Artist: Tszpun
Title: Lost Language / Solar System
Label: Music Now Records
By: Chad Harnish | 26 July 2002
Tracklist:

• A: Lost Language
• B: Solar System

Tszpun "Lost Language / Solar System"

If you went out to your local record shop and bought the vinyl version of Bedrock 3 in an attempt to mimic what Chris Fortier so skillfully did with his mix set, you may have been disappointed to find that Tszpun’s ‘Lost Language’ was not included. Well thanks to Music Now, you can be one step closer in completing the full compilation. In addition, you will be treated to the expansive ‘Solar System’ on the flip side.

Tszpun communicates his thoughts and feelings in Lost Language through a series of dark storytelling passages. The ethnic flavored setting he builds is full of misty tones and hollow effects. Spoken primordial chants further the atmosphere by covering the track in a lost language. The kick drum is stripped of depth until the brooding bass line penetrates into the track delivering deep lows. The breakdown is a whirring, winding conglomeration of tension building effects. It remains percussionless until the very last minute when it starts to build into the conclusion of the story.

Flip the record over to discover the secrets of the ill-omened ‘Solar System’. Ominous rumbling tones blanket tight beats while shards of sharp sounds rip through the dark cover. Samples trickle and sprinkle across the track adding a new layer to the atmosphere. Tszpun craftily builds layers upon the percussion throughout the track, building the listeners anticipation ever so subtly. When the breakdown hits you it feels as if you are in the presence of evil. It never builds into a climactic eruption, but still creates a high level of anticipation. After the breakdown subsides, a new bass element is added exposing a different focus of the track and the journey continues.

You really get your head into these tracks. They can speak to you in unspoken languages. Solar System is my personal favorite, but Lost Language seems to be the one making the play lists and charts. Check out this track in the Fall from Music Now’s latest signing, Tszpun.