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Frantic Noise - The Nordland Orchestra


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Frantic Noise - The Nordland Orchestra

 

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Artist: Various

Title: The Nordland Orchestra

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Dark Prisma Records (Argentina)

Cat. #: DPR001

Distribution: Beatspace

Date: August 2006

 

Track listing:

 

01. 01’06” Frantic Noise – Fasten Your Diapers

02. 06’50” Frantic Noise vs. Collapse - Skyhack

03. 06’54” Frantic Noise – Spine Screwer

04. 07’44” Frantic Noise & Collapse – Ghost Call

05. 07’16” Frantic Noise – The Glow

06. 07’11” Megalopsy – Shit Winds

07. 06’29” Frantic Noise & Collapse – Psy Fiction

08. 07’02” Frantic Noise – The Boogieman Theme

09. 06’53” Frantic Noise & Audiopathik – Lokutus Welcome

10. 06’43” Shmaglers – Helioboy

11. 06’44” Frantic Noise & Pragmatix – Done For Good

 

Review:

 

Straight outta Buenes Aires… A crazy MF named z1P!

 

In 2005 Argentinean labels Transition Records and Dark Prisma Records teamed up on releasing Amalgama which was the ‘primer compilado de psytrance argentino’ - The very first psytrance compilation from Argentina! And what a pleasant experience that was. I was really surprised by the the sheer quality level of those Argentinean underground producers. Sure, Megalopsy had wow’ed me before with their debut album The Abstract Machine, (Trishula Records 2005) but this new talent pool really knew their way around a studio and I was especially impressed by the level of experimentation and by the fact that it wasn’t just another boring, formulated full-on compilation… It was really good, versatile stuff within the darker realms of psytrance!

 

Frantic Noise is z1P (Matías Benamo) from Megalopsy’s solo project and on this, his debut album, he’s joined by a bunch of his mates from and around Argentina… Let’s find out what they came up with.

 

Let me take you thru the tracks…

 

#01: Frantic Noise – Fasten Your Diapers

As legend has it, we kick things in gear with an intro track… A sonic excursion of Megalopsy’esque dimensions setting the pace for what’s about to go down… In history!

 

#02: Frantic Noise vs. Collapse – Skyhack [146 BPM]

“This is just in. A few moments ago. We don’t if something happened. Another explosion or if the building was so weakened. It just collapsed!” z1P is joined by P. Cufre and the mould has been broken… This is flaring, morphing psytrance designed to make you wiggle your ass on the dancefloor… Straight up, well-produced, driving psytrance with enough little twists, turns and quirks to ensure full attention form the lister… The radio-flicking halfway thru is an added bonus along with the well-placed haunting screams… And if that wasn’t enough, the bassline from hell ensures maximum pleasure! Awesome track!

 

#03: Frantic Noise – Spine Screwer [145 BPM]

This track was supposedly one of the first recorded for the album, but it sound super fresh… After some initial pounding and twirling melodies, the track really unleashed halfway thru… It’s driving psytrance with an unreal amount of pure acid sprinkled around… Multi-climactic psytrance when it’s best! The intensity level is unsurpassed, the layering is just amazing and I dare anyone ‘not to be’ completely soaked in by this acid-ridden monster of epic proportions… Lovely track!

 

#04: Frantic Noise & Collapse – Ghost Call [145 BPM]

Again Matías is joined by P. Cufre, and as the title suggests we’re now shifting towards darker, more evil horror trance… But it’s not boring, 165 BPM grindcore psy as some of the Russian labels are spewing out… This is well-crafted, eclectic night time psytrance with such appeal and stamina that I can’t help but be very, very impressed… So hypnotizing, so mesmerizing, yet so subtle… Hell yeah, this rocks!

 

#05: Frantic Noise – The Glow [146 BPM]

And here’s another piece of hard-hitting, spirit-lifting, soul-cleansing, trip-inducing, well-crafted nocturnal psytrance… This is so unbelievably full-on that it would make half the population of Israeli neo full-on producers run up a tree… Seriously! This is incredibly dense, action-packed, EPO-doped, propane-injected psytrance with not even a hint of cheese… A real party stomper which has undoubtedly caused havoc on the trance floors across the globe this summer… It’s extremely ripe!

 

#06: Megalopsy – Shit Winds [145 BPM]

“Mission control, this is commander Bubbles…” Next up is a new track from the hands of those who started the Argentinean psytrance revolution: Megalopsy (Matías Benamo & Nicolas Di Bernardo). And this track really goes to show just how talented these guys are – this is extremely versatile psytrance jam-packed with a gazillion funny little quirks, turns, twists, detours, frills and thrills… Kinda like Quasar or a drugged up version of Drumatik… Full-power uplifting psytrance with subtle melodies and all kinds of twisted stuff which will make you dance, laugh and gaze… Sweet!

