To all psychedelic fans, Astral Projection are well known. Some may say they're a bit commercial but this does not make them any less successful, and Ten years on release 'Ten' The album with remixes of 10 of their best tracks, with remixes coming from guys like J00F, Deedra, Space Cat and Dynamic!
1. Chaos (Bizzare Contact Remix)
Beginning with a nice ambience, we soon add elements of a lead, bass and some groovy percussions. The sounds that are incorporated meander along, and build gradually along the track. The overall feeling here is of a very good remix, especially later on, when the track really gets going with a great melody. 8/10
2. Nilaya (Melicia Remix)
Starting out with a soft string , some fx and percussions are thrown over, before being joined by the bassline and then the kickdrum. The melody here is simple but does the job it needs to, maybe not quite as hot a track as the first one, it’s definitely not a bad remake. 6/10
3. Dancing Galaxy (Dynamic Remix)
From the go we have cool synths used, soon having a bassline softly filter in, and the kick. The percussive elements are good and really do the trick, as does a lovely soft flute-like sound in between 40 and 50 seconds. The main lead is very aurally arousing too and the 2nd breakdown is really good stuff, nothing major about how it’s done, but it helps the tune take off for the end sequences. 8/10
4. Power Gen (Space Cat Remix) Starting off very acidic, these sounds are stretched out for a while before a melody helps build for a short while. Thereafter the bassline and kickdrum come in and incorporate a gradually building melody, which gains more sophistication all of the time. The main lead is rather hypnotic and seems to swirl around your ears, making you smile as it does so. A really good remix in my opinion, made even more special by the secondary infusion of swirling gated sounds after 5 minutes, taking a track from 9/10 to 10/10.
5. Let There be Light (Atomic Pulse vs Perplex Remix)
Starting with the age old “let there be light” vocal sample, we build up for the first minute, culminating in the 50 seconds to 1 minute bracket with the kick. Some clever uses of a pulsing lead layered with fx and stabby notes help take us forwards. The rest of the track is extremely solid, but nothing as spectacular as in a couple of the previous tunes, giving this a 7/10 rating.
6. People Can Fly (Delerious Remix)
Pulsing strings begin, and a spoken vocal over the top of this, plus some fx and a soft melody filter in the early stages of this track. Some stabbier synths make up the main part of the track, but the bassline is very low and doesn’t really help power the track from filler to killer. Not an awful remix, but not a full-on one either. 6/10
7. Visions of Nasca (BLT Remix)
A very electrical start, obtained by the fx on the first lead, which sounds like it’s pulsing through a circuit. The low bassline and kick come in from here and slowly build up. The whole track to be honest is quite clever with the odd chord drop to add some differing elements and again is very much filler than killer, but not in a bad way, it’s not the kind of song that you’ll remember at the end of the set, but it’s one you appreciate in it’s place in that set. 7/10 for this one
8. Auorora Borealis (Deedra Remix)
Before I reviewed this album, I’ve had a week listening to the tracks, and to be totally truthful, I’ve been having one of them on repeat over & over again. That is this one. The track starts off atmospheric but it’s when it builds up that it’s so good. The melody seems to have been on a university degree in aural pleasure as it really hits the spot more so than any other track on the album. The synths change slightly as the track goes on with the use of a flanger, but the track on the whole cannot be faulted. For once also the low bassline that is synonymous with many Psy tracks of today works really well, it doesn’t intrude at all yet adds enough low-end to make it a good balance. 10/10 – amazing
9. Liquid Sun (Star X Remix)
A much more laid back effort than the previous track, the elements used here are simple, but arranged effectively to do the job. More a case of clever percussive and FX and emphasis on the bassline to shine through here, but it works in a different way than Auorora Borealis. 7/10
10 Mahadeva (John 00 Fleming Remix) Perhaps the best known of Astral Projections works amongst the non-addicts of Psy would be Mahadeva. This was given the treatment by John 00 Fleming a while back and there is not a lot I can add about it that hasn’t already been said. A much ‘trancier’ kickdrum here than in most of the earlier efforts, this is as close to an uplifting-psychedelic tune as we will get here. The best bit of the track is after the really long build up which takes 4 minutes or so to complete until the pace lowers and the strings take us forwards and sound really sexy. The familiar melody joins us afterwards and helps move us onwards and upwards towards the end section of the track. 9 and a bit minutes of bliss. 10/10
Conclusion:
Although not familiar with all of the originals, I can say that these remixes are all fairly strong and some are superb. Maybe not to the taste of fans of the originals, but to psyn00bs like myself, this is good listening and well worth a buy if you like Psy or not!
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