The Pleiadians is a project born more than a decade ago, having released some classic tracks in the "good and old times". As far as I know this is their third album, their two other albums were released by Dragon Fly Records before the year 2000, when the project was still formed by four members. Now the Pleiadians project has only two members, Max Lanfranconi and Maurizio Begotti, and they just released this brand new CD, which was produced in the EtnicaNET studios. This new album was released by Harmonia Records, a Greek based label responsible for some interesting releases.
The cover design was made by Micky Noise and M. Begotti, and is based on elements like space (specially stars), information and the number seven. It looks fine, but I really miss the tracks' bpms. There's a long text inside the booklet explaining the influence of the Seven Sisters constellation (also known as The Pleiades) on different cultures.
The CD itself shares part of the design of the art cover.
The mastering was made by Sonic Vista Studio - Ibiza. It sounds good, these guys are mastering a lot of releases recently, anyone knows anything about them?
Well, since their last release was last century, I think there were a lot of expectations upon this release, including from myself. This usually leads to deception, and I decided to listen to the album like if it was produced by a new act, instead than by sort of a legend. It was a good strategy, on the first listening mainly the bass lines of Atlas and some samples called my attention, on the second time the tracks I Believe and Vimana pt.2 stood out and I was already finding Condition Critical and Starbase 11 interesting.
The album begins with Dance with Me (T1), a collaboration with G. Bini (Arkanoydz), its 143 bpm set the pace of the album, but it didn't do much for me. The second track, I Believe, is one of the highlights of the album, with a deep bass line, driving melodies, the right amount of distorted synths and the cool sample:
"The return of the sun after a total eclipse, its rising in the morning after its troublesome absence at night, and the reappearance of the crescent moon after the new moon all spoke for our ancestors of the possibility of surviving death... I believe..."
Really a good track: steady, psychedelic, melodic but not cheesy, and the most important it tell us a history. Atlas (T3) caught me by its bass lines, but it's a serious track in every aspect, melodic when I need melodies and serious when I need to be sober. By the way, Atlas is the name of one of the stars at the Seven Sisters constellation. Galactic is the the next track (T4), its melodies are joyful to dance and it sounds a bit more dance floor directed than Atlas. After that we got Vimana pt.2, a powerful DJ tool with a terrific sample:
"This visitor somehow explains the way Aliens have been genetically .... the development of our DNA from the very beginnings and they inspired your spiritual leaders..."
Vimana pt.2 is another favorite of mine, it's an unusual track, it has strong bass lines and does not rely on melodies or build ups, it goes on by itself. Starbase 11 (T6) and Condition: Critical (T7) also have good sample usage and fewer melodies than the previous tracks, but they work fine on the floor.
The last tracks were oscillating between 144 and 145 bpm, but War of the Worlds (T8) has only 139 bpm, being the slowest tracks in the album. In compensation its bass uses the extra space very well, and I'm sure some people will choose this one as their favorite. Closing the album we have Out of Time (T9), which is also a slower track (140 bpm) with a great bass, and melodies that make me feel out of time and the sample in the exact right moment. Unfortunately it's the shortest track here.
Overall the album follows a defined style, melodic and steady, the tracks are long and deliver more journeys than explosions and climaxes, having the "outer space" as the main theme, making references to starbases, strange planets, Aliens and stars. I won't compare this third album with their previous work, I just going to say it has good production and works fine for me. Also the album is good for home listening, and since most track keys are "A" and "F" these tunes must be DJ friendly. |
