SBK is Sebastian Krüger, a German veteran of the trance scene who’s been around since the beginning, starting off in Digital Sun, Tarsis & Disco Slickers and then releasing a streak of three very successful albums under the SBK moniker in the legendary now deceased Spirit Zone records and on his own Avalanche label. Two of these were released in the minimal psytrance period. Those two come closest to what we’re dealing with here. The Krüger and Coyle album, released on ACDC with Greg Coyle was an exception, it being really funky and housey. What I’m listening to now sounds like a hybrid between the Krüger and Coyle style and the old Treibstoff and Herzattacke style. The Borderline album released on Avalanche records sounded more progressive clubby than this, and less minimal. Dawny Darko, as I said, is a little more minimal in approach, though the funk and fatness is definitely present here and it all sounds pretty massive. When I first listened to the album, I didn’t get it all. So, deciding that it almost couldn’t be that I disliked an SBK album (I own all previous ones). I listened to it again on a better sound system and then it got clearer all of a sudden. So, keep in mind that quality of your headphones or stereo system is a factor here. The tracks have to be listened in their entirety as well as there's quite a lot of building up going on. The album has a darker minimal atmosphere, though sometimes it does get a little more light and clubby, like in Honey Bastard (T3), which is sure to be played in a couple of progressive sets this year. Tracks like Talibahn (T5), however, hearken back to the old Treibstoff days, sounding very minimal, some might even say boring. Miles and More (T7) is a track that is well known, appearing on three compilations before finally finding its place here also. Fusion Funk (T8) is another minimal to the bone track. Polizisten (T9) sounds like Kraftwerk with a fatter beat behind it all. A surprisingly good track in collaboration with DJ Taucher, one of Germany’s most prominent progressive DJs. Happy Rainbow closes the album and is also well known, being popular in lots of progressive sets already. It’s the most melodic track on the album and probably, for most people, the best too. |