Triple R - Selection 6

Triple R - Selection 6 (Trapez Germany) Comentários: Continuing on from last year, Selection 6 smashes 21 cuts into an hour of music. Now detractors might argue that this rapid turnover only serves to hide the mediocre moments, but the mixing is at times sublime and very much seems to be about highlighting quality rather than obfuscating defects. The switch between Mauler’s ‘Hybrid’ and 3 Channels´ blinding ‘It’s Getting’ Kinda Hectic’ is a case in point, emphasising the slickness and the pressure in each. Similarly, the drift from Bülent Gürler’s ‘Koala’ into SLG’s ‘Earthworm’ fuses the former’s naturalist bent with the later’s disorientating bleeps to create a compelling bio-tech hybrid. Certainly the transitions are vastly improved from earlier sets, notably Selection 3 for example.The overall sound doesn’t deviate too much from classic Trapez minimal despite the absence of big names from past issues such as Und, Dominik Eulberg and Jeff Samuel. Reinhold himself only contributes an edited unreleased track (‘Secret History’) to open the set, whereas the biggest player is Madrid’s Alex Under, chiming in with three tracks, two of them unreleased remixes of his ‘Trapezones Erectos’. Selection 6 is minimal yes, but also with an occasional subtle neo-trance edge at times in both the mixing, to play off the pressure changes, and also at the core of many tracks. The result is a more driving and consciously psychedelic sound that is less rigid than straighter minimal, particularly in the opening half. Salvatore Freda & Massimo Stefanelli’s ‘Endless Ride’, one of the more neo-trance cuts, is one of the sets highlights, while the complicated arrangement of Mihalis Safras’ ‘R2’ has enough oomph to enough to lift itself to a dizzy peak. And just when you think a sterile glitch mood could take over, Reggy Von Oers’ ‘Metza’ slowly turns the mix all light headed and dazzling, while Safra’s unreleased mix of Alex Under’s ‘Trapezones Erectors’ is less trance, but certainly beefy, banging and playful.The other unreleased tracks, which mostly fall towards the end of the set, are a mixed bunch. Roland Dill’s ‘Modus Operandy’ is a little bleepy while still retaining a compelling beat, while Florian Meindl’s ‘Subfocus’ suggests that 2008 will continue to offer more ups and downs for Trapez. But overall, Selection 6 is an unquestionable return to form for the Reinhold and his label, suggesting that like Robert de Niro in Raging Bull, you might get one over him from time to time, but you’ll never knock him down. in ra [Para Ouvir/Samples]