This week for Flashback Friday, a project that was active in the formative years of the scene and went through various shifts in membership and style: Slinky Wizard, with the title track from their first EP, ‘Wizard’.

The first Slinky Wizard track, ‘The Rising’, was composed by Adam Boyd and Dominic Lamb in 1992. George Barker and Ronnie Biggs later joined the group, and Simon Posford – then an engineer at Butterfly Studios – helped them produce their first EP on the Flying Rhino label, including this track (clearly linked to the name of the project) – although ‘Wizard’ was also issued on the epic Dragonfly compilation Order Odonata (that’s where I first heard it).

Apparently when this track was being made, Simon was at the controls with the other members calling out one suggestion after another as the talented young engineer worked tirelessly to follow their cues. The result is a masterpiece and one of the all-time great Goa tracks from that period when the harmonic and structural content of the productions was story-based and architecturally complex. The brilliant pacing of the introduction (does anyone write such a daringly long build-up of an intro these days?), the declamatory nature of the baseline, the layering of sounds, the hypnotic aerated synth lead, the lightness of the high-hats, the rhythmic lilt of the percussion, and that rock guitar from outer space all work together to create a wonderfully cohesive composition – together with a spoken sample that suggests shifting realities to peer behind the illusory curtain of physical nature.

Sadly, Adam Boyd died in an accident in 1994. Later, the versatile musician Gus Till would become a member. The project evolved their styles as the scene expanded, producing some crunchier, funkier, groovier tracks with a bit more edge.

It is worth noting that this track is only 136 bpm, yet the lightness of textures and layering give it the illusion of being much faster…

An all-time classic track from a very important project!