Date: Sep 15, 2005
Text: Damion
Taken from: www.psyreviews.com
Vote: 5/10

Blanka
Satisfaction
Dooflex (Israel)

Blanka has been one of my favourite Israeli producers recently, thanks to good work on recent compilations, and I could hardly wait to get my teeth into this. However it’s a million miles from what I was hoping for. Funky Ass does exactly what it says on the tin, an awesome intro that really builds the intensity up till the kick drops. The bassline’s all over the place, it’s funky not in a Loopus way but in a very measured, solid fun way. And then, just when you’re settling in for a decent ride, its solid and baggy groove is interrupted by a very high-pitched ravey sound, after which the tune somehow loses its funk and starts to move like a hard house record. Why?! There Is Only One has a great sample wedged in the middle of it, it’s cheeky and I love it for the way it derails the whole track. It comes back in with a tasty thunk, and falls into a delectable run that’s at once dark, slinky, avin it, fluid. Okay. So it’s working. Deep Hop Forest again traverses the funk / hard barrier, and this is a strong tune, although the “keep bustin” sample from Prince’s Batdance may be a little too much for some. Dance Electric drops in with some very Radio1 vocals, which then get a little Infected-Mushroomy, with a bit of lysergic wobble over the top and… sorry, this is just lazy. I don’t see what it accomplishes? Flying Tepy has the melody of the Dick Dale tune that was used as the Pulp Fiction theme at the start, and all the way through it hints that it’s going to drop back into it. The tune explodes into a wonderfully semimelodic acid run that’s seriously going to get the dancefloor moving – it’s uncommonly good. Likewise, the main chunky section of Switch Off does the unmistakeable business… arms will most definitely be in the air, with a great combination of filth and finesse, but it’s over a little too soon, you get the impression he could have done more with it. Whoops holds things together a little more deftly, hanging back on that main release of energy and keeping a crystalline progressive/psychedelic crossover thing going on the whole time. When it comes together, it comes together very well – possibly the best example of Blanka doing his thang on the whole CD. Finally Banana Bill is a fairly perplexing tune to round it all off, deploying those infected vocals once again and making for an uncomfortable, shifting end to the album. Well, almost the end – there’s a hidden track, a remix of a well known D***d B***e track… there’s been a lot of talk about this one and I have to say I like it. It’s a decent rework of the original (Fame), and it’s tight enough to be worked into different sets without *too* much loss of credibility. But whatever – you’d have to be an utter cover versions addict (an “Ozzy”, they call that in Melbourne) to buy this album just for the one, hidden track. I was really looking forward to this, after Blanka’s compilation tracks – but the album doesn’t even come close. It’s an awkward mix of tight hard house and loose funk, but the overall product isn’t as accomplished or challenging as it should have been. Shame.