The Vitals

Label: Intec
Genre: Tribal/Funky Techno
Number of Tracks: 3
Release Date: October 17, 2005
How you can obtain a copy: http://www.intecrecords.com/

Factor Scores:

• Production Quality: 6.5
• Programming and Arrangement: 7.9
• Entertainment Quality: 8.3
• Total: 7.5 – Good

Summary:

The first of these three new cuts from Cave, properly named "Arctic", opens just like a typical Cave track. What I mean by that is that once again he's used his signature tribal drum style. As the track develops it turns into an odd sounding mix of dark melody and hard techno. I personally rated this song the lowest out of the three. There are several reasons for this; one of which is that there were two different sounds fighting each other to come out in this track, and didn't sound good together. As mentioned earlier these two were the darker sounding melody and the hard techno percussion and bass. Also, the darker end of the song came out sounding like more of an afterthought than "part of the song". Other than the percussion, I think this song was mostly a miss.

Second up is the much more original and diverse "Temporal". I was much more satisfied with this song than "Arctic". From start to finish it had my undivided attention. For one, this song had many more fitting elements working with each other to put the song together as a whole. For example the previously unused high-end synths and brief vocal "shout" samples. Another feature I was sure to positively note was the "didgeridoo" sounding instrument used in several of the breakdowns. Even the tribal drums in this one were more entertaining. Ultimately this song was put together better, written better, and is just plain easier to listen to than "Arctic".

Finally, the third song on the EP was "Tropical". My very first impression of this song was that it was just filler. To me early on it sounded like Cave was simply going through the motions. However this vibe changed very quickly. I don't have as much positive to say about it as I do about "Temporal", but it was certainly crafted better than "Arctic". This song was mainly a feature of the tribal drums and is reminiscent of one of Cave's earlier songs "Street Carnival". I was incredibly impressed with the drum line, and have concluded that Cave has brought us yet another tune to explode the dance floor with.

If you've ever heard anything by Cave in the past, then you will certainly know that these tracks are their style. Unfortunately I didn't find all the tracks on here to be as good as what I'm used to from Cave, but I still think that the EP will prove to be an asset for Intec.

Production Quality: 6.5

Any major Cave fan can tell that he doesn't really base his tracks around rigid production quality, but more with style. Not everyone can pull this off but Cave most definitely does, and proves it with their work. It's one thing for a producer to form a simple drum track, but another for one to bust out an original sounding drum solo. The point is, the technical production quality isn't high, but it is more than made up for in style and sound.

Programming & Arrangement: 7.9

What I liked most was the way Cave quantized the tribal drums in relation to the rest of the percussion on all three tracks. Like I mentioned about one of Shpongle's new tracks, the percussion here had more of a "live" sound, as opposed to perfectly sequenced and drained of all creativity. I was a big fan of what Cave did with the programming and arrangement.

Entertainment Quality: 8.3

Cave's new EP was entertaining more than anything else. Where it lacked in form and musical structure, it easily made up for in style, attitude, and vibe. At least the tracks "Temporal" and "Tropical" are going to last a long time in my collection, not an EP I will soon forget.

Total: 7.5 – Good

A good new EP from Cave, most definitely worthy of a decent amount of airtime, and dance floor play. As I said before, I feel overall that "Arctic" was a miss. The other two "Temporal" and "Tropical" were exponentially better and I predict will be successful in many different genre cliques.

Brian's Take:

This EP wasn't the style that I normally spin, but just like any good enough track, "Temporal" and "Tropical" will make their way into my sets somehow. I don't think this EP will end up being nearly as classic as "Street Carnival" or the "Carima EP", but it deserves its place in any DJ's record box.