The sixteenth release from London based Alchemy Records, this is the highly anticipated follow up full length album to last years killer debut "Rabbit From Darkside" from Rinkadink aka Vana aka Werner Van Jaarsveld. Rinkadink originates from Cape Town, South Africa, but is now based in London and has spent the last year since his debut release spreading his unique, funky, fun, psychedelic style across the globe as well as in the studio creating more killer music. Since 'Rabbit From Darkside', Rinkadink has expanded beyond his South African roots, in the past year releasing tracks on Maia Records, Beats & Pieces, Hadra, Planet B.E.N., Sirius, as well as Alchemy.
1.'Pirate Signal'- The album opens with static confusion...a partially inaudible sample...some jamaican guy(???).. "enjoy!" and then we're immediately tossed into the trademark Rinkadink groove- you know, the one that makes you want to jump
up and dance around your room...yeahhh...that one smile.gif some very nice uplifting melodic lines to start things off. The bassline is deep, the groove, laid back and funky as hell, and its got that killer gritty dirty no nonsense snare that I LOVE. The melody builds, a quick breakdown, and a second more raw sounding synth melody is introduced, which nicely complements the smoother sounding earlier melody. The final breakdown-buildup is massive Rinkadink style, nice filtered fx, and then it all drops out- "enjoy!", and then the groove comes back together. A nice cross between dark, mysterious, and ethereal and more upbeat, bright and uplifting....not too dark, not too light. Perfect for breaking out of the rabbit hole....10/10
2.'Metal Endo'-A slow, plodding start to this track and we're into a groove with a distinct 6/8 feel to it, chopped up samples interspersed among various squeaky fx, and some swooping ambient pads in the background lead us into the first breakdown. Following the introduction of more mechanical, glitchy synth sounds, the track maintains a steady groove throughout. The first breakdown brings us the main melody front and center, a filtered buildup, Rinkadink's trademark snare rolls, and the atmospheric pads fall and fade away, leaving us once again bouncing and shuffling along. The final buildup of the track involves some more acid sounding synths, some very nice start-stutter-stop-starts, and slamming back in for one final chunky groove. For sure Rinkadink has yet to throw the mayhem into full gear. He's just giving us a taste of what is to come... 7/10
3.'Basshead'- An airy, twinkling melody, along with some static vocal samples, the groove kicks in and vocal fx combine with more acid sounding synth stabs, a funky and somewhat goofy feel to this track. A darker, mysterious melody develops along with the use of inaudible vocal samples in the background creating an overall atmosphere of chaos, madness, and confusion in this track- nice! Many quick and clever breakdowns and this track keeps slamming in again and again. Rinkadink is one of the few artists who in my book can pull off these massively epic snare roll buildups, and he does it so well! The final buildup to the sample "basshead" and then were tossed back into the groove once again. I'm not so much a fan of the alarm sounds interspersed throughout, but the rest of this track is so much fun, that it's easily overlooked. 9/10
4.'Marauder'- I am going to come right out and say that I really disliked the first 2 minutes of this track. I was just about to conclude that not even the dope wolf howl sample could save this one-then I waited 10 more seconds-and bam! An almost sitar-like melody was introduced...a somewhat goofy (what the fuck in a good way) element with a slight retro disco feel- what can only be described as one of the most
original breakdowns i've heard in a while, and poof! just like that its a killer groove. Did that track really just do that?? The rest of this track is a nice mix of funky grooves, goofy inaudible samples, stretched out buildups, quick unique breaks, oozing synth sounds combining with a sharper, brighter synth melody that bounces over the top of this track, the final breakdown-buildup and resulting melodic groove
is raw and powerful! 8/10
5.'Wavefront'- Am I playing video games here or am I listening to a psytrance track? Or is it quite possibly some mutation of the two that doesn't involve sampling Super Mario Bros.?!?! The static of the 'Pirate Signal' is heard once again- keeping this
