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What's This about?
After much anticipation and a number of great teaser´s in varied compilations, the two Berlin freaks have released a full-length album to sink your teeth into a palpable concept of the Naked Tourists. Working together since 1999 Z-neo brings his production into play with a background in break-beat and psy trance. Mixing in the pot DJ Iguana (co-founder of Noise Poison Records with Highko) translates the work based on his experience of dance-floor madness, with a compelling and certainly explosive proposal. The output is a consistent collection of tracks pitching and building on fast paced rhythms, spilling innovative psychedelia by every pore in their hasty ride.
Per-song Break down
1. Mad Different Methods *
The album opens branding the goods much like In Megalopy´s debut last year. I´m not entirely fond of this, but I can appreciate the potential for live gigs. It beats those green lasers spelling your name, if you ask me. We take off with bouncy squeakers and metallic samples looping in the background. It eventually builds to a detuned line resonating like a harp from hell, filling out the theme nicely.
2. Double REL - Prehysterical Moments
This remix had been in the works well since last year, when Double REL announced in our interview the tourist’s had picked a tune to deconstruct. I’m not very familiarized with this track in particular but it can notice the absence of the Double REL bass lines, and lot more play and squeak on the upper ranges. I like it. From what I can tell the track structure on the bare bones is the same, but is clear there are a number of new goodies on top. And what the hell did they do to that crunched synth retreating and palpitating is beyond me, but helps closing the chapter with originality.
3. Chopper *
Like the name indicates this is about a helicopter. We take off with a really sweet toothed kid sample by the beginning, which is turning real trendy (take mental note). The sounds of the rotor engine gyrating translate firstly as a panning game in low gear much like a bass. As we gain altitude the line propels us right to the apex with a never ending pick up. It’s nice to see they really infused the sounds, making them an integral part of the work and not an expendable tail rotor. One of my personal favorites.
4. No Name *
This the enchanting story of a robot (with no name) that was on his way to... god knows where. Point being, he was on the path and suddenly every single nut and bolt of his metallic being started convulsing in strange ways, clearly not fitting of his design. Suffering from the Akira syndrome (Anime otaku reference), his extremities grew disproportionately at gigantic measures, as the metal planks that surrounded his skeleton clanked and scrapped against the floor, many times simply snapping from it’s socket in loud and hypnotizing ruckus. The horrendous sound of his hollow body inflating could be heard for miles. The growth reached a critical point before the poor bastard imploded in a loud squelching fart, taking with him all the air of his bulging self. The incident has been denominated as the worse case of robotic indigestion in recorded history.
5. Limbogott - Hirnfräse (Naked Tourist Remix) *
I have no idea whom Lobogott might be but this track makes me wish I would have run into that name earlier. On to the story, we can hear growling and vicious samples with Pantera-like screams and a sweet break that reminds a lot of prodigy. Over all a quasi Sepultura kind of mix with savage psy build making it make it work together. Top notch… wow.
6. Asylunatinc *
“Cranky lunatics… on drugs” describes the feel of this remix very aptly, originally showcased on Psychedelically Yours 3 last year. I never got around that one, so I’m not sure how the originally story went, but this is very dynamic –once again- fast paced throwing a decent builder. The whole thing should standout in a live situation, but when you listen to the whole thing sequentially, it seems the album is deluged of them pitchy builders that don’t really stray too far from each other. So for the good or the bad it’s best to adjust yourself to them.
7. Backup Paranoia
A long winded intro with spacey tunes and samples, loads into full gear after roughly a minute. The outer space elements and the voices remain while the kicks run this show. The paranoia inducing elements count primarily as the scratchy lead, progressing right into a full threaded catchy line jumping all over, inviting the listener to stomp around or else. The melodies and the energy invoke South African elements, which becomes more apparent in this chapter more than ever.
