox knows how to use them. Better than 90% of other 'psytrance' artists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr0fane Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I still have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the production is absolutely stunning, and it does contain some good tracks that I could easily imagine playing in a full on or techtrance set, but on the other hand it is undoubtedly the least challenging and musically interesting Koxbox/Saiko-Pod album to date. Good album overall by todays standard, but given the fact it's a Koxbox album I must say I'm a bit disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jikkenteki Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Not every cd needs to be revolutionary or ground breaking. In fact I'd argue that if every cd was, life would be pretty boring. But just because a CD doesn't completely change all the rules doesn't mean it can't be damn good. U-Turn doesn't really give me anything where I go "damn I've never heard something like that before", but it gives me a lot of moments where I go "damn that's good". In the end I don't really care what an artist does as long as they do it well, and I think Koxbox did it well here, elsewise it wouldn't keep getting into my CD player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Man I wasn't even talking about the basslines, I really don't care if they use fullon basslines. It's like profane said; it's not musically interesting/innovative. And yeah it doesn't have to change the rules but when everybody is claiming that it does then you kinda expect it to... I agree that the production is really good, but I don't rate albums on the clarity of the bassline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I still have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the production is absolutely stunning, and it does contain some good tracks that I could easily imagine playing in a full on or techtrance set, but on the other hand it is undoubtedly the least challenging and musically interesting Koxbox/Saiko-Pod album to date. Good album overall by todays standard, but given the fact it's a Koxbox album I must say I'm a bit disappointed. 645024[/snapback] Exactly how i feel. The heritage is too damn heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trance2MoveU Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I still have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the production is absolutely stunning, and it does contain some good tracks that I could easily imagine playing in a full on or techtrance set, but on the other hand it is undoubtedly the least challenging and musically interesting Koxbox/Saiko-Pod album to date. Good album overall by todays standard, but given the fact it's a Koxbox album I must say I'm a bit disappointed. 645024[/snapback] Although I am not a DJ, I would have to agree with all that you said. I was expecting a lot more because...well..it's Koxbox! This is not one of those CDs that I couldn't live without, but I think I will give it another listen. And yes...the hype machine jammed this release right in your face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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