Under The Moon/Sun

Artists: NoonCat
Format: CD
Label: Treibstoff Recordings
Release Date: 5 May 2003
Style: Tech House/Dub Tech

DJ Alixir's verdict:

Whereas Canada used to be one of the prime contributors to the Dub Tech scene, it seems as if Russia are also unleashing some competitive, competent producers to rival the international scene.

NoonCat, otherwise known for previous releases on labels such as Salo, Konvex and Trapez treat us to a chilled out afternoon with our legs dangling in gleaming waters, sipping loosely at a Martini with "Under The Moon/Sun".
"Newsletter" gently floats over you like a lazy summer breeze with it's swelling pads, subtle blips and bleeps and some really bizarre robotic american vocal, I assure you, it's pretty trippy!

The vocal continues to speak it's narrative throughout the track and breaks amongst the swelling pads and organ stabs, it's really some kind of chilled acid house with a grat analogue feel. A great track just to chill out to, nice progression and not hard on the ears at all. It just takes you wherever you like in thought and feeling. "Under The Moon" shares a lot of reference in voice to "Newsletter" albeit on a more dubby trek, metallic delayed clangs, continuous organ pedal note (and I mean continuous!), grooving sub bassline and offbeat percussion.

Quite a lot of thought has been put into minimalising the sounds through good programming of spot effects, one sound delays into another and seems to produce a layered atmosphere. "Under The Moon" seems to me as a good track to maybe warm up with in a club or bar somewhere, you could either dance, drink or just talk whilst it played.

Every track on "Under The Moon/Sun" is pretty much on the same trip but that doesn't mean to expect repetitiveness throughout. Each track differs to the last and there's some really well programmed effects and sounds that marry the whole project together. The fact that there's only 7 tracks on the CD ("Fish and Chips" is a bonus track and should not be confused with the Hardfloor track of the same name!) isn't a hindrance to the package either, it just means you get to enjoy good tracks for that much longer!

A prevalant production piece that proves that great music can originate from where you least expect it to, there is a strong digital music scene in Russia. Keep em' rolling!

Track Listing:
1. Newsletter (on 12" too - Treibstoff 30)
2. Under The Moon (on 12" vinyl too - Treibstoff 30)
3. Ocean Body (on 12" vinyl too - Treibstoff 30) 4. Under The Sun (on 12" vinyl too - Treibstoff 32)
5. One Night With The Machine (on 12" vinyl too - Treibstoff 32)
6. Sticky Fingers (on 12" vinyl too - Treibstoff 32)
7. Fish and Chips (Bonus Track)