"V/A - Panta Deus"

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Various

Title: Panta Deus

Label: Ektoplazm

Date: July, 2011

 

 

Part 1: Carpe Noctem

 

1. Swen (Dzoncy) strOOp - Forest In Peace (7:00)

2. JetMan - Alliance (9:41)

3. Saikotune - Ravens & Crows (7:42)

4. Prophets Of Orion - The One (8:22)

5. Stellar Magnitude - Timeshift (10:26)

6. Alien Bug - Total Eclipse (9:18)

7. Reflection Of The Mighty Shadows - Dead End (7:11)

8. Neuro Vortel - Liquid Face (7:17)

9. Aquilpra - Fearful Symmetry (7:56)

 

Part 2: Carpe Diem

 

1. TLG - Furion (11:16)

2. Mesca - Weakness (8:26)

3. Artha - Antistatic Circle (7:17)

4. Space Element - Tempus Fugit (8:20)

5. Space Element - Crows Symphony (7:20)

6. Psychotrop - Aural Pleasures (7:16)

7. Psysutra - Deus Ex Machina (7:03)

8. Seismic Activity - Last Foray (8:41)

9. Artha - From Life To Life (6:33)

10. Sundial Aeon - Haunebu (6:36)

 

 

This is a free compilation that is being offered to celebrate Psytrance.pl 10 year anniversary. Congratulations! Compiled by forum regular Templar it consists of only Polish artists in a variety of styles. There are a lot of artists that I have never heard of but let's be honest. Once you look at the track list one name is going to stand out. Artha. Yep, I checked...he's Polish. He delivers 2 tracks here but I caution you not to skip some of the other artists. When a large compilation of material is released they usually throw a whole lot of sh*t against the wall and see what sticks. Not the case here.

 

I went to Poland once.

 

The year was 1992. The Dream Team from the United States dominated the world of basketball, Nirvanna ruled the radio, and Nick Nolte was named the sexiest man alive. The world has since caught up to USA basketball, Kurt blew his head off, and well...

 

Oh, the times they are a changin.

 

Anyway, my cousin and I were taking the train throughout Europe and Poland had recently emerged from the dark side. When we arrived in Krakow (we wanted to see the camp) we were met by an older gentleman who offered to house us instead of using a hostel. Being 19 and not being so smart we accepted and looking back now this could've been the inspiration for Hostel. House was grungy and run down, he was creepy, and everything was dirty. We made it out ok, but when I think about it today, it wasn't the smartest move I have made. Still have some Zloty lying around I think. Yeah that's it. What? Every story can't be riveting you know. I could've told you that we escaped with our lives after being stalked by a homicidal maniac, but that would be stretching the truth. Actually that would be butt f*cking the truth.

 

I would love to go back to Poland and see the country properly, that's for sure.

 

 

Forest In Peace- This is a tribal downtempo opener complete with drums and chanting. Very mysterious as it shambles along but while atmospheric I felt it went on a little long.

 

Alliance- With an electo feel this is a mid-tempo progressive track that sounds like it's feeling its way through the night. Like a car without a steering wheel it goes one way. At over 9 minutes it's long...maybe just a wee bit under 6 minutes...too long.

 

Ravens & Crows- Another progressive track with deep bass sweeps and an ominous feel. Normally I would sh*t all over this minimalistic style but I just had a smash. Also with the alien effects and groove I'm liking this. Some of the sounds even resemble the cawing of crows. Maybe a break to intensify the feeling wouldn't hurt. Not bad.

 

The One- "The function of the One is now to return to the source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program."

 

 

A little more intense here with galloping synths and detuned pads. Dark wailing sounds descend right to the end. Pretty good.

 

Timeshift- "5 billion people died in 1996 and 1997. Entire population of the world. Only about 1% of us survived."

 

Now those are some thick atmospheric pads! Right out of the gate I'm lovin' it's dark style as the leads begin to layer. Bouncy with increased intensity it makes for a great twilight track. The evolution is awesome with no boring parts. Not an easy thing to do at over 10 minutes. Bravo sir. Also, one of my all time favorite movies 12 Monkeys withholds the sample until the last third. Nice.

 

 

Total Eclipse- "I'm getting off this rock. If you stay here, watch your back. It's not safe here. Trust no one."

 

Good old fashioned twilight track right here people. Twisted and mangled vocals along with dark pads make this rather tasty. The two breaks add to the atmosphere and it is also rather groovy. Thumbs up!

 

"Hey, Woman. Hey, Woman! Listen here. Since your old man ain't got no heart, maybe you like to see a real man. I bet you stay up late every night dreamin' you had a real man, don't ya? I'll tell you what. Why don't you bring your pretty little self on over to my apartment tonight, and I'll show you a real man."

 

That movie quote might be a little before your time. Just think Bieber needed to hear it.

 

Dead End- Listen to that track growl as cyber sounds whip past you. Like it? I do. Evil aliens with malicious intent are lurking in the shadows. At times it's a shimmering wall of sound and the percussion gives it a ritualistic feel. Like an impending sacrifice. Dark and brooding, it could've used a little more variation, but it's still good.

 

Liquid Face- Whew, that bass line is quicker than a politician's promise as metallic sounds waver from all sides. Lots of noises so if you like noises, this one has a lot of noises. And that's about it.

