Artist: Evolved Presents Vampires
Title: Live In The Light
Label: Plastica
By: Chloe Harris | 16 May 2004
Tracklist:

• A1: Evolved Trip
• B1: Control Freak Dub
• B2: Acapella

Evolved Presents Vampires "Live In The Light"

The name 'Vampires' was originally created by Evolved's Mike Mucci as a way to explore his darker more experimental roots within house music. Albert Camara stepped in shortly thereafter lending his own influences like Latin-inspired beats, to help the duo define their own sound of deep, hypnotic grooves. 'Live In The Night' is a creepy tribal tune, but balanced with uplifting synths and latin inspired percussion, it’s a light take on darkness.

The 'Evolved Trip' has a deep and sinister vibe, played up well with the tribal drums and sweet synths. Delayed stabs and a heavy hypnotic rhythm build while a bass groove creeps in. An uplifting, yet eerie synth rises and falls with the drums, while samples of a vampire's speech lays into the groove bringing everything into a break. Lush pads smooth over the sample creating depth, tension and seriousness, while sparse sounds fall into the hollow darkness. The drums bubble underneath, exploding into the rising and falling synths once again.

The 'Control Freak Dub' is a lighter version focusing more on latin percussion and a shuffling groove. Added drums such as bell tings, shakers, and snaps play up the tribal rhythm. The main lead synth has been cut up and rearranged and arpeggiated so it bounces along the drums creating a groove. The vocals are also cut up and looped, for yet another percussive effect. Flying through delays and twisted effects, the groove never lets up and never breaks for more then a second. There's also an 'Acapella' here to play with. The samples are clean and easy to use. Some have delays and some could be looped, but it's up to your imagination to take the samples where you want.

'Live In The Night' is another strong release for Plastica, with early support coming from Tom Stephan, Low End Specialists, and James Zabiela. This should appeal to anyone who's looking for a tribal tune with a twist or a shuffling house groove with sparkling percussion and stand out production.