Digicult - Avenida De Belgica (2006)

Digicult is a belgian duo composed of Davy Piessens & Bart De Decker (aka dj Nemesis), After a very promising full on-goaish influenced tune released on the starter compilation from Avigmatic, it seems quite normal to meet them again for a debut album on this same french label from the Lyon's suburb, founded by Dj Chaп & Khetzal.

The band provides a mainly melodic & morning full on which doesn't mean this album lack of energy & vivacity on the contrary. I think they deserve to be quoted as belonging to this new category of more subtle Full On artists such as Optokoppler for example. I mean a Full On trance which always keep a floating, oniric or adrrenalistic feeling, indeed in a word emotions without focusing on the usual high bpm .

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1 This opening tune reveals a light mystic forest ambiance mixed with percussions appearing later on.

2 It's a more swift & nervous dancefloor production. Around there's a nice little break made of the hacked/syncoped elements of the song. You've got some goaish flavours from 3'30 with this typical oriental & vibrating old school lead which brings more heat & btw more depth and constrast to the the track.

3 A very good & unexpected deep jazzy atmosphere serves as intro alas i think i'd appreciate it to keep more going all along the tune. However the next is nice too composed of a groovy-funky bass.

4 The track giving its name to the album has the specificity of incorporating more acoustic elements (a guitar). During the core-peak many layers deliver slightly shrill but very fast arpeggios.

5 Here we go with a more floating, muffled,vapourish ambiance at first , it pursues in this atmosphere, this time multi-layered with a catchy rolling bassline. The lead before the 3'40 tiny break has a pretty texture, a bit nasal. Then we keep going with another interesting lead, it gives the impress to be in weithlessness especially in the position of a cosmonaut walking on the moon: you don't control very well your scrooling but it's fun.

6 Tougher , rougher tones & bassline compose this new track, it gets obvious it'll evolve in a frenetic way with intensity. Like in some previous tunes before, during its core-peak time, you've got a flood of melodic layers answering to each other.

7 Now it's time for more rocking production with some slighty sour hatred riffs with delay & echo on metallic tones. At beginning there's also a cold iceblock lead conferring a sweet melhancolic feeling before the more rock part occurs. I particularly enjoy the bassline here, reminds me the New Wave period.

8 We enter a cosmic dimension, high in the stratosphere above the clouds but also accompagnied with vociferous leads & some powerful winds. The rythmns is more kickin than than the rest of the album & the hithats are specially metallic & resonnating. It's also embellished with spatial robotic voices which fit well in the global harmony here.

9 You're welcomed by a robotic, hacked, sharpy lead & a big bouncy bassline. Many leads are present here and sometimes i must admitt it's quite confused & chaotic by moment. This one is under the average quality production of the album for me, i think a lifting remix couldn't bad for this one. Overall not a bad tune but the harmony is a bit harder to perceive or enjoy.

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Belgium has always brought several talented electronic artists through the last 20 years among the different styles coz this country has a strong history, connection with this underground music. Psytrance doesn't escape to the rule & Digicult should normally become soon a new rising star in their country & obviously beyond.