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Battle of the Future Buddhas - Urban Legends (2013, Schlabbaduerst Rekkords)


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UrbanLegends.jpg
Artist : Battle of the Future Buddhas
Album : Urban Legends
Released: 2013
Label: Schlabbaduerst Rekkords
Genre: Psychedelic trance,goa,dark,forest,experimental,technoid

1. AM I DEAD? (9:29)
2. FOREVER BEFORE (9:42)
3. WE HAVE TO SEE (10:52)
4. WE HAVE TO KNOW (9:45)
5. BODYHIT (9:02)
6. TRANSFORMATOR (9:11)
7. AFTER DEATH (9:25)
8. IDIOTI (11:07)

Apparently the forest legends from Uppsala strike again, this time with a fresh new album. It seems these guys always hit at the least expected time. Not many expected Digging Mud to be released in 2011, and not many expected a new Battle of The Future Buddhas album release in 2013, along with couple of more upcoming Schlabbaduerst Rekkords compilations (brown,orange,pink) that not many believed we would come to see.

 

For those unaware of the Battle of the Future Buddhas guys, their sound has nothing to do with the modern psytrance sound or mentality (production-wise or music-wise even). Forget the over-polished productions, which of course does not imply the production is bad or careless. Quite the opposite, but expect nothing but raw,harsh sounds, well-crafted patterns and intense atmospheres. In terms of genres, it's hard to define the Battle of the Future Buddhas' (or the Schlabbaduerst Rekkords') nsound. Over the years it has been goa'ish or sometimes just goa trance, dark (anyhow they are amongts the pioneers of the early dark psychedelic trance sound), forest, technoid, even almost post-industrial psytrance (Schlabbaduerst 3 and Schlabbaduerst 7).

 

This album has a bit from the whole spectrum. From my perspective, there are strong resemblances to Demonoizer, Twin Sharkfins, Schlabbaduerst 3,4 and 7, and maybe a little bit from D-Dave's technoid solo album "Pleading Insanity" as well.Demonoizer's stomping dark psychedelic trance , Twin sharkfins' fuzzy psychedelic goa, Schlabb 03's & Schlabb 07's post-industrial dystopia and last but not least, Schlabb 04's (the more overlooked Schlabbadurest Rekkords compilation) hypnotic background trance are some descriptors of this music trip. Still, everything blends perfect together and the final result is something unique, with its own character. Old schlabheads will notice several familiar patterns reworked and vibes revised, with many twists and pinches of freshness and new tastes. Urban Legends is oldskool but still innovative, almost 20 years after, it's a flashback within a new trip.

 

This is a journey from dark to light (and not the other way round), a journey full of twisting and evolving morphologies, a set of smaller stories that flow and interact with each other to make the bigger picture.

 


1. AM I DEAD? (9:29)

A track that starts very harsh and dissonant, with lots of Demonoizer and Schlabbaduerst 7 vibes.

Dark, hypnotic, technoid, noisy, fuzzy and experiMental. Very powerful and immersive for an intro track. Welcome to the dungeons!

 

2. FOREVER BEFORE (9:42)

Already swimming in the dark waters, what's next? The Schlabbaduerst kind of goa. This is dark & goa'ish, elements of Twin Sharkfins can be tasted. Then familiar Demonoizer vibes get in the play as well ( probably it's mostly the kick&bass that brings this familiar Demonoizer-like feel) . Long assemblies of melodies lead us to Mr. Fantastic revised (although not intentionally according to D-Dave). This is Mr. Fantastic's twisted and deranged alter ego.

 

3. WE HAVE TO SEE (10:52)

4. WE HAVE TO KNOW (9:45)

WE HAVE TO KNOW is in one way the second part of WE HAVE TO SEE, as the titles imply. By the way do track titles 3 or 4 spring anything to mind? Hellraiser, Velvet Acid Christ? Darkness changed its texture a bit and now we are introduced to industrial hell'ish vibes. The vibrations here resemble Schlabbaduerst Rekkords 3 quite enough, although noticably more anthemic at parts.

 

5. BODYHIT (9:02)

Leaving the dungeons behind, BODYHIT sounds like dark & techy goa, sharing similiarities with the style of Toï Doï ‎– Technologic. You can definitely still sense darkness although there's not so much of the hell'ish atmosphere of the previous tracks. THis is the most danceble track so far. We are starting to fly towards the Space.

 

6. TRANSFORMATOR (9:11)

TRANSFORMATOR also sounds like dark & techy goa, and it's spacey as well but closer to Pigs in Space than Toi Doi. However as the anthem layers start to sing their story this track transforms to unique mindboggling, hazy trancedance. The beats are very stomp-inducing and bouncing, urging the body to move, but the anthemic fuzzy melodies swirl the mind in a relaxing way. Mind in silence, body in action.

 

7. AFTER DEATH (I)

We are now beginning to feel the light. AFTER DEATH resembles Twin Sharkfins quite enough. This sounds much more chilly compared to the rest of the album so far and is also a hint that our journey is close to its end.

 

8. IDIOTI (11:07)

Final track! IDIOTI is even more cheerful,chilly and joyful. A warm "Thank you, please com again. Bye!".

 

All in all this is the most polymorphic and well-crafted Battle of the Future Buddhas album. Very "mature" and oldschool yet very innovative at the same time, with awesome integration of many different ideas and modules into a concrete album. 78 minutes of pure raw harsh psychedelia and fuzzy melodic dissonance.

Rating : 10/10
That's all mates. If you want to order/buy the album (expected official release date next week) contact battlebuddhas@hotmail.com :)
(Also, you can buy all schlabb releases at Schlabbaduerst Bandcamp now as well. In the past they were only available in CD/CD-R from times to times. )
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  • 3 weeks later...

