Sonic Cube - Filter (Tribal Vision 2006)

Last year, Tribal Vision Records from the Czech Republic managed to firmly place themselves as one of the leading labels in the world of progressive. With a myriad of hit releases in a broad range of styles, Slater and Schwa guided Tribal Vision into a very strong position for 2006.

Their first cd release of the year showcases the talents of Switzerland’s Sonic Cube with their album release “Filter”. Aussies might remember these guys when they played at Tribeadelic a few years back (they also played as Sonnenvakuum as well, which they also continue to do as well), so they have quite a fanbase down here id imagine. I heard some samples of these tracks a while back, and I must say my appetite was wet for quite a while for this one.

And as I expected, it didn’t let me down. Sonic Cube’s production work has really pushed up a notch with this one- they have obviously been working hard in the studio in the past few years. Filter is clean, sensible progressive trance/house with a nice deep touch. Commanding basslines coupled with tasty melodic top-end is the basis of the SC sound- the sound is very much contemporary, with influences drawn from electro, techno and house while still retaining a distinctly psychedelic flavour.

Cd opens with “Hide”- a deep house influenced number with a nice low BPM (125!). Subtle melodies over a nice deep and grindy bass- tribalish kinda percussion work. Some vocals put it much into club territory, although it could work outdoors no worries too. One of my favourite tracks of the cd, nice opener!

“Last Jedi” picks up the pace a little- much trancish feel. Big groovy phat bass, kinda reminds me a little of Insane Creation or V-Tunes. Slinky kinda feel that opens right out and gets really broad by the end. Definitely a lot of work has been put into the melodic structure of every track- its quite melodic but at the same time, intelligently done and not too over top. Solid stuff…

“Cloudbuster” keeps things at a nice driving pace- this one was released on vinyl earlier this year- in my opinion its still the best track on the disk. Driving dark percussion and a big epic synth feel. Tribal and hypnotic, with a nice bit of melodic work at the end. One of my favourite tracks for the past few months still keeps it delivering!

“Amnesia” lightens it up, with a bit more of a funky bassline and playful feel. Sweeping pads and groovy rhythms, lots of “sparkle”. Compared to the last track, this one is very “nice”- but its still got a wicked deep bass end that keeps the track tough.
“Test” moves more into the electro territory- kinda 80s disco kinda feel, very much a club track in my opinion. Effected vocals and lots of retro sounding synths definitely carry it- not so much to my taste this one.

“Danger” returns us firmly to deeper territory- nice tough bassline and sweeping synths give away to a nice developing melodic section. These guys really know there way around this style of production, everything seems to just slide seamlessly into each other. I like how this track progressives, its very journey like- nice work.

“Microbes” is a nice sexy number with an electro influence- but not too much. I can still dig it- dirty bassline with some sparse female vocal sections carried by a nice tribalish percussion section. I can see this one being a big one for club djs. “Xcute” plants itself firmly in the realm of electro-house, reminds me a little of some stuff off the recent flowjob album. Nice and positive, lots of high melodies- doesn’t have the deeper edge of some of the other numbers.

“Ashtray” closes the album- an eclectic broken beat/chill-out track. Wicked twisted female vocals over sparse an erratic beats and glitches. Some really nice guitar at the end too. Wicked close to the disk- it hasn’t left my cd player in days.

All in all, Sonic Cube deliver a sophisticated and intelligent album release. A broad range of styles feature, showing they can master man different genres- yet each track manages to be a nice blend of many of the contemporary progressive styles… I guess the name Sonic Cube is very fitting. I must admit it was one album that grew on me- it took me a while to listen to the subtlety before I could appreciate how good it was.

Well done Daniel and Ueli and Tribal Vision- Filter is a very mature album with great production work and a diverse range of styles. Good for home listening or a DJ, id recommend this album to people who are fans of intelligent progressive music.

8/10