OMG OMG OMG!
The leader of the rainbow colored unicorn army is back! And while the unicorns are no longer visible on the album, I can tell that Valo (aka: Vishnudata) has hidden them throughout the tracks on his new album -simply titled 'Vishnudata'.

Vishnudata is the Psychedelic Trance moniker of Valo Lankinen and his first album 'Dreamforce' was released by Space Boogie Records back in 2007. Dreamforce has been one of those albums that I have been meaning/wanting/forgetting to review ever since it came out. Life is hard and filled with too much to do and too little time; somehow I just never wrote the review I wanted to. Two years later, Vishnudata is back with an album on Exogenic Records that is a very pleasant compliment to both his first album and his current Electric Arc releases as well.

When it comes to progressive and minimal psychedelic tech-trance, Vishnudata is one of the select few who can blend the minimal progressive melodies of Son Kite with enough X-Dream like hook to keep you interested. Vishnudata dances the fine line of that laid back rainbow unicorn chunky groove that would almost be the summation of Midi Miliz/Extrawelt meets Robert Miles. The energy is at once both calming and engaging. It's like driving a car when stoned and you inadvertently drive 5 mph under the speed limit because you feel that you are driving too fast. Vishnudata's two albums compliment each other nicely as well. With balances like Too Slow and Silver Falls or Enter the Womb and Relux, the two albums benefit from one another greatly while each still remains an individual and independent thought through piece of work.

The electronic music scene in the United States is a weird place. There are the clubs, the illegal underground, the mainstream massives, the hippie spirit fests, the house parties, the after-parties, the ravers, the hipsters, the goths, the hippies, the anarchists, the laptops versus vinyl versus cd versus live, the old school and -of course- the new school too; Valo writes music that has a decent amount of crossover appeal for all of these. It works in the clubs and it still maintains its forest and valley roots and integrity.

The sun rises, the air opens up, and music reverberates on a different level. Totoro Temple or Mental Sticks are echoing throughout the valley. Am I Dreaming or Silver Falls bouncing off of the trees while dancers keep the floor jumping up and down, the warmth of the campfire no longer needed. Or a claustrophobic, sweaty, loud cement box club. Noise From Far or Planets in Line pulsing out of the speakers as you make your way back to the dance floor after getting a new drink from the bar. It all works . . . and it is all fantastic. Vishnudata has crafted an album that works on many ravelengths and that is a nice treat.

So, while Vishundata may have left the rainbow unicorns off of the artwork of the new album, the spirit is still alive within the core of the music . . . and that's the important part.

xoxox
-A'damn