10th anniversary peak…

With Peakopath Swiss label Peak Records is celebrating their 10th release… Over the last 3 years, this elusive label has released one smash hit after another, ranging from mellow ambient compilations to hard-hitting, trance-inducing night time stompers… And best of all – everything has been top drawer material. From the groundbreaking Electrypnose album Le Tireur De Ficelles to Drumatik’s fun-filled debut album Peak Process + of course all the wonderfully versatile compilations with Peaking In Tongues and Hocus Peakus right on top of the cool list. Seriously, Peak Records has not had a single mediocre release and I pretty much trust the musical taste of Gaspard, Ajja & Margherita blindly. These cyber-hippies know their shit and they have yet to let me down… And now I think it’s time to start the review before this fanboy bubble bursts…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Master Margherita feat. Tanina Munchkina – Bonkers (Intro)
”The path to the peak is rugged but sound. The sane stains the feet where graces are bound around the bend on higher ground. The mind is lost. The peak is found.” Moreno Antognini aka. Master Margherita is the guy responsible for balancing out all the Peak psytrance with some chilled, laid-back ambient and chilled grooves... He does this both compiling chill-compilations, but also by producing his own downtempo tracks… On this track he’s joined by fellow Peakster Tanina Munchkina, and together they’ve created another lovely intro preparing the listener for another trip down Peak Avenue…. Lovely!

#02: Little Pumpkin vs. Noisy Pipes – DTC [145 BPM]
The tracks are ‘slightly’ mixed to ensure a smooth, break-free experience and we drift seamlessly into the next track. Little Pumpkin (Caroline Chakarian) is joined by Noisy Pipes (Nicolas Zappa) from France on this the first trance track… And we start out with something that’s not too complicated. This is pretty straightforward psytrance that slowly evolves into a subtle floor burner… The bassline is maybe a little blunt, but the funny samples help a lot… Not a stand-out track, but certainly not a filler either…

#03: EVP – Kaepirinha [148 BPM]
UK-producer EVP (Alex Diplock who is also one half of Reality Grid) released the brilliant debut album Harmonic Module on Wild Thing Records in 2005. A wonderful album which really showcased Alex’ ripe musical talent with its unique underground sound melodic style rooted deep in old-school psychedelia…This track is entitled 'Kaepirinha' which I’m told is an anagrammatic twist inspired by a Brazilian drink, and yeah, it certainly does sound like someone’s been sipping on grandpa’s old cough medicine… Like every EVP I’ve ever heard, this is deeply melodic, synth-ridden, multilayered, analogue mayhem… Acid-filled like in the good old days, but with 2006 production… Simply lovely!

#04: Yab-Yum – Invincible [146 BPM]
Yab-Yum is the love child of Peak Records founders Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu and everything I’ve heard from these guys have been sheer class… And this fun-filled, party-tool is no exception… … No disappointing lows and no over-the-top highs either. Just pure, passionate psytrance made by a couple of guys who really know their way around the studio… Sweet!

#05: Atriohm – Lost [148 BPM]
Next up is a track by the Atriohm duo from Macedonia (Leonid & Aleksandar Golcev). These guys have released a bunch of really hot, hugely atmospheric tracks on especially Peak, but also great tracks on Ajana and Parvati Records… And the atmospheric touch is also very much present here… This is spooky stuff, which would go down well in the beginning of a dark horror-trance set… The trademark ‘crackling’ sounds are all over the place helping in creating an eerie, haunting mood… Nice stuff, though I could have wished for some extra punch every now and again. But it’s still a tasty little beast…

#06: Electrypnose vs. Highko – Internal Moves [151 BPM]
A Peak Records release wouldn’t be complete without a track by my personal hero, Swiss psytrance juggler Vince Le Barde… His impressive back-catalogue of 3 full albums and more than 20 compilation tracks have been accomplished in less than 3 years – and more importantly, without compromising the quality of any of those tracks… Now that’s impressive! On this track Vince is joined by German producer Heiko Quast. In the past I’ve had some problems fully appreciating his often VERY fast above-150-BPM gabba-like tracks and yes, this track is also a tad too fast for me… Certainly there are some great passages here, and I’d like to think that Vince’s input have balanced things out a bit… But generally speaking, this is too hectic for me… Brace yourself!

