Download Error Corrective - Fade Instinct

After hearing Error Corrective's tracks on compilations (from Transient, Organic Rec. & Wildthings Rec.) I was eagerly awaiting their debut album, as one of the most promising acts in the realm of full-on.

When I finally put my hands on it, I was slightly disappointed about the artwork, because instead of colourful kaleidoscopic collage I got used to from Wildthings Rec. I got a black & white picture of an Indian / android guy (?!). It is clean, slick & well designed, but the fact is it's not as eye-catching like the label's previous releases. But let's not judge the book by its cover, right?

The characteristic feature of all EC's tracks is the layering – they do not (mostly) use melodic or acid lines in long passages, but instead they treat them as "brushes" or "templates". One stroke here and there, with some delay or reverb added for variety, most of the time echoing for a couple of seconds to create a melodic / musical effect. Their tunes are always filled with sound FX, starting from simple increasing / decreasing noises, through acid burps to modulated quasi-analogue rich textured patches. Despite not using any melodies per se, their tunes are still very musical, due to skilful placement of simple chords or short melodic passages and key-changes (yes! they DO work here). It IS full-on, but a damn clever one!

The albums starts with "Corrective Theme", a track that apparently (judging by its name) should be a showcase of EC's style. It starts (and ends) with some East-influenced chord progression, then adds kick & bass. The bass line is a simple full-on 16-notes rhythm, with a key-change at the end of every 4 bars. It's simple, but deadly effective if you ask me. I especially like the hi-hats in this track – there's at least 3 or 4 samples used, varying in tone, length & character. At 1:44 there comes a brilliant, tiny off-beat acid sound that makes the track sound twice as fast and a bit funky. Few melodic hooks later, there comes a breakdown and you get stabbed by acid sounds accompanied by usual full-on squelchy sounds. The peak of the track starts at 5:00 minutes mark, where a screechy, chopped up acid line comes in and drives the track for 30 seconds. Too bad that part was so short, as it is clearly the high point of the tune – it starts very good, gains speed but then looses some of the energy and is never really able to pick it up for long enough. OK track.

"Toymakers" starts with a melodic riff, similar to that spooky, killer-clown tunes we've heard dozens of times in B-class horror movies, but better. Again, the beat's quite simple but the way it is layered makes it stand out from other current releases. The track builds for couple of minutes, adding layer after layer of squelchy madness and at 2:45 introduces – again, very simple but incredibly catchy – melodious acid sound, that hovers above the groove. The overall mood of the track really fits the title – don't know why exactly, but the way that the melodies progress, shift & turn really make the impression of the listener being inside the crazy toy-maker's workshop! After a short break at 4:30-ish, the main 'melody' appears even stronger, this time even more manic and twisted. Lovely track, with clever progression and wicked, captivating atmosphere!

The next one, "Drugability", was already released on VA "Alpha Rhythms". It starts simple, with few sounds repeating over a steady full-on beat and – for the next 3 minutes – …yeah, you guessed it: adds more & more layers! At 4-minutes mark, when you think it can't possibly get anywhere further, it shifts gear up once again and does it so well, that it sends shivers down my spine every fucking time! It's not overly melodic, there's not much acid-lines, but the way those waves of squelchy-ness evolve and interact is simply brilliant!!!

"Optic Lock" is one of those tunes that you have to learn to appreciate. At first I found it below average, especially because of that oscillating up & down melody that appears at 2:25. It is not bad, but somehow doesn't fit very well into the tune. However, what happens next is simply stunning. We get some rave sounds (a'la Broken Toy) in the background and at 3:30, some clever key-changes in the bass line and then, at 4:35, a marvellous acid line twisted in all possible directions. An echoing chord progression appears few seconds later, leading to one of the best album's climaxes. Despite being quite melodic, it is at the same time one of the heaviest tracks here, because of the thumping, electric bass line. It literally is able to blow your speakers. Amazing tune!

Next we've got the title track – "Fade Instinct". The first thing that caught my attention was the – I don't really know how to call it – 'hairy', 'fuzzy' bass line. It is incredibly fat, but at the same time it has those delicate, fluffy overtone sounds that make it unique – at least I've never heard a bass line like that. And as usual, the track's built with simple elements being added one at the top of another. There's this wonderful windy / whistling acid sound going in and out of the mix, which really adds to the character of the tune. There's no really a climax here and the track is built around a very pleasant, yet simple key-change. To sum it up, the whole appeal of this track stems from the innovative sounds used (for the most part, of course) and – again – the impeccable layering. Another wicked tune!

I have no idea what "Grem Vib" means, but to me it sounds like it is a 'cool' way of spelling "Grim Vibe" – at least that's what atmosphere of the tune suggests. This one is again driven by a full-on bass line, squelchy sounds & acid stabs in the background. What I really like here are those very short (like half a second), melodic sequences echoing throughout the track. At 3:10 we are introduced to some sort of old-school techno synth line, coupled with a sinusoidal acid squelch in the background. Then a short break (the 'Grim Vibe' part) and we're catapulted into space with a beautiful sequence of noisy, screeching acid line, sounding a bit like a stretched out foil used for dairy products (?!). That's what I call a good full-on!!!

"Tabula Rasa" is similar to the title track in a way that it also doesn't have a distinct climax section. It just drives along a chord progression, with some cool sounds being used – I especially liked the Cosmosis-like deep acid sounds appearing in the first half and that ehm… "uuuaaahhhh!" sound preceding every 4th bar. The final run is enjoyable, although it could use some more tweaking I suppose. As it is however, it's still a very, very good track.

Don't know why, but "Love Fader" reminds me one of old Slide's tracks ("White Nights"). It is not the sounds, but rather the atmosphere and that impression of it being an improvised, sort of jazzy tune. Don't know where I got that feeling from (might be the break part, though), because this is obviously still a full-on track. Anyway, it is similar to "Optic Lock" to some extent, because it also uses that very heavy acid stabs. What I like here the most are the background strings & key-changes, creating some sort of melancholic, sad atmosphere.

The last tune on most of albums nowadays is a down-tempo / chilled stuff. "BFG 9000" is not. I got to admit that this one has deceived me. At first I thought it received the last place because it is the least interesting. How wrong I was! The track begins with some industrial noises, few voice samples and atmospheric strings. The kick is relatively soft & squashed but punchy which gives the impression of the tune being delicate & calm. Because it is the longest track on the album, it takes its time to build and in this respect is quite similar to old Orion tunes from "Metamorpheus" albums. Around 5:30 mark an initially quiet & delicate flowing acid line appears, which then gets more and more presence with every passing second. This time the good stuff isn't cut after few seconds and we're treated with over two full minutes of it. Superb!

The bottom line:

So, there you have it. It should be obvious by now that I enjoyed this album very much and in my opinion this is one of the best full-on albums available at the moment. It represents everything I love in psychedelic trance – the funky grooves, broad array of acid sounds & effects, intriguing atmospheres, clever musical arrangements and innovative ideas. The production is flawless: the sound picture is clear and wide, with enough punch to shred your car audio and enough detail & headroom to be enjoyed at home in headphones.

It won't revolutionise the genre, but let's be honest – at the end of the day not every new CD has to. This instead is proper dance music of the highest possible order!