What with all the recent melodic freeform releases on TYFTH and the unusually upbeat Live 012, this excellent set by Lyricals~ is nicely timed. There’s plenty on the tracklist that wouldn’t typically get a mention here, but one of the set’s most impressive points is how it keeps a fine balance between the light and dark(er) with some consistently interesting mixing. Although it appears that Lyricals~ has only been mixing for a couple of years, this mix is an easy recommend for just about any Horser (and far, far more advanced than I was at a similar point).
On a first listen the opening really caught my ear, as Ziki_7’s Ultra Spark is teased in with some nice cuts away from Kokomochi’s Beryl. The eventual switch over is abrupt, but that’s where the teasing does its job, the repetition of those earlier cuts doing a good job to keep things sounding more consistent. It’s soon obvious why Ultra Spark was chosen, as the transition into Nirotiy’s 沉渊低语 (Whispers of Looming Shadows) is top class and one of the best in the whole set. It’s such a hard track to mix out of though (as I learned recently), making the less smooth switch into Abandoned Metropolis understandable. I’m imagining the idea here was to sacrifice a bit of smoothness to keep up a similar atmosphere, which it does well, before starting a wonderful sequence from here to Hommarju’s Zusammengehorigkeit remix. Extra credit should be given for the looping of Zusammengehorigkeit while mixing in over (deep breath…) Large-scale Cryogenic Gravitational Wave Telescope.
That fantastic sequence comes to an end at Origami Hearts, but only just and that’s because I’m being extra picky – it’s one of those transitions that is so close to lining up perfectly that it’s hard not to use it. In most sets this would be one of the highlight transitions, but it falls ever so slightly short of the level that Lyricals~ is obviously aiming for here. Still, top marks for creativity and a moment in the set I enjoyed a lot.
Meanwhile, Lucius into Sunray is as good as you’re going to hear anywhere this year, superbly navigating the chasm between melodic UK/Japanese-style freeform and Alek’s unique atmospheres. More looping extends the transition, and the cut into Sunray is perfectly timed. I still await the day when we see a freeform mix with transitions of this quality from start to finish, but the switch into Neptune is a very worthy follow-up. A complex, lengthy transition, it’s another very good example of how to amoothly shift the atmosphere of a set. The introduction of Back Heaven is really impressive too – sudden in some ways (it would work a treat in a club environment), there’s actually a lot going on here, and the return of Neptune’s melody is a lovely combination of mixing styles that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
From this point the selection leans more into melodic freeform, buiding to a pacy, uplifting finale. Hommarju’s excellent Fall of Icarus had me half-expecting that things would carry on that style for longer (maybe with some ikaruga_nex, that kind of thing), but the switch into less filtery melodies is well-handled, especially from Calamity Drive into I.S.O.L.D.E. There’s a lovely touch of melancholy with Betwixt’s So Sweet Bitter Days, an extremely hard to mix track that I haven’t heard handled as well anywhere else. sustain stumbles in a little bit at the end, but I’d put that down to the brave use of So Sweet and the fact that it’s the last track – I’ve also been know to shoehorn in a transition at the end that isn’t as smooth as the others. It’s also a fine, uplifting climax that ends the set well, totally justifying its selection.
All of which is a lengthy way of saying that this set comes very highly recommended. While obviously not as dark as TYFTH’s In Praise of Shadows ideal, this set touches on some of those atmospheres in a new way, with some superb, considered mixing that’ll only get better as Lyricals~ becomes more experienced. Give it a try, I’ll be interested to hear what other Horsers make of this unusual, inspiring combination of new styles and some of our old favourites.
A quick listen through last night. For me, I may chose lucius – sunray – Neptune, and ultra spark – 沉渊低语 to be the part I’m interested in, I enjoy these.
Maybe I’ll add Abandoned Metropolis, but I don’t think there’s much of a difference.)
Another view, I heard it at home instead of club, I think forward part of this set takes too much out of me, hard for me to keep energy to stick to the middle part to have a break. But to be perfect demanding is not always good, because It’s almost impossible to get the requirements of listeners who heard it in different listening scene.
So sweet bitter days could hardly be found in freeform sets so It’s a surprise, it’s the end but I’m going to nitpick a bit, So Sweet still hard to mix with Sustain (Kokomochi Bootleg), its sound quality is a bit poor when I heard So Sweet on set (perhaps 192k? I’m not sure), low quality old tracks mix with new always have this prob, so it’s a challenge.
When I hear the best part of a set I always hold that part to the same degree as the rest of the set, and then I seem to be a nitpick guy.
It’s not a good habit but it’s hard for me to break it, I hope I didn’t offend anyone with my comment
The post isn’t much different in its goal, so I wouldn’t worry about it! I can never expect what people want in a set, but as soon as they say so I realize it’s something I want to hear too. Consistent amounts of energy, maybe more toward the end…that makes sense.
Haha being a nitpick guy isn’t such a bad thing when it comes to freeform, the scene has always needed a lot more sets that are put together thoughtfully. It’s great to see more of them appearing again these days.
Your response is very fair and I’d agree with most of that! In terms of the energy it would work better as an event set, but I appreciate the complex mixes too. Used well, they make such a difference to the feel of a set when heard live.