- I’ll be the first to admit that I no longer enjoy the harder style of the dance spectrum. So much so that I’ve been known to run screaming from a club when the beats have reached an almost nauseating relentlessness. This is now but up until two years ago, all I did was listen to hard trance with my interest in hard house being a very fleeting thing. When hard trance first started making an impact three years ago, it was something completely different and a departure from all the euphoric trance that was being played by the usual suspects. It was dark, nasty and would leave the weak behind. In the shadowy depths of certain underground clubs, you could close your eyes and become overwhelmed by the furious bass that was consuming your entire body. You could truly lose yourself for those few hours until 6am when the last record was played and the house lights came on. Funny how things have a way of changing. What once sounded different, started to sound the same and as such, I moved on to the more melodic beats of progressive. So it’s a surprise to find myself thoroughly enjoying Enigma Volume 2.
Enigma Records was created in 2001 as an independent record label in Sydney devoted to promoting Australian dance music artists. Since then it has strived to release locally produced material that would otherwise go unheard. Having already released Enigma Volume 1 to critical praise, with this installment they’ve proved to be a label to be reckoned with and one that will continue to promote quality releases.
The compilation opens with the dark rumbling bass of Native’s ‘Path’. A progressive track that’s more trance than house and one that could easily find a place during a long Digweed set in a very small, intimate club. Its effect is somewhat sinister in atmosphere and sets the tone for this CD. This murky quality is further established with Accession’s ‘Subterranea’ and Sybil’s Orbit’s ‘Stab In The Dark’. The tempo is increased with the PVD styled ‘Conflict’ by Victor James & Chris Tisdell with it uplifting melody over acid basslines. This bangs in all the right places but never resorting to the usual cheesy elements of some current trance releases. Halfway through there’s an almost angelic breakdown that would make PVD proud. Very driving dance track and a standout on this release. The mix is then taken into techno territory with ‘Digital’ by H.P.S?. A massive track with its heavy industrial sounding elements over a furious wall of pounding bass. This could very well do your head in before you realised it was happening. This is then following the obvious hard trance of ‘Back To Earth’ by Spinners Breed. As I’ve already said, I’m no longer a fan of this genre but there is an element to this that makes it enjoyable. While there is the usual onslaught of beats, this doesn’t make me want to run for cover. The breakdown during this track reminds me of the old skool hard trance that I used to love. This track is quality simply because it doesn’t follow the usual hard trance formula ie the track starts, there’s a break down, then it starts pounding away, again another breakdown, again it starts pounding away and during all this there is absolutely no melody. My biggest disappointment with hard trance was that it lost the melody that is so important to music. Without melody you just have a jack hammer sound and that’s really boring. This has everything that hard trance is missing. A deeper, darker sound is explored with Xenobis’ ‘Mind Emotion’ which builds up nicely into an breakdown with an electro tinge then explodes in such a way that makes you wish you were in the middle of Gatecrasher. Brilliant!
With the next track, ‘Torn’ by H.P.S?, we’re taken back to a techno sound where the beats are unrelenting. A little bit repetitive for my liking but at an underground techno party I can see this driving the crowd into a frenzy. The tempo of the compilation is then taken into an almost pulsating rhythm with ‘Mayhem’ by Spinners Breed and ‘Block Party’ by Xenobis and by ‘Green Ink’ by H.P.S? I’m feeling a little out of sorts. These last three tracks are much too hard for my personal tastes but I can see them causing a lot of mayhem at certain clubs and as such, I can see them being enjoyed by those that love their music hard and fast. For me, a welcome relief is found with the darkly progressive sounds of Native’s ‘Music & Life’. Native is the standout artist on this and again I can’t help feeling that this particular track would also fit perfectly in a John Digweed set. Almost tribally in concept but those fat basslines give it an edge and for me, another stand out track on this compilation. This is like jumping in a bottomless pit of bass. Awesome! With the last track, ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’ by Victor James & Chris Tisdell, I’m instantly reminded of tracks Platipus would release. A great progressive trance stormer that takes you to the top of the mountain and keeps you thinking about climbing higher. Very uplifting elements with a prog style breakdown overlapped with a lush melody. A beautiful track that contains quirky electro elements that would make James Holden proud. Again, a standout track that finalises this compilation in a calm, peaceful manner.
Listening to Enigma Volume 2 has been somewhat of a guilty but much enjoyed pleasure. To be honest, I thought I would have to force myself to sit through this but I found myself being carried away in this dark journey of what I can only describe as the true sound of the hard dance underground. What makes this even better is that all the artists are Australian and is only a small example of what our musicians, producers and DJs are capable of. While it’s already begun, I have no doubt that in five years time, a lot of our artists will become much more prominent in the dance scene. As with the first installment, Volume 2 has not been mixed by a DJ but instead using Protools. Some may grumble about this but at the end of the day, a compilation should present each track at optimum peak regardless of how that is achieved. Congratulations to the Enigma team for staying true to their manifesto ie promoting Australian dance music artists.
Much respect!
Tracklisting:
1. Path – Native
2. Subterranea – Accession
3. Stab In The Dark – Sybil’s Orbit
4. Conflict – Victor James & Chris Tisdell
5. Digital – H.P.S?
6. Back To Earth – Spinners Breed
7. Mind Emotion – Xenobis
8. Torn – H.P.S?
9. Mayhem – Spinners Breed
10. Block Party – Xenobis
11. Green Ink – H.P.S?
12. Music & Life – Native
13. Fermat’s Last Theorem – Victor James & Chris Tisdell