Guest antic Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Artist: RealityGrid Title: Reality Check Cat. No: WILDCD005 Label: WildThings Records Released: 04 May 2007 Info & samples: arabesque.co.uk myspace.com/realitygrid Buy here: saikosounds psyshop wirikuta The review: Back in 2005 the then-unknown UK label WildThings Records released their debut V/A "Wild Rumpus". Just few listens of the samples in internet shops made me realise that this is the sound I was looking for, the sound I thought we'll never hear again, the true back-to-the-roots kind of thing. Two of the tracks on that compilation were written & produced by RealityGrid - a duo consisting of Alex Diplock and Leon Kane. Since then, Alex has already managed to release a highly acclaimed solo debut album "Harmonic Module" as EVP (Electronic Virtual Psychedelia) and two new tracks on V/A "Alpha Rhythms". Leon took his time apparently, as there is only one track under his Avalon moniker that I know of, however it was one of the highlights of the V/A "Alpha Rhythms" with its infectious and screaming melodic line. Sadly, the RealityGrid tracks featured on that CD ware far from satisfying in my opinion. I felt they lack punch and flow; they seemed a bit uninspired. I was asking myself then - how can this be possible, that those guys who create such wonderful tracks alone can't work the same magic together? Well, I'm glad to report that they still can! "Reality Check", their debut album and 5th release from WildThings Records features an artwork from none other, but Alex Diplock himself. The guy's multi talented it seems, because apart from writing great music, he created a unique and eye-catching inlays for their debut. The theme for it is based around a graphical representation of the reality grid - "the interconnected DNA matrix of the physical plane, the structure that contains the holographic blueprints of our micro / macro-cosmic fractal dimension". Pretty far out, eh? Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from two skinny, long-haired hippies freaking out on stage behind their mixing console! Suffice to say, the artwork pretty much accurately reflects the mood of the tunes. Also the greenish colours might attract a confused Matrix fan, which is a plus for labels and artists fighting for each dollar with Internet these days... I was planning to make a track-by-track review, but it proved impossible in this case. It is beyond my vocabulary and imagination to describe some of the sounds they use! The full-on bass line is probably the only typical thing here, but even in this area they try to be innovative – their rhythmic section is always funky and playful; the changes in pitch and velocity make it much more interesting than those overused 16-notes machine gun bass lines. The drum loops – despite being quite simple in construction for the most part – give that extra power and punch to the tracks. But what is really interesting, are the lead sounds. They start with a simple waveform in a plain few-notes sequence, which doesn't sound very exciting at first, but as the track progresses they add more and more effects to the sound and mangle it beyond recognition. Adding layers of noise from the whole range of sonic spectrum they managed to create unique, rhythmic and musical patterns, even though there's not much music in a traditional, melody-on-a-scale meaning in there. What I particularly liked is that rare feeling that it is not a loop-based music. Hard to explain it really, because obviously it is created from loops, but all this tweaking and modulations make the impression of listening to live, jammed music! You can almost see those two twisting the knobs like crazy, tranced-out shamans of sound! The variety of effects the use - filters (low-pass, hi-pass, ban-pass and notch), distortions, flangers, ring modulations, delays & reverbs - adds to the richness of the music – you listen to a high-pitched hi-pass filtered melodic sequence, then suddenly few bars after that sequence turns into bassy and crunchy background noises. The way all those tracks are arranged and are interacting with each other creates a feeling as if you were transported back to the good old heydays of goa-trance, but instead of eastern scale uplifting melodies and Shiva statues you're thrown in front of a wall of up- and down-spiralling alien acid sounds. They succeeded at producing that sharp, metallic and squelchy sound that we expect of today's psytrance, but at the same time they stayed away of all those cheap dark-trance sounds and cliché tricks on one side and cheesy plastic production techniques on the other. They've struck a balance somewhere in between, creating a niche of their own; a modern day psychedelic trance in its purest form. If you add to that the impeccable, crisp and meaty production, then you can be sure that any of those tracks can go through the dance floor like a hurricane. But, there's always a 'but'. In case of the album at hand, it is the problem of sameness. Most of the tracks follow the same pattern – there's an atmospheric background at the beginning, a more or less full-onish beat and pushing waves of spiralling, screechy & squelchy sounds. Then, at around 2:30 – 3:30 mark there's a break when all the rhythmic activity stops and the ambient noises are re-introduced with occasional spoken sample thrown for a variety in couple of tracks. Few seconds after the music strikes back in full force, pushing and pushing even further until the final run, sometimes interrupted for tension with a short wind-down at around 4:30-5:00 mark. No doubt it works a treat on the dance floor, but in the context of home listening it makes the whole listening experience a tad bit less enjoyable. It is a collection of storming dance floor tunes, rather than an album with a concept or journey. But I'm sure, with talents like theirs, we'll see that sooner or later… Interesting thing is that after 5 days of listening to it in various conditions (home, car, work etc.) I still can't pick my favourite tracks – they all seem to be equally good! If I'd had to choose, I'd say that the tracks that stray away of or add to the above mentioned formula are a bit more interesting, for example "Daylight Safari" for being slightly more melodic then others, "Rehabit" for its hilarious drugs addicts samples, "Starting Grid" for its heavy beat and crunchy leads ripped off of Alienated's "Fluff factory" or "Extra Terrestrial Integration" for incredible final run, juicy mid-section and beautiful helium-poisoned congas. The bottom line: So, if you're looking for a truly underground, intelligent and powerful psychedelic trance music, that will bring back the memories of the past whilst still sounding up-to-date, then you can't miss this CD. Even though the sound is pretty much similar throughout the album, it still is very unique and individual in the context of the whole scene – they do not copy anyone, which is good enough a reason to give it a try in those times, when following a trend to cash in on a tested formula is a norm… 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawelek Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 This is an excellent album. Very originall all the way, from the beggining to the end. Remind me a bit of latest Tristan album. Definately one of the highlights of 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 This is an excellent album. Very originall all the way, from the beggining to the end. Remind me a bit of latest Tristan album. Definately one of the highlights of 2007. Heh, don't know why this reminds you of Tristan, but it sure is a great album on its own... If you liked it, you should also check other albums from this label: Error Corrective - Fade Instinct EVP - Harmonic Module Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawelek Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Didnt like those 2 you mentionmed above. Reality Grid remind of the newest tristan's works mainly because of the similar in sound, beat and kick. At least 3-4 tracks... "reality - grid - sacred toad' would be the best example in comparison with tristan' "no gurantees" track There are more to compare of course but this's just the best example i can think of right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_kolibri_ Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 this album didn't really hit me but maybe I should give it another chance. Felt through too similar somehow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 this album didn't really hit me but maybe I should give it another chance. Felt through too similar somehow... Well yes. As I wrote in my review all tracks ARE similar and I only began to recognise them after 10-15 listens. It is more of a showcase what they can do on a dance floor than proper, journey-esque album. That's why I gave it 'only' 4 out of 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_kolibri_ Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Well yes. As I wrote in my review all tracks ARE similar and I only began to recognise them after 10-15 listens. It is more of a showcase what they can do on a dance floor than proper, journey-esque album. That's why I gave it 'only' 4 out of 5 I should maybe try to listen to it with the 1 song per day tactic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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