8. Fair Child & Secret track *
"All we have is each other... without that we have nothing" The lines keep rumbling with a delightful number of drumming action accompanying those kicks in a classic NT style that has become ever so evident in this release. Moving as fuck and intentionally riff-ridden to close the collection of mad different methods, that albeit could have offered a bit more diversity… that is until you fast forward to minute eleven.
Inside we are treated to material not fitting in the official content of this album, primarily because it’s a lot more playful, the grind core influences and electronic textures feel strangely retro 80’s funk, seeding a whole new style that could well be developing in their latter works. Don’t let it stagnate.
* Favourites
All and All
Notwithstanding the commitment of Mad Different Methods to dance floor ruthlessness; the classy touches in previous works like the remix of “Three Lines in a Row” (Hocus Peakus) and the hidden gem in this album… make it undeniable there is a fun aspect to their production building up to funky. It’s brooding underneath in their essence. Seeing this side develop in the future is something I will be monitoring closely. Presently the album delivers what was promised, a pack of thrillers to shake a leg on the dance floor, the bush, in your bedroom and possibly the shower. Not forgetting the intense brainwave workout that characterizes Parvati’s work. If you actually spin, it’s certain the material will be shaping your sets in the months to follow. In a few words I think its fuckentastic, nicely done Mr. Iguana-mon and Dr. Z.
Review by Scobbah
Giuseppe and his friends at Danish Parvati Records starts 2006 with releasing the debut album from the German duo Naked Tourist. The Tourists liveset has not been completely unknown to me; if my memory doesn’t fail me I experienced Iguana’s set, one of the Tourists, at Fullmoon Festival ’03 and the complete Tourist act at FMF as well just the very next year after. Their sound back at then was something I percieved as a bit morning-style with psychedelic elements. I weren’t too keen about what was going around in the Tourist’s factory until Psychedelically Yours 3 was released. ‘Lunatic Asylum’ made me go wild, longering for their debut album to be released and I got very happy when Guiseppe announced the news.
Here it is, the Tourist’s debut album and oh I have been waiting! The artwork is first class, something I strongly associate with Parvati. The piece comes with a nice and handy dj-slip whose clear and good looking with white text on redish background and besides the graphics, the mastering job has been taken care of by Drix (as usual) and there’s nothing regarding it to whine about. Good work! All in all this really got me excited and I did put my copy into the CD player and music started to flow out of the monitors…
01 - Mad Different Methods (08:38)
We’re being welcomed by a voice giving a short statement in regard of the album’s title. There are a few elements that possibly could be percieved as some what “clubby”, but as an old hardcore Parvati fan I just experience em as funny ones preparing me for the Tourist’s trip. First track gives you massage at 146 BPM and I take a quick look at the dj-slip, noticing that all tracks on the album are performed between 145 to 147 BPM, and the Tourist’s are not continuing the present formula that slightly have been exposed in the scene in recent times – the formula whose making music pounding at higher BPM’s. This track delivers some squeeky sequences with flowing sounds and for me, the climax is to be found at about seven minutes into the track. An OK performed start of the album; not too hard and not too soft making it all in all a decent first-up’er.
02 - Prehysterical Moments (07:57)
The album’s second track is a remix of the Double R.E.L. track who bears almost the same title but without the last ‘s’, making it into singularis; originally released on Israeli Doof Records’ compilation “Booo” who reached the market in March last year, that is almost a year ago. I haven’t heard the original so I cannot compare those, so I encounter this remix with fresh and quite unbiased ears I hope. It’s squeeky and quite straight-driving in 145 BPM, and there are a few samples here whom I really dear. With that said, I’m afraid that even though these elements of joy are here, the track in the long run becomes a little bit boring in my ears due due to what I percieve as a lack of development.
03 - Chopper (07:46)
Another storyteller comes up and I find myself laughing a bit as they’ve sampled the sequencer’s click-help (an option available in sequencers to help keep rhytm at recording sessions for example) – nice with some humour! This child of 147 BPM keeps a good plot I think and there are some elements here as well that I like, even though they don’t quite succeed in spellbounding me. An OK track that’d do good at the dancefloor as well as home a monday morning.
