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Headroom - Artelligent


Ake

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01. Headroom - I Don't Tech No For An Answer

02. Headroom - Stereotype Writer

03. Headroom - The Vaab Rater (Recharged)

04. Headroom vs. Danalog - Snap, Crackle & Poppers

05. Headroom - Artelligent

06. Headroom - 3-4 To The Floor

07. Headroom - Deadroom

08. Headroom - Mr. T. Nitis

09. Headroom - Will Never End

 

One of the most anticipated albums for the last year, from one of the freshest acts on the planet...

 

...Headroom's 'Artelligent' is set to be a classic album for years to come. Stomping-Psychedelic party tunes of the highest order, that move through a range of acid drenched grooves, emotions and atmospheres. Every tune an effortless rollercoaster ride that shakes your very foundations to the core, and demands that you get up and Trance!

 

With a production quality which far surpasses anything someone may expect from a debut album, 'Artlligent' looks set to firmly establish the already highly in demand Headroom as a major force on the global Psy circuit, and will surely inspire a fresh batch of new approaches by producers everywhere trying to match his brilliant dancefloor flavour.

I didn't see a review of this brilliant album here, so i had to go forward. It's the best modern Psytrance album i ever listened to. It's not recommended to people who prefer melodic Full On, but everybody who likes quality acid influenced PsyTrance that isn't too aggressive should definitely check this out. All tracks are close to be called 'perfect'. Not overloaded with sounds, but not too minimal either. Funky arrangements all over, and also some small mysterious sounding melodies. The basslines are bouncy, but not too aggressive like they are in most modern Psytrance productions. Excellent music!

 

Favorites: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7

 

:posford:

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Guest antic

I didn't see a review of this brilliant album here, so i had to go forward. It's the best modern Psytrance album i ever listened to.

Not quite, IMO... It is good, even very good in places, like e.g. tracks #1-3, 7 and 8. But there's nothing new here, although it feels like this guy really knows what he's doing - the production is shining, the ideas are OK and arrangements very nice. With pretty simple sounds he's able to create some captivating atmospheres, to put some variety in otherwise standard full-on material. For example in #1 (I don't tech no for an answer), there's this sort of classical music loop that goes in- and out-, that makes it all the more interesting and musical. In #2 (Stereotype writer) he uses clever chord stabs and the final run with screaming acid line a'la old Infected Mushroom is delicious. Track #3 (The vaab rater) has some kind of baroque sound to it, due to the swirling loop in the background, topped with crystalline acid stabs made famous by Space Cat's old releases. Track #7 (Deadroom) is an acid gallore and #8 (Mr. T. Nitus) has some clever key changes and sound manipullations.

 

On the other hand tracks #4, 6 and 9 I find annoying - first one for its emptiness and unpleasant (IMO!) chord progression, the second one for the 3/4 rhythm, which simply does not work in simple full-on. Leave it to Juno Reactor and Simon P! The last track is fairly OK, I'm simply not sure about the key changes - they seem too cheesy / happy / hackneyed.

 

Overall, it's another pretty strong release from Nano recently, although not as good as e.g. AMD - BigFish. If you liked the style of Error Corrective's "Fade Instinct" from last year, then this is more of the same, both with respect to the atmospheres, sounds and energy; but I found that album much more creative, adventureous and constistent quality-wise.

 

This one is just average.

 

3/5

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I think this is a really classy album. There are a few weak tracks on it (track 4 for eg) but that really doesnt matter. An album cannot have all killers no fillers. This is going to work on the dancefloor (whether outdoor or indoor) like a charm. Tracks 1,2 , 7 and 8 are my favourite . The subtle grooves and melodies are shweeeet! I didnt get blown away or anything but i have to say that artelligent is mosdef a contender for best full-on this year along with zen mechanics and digicult. Only time will tell which one wins :D

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Guest antic

...a contender for best full-on this year along with Zen Mechanics...

Yeah, "Lost Cities" is sweet, especially the tracks with Allaby and Headroom! :posford:

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One of the best psychedelic trance albums of the year in my opinion.

+10 this the new fullon, non cheesy stuff, a continue of variety, very nice kicks, one layer trance

, very mature and powerful fullon,

other albums I won't could compare it, hoodwink, hyperion, burn in noise,

 

I made a mix with those, nice kick and fast floating sounds, a high lever to be categorized as fullon,

 

well done...

 

i really dig this kind of fullon...

 

:)

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Yes it can :P

 

ex: Cosma-Nonstop

kinda hard to disagree on that one :)

 

a few more albums that come to mind that are almost all killers:

 

silicon sound - pure analog

audialize - wanted

ghreg on earth - sigilweaver

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But there's nothing new here,...

Is this really that important? I read this sentence ("there's nothing new...") quite often in the review forums here. I say: better a good album without new ideas than a bad album with new ideas, don't you agree?

 

@ Sideffect: Indeed, the Burn In Noise album is pretty good, thanks for the hint. :) I have to admit: I'm not the greatest expert when it comes to modern Psytrance, but i listen to samples of many new releases. Most of them sound boring imo. I hate this aggressive and "samey" bassline that you hear in most tracks. It's not creative at all. But Artelligent and also the Burn In Noise album are very good imo. Even if it's not the right place for this: If you can think of any similar stuff (from 2007/2008), please let me know. Thanks :)

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@ Sideffect: Indeed, the Burn In Noise album is pretty good, thanks for the hint. :) I have to admit: I'm not the greatest expert when it comes to modern Psytrance, but i listen to samples of many new releases. Most of them sound boring imo. I hate this aggressive and "samey" bassline that you hear in most tracks. It's not creative at all. But Artelligent and also the Burn In Noise album are very good imo. Even if it's not the right place for this: If you can think of any similar stuff (from 2007/2008), please let me know. Thanks :)

check pm ;)

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Guest antic

Is this really that important? I read this sentence ("there's nothing new...") quite often in the review forums here. I say: better a good album without new ideas than a bad album with new ideas, don't you agree?

Yes, it is important; however not obligatory.

Good but derivative albums - like this one - simply end up with 3/5 rating or 4/5 if they're really solid.

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Yes, it is important; however not obligatory.

Good but derivative albums - like this one - simply end up with 3/5 rating or 4/5 if they're really solid.

4/5 seems like a nice score imo, And I like this album a lot :) so :unsure:
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  • 3 weeks later...

Excellent album, although I find track 9 annoying as hell. It shares its weakness with other heavily sample-focused tracks such as Talpa - People Are Animals and Nystagmus - Tommy Is Dead. While good music in itself has great replay value, people talking (particularly about uninteresting subjects) have very little replay value; probably since the brain has an easy time memorizing speech.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's my uber-short review: I bought this one. I've listened to a lot of the full-on that's come out this year and there's quite a bit of nice morning music to choose from. But however pleasant, much of it will be forgotten a year from now IMO. Artelligent (although I don't like the title!) has that something extra that lifts it above the pack. There's real creativity here, not just me-too sounds and breaks.

 

Can't wait to hear the follow-up.

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  • 1 month later...

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