#07: Yab-Yum & Ocelot – Put Another Synth On The Barbie [146 BPM]
“Which is the type of acid that actually make you fly?” Next up is a track much more to my liking. And is this a match made in heaven or what? I’ve already written just how much I like Yab-Yum’s work and on this track they’re joined by another psytrance heavy weight champion, namely Ocelot - American producer Aaron Peacock who released his splendid album VectorSelector last year on the Dropout Productions label. And yes, this track is absolutely gobsmacking! From the heavily distorted rhythm section to the trippy acid lines… From the funny Ali G samples to the twirling synth melodies… From the banging bassline to the tons of weird little quirks and surprising turns. This is, hand down, the best track here! I love every second of it! Perfect!

#08: Drumatik – Born To Be Wild [148 BPM]
“Through thermal mapping we've generated a rough three dimensional image of the structure. It's massive!” Swiss producer Benjamin Klingemann is another Peak regular. His debut album Peak Process was basically a feature-length track packed to the rim with oddball, funny psytrance in an extremely versatile style… Constantly evolving, sample-heavy stuff that seldom has let me down… And this track is just what you’d expect from Ben, though a tad faster than usual… But it’s still a refreshing take on upbeat psytrance… Trippy samples, rapid changes in pace, spacey atmosphere and the usual dose of humorous samples and nifty little bits and pieces… All cooked up in a lovely night time stew by Drumatik. Very tasty!

#09: Clockstoppers – Magical Places [150 BPM]
Clockstoppers is a new project consisting of Maxim Galinov (Terranoise) and Pavel Shkolnikov… And as the BPM count so mercilessly reveals, this is another very fast-paced track… Hard to the core and relentlessly fast… Pounding away at an incredible speed like there’s no tomorrow… As the Electrypnose/Highko track there certainly are lots of interesting parts here, but generally speaking it’s still a little too fast for my taste… I can barely breathe thru the middle part… Phew!

#10: Ocelot – Minor Deviant [148 BPM]
Another Peacock track thrown in for good measure… This is more acid-pump, synth-heavy, bass-ridden night time trance with an impressive punch… The versatility is not as rich as the previous Ocelot track, but it still packs an impressive groove seldom seen in 148 BPM psytrance… It’s subtle somehow, yet still very trippy… Good without being overly impressive. A subtle and funky groove track that will especially well as a transition tool for DJs… Neat!

#11: Dimitri Zara vs. Synthogen – Escom [148 BPM]
Dimitri Zara and Gregori Alexatos (Synthogen) are from Germany and this is my first encounter with their musical antics… And by antics, I really do mean antics. This is non-conformist psytrance with a high level of experimentation… Laser stabs, pounding basslines, high pitched acid lines and tons of interweaved sonic audio excursions… Highly eclectic and very different from anything else on this compilation… A bold and very brave move on Peak’s behalf… Very tight! I totally dig it!

#12: Flooting Grooves & Dymons – Whatwasthat (Outro)
As usual we close things off the same way it started… With a shorter downbeat track, this time conjured by Peak regulars Pearce van der Merwe and Daniel Symons… This is an electro-soaked little snippet that lets you come down off the trip and catch your breath again…

Another fine, above-par Peak Records compilation is ready to conquer the psytrance world… As always the quality level is high and there’s not even the slightest indication of a lame track here… Sure, the two tracks pounding away above the 150 BPM count didn’t really agree with me all that much, but besides from those I dig most of the tracks here… And there are even a handful of really excellent stand-out tracks which make this a recommended purchase.

The cover art is in the usual lovely Peak style and it will look great on your shelf next to the rest of the Peak back catalogue. Well done you Peaking Hippie Tie-dye Cooperative Bunch of Swiss Nutters… I can’t wait for the next 10 releases to hit the airwaves… And I know I’ve been yapping on about this forever, but please, pretty please, bring on the damn Yab-Yum album already… We’re starving here!

Anyway, this is a release that will cater to both hardened Peak fans, but it will also appeal widely to fans of faster, night-orientated psytrance with an edge… Swiss anti-cheese style! It’s real nice, so I’d recommend any serious psytrance to check it out… Enjoy!

Favourites: 3(!), 4, 7(!!), 8(!), 11(!)
DeathPosture