04 - Noname (08:03)
I swiftly join the fourth journey and we’re hunting down some neat bassline tricks here at 146 BPM. Besides these I’m not sure that there are much more to it that I really like here. I don’t dislike what I hear, but my ears some how quickly grow quite tired of the squeeks and once again I lack a some what development of the track, a progression between scapes of more contrast I think. So there’s no option for dislike here, but I just simply can’t connect well with this one.
05 - Hirnfräse (07:50)
The fifth tale is another remix and this time the Tourists goes for a rolling 147 BPM remix of Limbogott’s “Hirnfräse” (I haven’t heard that one neither); Limbogott being an act whose previously been released on Munich based Spontaneous Aerobics. First I have to mention that the drum’n’bass break three minutes into the track’s simply sweet and it makes a great addition to the track’s story. Good touch down guys! The screaming leads who follows are not my cup of tea though, the melodies are OK but the sound of these a bit off my limits…
06 - Asylunatic (08:24)
With a quite industrial intro the track blooms after one minute’s past. I had some expectations for this track as I really like the original and a session of comprassions were unavoidable. I found it quite difficult to draw an conclusion here but I do prefer the original. This remix feels a bit more, if possible, dancefloor-adapted judging by structure (I know the original kicked well at the floor, too, I’ve tested it) with the predictable breaks and buildup’s, that corresponds so well to what the general dancefloor-citizen demand on the floor these days. I feel that the Tourist are giving the people what they want and I can’t blame em for it – sorry folks but I choose to stay with the original, the epic dancefloorish buttslapper.
07 - Backup Paranoia (08:20)
“Let there be light”. This sample is quite famous at this time and here it’s being re-used by the Tourists… If I’m not completely misstaken, this is the same sample being used in Astral Projection’s all-time-superb track “Let There Be Light”. I’m really sorry if my ears are so poor and fails me if this wouldn’t be the same sample, but I can’t see it being anything else. Anyone’s free to correct me but till then, but in general I think it’s quite poor to re-use famous samples of this kind despite who wrote the original and who did the later version – just my personal take on things and nothing personal with this track. So for the track itself, does it do the “trick” for me? Well to be honest, it doesn’t. There are some elements here that I find enchanting but I’m getting slightly tired on the squeeks. I suppose it is just a matter of personal taste and I don’t seem to connect well with this track neither. However, I bet that this track would really kick some serious butt on the general dancefloor, but it’s a completely different thing to percieve and experience things at home well-focused and well-concentrated compared to the dancefloor and vice versa…
08 - Fairchild (18:19)
At first sight it seems we’re about to experience an 18 minute journey – yeha! Later on it turns out that the long track length being revealed in my player actually is two tracks – one of em being a hidden gem who joints the track after about three minutes of silence. The first part, before the silence kicks in that is, is about eight minutes long and it’s one of the golden gems for me on this album. I like the plot, the sounds and the squeeks’n’leads aren’t that “screamy” as on some of the previous tracks on the album. It’s not too much action yet there is no space to chill, but full groove all the time. If I’d dare to put effort into a take on judging the style of this track and guessing the time it was written, I’d suppose it was written during a period closer to when the original “Lunatic Asylum” was written, while some of the more “screamy” stuff on the album might be a bit fresher and closer to recent time – this statement’s based on the simple judgement of the track’s three major S: style, structure and sounds. Great work Tourists, big up’s!
About eleven minutes into the audio track, the second part starts and breaks the silence. At first this track reminds me of X-Dream’s “The 1st” from the “We Interface” album with the funky, electric, techy breakbeat feeling. This is experimental, wide, fat and neat all at once, with an excellent plot. About two and a half minute before the end there’s a beautiful breakdown and when the track starts rolling again I really find myself enjoying the track even more. The story is very, very evident and superb happy feelings are flowing through my veins. As an last add, this track makes the perfect “bye bye” of the album. Thumbs up, again!
