The Digital Blonde - Synthology (Album)
Catalogue Number: JOOFA002
Audiojelly Link
Riki Smith has been around on the trance scene under his Digital Blonde guise for upwards of 10 years now, with classics such as Antheum, Mooga, Electra, Legato, Gothica & many more to his name. As such it's not hard to believe his debut album release has been highly anticipated amongst his fans, with the release of Synthology being one of the most hyped so far this year. Does it live up to the hype though? Most of the devout fans certainly seem to think so, however barring the aforementioned tunes I'd personally never really looked into his work, so approached this LP with open expectations...
1. Requia
Without beating about the bush, Synthology is kickstarted with a 10-minute long epic, full of dark & mysterious atmospheres that pave the way for things to come. The opening is spectacular and commands attention right off the bat, before leading into a tough trancey groove after about a minute, complete with a raw sounding reverbed kick & rolling bassline. The feel of the track is mostly dark, hypnotic & minimal, without any major chord changes. A main lead is incorporated later on but doesn't detract from the overall dark feel.
2. Cyan
This runs on many of the same lines as the opener, being a long, epic & dark trancer with similar sounding atmospheric touches. The main section in this is stronger & slightly more uplifting however, with a few small euphoric moments incorporated... subtely but effectively.
3. Casca
Here we see a slight shift in mood; the dark & atmospheric feel remains, only this time slightly less haunting, with the pads playing a smaller role & a Lisa Gerrard-esque vocal making a nice addition. It also feels slightly more energetic & upbeat, giving the impression it was designed as more of a club track.
4. Only You
By this point it becomes apparent most tracks here are in a similar vein, both in style & mood. 'Only You' feels slightly less raw than the first three, with a punchier psy-trance kick and the strongest main lead so far. The defining feature here however is undoubtedly the Miriam Stockley vocals, as famously used in Atlantis vs Avatar's classic 'Fiji'... they make a superb addition here and fit brilliantly, giving an awesome powerful feel to the track.
5. Rickashay
Track 5 sees a slightly less epic inclusion, with the mood subtlely changing to a less powerful, more trippy/psychedelic one with a slight asian feel. The theme of including subtle psy elements is built upon too, with the main hook consisting of two crazy acidlines battling it out. The bassline isn't as energetic as I feel it should be for this kind of music, but I also get the feeling Riki wasn't aiming to create a particularly energetic piece here.
6. Legato 2006
Here we see one of the biggest moodchanges on the album, going headfirst into full on euphoric trance. If you're not familiar with the original Legato, then... well, where the hell have you been?! One of the last great defining records of the classic uplifting trance sound gets a remake here, which aside from a few minor structural changes (adding an intro & skipping the second break) is pretty note for note. The only real major change production-wise is the bassline, which if I'm honest doesn't sound too great here. Stick with the original!
7. Concerto
Toning things down a tad, Concerto is one of the most accessible & clean sounding tunes on the album, which I could see the likes of Armin possibly playlisting. There's a main lead slightly remeniscent of the one on Marcel Woods vs Jessyln's 'Fauna' from last year, which despite playing a key role, isn't too predominant. A few nice chordchanges complete the affair.
8. Ritual
From possibly the cleanest, most accessible piece on here we move onto a harsh contrast, with a track that can only be described as pure evil. Several of the tracks here have carried a dark & haunting vibe, but none so much as this, by a long shot. As well as hordes of eerily ambient backing pads & samples, the production is incredibly rough and all feels very wrong, with the kick & bass sounding almost completely flooded out. On a brief listen it sounds amateurish & dirty, however considering the mood of the tune and bearing in mind it isn't a viable club track (you could NOT mix this into anything without the levels sounding completely fucked), it all feels quite ingenius. The main lead continues to add to the overall uncomfortable feel, with the main section sounding quite a mess (to be frank), but then, it's an uncomfortable track. The messyness makes it feel even more uncomfortable & postively disturbing (and it's not like the tune name conjures up happy & fluffy images!). You'll either hate this track or love it. Or hate it then love it. One thing for certain is that it needs a musically open mind to appreciate.
9. Tronika
Despite it being a step back down to earth (or more accurately, a step back *up* to earth) from Ritual, this is one of the strongest tracks on here. In some ways it feels like a conglomeration of all of Synthology's distinguishing assets bought together in a relentlessly energetic 6am balls-to-the-wall boshathon, which make it a perfect peak to the album. Subtle psy-influences are present again, as are the ubiqutous atmospheric pads/effects & a few smatterings of trancey riffage.
10. Karma (bonus track)
Karma was a previously unreleased track that received plays from John 00 Flemming a while back. Following an online petition by fans following the original preview of the album, J00F decided to include it on the release as a bonus. My brain is far too drained of creative fuel at this stage to even consider writing a descriptive analysis of the tune, but one thing I will say: it FUCKING ROCKS. If you loved Gothica then you'll love this even more... bursting to the brim with relentless power & an insanely huge evil main riff... perfect finisher.
To summarise... hell where do I start?! I'll make a few things clear:
1.) This definitely isn't an album you can judge just by dipping into a few samples & seeing what the main bits sound like, I'd highly recommend grabbing the whole thing and listening in it's entirity so you can properly immerse yourself into it.
2.) Most of the tracks have a rough feeling about them, no-way near as polished or tightly produced as most current trance. If you're only after tracks to play in sets then you may be disappointed. For me at least, it's a listening album.
3.) Tracks like Ritual need a certain mindset to appreciate... when i first flicked through the sample I hated it, it was only in the context of the whole album I could really see the ingenuity of it & realise it couldn't have been better named.
That in mind... this is a great album, really great. It takes a while to properly get going with the first 3 tracks, but then 'Only You' is superb, 'Concerto' has probably the widest appeal and then the last three are blinding. Legato 2006 is still Legato, even if it isn't quite as good as the original, and Rickashay is the only real average track. Buy this.
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Review by rj
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