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Vibrasphere - Exploring The Tributaries


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Artist: Vibrasphere

Title: Exploring The Tributaries

Label: Tribal Vision

Format: CD

Released: June 2007

 

 

Review:

 

After 3 albums on the two Swedish labels Spiral Trax and Digital Structures, Rickard Berglöf and Robert Elster are now ready with their 4th full-length album "Exploring The Tributaries" on the Czech label Tribal Vision - a label which in the last couple of years has marked itself as one of the best and most important new labels in the progressive scene. The Swedish duo, which is widely known under the name Vibrasphere, has been around for far longer than Tribal Vision Records, releasing some of the best and most emotional progressive trance, and is an act which has always had huge impact on me personally.

 

After the 3rd album released last year, "Archipelago", Vibrasphere released a track called "Floating Free" on Tribal Vision, and it turned out to be a huge success, getting plays by some of the biggest DJ's in the wide trance scene like Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk, Christopher Lawrence and Markus Schulz, and the new album is promising to be a more experimental and targeted towards a wider audience than the usual progressive psytrance crowd. So Vibrasphere is definitely a bigger name now than they were just one year ago - but are they any better? Read along for my opinion.

 

 

01. Heading North

The album starts with "Heading North" which is a 5-minute chillout intro. This can't really be a surprise, since all the first 3 albums also started with one chillout-tune to set the mood for the tracks to come. Surprising or not, it really does the trick - the theme is around leaving the civilation behind, with the sound of a train in the background and atmospheric voice-samples by Jasmine Ntoutoume. Great opener.

 

02. Erosion [117 BPM]

"Heading North" fluidly and effortlessly transitions into the steady beats of "Erosion". Running at only 117 BPM, this has a lazy, underwhelming feel to it, yet still with a sense of class and big, mesmerising sounds. It contains vocals by Irina Mikhailova who, truth to be told, never really impressed me with her singing, but this is an exception. Warm and stellar music suitable for both the chillout, as well as openminded dancefloors.

 

03. Isolation [125 BPM]

The tempo is raised a bit with "Isolation", the first of the really dancefloor oriented tunes on the album, and with vocals by Lisa Larsson. It has a big, trancy sound but with a more lazy approach, and an underlying trendy hint of electro in the low-end, compared to the material on "Archipelago". A bit anonymous at first, but when the Vibrasphere-trademark melodies come in the last 3 minutes, it does turn into a pretty good tune.

 

04. Vertical [130 BPM]

With "Vertical" the intensity is given a notch up - a trendy electro-groove gives it a bouncy, dancefriendly touch, yet still with the wide, trancy sound. With the current electro-trend in mind, this is bound to be one of the tunes from the album getting most plays at parties this year, but to me it seems a bit lacking some of the epic qualities to really make it a winner. Good, but not amazing.

 

05. In Control [134 BPM]

"In Control" was released as a single prior to the album with remixes by Chris Micali and Duca, and it's no surprise why it was chosen for a single-release. It's the first and only track on the album running over 130 BPM, and in sounds and structure it sounds pretty close to the hit "Floating Free", meaning phat and rolling electro-inspired bass, simple, yet effective vocals and catchy melodies. Good stuff.

 

06. 102 Miles From Here [128 BPM]

After some good but not excellent tunes, "102 Miles From Here" is, to me, the first track where Vibraspheres brilliance really shines through. The groove is so funky, yet not stressful in any way, and the immaculate Jean Michel Jarre like melodies and atmosphere in the peak of the track is the moment of the album for me. Simply a beautiful track - a tribute to the good times in life.

 

07. Wasteland [127 BPM]

The dancefloor section on the album ends with "Wasteland" - probably one of the most experimental trance-tracks Vibrasphere has made over the years. Gone are the intense rhythms that'll have the dancefloor in a frenzy, and instead we're treated with some lazy, minimal techish grooves for the after-hours, but still embellished in rich, trancy pads and melodies. Great track.

