Introduction
Therange Freak In Dub: Cosmic Transformation
Artist: Therange Freak In Dub
Title / Release Page: Cosmic Transformation
Release Date: 2015 March 25
Genre: Psychedelic Trance Dub
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Media: MP3 / OGG / FLAC
Pricing: Free / Donation
Label: Ektoplazm
Rating: ★★★★★★★
Tthere is a lot of trance music that I tend to not like a whole lot. However, Therange Freak In Dub: Cosmic Transformation is not one of those projects. This is an experiment by in blending elements of psychedelia, Scandinavian trance, and some jazzy bits in a swirling pot of dub that is great for chilling out.
Therange Freak In Dub: Cosmic Transformation
So, the reason I normally don’t like a lot of trance music is that it sounds too close to house and techno for my taste. And that is predicated on the dominance of a single steady beat that dominates the music to the point that it gives me a headache. However, while there is still a solid beat in this release, it doesn’t over-dominate the pieces so completely and leaves me a bit of room to think without hurting my head.
What Therange Freak has done on this eighteen minute EP is to present us with a world that is abstract and transformative. It starts off as an amorphous blob of sounds, out of which a bass and drums rise through the swirls before leading us into ‘Psychich Vivisection2′, a piece that starts with a poem from Mystic Voyager that frames the exploration and transformation that we are undertaking.
The piece continues with a trippy / dub-heavy journey of layered sounds with drums and bass leading the way as other sounds swirl in, out and around us. It’s the perfect chance to get lost in this music. Part way through we start being lead by a muted saxophone, before returning to the drum and bass line, as the swirling cacophony fades away.
With ‘Irminsul (in Scnado Dub)’ we find the most trance-like piece on the EP. Driving beats move the piece forward. This is still a dub though, and the beat is laid back into the mix, even at 130BPM. The release concludes with ‘Outro’ – a short, very dub-laden tune that allows you to chillout from the intensity of the previous piece.
Conclusion
Overall Therange Freak In Dub: Cosmic Transformation is my kind of trance music. The dub, psychedelic and Scandinavian bits help to break things up enough to allow my mind to wander successfully without feeling like my head is going to split open.
