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Commercial Hippies

If You Can’t Stand The Heat…

Nano (UK)

Released without much fanfare on the coat-tails of Protoculture’s disappointing Circadians, this is a gem if ever there was one. After a string of quiet compilation releases, Commercial Hippies' debut album is one to be reckoned with: intelligent fullon that ought to appeal to fans of high end stuff like Tron and Voice Of Cod. Loose Control gets it set up nicely, the energy is tight and the sounds are all in the right places. It comes together more resoundingly with If You Can’t Stand The Heat at which point, ladies and gentlemen, we are in business. Think smooth, tight runs with great progression, great production, and this certain excited energy that runs through it, as though they’re discovering something new and groundbreaking for the very first time. Get Out Of The Chai Room moves a step further in the killa direction. The Hippies' approach to music translates better to lighter, more intelligent stuff and the addition of a beefy, ripping bottomend sounds a little insincere; the breakdown, however, is nothing short of joyous.

Dr Freakenstein is deeper, and much more psychedelic. It sounds like a digital nightmare, thanks to its fucking ace production; sounds are moving all around you, and it’s changing all the time. No More Nights has energy flowing out of it like nobody’s business. Classy, smooth and fluid, with a cracking final run and this great overall feel to it that just oozes quality. And then there’s 3 Star Hotel – the utter, utter standout. It builds to a smooth plateau, picks up some haunting, dubbed-out sounds, balancing it all out in this smooth, sure-footed trance backbone. It eases itself up to a nice little peak, before crashing down all around you with attitude, balls, energy and sheer ruthless "fuck-yeah". Where Dreams Come From is another strong little tune. The groove is more emphatic than the others here, and coupled with the quality of production and sheer wide-eyed optimism, it’s a pretty meaty offering. The drop and final run are among the tightest, most memorable moments in the genre in recent years – trust me, it will do wonders on a dancefloor.

Organic Machines is pure psytrance at its best: everything you want, everything everybody likes, and everything that’ll get a dancefloor moving closer to the front. Finally The Unconventionalist is sketchy glitchoid breaks that gradually become more cohesive and fluid – bloody class, especially when pitched up a tad. In many ways, Commercial Hippies represent the direction we wanted Protoculture to go – to use the production techniques and inherent appreciation of what makes a dancefloor tick, and come up with something amazing. If You Can’t Stand The Heat is startlingly original, thoroughly exciting, and more refreshing than a dip in the sea on a hot hungover Sunday afternoon. Ace.

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