Phony Orphants - It'Cetra (Iboga Records)

review

Author: pr0fane
Date: Oct 13, 2005
Views: 2689

Date: Oct 13, 2005
Text: pr0fane

Artist: Phony Orphants
Title: It\'Cetra
Label: Iboga
Format: CD (Jewelcase with 6 page inlay)
Released: October, 2005


Review:

Phony Orphants is one of Ibogas most prominent local acts, consisting of Mikael Dahlgaard and Jeppe Ørnkilde. Mikael is also one of the founders of the biggest progressive trance label at the moment, Iboga records, and without a doubt better known as Emok, while Jeppe Ørnkilde is founder of the label Nanobeat Records, focusing on more house-oriented sounds. The first Phony Orphants album \"Symphony\" was released in 2003, and received amazing feedback from all parts of the world, making it one of the biggest releases on Iboga through the years, and now, little over 2 years later they\'re ready with their second album \"It\'Cetra\".


01. Rise [135 BPM]
\"Rise\" opens the show with a very promising and truly epic intro. We get the first hint of the kick and bass after around 1? minute, but it takes another minute before it really kicks in. The kick, bass and retro-ish lead is extremely tight and is in striking contrast to the huge, organic pads, giving the track a very special feel. Around halfway through we get a short breakdown, followed by the entry of some delightful melodies. Stunning melodic opener.

02. Sex, Drugs.. [135 BPM]
Things get a lot dirtier and electro-inspired with \"Sex, Drugs..\", fuelled by an excellent vocal-sample, chopped up, looped and used to perfection. I remember this being played at Banel in his set at VooV Experience 2005, and it\'s a real crowdpleaser - not only is the vocal-sample cleverly used in the breakdowns, but the whole track is really loaded with energy, only downside being the only 6? minutes of playtime!

03. I Want To Feel [135 BPM]
\"I Want To Feel\" was released a few months back on the Revolve magazine, and for most parts it works very well. For starters it has a very catchy melodic hook, and basically everything sounds fine until around 4 minutes, where we get the first hint of some really annoying vocals (to me it sounds like Keith Flint from The Prodigy) that seem way over the top for my taste - a real shame.

04. Got What It Takes [133 BPM]
The next track, \"Got What It Takes\", also has some vocals - fortunately they are less dominant than in the predecessor, and the cheeky \"We got what it takes\" sample fits fine with the rest of the track. Not as rolling and pumping as the previous tracks, but with a quite nice groove, a strong breakdown and some really delicious metallic sounds. Solid, yet perhaps not as distinctive as some of the other tracks.

05. Mi Corazon [126 BPM]
\"Mi Corazon\" (Spanish for \"My Heart\") is so far the most laidback tune, running at \"only\" 126 BPM, and with a really good and lazy feel to it. A sexy voice-sample (which Emok also used in his recent collaboration with Jokke on the track \"More\") on top of some delicious progressive house, and it really works to perfection - especially the 1 minute long breakdown with the super phat bassline is really something else.

06. I\'ll Promise You [135 BPM]
The tempo is kicked up a notch again with \"I\'ll Promise You\", not really that groovy, but with a tasty relentless bassline pounding like there\'s no tomorrow. Some delicious African chanting-samples sest the atmosphere, and all in this tune really took me right back to the german open air feeling. Pure festival-trance.

07. Going Down [135 BPM]
Time for another previously released track, \"Going Down\" initially released on Ibogas popular \"Playground\" compilation last winter. Keeping up the energetic pace from \"I\'ll Promise You\", but going a bit deeper and darker. Solid effor, once again with some more of the pumping Phony Orphants sound, yet without being one of the standout tracks.

08. Party [126 BPM]
And with \"Party\" things get a bit slower once again - a sleazy groover just oozing with retro-vibes. Electro is really getting more and more popular these days, and \"Party\" is indeed a very electro-ish tune; funky, dirty and with a very appealing collection of dirty lo-fi sounds on top of a very pleasant melody in the background. Probably won\'t be the most popular tune among progressive trance DJ\'s, but different and most of all fun.

09. House For My Spouse [130 BPM]
\"House For My Spouse\" marks the end on the album, and it\'s really filled with house-cliches; From the saxophone to the typical house-chords and the predictable \"Yeah\" samples - but it works. The least typical Phony Orphants track on the album, and perhaps feels a bit misplaced with its overpolished sound - but an enjoyable mellow groover, and a very pleasant landing after the first 8 tracks.


Bottom line:

In a time with a lot of similar-sounding progressive psytrance, Phony Orphants really shines as an act with their own distinct sound - they manage to fuse elements of progressive psytrance, progressive house and a lot of electro as well, and the result is overall very impressive. Tight and unique, but still groovy and very dance friendly. Overall one of the best progressive albums released in 2005 - not as pleasant and epic as Jaïas \"Fiction\" or Antix\' \"Twin Coast Discovery\", but an album that really stands out in the crowd, and probably also will stand the test of time.

Yet another must-buy from Iboga!


Favourites:

1(!!), 2(!!), 5, 6, 8, 9


Verdict:

8/10


Link:

Iboga Records: www.iboga.dk


Review by:

Jannick Andersen // pr0fane
Website: www.sunrisesupplies.com
Label: www.dance-n-dust.com

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