Summary
Wow, this might be the most difficult summary I’ve written in years. First, I believe that the general trance-Joe will fully enjoy this piece while the music-fetishists, record collectors and early Parvati/Tourist-fans might think a bit different about it. Just a theory, that’s all. There’s a few tracks here that I like and there’s even fewer tracks that I really, really hold dear. Generally speaking, this album has some fresh ideas that I find myself enjoying. I could split this album in two; one piece being the “screamy” leads group with the many, many squeeks (i.e. “Noname”) – while the other being filled with surprises, fresh ideas and some serious business that at least got me going (i.e. “Chopper” or “Fairchild”). The first group mentioned above is not poor nor bad, but I just don’t connect well to it. The second group is o la la – al dente and simply sweet. All-in-all, I believe it’s a good debut album even if I weren’t too spellbound by the vast majority of the tracks here but the piece still feels “complete” and I know that there are people out there who already do or who will really enjoy this one. Hats off for the Tourists.
Favorites: 1, 3, 8(!) and the hidden track (!!).
Review by Deathposture
Naked Tourist are German hard-trancers Martin (Z-Neo) & Björn (DJ Iguana) and I’ve been looking forward to this debut album for a long time… I really have a soft spot for their drug-crazed, acid-ridden, relentless night trance, and pretty much all compilation tracks I heard from these guys have been pure gold… Also, it’s Parvati Records releasing it which IMHO always vouches for a quality release… Nuff said, on with the music…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Naked Tourist - Mad Different Methods [146 BPM]
“It’s like mad different methods to the way I do my shit…” The title track opens with a bad-ass gangsta sample, that looks pretty cheesy on paper, but it actually works pretty well here… The track itself is a typical NT track: Heavily fragmented psytrance – packed to the rim with funny voice-samples and experimental twists and turns… All kept within a framework of acid-ridden, pumping night trance… Just what you’d expect = satisfaction in recognition… Tasty opening track! ;o)
#02: Double R.E.L. - Prehysterical Moments (Naked Tourist Remix) [145 BPM]
“Each little bone can tell us a story. We can look at the articulations of the bone, how they fit together and the mechanics […]” This is a remix to a Double R.E.L. track originally released on the 2005 Doof Records compilation Booo… I’m not familiar with the original, so I can’t really comment on the treatment… Anyway the track opens with a palaeontologist sample and quickly turns into a regular stomp-fest… Kinda minimal at first, but soon enough the flood gates of psychedelia are opened… Yeah, this is pure dancefloor psychedelia – just listen to the raven-peak @ 4’59! Brilliant! A fine track riddled in samples and with enough twirling acid lines to satisfy most urban hippies… I dig it!
#03: Naked Tourist - Chopper [147 BPM]
“Listen to the sounds of the wind around you! … This music… It’s beautiful!” The guys start with another funny sample before unleashing the fiercest bassline so far… It’s accompanied by en eerie, haunting melody-line and a bunch of spacy, sonic tweaks… And yeah, I guess you could draw the comparison to chopper-sounds too… The video-game FX are very well-chosen and the build-up/climax part is destined to tear any dancefloor apart… Hold on to your hats – this is a psychedelic rollercoaster ride! It’s maybe a little too fast for a brief moment, but generally I like it…
#04: Naked Tourist - Noname [146 BPM]
Halfway thru the album the guys present the scariest track so far – this is dark, haunting, atmospheric night trance… A steady, evil-bassline is accompanied by an array of distorted synth-stabs… The industrial link is evident and basically this is the meanest I’ve ever heard from Naked Tourist… This is indeed a solid piece of haunting night-trance, but frankly I like the guys better when they lighten up a little…
#05: Limbogott - Hirnfrãse (Naked Tourist Remix) [147 BPM]
I don’t have first-hand knowledge about Limbogott, but some quality Google time reveals the band as a German industrial/nu-metal outfit not unlike Marilyn Manson, Korn or Slipknot… The track Hirnfräse is featured on their debut album One Minute Violence and I’ve only heard fragments of it… This remix kicks some major ass though and posses even more energy than the original... It’s like a big waterfall of acid… Fast-paced, aggressive, paranoia-inducing psytrance… Like the perfect trance-sound track to the two Saw movies… Brilliantly done… I’m impressed!