 

#07: Frantic Noise & Collapse – Psy Fiction [146 BPM]

The last Collapse collaboration is another action-packed adventure into maximal psytrance… Again the progression level is downright impressive and just how the guys managed to make 146 BPM psytrance sound this funky I will never know… But I do know that this is as groovy as it gets in these altitudes… The acid is unleashed again, but it’s in such a subtle way that it never gets tedious… Pure, unfiltered full-on psytrance with more than just a few surprises in store… Kick-ass!

 

#08: Frantic Noise – The Boogieman Theme [147 BPM]

This one is more straight-forward night trance… Don’t get me wrong, this is Frantic Noise after all so it’s still highly nurtured epic stuff, but this one didn’t have as much bite as some of the previous tracks did… Some of the passages sound just a little jaded compared to the rest… The funny thing is, that this would be a stand-out track on a compilation… But on this album, the stand-out tracks are rubbing shoulder against shoulder… Still an ace track though!

 

#09: Frantic Noise & Audiopathik – Lokutus Welcome [148 BPM]

Here’s a guest appearance from Mexico embodied by Gilbert Wendlandt and Alex Urias who’ve had a handful of tracks released on different labels… The track starts out with some really atmospheric instrumentation before the actual thrust begins… And by thrust, I mean serious thrust… As revealed by the BPM count this is the fastest track here and that fact does not go by unnoticed… But unlike other ‘darkpsy’ tracks, this one actually manages to stay interesting for the most part… The beastly, über-hard hitting passages goes down really well and it’s virtually impossible not to be overwhelmed by this… The bassline is a little blunt at times, but only for brief moments and generally this is another sure-fit hit!

 

#10: Shmaglers – Helioboy [136 BPM]

Shmaglers is Frantic Noise, Collapse, and Pragmatix in cahoots, and by dropping the BPM 12 beats the album takes a surprising turn… It still sounds very fresh though and just goes to show that these guys aren’t confined within a limited BPM range… The next track underlines that even more! The guitar work here is maybe a little over the top and prevents me from grading this as a stand-out, but it’s still an excellent track with plenty of crunch… Tasty!

 

#11: Frantic Noise & Pragmatix – Done For Good [82 BPM]

On the final track z1P is joined by Pragmatix (Jorge Uema) who’s also a member of Prismatix. As you might’ve guessed, this is experimental downbeat. But don’t think that this is chilled out – it’s very far from it. It still has that darkish touch to it, though this is confined in a more electro/dubby nature… Very unique and it’s fitting for coming down after the intensity of this amazing album.

 

Holy smirks! This album beats the shit out of both the wonderful Megalopsy album The Abstract Machine and the lovely Amalgama compilation as the best thing ever to surface from the South African side of the Southern Hemisphere… That’s right, this is stellar stuff and there’s nothing even remotely close to a boring, predictable track here… The stand-out tracks are many and even the less good tracks are still pretty damn sweet! I’m very impressed and from where I’m sitting, the future of Argentinean psytrance looks very bright! Keep it up gauchos!

 

The artwork by Daniel Igarza is eye candy – and the informative booklet is just the icing on the already delicious cake. Another reason why this album rocks! Fans of the first compilation and Megalopsy fans needs to own this, and fans of eclectic, experiemental psytrance should most definitely also look into it... Trust me, it’s worthy of a lot of attention... I’d even go as far as to call it an essential 2006 release... Enjoy!

 

Favourites: 2(!), 3(!!), 4, 5(!), 6, 7, 9(!)

 

DeathPosture

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External links:

Dark Prisma Records: http://www.darkprisma.com.ar

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/684212

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/y42tyr

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/y7kjzv

Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/y5s7qt

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/y9cvbx

Cisco: http://tinyurl.com/y2d8zm

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  • 3 weeks later...

What an album. Words really fail to describe this for me. It's extremely streamlined, a finished product, a journey in itself. Love it.

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  • 8 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Damn if this didn't sneak under the radar. DarkPsy yet melodic? C'mon! Really? But I thought...screechy noizes...with the fast bpm?!? This is quite the gem. Pounding beats yet a melody that you can focus on as it carries you deeper into some scary territory. Well done. Can they see South Africa from where they are?

 

Mdk

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  • 14 years later...

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