Have you heard of Binaural recording techniques? It is a technique that uses small spherical microphones on a fake human head in order to get amazing results. In the case of this short set of Portals, if you listen to the track on headphones you will seriously feel like you are smack in the middle of the live performance. From the very first seconds I could hear the talking of people in the audience and it really felt like I was standing waiting for the show to begin. It is crazy because the Binaural recording combined with headphone playback gives you this surreal 3D effect without needing a surround sound 7.1 speaker set-up. The set is slightly experimental with definitely psychedelic themes. The band has amazing mastery of complimentary, dynamic, and syncopated beats. The combined effect mixed with the three-dimensional movement around the listener’s perception creates an experience that could be best described as Trancendentory. I literally felt like I was moving out of my chair when I listened to Portals. My spirit was buzzing with energy.
There was a part where the drums were hitting this rhythm that was a little uncomfortable, but then when it released I was taken into this swelling and mind dunking, aura twisting audio journey. I using some pretty good Sennheiser headphones to listen to the music. They cover the whole ear and I like that style more than earbuds. And since there is a great deal of depth to the music I recommend listening to Portals with higher quality headphones. But really you need to just straight up listen to it. The cool thing is that you can actually download Portals for free via Soundcloud by clicking HERE and choosing the download button near the “share” button.
Is Portals aggressive in parts? Yes. But the aggressiveness comes through with the persistence of the communication. The vocals used near the end are very inviting and sense-stimulating. I am so glad I listened to this. It will definitely take a special place in my music collection. The cool thing about Portals is that it is music that pulls you out of the normal routine. When I started to listen to it I took a break from what I was doing and got completely sucked in. This isn’t dance music or punk rock. This is something different. I think trying to pigeon-hole Portals into a specific genre might be doing it a disservice.
What happens at the six minute mark is so unique that it reminds me of communication with an entity that is outside the regular realm of consciousness. I’ve never heard anything like it.
-Tyler