 

08. Forever Imaginary

Okay, on to the downbeat section on the album - Vibrasphere has always made some great chillout, and people have been hoping for a pure chillout album from the duo for years. "Forever Imaginary" starts out quite ok with uplifting and optimistic melodies, but over the 7 minutes it almost gets too much, bordering towards the too naïve and cheesy. Not a bad track by any means, but not great either.

 

09. Ensueño

Things get drastically better with "Ensueño". It has much deeper approach, with some truly beautiful acoustic guitar play by Mattias Johnsson (who also contributed to "Forever Imaginary"), subtle layers of blissful melodies and once again some beautiful vocal-work by Lisa Larsson. In my opinion one of the best downbeat-tunes Vibrasphere has ever made.

 

10. Mountain Lake

"Mountain Lake" is a fairly organic tune, with the calming sounds of water and with elements of both acoustic guitar, melodica and electric bass. The mood is melancholic, almost depressive, but still with an underlying hint of optimism. Nice track.

 

11. Yaku

The finale on the album is "Yaku" - a short (running for just over 2 minutes), but really emotional piece of music with voice-samples by Tina Casana Colque, spoken in the ancient Inca's language Quechua. Fairly interesting ending to the album.

 

 

Bottom line:

 

"Exploring The Tributaries" is no doubt the most experimental of the Vibrasphere albums so far, with a generally much slower and laidback approach than the first 3, a bigger emphasis on downbeat/chillout and elements from electro and even minimal - and surprisingly enough it doesn't sound as rushed as I had feared, since their last album was released only a year ago. That being said, I'm not as impressed as with the last two - there are moments of brilliance, but they aren't as frequent as on "Lime Structure" and "Archipelago".

 

Saying I'm disappointed in this album would definitely be wrong though - being a huge fan of their earlier releases, I'm guessing I was quite critical in my review, but overall I still think this a solid album, where Vibrasphere manages to evolve their sound. Recommended buy.

 

 

Favourites:

 

1, 2, 6(!!), 7, 9

 

 

Verdict:

 

8/10

 

 

Links:

 

Vibrasphere: http://www.vibrasphere.com

Vibrasphere @ Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/vibraspheremusic

Tribal Vision Records: http://www.tribalvision.cz

Tribal Vision Records @ Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tribalvisionrecords

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I'm also a fan of Vibrasphere and I am more into ambient music than psytrance tbh, so this release was really just into my taste. I love their previous work aswell. A mustbuy for me at least...

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Vibrasphere continues the excellent work! another great album from them! beauty vibes with pure wonderful melodies! i'm big fan of them and i'm waiting to see them in some live set to admire the! :)

my rating : 9,5 / 10

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i gave it several listens, but i find it very hard to like it after the brilliant previous album. This one gives me the feeling they released an album that misses 3 layers of sound per track.. They have a nice foundation but it lacks something.

too bad.

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i gave it several listens, but i find it very hard to like it after the brilliant previous album. This one gives me the feeling they released an album that misses 3 layers of sound per track.. They have a nice foundation but it lacks something.

too bad.

I too was a bit skeptic to what to think about this album. As a major Vibrasphere fan, I just expected something more like the previous work. However, I saw it for what it was, and just because I am dissapointed in that this does not sound like the previous work, I can not dismiss that this is one hell of a good ambient/minimal album. This album rocks from start to end! 10/10
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I was a bit skeptical when I first heard the samples, but since then I've been listening to the album over and over again. This is another strong Vibrasphere release. The only weak point are the downtempo tunes at the end of the album, it's not that their bad (they're really good), it's just that I wished that the there were even more uptempo tunes.

 

I remember that I criticized the previous album for being more of the same and I hoped that they would reinvent their sound, and that's exactly what they have done with this release.

 

The new album is as strong as their previous efforts and this time around their sound is taking new and exciting turns. This album will certainly introduce a wider audience to the Vibrasphere sound. Several of my friends who are not into psytrance feel in love with it immediately and I'm sure you will too.