 

Fearful Symmetry- With a long space ambient setup, the galaxy opens before you. Colorful nebulae catch the eye as stars shimmer brightly. The break reveals how vast space really is with this dark and cold track. Very reminiscent of Cybernetika's work. Great track.

 

Due to the length of this review we now join our halftime show already in progress...

[Trance2MoveU]

Halftime Show

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We now rejoin our regularly scheduled review already in progress...

[Trance2MoveU]

Furion- This one starts as a bit of gloomy electro that reeks of sci-fi regret. Very rich pads float past bubbling tones as it veers into the trance direction. oft like a lover's embrace this drifts along as if one were performing a space walk on the space station. Yeah it's 11 minutes but I didn't notice. Super.

 

Weakness- "Your bones don't break, mine do. That's clear. Your cells react to bacteria and viruses differently than mine. You don't get sick, I do. That's also clear. But for some reason, you and I react the exact same way to water. We swallow it too fast, we choke. We get some in our lungs, we drown. However unreal it may seem, we are connected, you and I."

 

I don't remember this part. Was it after the train accident?

 

This is straight full-on but there is a lot of emotion behind it. The pads are lush and the sample is superb. It picks up the pace with some groovy synth work and nice layers. Don't overlook this.

 

Antistatic Circle- Artha busts out the whooping stick with a absolute blister of a psytrance track with goa trance touches. The leads sparkle and the whole thing has more power behind it than an Ivan Drago jab. Wait, he was Russian wasn't he? Sorry I don't know any Polish boxers. Definitely a highlight of the compilation.

 

"Whatever he hits...he destroys."

 

Tempus Fugit- Got your sunblock? You'll need it as this is a very sunshine oriented progressive rambler. It's got positive vibes aplenty with bright pads and likeable melodies. Effects thicken it up and make this very good.

 

Crows Symphony- Again with the crows? Space Element gets two tracks in a row and if you thought there would be crow sounds here well you're a f*cking genius aren't you? It's kinda cool the way the melody sounds like it was done on a violin. There is a certain rumbling to it that I find appealing. Full-on sure, but enjoyable. I'll tell you what, this compilation is reminding me a lot of my favorite movies.

 

 

 

Aural Pleasures- "Do you like it hard?"

 

Ugh, that sample. Luckily it's brief and the show can continue. More full-on with a bunch of layers is how I would describe this. You know when you go out and your friends have a scotch and soda or a Jack and Coke? This is like having an appletini as you try and chase the straw in the drink.

 

Deus Ex Machina- "Banished from humanity, the machines sought refuge in their own promised land. They settled in the cradle of human civilization, and thus a new nation was born. A place the machines could call home, a place they could raise their descendants. And they christened the nation 'Zero One'."

 

With a futuristic sample and a focused goa melody laser beam the battle is joined. The sample is from the Animatrix and has that cyber feel to it. It's a pretty good track with good pace and effects.

 

 

 

Last Foray- Good groove to this one with a nice, punchy bass. There are some nice layers and the pads give it more of that outer space feel. It churns, kicking up dust as it goes. Another one of those tracks that has that slight hint of goa just beneath the surface. Impressive.

 

From Life To Life- This is the 2nd Artha track and of course big things are expected. It undulates and twinkles with high tones as a lead screams in the forefront. It then switches to a new sound with some metallic clanking. More layers combine as it gets thicker. It's interesting and I think it begs for further exploration.

 

Haunebu- Sundial Aeon is the other project I have heard before being a really big fan of the album Apotheosis from 2007. This is a plucky breakbeat track with echoing synths and emotional melodies. It's funky like something the Chemical Brothers should've been able to create.

 

 

Wow, that was a lot of tracks. If you go into this thinking it's going to be just the Artha show, you're going to be missing out on so much more. There is some really good stuff here. Sure his tracks are what you would expect, but some other projects really brought their "A" game. As the promo says it brings together different styles that everyone should be able to enjoy. It sounds well produced and the cover artwork is very beautiful. Is that in Poland? Congratulations Templar and here's to seeing another 10 years from psytrance.pl!

 

Man a review with a halftime show? Don't think that's been done before.

 

Ektoplazm

 

Mdk

[kathmandu]

[Templar]

Thank you for the review Trance2MoveU, it was fun to read it, especially with the particular catchy style you employ while writing. I'm glad you liked the compilation - that was the purpose: to deliver good music in different style,s but without losing the grip on the content and quality.

 

"It sounds well produced and the cover artwork is very beautiful. Is that in Poland?"

 

Yes, the photo on the cover (as well as the rest of them) was taken in Gdynia (northern Poland):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gdynia

 

"I would love to go back to Poland and see the country properly, that's for sure."

 

I assure you that there's plenty to see here. The food is very good, the women are some of the finest in the world - what more can a guy ask for?

 

Other reviews and comments are also appreciated, as they will give us some feedback (be it positive or negative, provided it's constructive) on what we did and what we still plan to do.

 

More releases from Psytrance.pl wil follow, that's for sure. To be continued - watch this space.

[BraneFreeze]

Templar --

 

I'd like to hear more tracks from Stellar Magnitude (and Magnatec)

[seismic]

I have listen many times to the album with pleasure, especially CD2-there is not one weak number, all the positive suitable mainly for home.

[Templar]

Just to stir things up a bit - we've begun working on a sequel to "Panta Deus" for the upcoming 15th anniversary of Psytrance.pl that will happen early 2016.

 

Again it will be a two-parter filled to the max with Polish psy-artists. Watch the space...