I understand,i'm afraid it's already online.

 

Can you not generate a randomised URL for it and give it to certain people from the forum,the Facebook page etc? (by the way i closed FB and the Schlab grp is the only thing i missed).

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I can not really keep labeling BOTFB as dark forest goa. This album is far away from the swampy and muddy forest landscapes and takes the listener to an industrialized and technological scenario, where heavy industrial sounds lead the way. The sample usage on the tracks is remarkable, complementing very well the harsh sounds and improving the storytelling. The whole album is a journey starting in a distant future full of desolation and where there is no hope left,then it slowly flows through several sci-fi like themes and at the end the reassuring melodies of idioti are the sign that we could make it through this dark world and survived!

 

Can't stop listening to am I dead? the darkness, dense atmosphere and twisted sounds have trapped my ears and mind. I still need to give it a few more listens to completely digest some of the tracks, but so far I can tell that BOTFB did not disappointed and delivered a well crafted album

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  • 2 weeks later...

Whoa.

 

I've never been that much of a fan, but this album is really something else. I've listened to the tracks on bandcamp and some of them are sooo relentless...it's unbelievable.

The first tracks are very dark and build up a techy, cold, desolate atmosphere. The tension builds and especially "bodyhit" and "transformator" are outstandingly psychedelic. They're pure, powerful and won't stop going forward. This is really some A-class stuff!

 

Like JISNEGRO said, I need to listen to the whole album several times to let it sink in, but so far I can say it's really something special which will probably be seen as a classic in the future.

 

 

I want to see the new homeland episode, but I just can't stop listening to "bodyhit" and "transformator". Soooo relentless!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

First track is epic.

 

I wonder what it would be like on a proper party

 

 

I usually make a badass live set, with tracks sometimes mixed together, layered on top of each other. Also always adding samples and effect sounds and doing some live tweaking of sounds and samples etc. It becomes a lot more twisted usually. :) And the bpm is usually higher than on the albums, about 146-149 bpm from beginning to end.

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I've kinda found myself ignoring this release, I was never a huge fan of schlab sound, although there are some releases and plentiful of great dark goa tracks released. This album is pretty snazzy, though. Great sound design and atmospheres. It even reminds me of the darker California Sunshine sound, really fresh and imaginative compared to a lot of stuff released today. However I would like to point out that repeated sample use and really raw mastering tend to put me off from prolonged listens. I hope the sample use in future won't be so abrasive, you can use them, sure, but use them with more care. The Overabundant repetition pulls away from the music pretty fast especially when done like in tracks 3 and 4. Otherwise I'm glad there are some still out there who care for this darker goa style.

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  • 1 year later...

From the killer AM I DEAD to the cheerful (relatively) IDIOTI this album is stellar! Raw, muddy, scratchy, dark, industrial with catchy tunes. Needless to say, the samples are perfect. :)

A special mention about the track Transformator is needed. A very nice track.

 

Great album which needs more review and attention!

 

Favourites - 1,6,8.

 

It's already selling for 60euros on Discogs :/

If you haven't got it yet and want it bad, 60euros or more looks like the only way. If there is any other. Please let me know. :P

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes there is another way!

"THE SCHLAB SHOP IS OPEN AGAIN!

Schlab shop july 2015

Schlab 1: 20€
Schlab 2: 20€ (few copies left, will not be remade)
Schlab 3-7: 12€
Battle of the Future Buddhas: Digging Mud - 12€
Battle of the Future Buddhas: Twin Sharkfins – 12€ (few copies left)
Battle of the Future Buddhas: Urban Legends – 8€ (special prize)
Ka-SoL: Ghost Story – 12€ (2nd pressing)
Ka-SoL: Ghost Story – 15€ (1st pressing, last copy ever)

Chronicle of Mystery Records V/As: The Oldest Story, The Pain of the Forgotten Forest, Instrumentarium,Gates of Unknown, Chronicle of Schlabbaduerst – all 6€ each

Treetrolla V/A Remember the Slime: 6€

Boom! Records V/As:
Rehashed, Psychoactive Scandosounds 3: 10€

And there are T-SHIRTS left! 16€ each.

Message me for your inquiries and I will satisfy your psychedelic/psychotic needs. Well some of them. The audio ones. Chill damnit"

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/12107835483/

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This is an album I didn't manage to listen until the end.

This track (or IIRC there was two) with the sample 'We have to see we have to know' gave me a headache. Too noisy. For me this is not even psytrance anymore but more like hardcore, not my style.

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  • 1 year later...

"We have to see...we have to know."

 

His strength appears to be the multilayered darkness that tumbles over you in waves. More you struggle, the deeper you go. Plenty of lush synth sounds as well as the harsh tones of despair. That's when his music is the most interesting to me. The sample work is excellent, but when he lightens things up it gets a bit too repetitive.

 

It does tend to drone on a bit doesn't it? I'll sum it up like this...I liked it, but it's a chore to get through it.

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  • 7 months later...

This is an album I didn't manage to listen until the end.

This track (or IIRC there was two) with the sample 'We have to see we have to know' gave me a headache. Too noisy. For me this is not even psytrance anymore but more like hardcore, not my style.

I am happy I gave it another try almost three years later. I still find it hard to listen to it in one go but split it in two sessions of 4 tracks and this is pretty impressive.

Bodyhit and Transformator are my favorite tracks. About complaints on mastering, I actually think the improvement is neat over Battle of the future Buddhas earlier works.

This album is one of the most intense I have heard in the psytrance scene. Unique stuff that's for sure.

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