Now here's a bit of a blast from my past. I remember listening to the Voodoo & Serano album "Cold Blood" on my daily trek to high school back in the early 2000s, at a time when walking down the street, hands clamped to a Discman, was the cool thing to do. That album was pretty good in terms of giving me the energy I needed for that early morning half-hour saunter to school. There were many decent tracks, but the one that really stood out was "Slide To The Vibe". Little did I realize back then, but this had actually been one of their singles, alongside fellow A-side "This Is Acid". So I figured, hey, why not revisit my youth a bit and see whether these tunes still hold up today.
The physical single included both the Single Edits and the full length club mixes for each song. First up is Slide To The Vibe (Single Edit), which immediately cuts right to the chase with a thumpin' beat and some quick electric guitar riffs. But what I really look forward to is when an extremely slowed down, distorted voice churns out that phrase, "Sliiiiiiiiide to the viiiiiiiibe" right before the most awesome siren I've ever heard hits like a brick to the face. That siren-like synth is so sharp, it could probably cut through a digital meatloaf. I'll admit, the following melody is pretty standard dance fare (though still worth breakdancing in the street over), but that wicked siren more than makes up for it. I've never heard that sound in any other song, but I wish I did.
Next is This Is Acid, which goes back more to Voodoo & Serano's acid techno roots, making use of the classic 303 sound. With little time to waste, we're firmly planted in acid territory as that 303 starts banging our heads with some fine rhythms. The song soon switches to a trancier vibe and a new melody. The synth seems a little off-key, but it's a good complement nonetheless to the more hardcore sound we just heard before we head back into the acid. This one's pretty good and can actually cater to multiple electronic music tastes. My only gripe: I wish they enunciated the word "acid" a bit more; with the reverb they use, it sometimes sounds more like "ass".
Slide To The Vibe (Clubmix) and This Is Acid (Clubmix) follow, effectively doubling the radio edits' lengths, and who doesn't want more of this wicked sound? For the full experience, including additional build-ups and subsequent break-downs, these will serve you well. All in all, these tunes are just as good to these ears as they were well over a decade ago. In fact, "This Is Acid" is a little bit better than I remember. See if you can track these down, and hopefully you won't be disappointed with their acidic retro sound.
