Miika Kuisma - Inwardgaze
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Catalogue Number: Cat# SXX CD002
'Inwardgaze' is the debut album from Finland-based DJ & producer Miika Kuisma, who during the past 5 years has gained increasing amounts of recognition and respect throughout the industry; noted for his dark and atmospheric deep trance sound, championed by the likes of John 00 Fleming (it comes as no surprise that the majority of his big releases up until now have been on JOOF recordings, including his work with DJ Tab under the AR52 guise). Having been a fan of his since the early days of Fluid in Motion on mp3.com (almost five years ago... time hath flown) I was very keen to get my hands on a copy of this sparkling new LP...
01. Life
The album opener begins with a long, dark atmospheric intro, setting the mood for the rest of the cd nicely. It progresses into a sublime and subtle progressive trancer that bears more than a little to resemblance to Moby's 'Go'; although done in a tasteful way, with various little synth lines layered atop the defining strings. At under 5 minutes in length, it isn't particularly DJ-friendly, but serves its purpose on the album nicely.
02. Smokey Room
Track 2 serves up something i wasn't expecting from Miika... a vocal piece. In an album full of deep epic instrumentals you'd expect a catchy vocal number to sound out of place, but it doesn't; it fulfils that coveted niche of sounding catchy and accessible, yet at the same time sublime and not cheesy in the slightest. The tune as a whole is fairly accessible in comparison to the rest of the album but still oozes class, helped along by typical Kuisma-esque synths & pads, and a fairly chunky bassline that would fit perfectly in most trance warmup sets. This is certainly one i'll be playing lots!
03. Autumn Falls
Of no relation to the George Hales tune of the same name, Autumn Falls is a short & sweet little number driven along by a deep, subby house-like bassline and backed by a foray of backing pads and harp sounds. There isn't much more to say really... it's nice enough, but does feel a bit like an album filler.
04. Garden of Hope
The title of this track instantly reminded me of Miika's 'garden remix' of AR52's 'Timegate' (a little known number from mp3.com) and similarities can definitely be heard in this. It's a chilled out piece, led by lush epic strings and a gentle electroey beat, building towards a euphoric climax throughout the duration. The only gripe i have with it is the length... it's all over in under 3 minutes and it felt like it needed so much longer to properly build. I'd love to hear an extended version of this.
05. Miami Nice
At this point, subtle elements of psytrance begin to get incorporated into the album; a sound Miika has previously skirted around, without ever fully embracing. The top half remains pretty floaty and spaced out in fashion with the preceeding tracks, but the plodding 127bpm kick and bassline give it a rather psy-like feel, creating a fairly unique & quite appealing sound as a result. Weighing in with a duration of 6:50 it's alot more dj-friendly than the earlier tracks too, although for the purpose of the album it could have done with some of its time being taken off and given to 'Garden of Hope' instead!
06. The Orion Theme
'Orion' was originally a release for Miika on Joof recordings in 2003; a driving 10-minute long progressive trancer, released with a remix from Misja Helsloot. Inwardgaze offers us a brand new interpretation of the same track here, this time with the main pads and melody stripped of all the surrounding original elements and wrapped up inside a gorgeous array of soundscapes. So simple an idea, yet perfectly executed, making for a lovely addition to the more chilled side of the album.
07. Destination
Reaching the halfway mark sees the album revert to a more dj-orientated selection of tracks, this one offering a similar ploddy psychedelic vibe to 'Miami Nice', only noteably darker and quite evil-sounding in places. The synths here feel alot less floaty than in the earlier tracks, instead providing a more driving, hypnotic feel. Outside the context of the album I can't see this tune working too well due to its minimal and monotonous nature, but as a transitional piece on the CD, it works decently.
08. Panic Mode
Arguably the first full-length (by today's standards, at least) track on the album, 'Panic Mode' veers towards the deep epic-yet-sublime progressive trance sound Miika is renowned for; something that could have easily fitted on the Atmosphere Light EP, in style and overall quality. It relies alot less on background soundscapes than the previous tracks, instead being driven forward by trancey synths and a strong pad melody. Imagine the early stages of a John 00 Fleming set, post-warmup, pre-peaktime.
09. Sonic Kiss
The only previously-released single to be included on the CD in its full original form, Sonic Kiss provides the start to the album's peak section; a full-on, relative hands-in-the-air trancer. It's not too dissimilar to the infamous Txitxarro mix of Ranky Katana's 'In Silence' in style, only with Miika's dark & atmospheric touch making it fit in beautifully.
10. Pandemia
'Pandemia' sees a return to the borderline-psy hinted at earlier in the album, this time injected with a hefty dose of power & tempo, resulting in an intense full-on hedonistic driving 6am finisher type piece, which could have devastating effect if used at the right time on a dancefloor.
11. Twisted (miika's alternative mix)
Probably the most recognised trackname on the album, after being featured on the Atmosphere Dark EP in late 2004 (to which 'Sonic Kiss' appeared on the flipside of). This new rethink maintains the powerful drive of the original, but tones down the psychedelic elements, giving it more of a subdued feel which makes it fit with the context of the album better. In doing so the tune loses a large chunk of it's personality, and whilst it still kicks plentiful amounts of proverbial arse, it feels like something is missing which prevents it from properly peaking the flow of the album.
12. Sirius
Wrapping things up in true going-home fashion, 'Sirius' ends the blaze of peaktime trance with another epic downtempo number, complete with powerful soaring pads and heavy beats which give it an almost filmscore-like feel. In substance it follows a similar path to 'Garden of Hope', only with a much darker and melancholic feel, sounding almost reminiscent of Vangelis works in places. A fitting end to the CD.
To summarise? It's a very solid attempt at a debut LP which Miika has every right to be proud of. Every track is excellently produced, sounds fresh and original, and carries a quite unique atmospheric air, which works well as a continuous theme throughout the album. None of the tracks sound out of place, and the whole thing is structured perfectly, with the moods and styles evolving subtlely throughout the duration. My only criticism point would be that some of the tracks (namely Autumn Falls, Miami Nice and Destination) sounded more like brainstormed outlines, rather than fully established bonafide tunes that would work both in and out of the album context. But be assured that for those who favour the deeper end of trance, this album is a quality overall listen and well worth a purchase.
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Review by RJ
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