Conspirators of Pleasure - Alchemy

Shane Gobi’s London-based label has turned in a tight compilation here, with bags of dark and futuristic energy, and also some of the grinniest, fractal-friendly artwork in a long time. Latest British sensation Aphid Moon opens proceedings with Urras, a pacey growler with nice tecchy stabs giving way to the nicest filtered acid line this side of 1997. The 2002 why-did-nobody-else-thing-this-name-up-before award goes to Crazy Israeli from Electric Melon, a mechanical stomper with a kind of post-apocalyptic Kraftwerk vibe. Miraculix’s Beware Of The Dragon is a sweet and rolling dancefloor monster, with just the right amount of melody to compliment its chuggy bassline, paranoid stabs, and anthemic dark synthlines. Dark Soho’s Dark Memory is a rather unsettling soundtrack to a nightmare, complete with trippy voices and heavy metal-inspired synth riff. Standout for me though is Chemical Exploration from Soundaholics, a collaboration between GMS & Earthling. It has all the elements you need for a psytrance classic – building perfectly from its cinematic intro, it’s tickly stabs and cheeky breaks all the way to the breakdown, where the mother of all synth lines comes in and annihilates, and at the point where the rhythm section kicks back in, it’s classic party madness all the way.