(Binary Finary)

Mention 1998 to any trance lover worth their salt and you are guaranteed a knowing smile in return. Binary Finary catapulted into the booming trance scene with their now seminal 1998, a track that somehow managed to capture all the frenzy and excitement surrounding the trance explosion going on at the time.
And then they suddenly disappeared.

Theories ranging from alien abduction to cryogenic storage were bandied about, however the real story is that the success of 1998 resulted in vicious internal feuding that eventually tore Binary Finary apart. Though tracks such as 1999 and 2000 were released, the magic had gone, and Binary Finary slipped off the radar, gone but fondly remembered.

As it turns out, Matt Laws and Stuart Matheson, two parts of the original Binary collective, held on to the dream, avoiding the bickering and power struggles, and working together for 8 years to create the music found in The Lost Tracks. Matt and Stuart have embraced modern technology, discarding the traditional distribution method of CDs and making The Lost Tracks available exclusively as a digital download on sites such as iTunes, Beatport and Trackitdown.

Containing sixteen unheard gems, The Lost Tracks ducks and weaves through many genres of music. While an overwhelming trance flavour is present throughout, elements of acid, prog and pure electronic experimentation have been carefully woven into many of the songs. (Many of the tracks contain an oldschool sound that long-time trance fans will really appreciate.)

There are many great tunes spread across The Lost Tracks. Dirty Little Tart is as cheeky as it sounds; a driving beat lashed by swirling acid that ends up straying far into Goa territory. Merglich sounds like what might happen if lab rats eat radioactive cheese, grow leathery wings and fly around terrorising the very scientists responsible for their metamorphosis. Chacmool is deeply introspective while Remedy rises up like a phoenix from the flames, proud and unstoppable.

Preformation (t minus 1) soars with soft acidic crescendos, High Coup meanders along gaily, and The Acid One uncoils like a cobra ready to sink its aural venom into your ear canal. Terrifying after a big night out, Twenty Four begins as a kicking drum beat and slowly grows into a menacing organic sound monster that uncurls stabbing tendrils of pure sonic terror. Yikes!

A perfect example of the melodic, uplifting trance sound that Binary fans are so fond of is found in Freshwater. Reflective pauses, a carefully constructed melody, and piercing synths all come together to create a glowing piece of trance music. Also available is the Jose Amnesia Remix that ups the intensity while still keeping the crucial feeling of euphoria.

Binary Finary also prove themselves unafraid to pay their dues: Syncity takes listeners back to the time of Tony De Vit – intense songs built on simple melodies that run hand in hand with driving b-lines and stuttering percussion. There’s no showboating here, just good quality song writing. It’s not all roses though.
 
Decoder is a 10 minute odyssey that ends up being slightly self indulgent and unnecessarily long. It leads into one of the biggest disappointments of the album: Secrets. Beginning with what sounds like Man Without A Name’s finest work – a deeply layered voyage into twisted trance – something goes horribly wrong midway through. Secrets is unable to recover from a pathetically poor breakdown that strips the mystery from the tune and fails to inject it back in.

Apart from those little hiccups, The Lost Tracks is a fitting way for Binary Finary to burst back into the consciousness of trance lovers everywhere.