 

Highly recommended!

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I was a bit skeptical when I first heard the samples, but since then I've been listening to the album over and over again. This is another strong Vibrasphere release. The only weak point are the downtempo tunes at the end of the album, it's not that their bad (they're really good), it's just that I wished that the there were even more uptempo tunes.

 

I remember that I criticized the previous album for being more of the same and I hoped that they would reinvent their sound, and that's exactly what they have done with this release.

 

The new album is as strong as their previous efforts and this time around their sound is taking new and exciting turns. This album will certainly introduce a wider audience to the Vibrasphere sound. Several of my friends who are not into psytrance feel in love with it immediately and I'm sure you will too.

 

Highly recommended!

its been now 4 days in a row listening to the album i have glued the earphones i mean the tunes magically tenderly tamper your brain waves ... and yeah i agree i wish if they had inserted more UP tempo tunes but woho all in all

 

I RANK THIS one of the best albums of 2007 SO FAR :D

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I'm very dissapointed in this album. Imo their previous work was awesome, but this is not the style im used to. Did they discover sidechain compression just recently? I mean 6 tracks one after another with the lead chained to the kick... As minimal album is ok, but this is not the usual ambient stuff ud hear from the well know group vibrasphere. :/

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I'm not thàt impressed neither.

Maybe I need to hear this album more often until it really sinks in & grabs me but that hasn't happend yet...

& I really LOVED all their previous work!

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I'm not thàt impressed neither.

Maybe I need to hear this album more often until it really sinks in & grabs me but that hasn't happend yet...

& I really LOVED all their previous work!

I agree. This stuff is different. I love it, but I still play the previous album more often than this one :lol:

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  • 2 months later...

This must be the progressive dance album I've ever had the pleasure to hear. :) :)

 

Although the deput "Lime Structure" left me quite cold, I wanted to check this one out. After all, Manzazilla was really solid tune on that one so I knew they had potential.

 

How this album progresses is really exceptional. It starts with 3 chilly house tunes. Erosion must be the best track of the year 2007. Such melodies you rarely hear. It starts with dubby beats and at the second half of the album it really peaks into heavenly heights with enormous trancey melodies. You need to hear this. Classic material already.

 

Then follows few electro-house tunes. The electro vibe is unique with its lightness. It's not too heavy on the ears.

But that's only part of the charm. The fat beats and background echos give enormous depth to the tracks. Well done Vibrasphere boys!

 

The closing chill-out tracks are also worth your while. Only little flaw is on the "mountain lake" track. It has enormous potential to even outshine "Erosion" with its delicate piano strings. I was hoping them to push the melody that starts even further (maybe key-change) but it awkwardly ends. Half baked track that could've been so much. Too bad. :(

 

Still, one of the highlights for this year. Varied interesting journey to housier side of trance and electro.

 

9/10 and recommended! ^_o

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Really solid, stunning album ! Top notch production, nice atmospheres and I agree with Oopie, Eroison is one of the best tracks of 2007, mellow, clubby, melodic prog bliss. Ambient tracks are so delicious, in factwhole album sounds delicious. Much better effort than previous one Archipelago. 8/10

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Amazing album!

:D

I beleive that Vibrasphere are No 1 electronic music act worldwide for the time being.

Exploring the tributaries & Archipelago are both unique.

I don't care if it's more housey or commercial. What comes from the heart goes to the heart, and this one really touched me...

 

p.s. First post here, nice forum guys, cheers!

:D

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  • 4 weeks later...

I loved the track "Vertical", excellent breakdown section :D

I love all the tracks... Every single one is unique in its own way, a great variaty in this album! track 2,6,7 are my favorites... And listen to that chill in Mountain lake... beautifulpeace of music

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I haven't listened to this album for a while and picked it up again about a week ago, it's amazing. I love it even more than when I got it. For me it's one of the best albums in my collection and once again proves how good Vibrasphere really is.

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