album tied together quite nicely. We're falling into an opening buildup-breakdown nicely sliding into a groove complete with atmospheric melodies and glitchy synth sounds. 2:25 brings a killer breakdown!!!! nice one!!!!!! (can't give the secret away any more than this wink.gif ) yes...Vana definately showing off the old school video game influence here, it's twisted and the melody's got this uber-happy goofy bouncing along feel to it that i've only heard previously in more suomi-style psy. 4:50 brings a killer breakdown buildup, lots of very nice start-stops, and before long we're bouncing and floating along with this one once again. kick ass! did I win??? 9/10
6.'Dads Power Song'- A spooky sliding synth melody starts this track off, as a galloping bassline fades into the mix. I'm still totally loving the raw, metallic feel of the snare in all of these tracks. The sample manipulation is brilliant, complete with
scratching effects. Now, when you sampled the Delta ebonics spoof on your last album ("Hope was Closed"), its kinda hard to out-do yourself when it comes to
samples- "what happened? we had a lot of fun but they had a lot of other catch phrases I could believe I was the first one to use the phrase whyyyiiii don't think
so" comes close though (see track 8). A more scattered, melody is introduced and bounces around for a bit. "drop the bass" nice tastefully used raw, slightly distorted pounding old school rave kick building into a groove that meshes together a spooky
mysterious melody along with short manipulated vocal bits. A slightly dissonant synth sound adds more even power to this track. It's crazy, it's wacky, it's all over the place, and it totally works. 10/10
7. 'Techmology V3'- This track, in contrast to others on this album thus far, showcases Rinkadink's more progressive melodic side. We start off with a driving
kick/bassline, some nice percussive fx, and an overall funky melodic feel. Around 1:45 the bass drops out and we are left with an airy floating melody that soon takes center stage in this track, atmospheric vocal pads in the background add to the overall ambiance. The raw bassline, percussive sounds, and rhythms contrast nicely with the smooth, somewhat somber, subtle melodies used throughout. What this track
perhaps lacks in chaos and mayhem, it most certainly makes up for with emotion and sophistication in melody. An in your face, full on, progressive melodic bomb! A beautiful morning track! 9.5/10
8. 'Broken Collaboration'- An early buildup, and the introduction of a more driving, in your face bassline and my expectations are set for an all out full on blaster."all right-saturday night- i have no date no date and my all rush mix tape- let's rock" inaudible chopped up samples intertwining with various short synth stabs and melodies bounce around for a bit before introducing a more straightforward synth
melody. Despite the numerous snare rolls and breakdown-buildups full of anticipation...the melody in this track somehow holds it back, preventing it from reaching its full blast potential, and it could have been much more glitchy and quirky. However, the sample is killer, best on the album. 7/10
9. 'Native American Beauty'- 'its one of those days, there was this electricity in the air' The beginning of this track introduces a melody with a distinct jazz influence to it, leading us to an early buildup, some nice raw sounds and orchestral synth stabs (which I am not much a fan of, until they are nicely manipulated later on in the track). I've been waiting all throughout this album for a track along the lines of
"You Are Not Who You Are" (Hadra), well, this is it! A mysterious flute melody is introduced, once again some nice sample manipulation building up to silence. The
original melody takes over here and we are unexpectedly thrown into a downtempo groove just long enough to make me want to hear a downtempo track from
Rinkadink- tossed back into the groove- then into a breakbeat buildup, a very nice change-up from the snare roll buildup!! A slightly more laid back groove than previous tracks, winds down this album. 8/10
Favorites: 1(!!!), 3, 4(!!!), 6(!!!), 7
Overall: It's always refreshing to see an artist who's music you love stay true to their unique style. Yet, it's equally as refreshing to see that same artist having grown and developed as a musician since his last release, while at the same time, also
incorporating many new ideas and influences into his new music. Rinkadink has done both and produced an album that not only stands out among the myriads of psytrance releases these days, but also one that is fun and enjoyable to listen to start to finish. 9/10 + bonus points for a killer set in London last month
