Kreatrix – Time – Original (Krea-free) by Kreatrix
This is turning into a good week for releases, isn’t it? Something a little different, but one of my favourite freeform tunes so far this year, Kreatrix/Level 13’s Time is now available for free via the Kreatrix SoundCloud. Twisty synthed, 180bpm freeform isn’t a common sight these days, and this one is absolutely recommended.
Level 13 – Selfish Games by Kreatrix
Two more tracks from the Level 13 vaults have been released, and this time for free! Selfish Games might be the most familiar to people (I’ve played it quite a few times online, too), and is really a great tune in that Belial-style ‘breakbeat freeform’ mould.
Screamer is a very nice surprise – sounding like a Level 13 freeform track at 150bpm, it features an excellent main melody and all the usual filter madness you’d expect.
Level13 – Time – Finished by Level13 – TwistedFreq
Vocal-led freeform doesn’t tend to work that well, but here Level 13 has come up with a very catchy tune that gets the balance just about right. The trademark demented synths are in there (with one of the nicest pre-breakdown sequences I’ve heard for a while), but maybe more importantly the vocals themselves are really good quality.
Alchemiist – Aerobiosis by Thank You For The Horse
Sorry it’s been a while, but hopefully these new (and one not-so-new) tracks will have been worth the wait. Huge thanks to all the guys involved – I’m trying to keep a fairly consistent sound on the TYFTH SoundCloud so far, and once again we’ve got some really high quality stuff, all the way from Aryx’s excellent melodic hard trance up to TF’s nasty freeform.
Fall 4 You was actually released for free a long time ago by Twisted Freq, but it’s really deserving of being up somewhere more permanently, while Alchemiist and J-Mx’s tracks are up for the first time, and will hopefully get them some new listeners.
For one reason or another I can’t upgrade the SC account just at the moment, so the next group of tunes (which are already partly decided) will have to wait for a while. It also means that this new batch will be limited to 100 downloads for the time being. Most of the other tracks reached the download limit very quickly, so grab them while you can!
Here’s another set, this time via Pearsall’s Sonicrampage blog. Mixed by Flip back in 2005, it’s a nice reminder of how things used to sound and features some excellent selections, including a couple of older Twisted Freq tracks. Listening in 2011 it seems like the set is a bit short on interesting transitions, but it’s definitely refreshing to hear tunes like Tlaloc and Underworld Species again.
01. Twisted Freq – Martyrdom (Volatile Digital Audio)
02. Carbon Based – Fatal Flashback (Electronic)
03. Pain On Creation – Adaptation (Finrg Digital)
04. AMS – God Of Hell Fire (Nu Energy)
05. Oli G & Dodgee – Heh (Nu Energy)
06. Invader & Oli G – Living Hell (Digital Beatz)
07. Alek Szahala – Tlaloc (Electronic)
08. Cynista vs Safe n’ Sound – Chemical Warfare (Nu Energy)
09. Carbon Based – Anger Ball (Nu Energy)
10. Kevin Energy – Crescendos Of Ecstasy (Nu Energy)
11. Twisted Freq – Burnin’ Up (Volatile Digital Audio)
12. Pain On Creation – Mortality (Electronic)
13. Carbon Based – Underworld Species (Electroplates)
PlasmaDancer – Dreams Into Harder, November 2010 by PlasmaDancer
It turns out that my Dreams Into Harder set is getting some surprisingly good feedback, so I’ve decided to put it up on SoundCloud for anyone who missed the original post. A few people have said that it sounds ‘fresh’, which luckily is just what I was going for – most of the tunes are hardly what you’d call new, but it was a fun break from the post-summer wasteland of the freeform scene.
I’m still rounding up tunes for the next mix, but I’m hoping to be done with it around the end of January. Fear not though, that one’ll be NRG/freeform-only.
This wasn’t the final post of the year that I was hoping for, but there’ll be some customary ‘Top 3’ lists coming in the next couple of days, as well as another post for the budding producers out there. For now then, massive thanks to everyone who has visited TYFTH in 2010 – this year it feels like people have really helped out/contributed more than ever, and of course I’m really grateful. Hopefully once the next mix is out and the TYFTH ‘free label’ gets into its stride (both on the to-do list for next month), we’ll have a few more recruits to the great little crew we’re building up here.
Happy New Year!
Just when it was turning into one of those weeks for freeform, here we have a brand new set from Alek Szahala to keep us going into the new year. This one was recorded during Alek’s recent gig in Canada, and there’s plenty of new/updated material along with staples like Maruuk and Iron Squid. Listen out for the slightly Nomic-esque breakcore (?) track in the second half – it stands out a little in amongst all the freeform, but it’s a very nice experimental tune. The excellent Starcrossed and what I think is a reworking of his Baldur’s Gate II remix are other new tunes, while Phobos is sounding as incredible as ever.
You’d have to be mad not to give this a listen – here’s a tracklist of what I recognise so far, thanks to Jiipez for the help!
Level 13 – Is That All by Level13
Level 13 is back again with a stormer of a track – only a preview up for the time being, but there could be some release information coming very soon. Is That All mixes trance and NRG, with plenty of vocals and some fantastic melodies being messed around with by those trademark filters. I was really impressed with this one, it’s definitely a tune to keep a look out for.
Last weekend was Dreams Into Harder, and despite the really low turnout/bit of admin chaos it was all great fun to take part in. In the end it turned out to be a good choice to go with breakbeat hardcore, what with everyone else playing high bpm trancey happy hardcore.
Standout set was DJ 490’s very technical happy hardcore, with NEMO’s Scouse House a close second. DJ Minagi’s Anison (anime soundtrack!) and hard trance was a thing to behold – I didn’t have a clue what was going on half the time, but he mixed it all amazingly well. My set was so much fun to play that I actually re-recorded it at home last night – click below for the tracklist/mp3 and some photos from the event.
The very last batch of releases from freeform stalwart Electronica Exposed are almost here, and the Six Feet Underground compilation is looking especially nice. As well as a lot of unreleased Shanty material and a new Cyrez edit of Twisted Faith, look out for one of Dye In Sound’s latest tracks, the filtertastic Extended. I played it a few weeks ago in my short ustream set – it’s definitely one for Twisted Freq fans to check out. Take a look at the complete tracklist and order the CD here.