POTS - Creating Social Success mp3 album

I used to like to old POTS so when I found out they were still alive I was pretty curious what they were up to. But no way I couldn’t have imagined that they would deliver such an innovative album! This is great stuff, the kind of music that really has to grow on a listener. POTS don’t abandon their minimal trance roots, they've just updated them. It’s good to finally see that there is more to the progressive scene than the Son Kite/Ticon-sound or the FREq-a-likes. Think Atmos but with a less synthetic & clean sound, FREq without the crystal clear melodies, Jaïa in a depressed mood or AKD with more variation. Fluffy & housey structures combined with raw & uncompromising beats & kicks. Especially the beats sound totally different from what we’re used to these days. It’s like all the tracks were originally created to sound kind of soft & then filtered or rmx’ed to sound more harsh & square. They incorporate housy click’s & cut’s, mnml bleep & bops and techy hi-hats. There are dreamy pads as well, just not on the surface. Sometimes the beauty is wrapt in thick distortion. It’s a beautiful picture, but it’s drawn with a blunt pencil. At the same time there’s no lack of details, but these tiny sound-bytes only expose themselves after several listenings. Instead of going through the tracks one by one I would just like to mention my personal highlights: 04. Bravo: this really is THE bomb. Gently but constantly building & finally locking into endless repetition. Only great artists can paint such a big soundscape with so few elements! Made my eyes water… 05. Botox Party: from Minimal to mnml. Hidden melodic parts in the undertow that shine through the bleeps & clicks, never forgetting the groove. 07. Eifelgold: a faster floorburner that adds variety to the album. In conclusion, it’s very likely that this album will not get the recognition it deserves. This is a new, contemporary fusion of different elements from the past AND the future. & it sounds better every time you listen to it!

Aah, the comfortability of progressive electronica well made! Is there anything better? Hmm ... well, Creating Social Success from POTS at least meets my basic-and-then-some needs when it comes to progressive trance/house. Obviously, these guys have a plan and know how to execute it. The tracks run at a somewhat slow bpm (most tracks around 130), but in all honesty I didn't notice this until I read it in the booklet. Anyhow, the music comes across as both very peaceful and dance appealing. And this is without even having had the chance to hear this music at loud volume. It certainly isn't dark trance. Sort of cheerful Iboga maybe, but without any cheesy elements mind you! Alas, I would enjoy this album both at the chill out stage and main stage. To me that is the best recommendation I can give any album! Likers of progressive and ambient with an attitude should definitely check Creating Social Success out.

Tribal Vision Records based in the Czech Republic continues their high productivity of releasing progressive trance. Here they are with the second album by Prisoners Of The Sun, also called POTS (Thomas Wilhelmy & Achim Lüthje). Their first album (Are You Scientific Enough?) was released on Sunset Recordings in 2001, which relesulted in a lot of gigs for this duo worldwide. Tribal Vision gives us a pretty cool cover art as usual, including all the information you need in a nice booklet. With this album we get smooth progressive vibes from beginning to end. We get a nice variation of bpm here, ranging from 128-140. Some of these tracks also come close to progressive house, so this should be an album that could fit well at a progressive house floor as well as a trippy trance floor. My favourite track here is track 5 (Botox Party), which is a quite housy track, but with a really trippy, interesting vibe. For sure a track I could play in the early evening at a party. Groovy drift, catchy sounds and a nice melody. Never too fluffy, and actually quite dark. Most of the tracks goes pretty minimal, but in a good way. Groovy beats and some crispy, echoing sounds. Some melodies are also put in here and there, but never falls over to the cheesy side. The second album by Prisoners Of The Sun will for sure not dissappoint the progressive crowd out there. Here we get pretty good variation, and tracks that should fit the taste of a bigger audience than the usual trance heads. Most of the tracks builds up in a nice way, and we get some nice breaks in there too. So, if you are into progressive trance or house, check it out!

Music for dancing, trancing and romancing! Prisoners Of The Sun are German producers Thomas Wilhelmy & Joachim Lüthje – and they’ve been in the game since 2000… 2001 saw the release of their debut album Are You Scientific Enough?… An album I purchased back then, but to be honest I got rid of it again as it kinda drowned in the minimal release craze… But now my taste buds have matured, and I’m ready to digest their second album released on visionary Czech label Tribal Vision… Take no prisoners! Lush, plush and sexy… Smooth, groovy and funky… Epic, uplifting and immensely danceable! Need I go on? Thought not… This is indeed a very fine and diverse album… A big old melting pot ranging from fast-paced progressive dancefloor stompers – to laid-back beach groovers… The faster tracks were maybe a little too… Ehrm… Fast! But I still admire the diversity here – something that I often find lacking in progressive albums (Antix anyone? Gaudium?). I’m happy say, that that is NOT the case here… On the contrary! This is a rich, mature album – and the production quality is among the best I’ve heard this year! As always with Tribal Vision we get a very informative, high-quality booklet with DJ case insert… The cover-art could use some spark, but who the hell cares when the music speaks for itself like this does!? A sweet album and a no-brainer purchase for any fan of diverse progressive trance. Enjoy! Favourites: 1(!), 3, 4(!!), 6, 9