#06: Naked Tourist - Asylunatic [147 BPM]
“Crank me lunatic…On drugs! … This feels right!” This track is a remix to Naked Tourist’s own track Lunatic Asylum released on the 2005 Parvati compilation Psychedelically Yours 3… You recognize elements from the original, but mostly this is a new track… The rich industrial elements from the previous track are still present and this is some pretty murky stuff… The acid-level is still very high, and the playful twirling acid-lines strike a notable contrast to the evil bassline… As in the original track, the final run down is a real treasure… Pure nocturnal bliss!
#07: Naked Tourist - Backup Paranoia [146 BPM]
Paranoia-noia-noia-oia! A seemingly chilled, harmonic intro is soon brutally shredded to pieces by some severely demented synth experimentation – that’s also the start of some hard-core tweakage which ultimately makes this the most trip-friendly track of the album… It’s less dark than the previous tracks, and has some really impressive uplifting bits and pieces… But don’t get me wrong – this is still very much night trance… And of course we get another healthy acid overdose… Brilliant!
#08: Naked Tourist - Fairchild [147 BPM]
The last track is not really the last track – but more about that later… What we get here is more trademark Naked Tourist mayhem… Border-crossing, fragmented, funny night trance with loads of samples and an endless supply of acid… Pretty good, but I feel it lacks some of the energy and I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude of some of the previous tracks…
#00: Naked Tourist - Hidden Track
“His mind is lost!” Track #8 runs for eight minutes and after approximately three minutes of silence comes the hidden, nameless track… What’s extra cool about this is that it’s a full-length track running for over seven minutes… Cool! A hidden track like this is a welcomed opportunity for experimentation and that’s exactly what the guys do here… This is a very interesting odd-ball track – a hybrid with influences from an array of genres like psytrance, IDM, acid, tech-trance, progressive trance, etc… And it works really, really well… It’s a hidden gem!
When was the last time Parvati Records let you down? … I didn’t think so! This is indeed a fine debut album from one of Germany’s finest night trance exports… There are no bad tracks here, and most of the tracks are real fucking sweet… So, anyone who liked the compilation tracks so far will love this album… It’s just what you’d expect + a lot more!
The glossy digipack cover art is pure eye-candy as we’ve come to expect from Parvati, and the DJ case friendly tracklist will come in handy to Case Logic diciples… All in all, this is a great, value-for-money package that I will not hesitate to give my warmest recommendations… Enjoy!
Review written by PKS on trance.net
Naked Tourist gives us here an album purely for the night. Here we get thrown into the darker side of psytrance through most of the journey. Except for a hidden track at the end here, all the tracks brings us into a very intense, rolling voyage with mostly dark, intense sounds and groovy basslines. A lot of this becomes way too intense for my homelistening, but in my ears, several of these tracks sounds slightly more powerful than a lot of other darkpsy being released these days. Some of the sounds are a bit too repetive and nagging for my taste, but I’m sure some darkpsy night trippers will enjoy some of these tracks in a night time set anyway. They have also remixed a couple of tracks here. One originally made by Double R.E.L. from Israel, and the other one originally made by someone called Limbogott. The hidden track we get at the end here, is some kind of break beat/drum n bass track, which is actually my favourite track on this album. It reminds me a little bit of the drum n bass style Eat Static has served in some of their albums.
With this album, Naked Tourist will definitely be a name we will hear often during night time hours at various festivals and parties around the globe this year. Parvati usually keeps the level a little bit above most other darkpsy labels, and it seems to me that this is no exception. If you are into darkpsy, get your hands on this one. If not, stay clear…
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