For ages, the medicine drum has been used by North American Indians for traditional tribal rituals and in practicing meditation. The electronic trance/dance Medicine Drum of today is used for releasing your soul on the dance floor. Using tribal drums and electronically produced beats, Medicine Drum rounds up an astounding combination of tribal beats and psychedelic trance dance music. Talking Stick is full, with an all star line up of guests and co-producers. Medicine Drum came together with Earthdance founder Chris Deckker and other well know trance artists to mix phat beats and hypnotic rhythms.
The music is very fresh and the record covers every bit of ground with up to seventy minutes pure groove. The opening cut, “Queen Of Cups”, starts with a little sample and some weird tribal instrument that makes a deep humming sound before heading into the eye of the trance storm. Going seven minutes strong, the beats are a non-stop shockwave of sound that you need to blast out of your speakers. The next track, “Written in Stone”, should be a club fave. The intertwining elements of the tribal drum beats, singer Irina Mikhailova’s phenomenal voice, and a big manly shout in the middle of the song make it a highly energetic dance bit. The album keeps rolling right along with “Skin Up”, which was co-produced by trance guru Andy Guthrie (Eat Static, Banco De Gaia). The song may be annoying to some, but it’s got that groovin’ bop beat. “Tribal Heart” is a perfect example of the band’s image and sound. Two of the best sounding tracks on the record, “Tribal Heart” and “Skeleton Crew”, were produced by Alex Newman (Katakali). “Tribal Heart” warps you into a vivid trance beat with Irina once again coming up big on vocals. “Skeleton Crew” is a trippier side of the group. This song is cooler than the rocking dance numbers found one through eight.
Guests on the disc include Ben Simpson of Mindfield on the beat clapping “Minaret”, German trance engineers DJ Cosmix and AM Synaptic adding some stomping flavor to “Trustafari”, and John Ford.
+larry sarzyniak
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