DeathPosture Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Charasmatix - Abracadabra Format: CD Artist: Charasmatix Title: Abracadabra Label: Candyflip Records, Greece Cat. #: CD CF010 Date: April Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 07’50” Norm @ All 02. 08’44” Crazzy 03. 08’24” Silicon Sally 04. 08’13” Abracadabra 05. 06’51” Heile Welt 06. 07’25” Collateral Damage 07. 07’04” Naec 08. 08’22” Furthus Ultimux 09. 06’49” The Acid Test Review: Dunkle psychedelische NachtTrance aus Deutschland! Two years after the critically acclaimed “Soma Agents” (last proper release from Flying Rhino… R.I.P.) Germany’s dark psycho trance duo Charasmatix is back! The Berlin based powerhouse duo consists of Martin Schoenauer (DJ Aze) & Karl Rademacher (Cybersnack) has been making music in different guises since the early 1990es… We got a taster of their 2004 sound on the Wizzy Noise “Timeline Remixes” EP a few months back, and now their back with a full album mastered by Mark Pfurtscheller a.k.a. Kopfuss Resonator… I don’t know about you, but I’m expecting this to be dark, pounding, progressive, groovy psy-trance with a touch of German psy-teKk… Do they need magic spells to make an album like that? Let’s find out… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Is this the norm at all? Well, I hope so, ‘cause this a damn fine first track! Instantly we are greeted by a deeeeeeeep baseline: mechanical, metallic, pounding – amazing! You remember the ragamuffin voice sample from Aircrash Bureau’s “Time Traveller” track? Well, it’s revived here and it fits perfectly – it all adds to the funky, yet dark atmosphere in this track! Very cool track! #02: This is crazy – with the extra z! The intro is very weird – I think it’s the Kopfuss Resonator impact showing here… At first I get an eerie jamboree feeling, but it soon turns into dark, dusty house… With an underlying psychedelic groove present throughout the track! It’s topped of by subtle insect-like humming hidden in between everything… I have a hard time digging this track though… It’s just too crazZy for my taste! Decent track! #03: Another clever play on words… Brace yourself – these are some dark German Stampfenrhythmen. The dark trademark Charasmatix-sound in full effect… Not much else is going on but some serious head banging night trance… Ok track! #04: Oh my, it gets even darker now… We’re getting even closer to Halloween trance now, as this track is packed with horror-effects: Screaming, moaning and other evocative sounds… The bass pumps along at and incredible speed followed by psychedelic FX… Somehow dark and spooky, but my head is still bopping along… Cool track! #05: Healing world? The speed is slower now, and the bass is tucked away in the background… Emphasized are the classic ‘psychedelic digital drips’ and some dude talking with a bizarre accent… The track is packed with all kinds of psychedelic effects, but somehow it doesn’t seem to go anywhere… Decent track! #06: “Meet – the nice sound!” As far as I know, this track was made in collaboration with Zerotonine and released last year on a Tatsu comp!?… Correct me, if I’m wrong… Anyway, a nice peaceful intro is brutally disrupted by a very heavy bass… This is really a percussion track, with clever use of kick-drums, hi-hats, snare, cut beats, etc… Somehow they manage to sneak a melody into this dark track… Well, it’s a dark melody, but it’s there nevertheless… Ok track! #07: What ‘the National Association of Elevator Contractors’ has to do with trance is beyond me!?… This is another extremely dark track with an evil pounding bass line… Check out the cool ‘acceleration bit” @ 3’15… I like small surprises like that, and this track has a few of them… Nice track! #08: Damn, now this is a cool intro… I don’t know if it’s a guitar or a chain saw! Skazi eat your heart out! It’s very, very dark night trance… Perfect for head banging – and complimentary headache included! You better have your audio equipment set up properly for this massive wall of sound to come through properly! Repetitive, industrial sounds make this a gritty beast! Sweet track! #09: Nostalgic track name ;o)… If you were hoping for a chilled track, forget about it… This is more Charasmatix mayhem... The pace has slowed down though – but just a little… It’s still dark and monotonous, but the nice percussion work and the funny samples somehow add to the overall groovy feel… Nice track! In my humble opinion there are a few misses and a bunch of winners on this album… The flow is somewhat interrupted by the lack of coherence between the tracks… If the more experimental tracks came first, followed by the darker ones, this would have been an even smoother experience… That flaw does not however, ruin the impression of a very nice album… I’m sure this will turn some heads and appeal to the many fans of Charasmatix and their trademark sound… Recommended! 8/10 Favourites: 1(!!), 4, 7, 8 DeathPosture External links: Candyflip Records: www.candyflip-records.com Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com (Audio samples available!) Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk --- [Note: Expect this in the shops very soon!] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkeletonMan Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Someone told me that producers looking to make hit singles not long ago would sometimes increase the volume on the final chorus, if the chorus didn't give that closing pounding effect to increase chances of a radio hit (btw, those days are over as todays radio systems automatically maintains a steady volume). Well, that'll ruin Abracadabra's chances of becoming a radio evergreen, cause this needs to be played LOUD. Trust me, when volume is not a problem ABCDB is a mean little fucker. Title track Abracadabra hits hard in the face almost Wizzy Noise style. Intense, monotonous bassline, FX to add psychedelic elements, and ... not much else. Great! Furthus Ultimux hauls in another hit in this direction. This opens with a dark one-note bass and gradually turns into some sort of X-Dream clone. Strong dancefloor worker with a smashing end. Naec, Sillicon Sally and closing Acid Test could be described likewise. You're in for long voyages, but the ultimate victory makes it worth your while. A number of tracks give me a harder time. Opening Norm@all, Heile Welt or Collatoral Damage tend to bore me and the insane buzzing moscito sound in Crazzy annoys the hell out of me. The Jar Jar Binks sounding sample ain't no treat either. Summarizing, I have no hesitation in recommending ABCDB to tech trance heads. At the price I've seen new copies of this go for, a good handfull of solid tracks will ensure dj value for money. For the rest of us, well, if volume/headphones is not a problem ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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