Tristan – Substance

It must be itted that Tristan's output is patchy: he always has interesting ideas, but they don't always gel. Hard techno, Goa, floaty housey trance, you never know what you'll get with him which is both a strength and a weakness. I can't believe that Tristan's housey second album "Substance" doesn't get as highly rated as his third full-on record "Chemisphere", which is far weaker in my view. I suspect the low ratings are because this came out on Twisted, which usually doesn't put out the housey side of trance, and this alienated listeners. I find this album nicely varied and with just enough of his earlier techy psychedelia to make for ok home listening. Interestingly, the sound on the vinyl is rather grey and washed out - possibly a sign of an album made on a computer rather than with the analogue synths that abound on his first and better lp? I'm not sure, but I am sure that once again Tristan's cover art is nothing special. A lightweight but enjoyable record then. Laserflip below may well be right: Tristan's true metier is probably djing. ~*~