Moscow duo Overlap was formed in 2001 by two independent musicians and sound engineers Michael Puchkov (Neogen) and Vyacheslav Bogachev (1/2 Neoris / Breakpoint / Shogo Buzz ). The artists have become acquainted with each other in the internet a year before and after meeting in one of the private parties decided to unite their skills and acquired experience into united band.

The work was iniciated as a cooperation of Neoris and Neogen and as a result the name Overlap Project was invented. Later, fop the purpose of conciseness and easier memorizing the word Project was reduced. Overlap is a algorithmic term, meaning discrete convolution between the longest signal and the final impulse. According to the words of one of the participants, the name itself came spontaneously in a result of work with one of the algorithms of sequencer.

The first tracks of Overlap brought with themselves ideas of night' and progressive techno sound. They were oriented to the actual psy-tech sound. A similar sound that time was developed by X-Dream / The Delta, who invented the term "digital techno". In Russia this style , for the first time ever, was promoted by Overlap and also some other artists (FUZZION, Weird Walker, Cybered). That is to say, they had become forming units of Moscow's dark psychedelic scene.

01. Power System

02. Dangerous Jungle

03. Silient Hill

04. Make Your Choice

05. Angry Person

06. Cube

07. Biosphere

08. Take Off

09. Air Brazil

10. Season of Winds (feat. Shogo Buzz)

[c] & [p] 2007 Planet B.E.N. Records

Album Biosphere, released by German label Planet

B.E.N. was recorded in the entirely different manner of the execution comparing to the first album and earlier works of Overlap. In distinction from 6th Sense (Z.M.A. Records) the new album is performed in European neofullon sound with the elements of time-proved old-school psychedelic trance.

Harmonic union of tough kick and pumping bass-line, acid themes, melancholic solos of the primary synthesiser areas, and sampled unearthy phrases from famous horror films create an atmosphere of mainstream dance-thriller.

Every track is infiltrated with the ideas of the XX century trance parties and music, which was popular in Goa and was promoted by many famous labels, such as TIP Records, 3D Vision, Spirit Zone Recordings and many others. Biosphere seems to be an embodiment of old ideas with the help of modern hard- and software equipment - liking or disliking of this concept is left to the listener.

The main parts of Biosphere, according to the worlds of project participants, are tracks 3,4 and 7. These works, if to listen it carefully, create proper impression and soundscape of their current music preferences. Dynamic links bass-kick", together with tense themes, interlace curiously with veins of western horror films (Silent Hill, Saw, Final Destination).

As for my own opinion, I also found attractive tracks 1,5, 8 and 9, where a dashing bass-line is combined efficiently with percussion and neatly elected sound effects. All the details of the album compositions are distinct and pearly throughout. The guys from Overlap are perfect sound engineers - the sound quality is brilliant and highly professional. Biosphere is equally well listened in a small player and on a big dance-floor.

The last track is worth mentioning in particular. Season of Winds is the only chilling track in the album, and it was written with the help of Shogo Buzz. Shogo Buzz is a band, where Vyacheslav takes part together with another Rissian musician, Denis Spiridonov. They determine their music as experimental psychedelics'. Season of winds is truly experimental and psychedelic: non-trivial break-beat, reasonably twisted themes of ductile melodies, submerging in a rich syrup of dub bass-line, and devices of 8-beat scene perfectly crown the album.

In conclusion one could say that Biosphere is a rare work of Russian artists, especially for the western countries. Russian psy scene is still infirm in this concrete segment and this release is a big event for all Russian lovers of European psychedelic trance music.

Review by Vladimir Sedov

Translated by Leta Gordeeva