[soundmute]

Jikooha is one of my favorite Goa trance projects. They are in the top 5 for sure. Two Japanese anarcho punk enthusiast on istruments.
Outstanding Goa trance expirience. First of all when I've opened CD pack, I pulled out cover to read all the things on it. I saw that inside
of cover is picture from Ageha club in Tokyo and that was so great to me cause they choose picture from this club. Especially the club! Lot
of great memories... Ok, lets start:

1. Intro the timewave
If I didn't know that this was intro, I would actually think that it is a start of whole track with indian motives, because the pad which
plays as a main sound in intro totally reminds me on background for melodies with that character. To bad that it finished so fast. I heard
the story inside.

2. Bay hall magic
Here comes the story very fast! Like pure old school beggining of the track. Loads of 303 leads make me so spiritual. Returns me to great Goa times. The way of expanding background instruments in old school style is so outstanding. Totally acid sound. Next thing I expected are
wonderful melodies with uplifting or how producers like to say, "opening cut off", filter on another background 303 instrument which is
filled up with classic goa trance melody. And there is an excellent hysteric sound over it. Amazing! Break is filled up with the high sound
of synth, with a lot of snares pupmping and the main melody which continues to play during the rest of the track. Magnificent! Totally brings
me back. Thank You.

3. Vega
And they continue in the same groove. Acid never dies! I simply love that "angry" leads and bassline, sharp hats and deep kick. Openwide
melodies with a lot of reverb on them brought me to a perfect pleasure. I felt that I need an open space for this music, cause this music is
made for it, like most of the goa trance production. I was nicely surprised with deep down upcoming short lead that plays a bit wierd theme.
After more acid back in the track, arised more beautiful themes. It sounds like a melodies fight. Especially the part in Goa Trance style where there are so many melodies that can never bore you. And thats the point in the first place!

4. Super Secret Aria 51
Hehehe, Aria 51 is persistent source of ideas for making a good track. Most of the lines in this track can be used as a super original
soundtrack for some scene in the movie that tells about "Aria 51". They are so intent and make the atmosphere in song to sound like that.
Melodies are incredible. Especially moments of lifting up on octave, higher and higher. Well done guys! Also I must say that in this style of Goa, I totally like when groove comes out from the depth and drives through whole track in the background.

5.Fractal Rock City
At the first moment I tought that this track will slow down the tempo style on album, but after the kick started I realised that this is one
of the tricks with slower bassline on faster rhythm. Although the tempo is fast, track still has a slow story. That kind of tempo is the best
for initiating guitars in trance.Despite that I mostly dislike guitars in electronic music this is the case when guitar is on the right place
and remind me on some Anime soundtrack Trippy!!! Maybe in this track live drums would fit better then syntetic rhythm. Only thing that I
dislike in this track is that the biggest accent is put on higher tones. In one moment everything starts to scream!

6. Red road
Starts like tribe ritual. Uhuhu I like it! That pad with creepy moments is just like it should be. It fits pretty into a rubber bassline.
Also, a laser gun effect is really nice to hear inside. Snare is a bit higher than it should be, but this is just a matter of taste. I know a
lot of people who like higher tones in sound. As they say: "Positively irritant sound". Well, I could agree with them totally, just in some
sections of track I dont like it that much. Vocal in the track is totally cool. And then, such a wonderful melody starts!!! Pure emotion.
Looking for trees, not the walls of clubs The best thing in Jikooha tracks is that they are using that sharp hat all the time and this is
the sound that makes me jump. I give a lot of attention to hi hats in every style of music that I listen. Here, it's just perfect! Also I
must notice that in this track, there are many paranoid sounds of leads and this is bingo in this kind of arrangement.

7. Omega Point (edit. Eiji)
As I see it, this is a succsessful cooperation. That very first sound remind me on legendary pionires of Goa sound, "Shamanic Tribes on
Acid". I must say that these projects have a pretty similiar way of expression in music. Part after the break sounds so powerfull!!! It goes
on the way of pure energy. As I already mentioned, I like that kind of "angry" melodies in Jikooha's music. Gives that nocturnal sound to the
atmosphere, but still they can play it either when the morning comes or during the night.

8. Galaxy Journey
I expected a real journey and they confirmed that with starting melody and vocal. Over and over again I must mention hi hats in this song...
It's just amazing match to the rhythm. Oscillation on octave is also wonderful. I like a lot that changing notes through the theme.
Prettyspacey drive! Melodies in this track are totally lovely!

9. My revolution and yours
This is the best track on album. Excellent bassline and melodies, like on the whole album, of course. Its real cyber punk track! Guitar works
awesome to! Many sound effects and twisted melodies are making confusing atmosphere! That is actually what works the most in this track. This drive reminds me on "Wierrd Eggs" style by Four Cary Nuts. Twisted moments in goa trance are always welcome. The end of the track is also superb, 'cause all that sanity is stopped so suddenly and it just plays one lead for a couple of seconds to calm down crew 'till the total end.
Respect!

I can say for sure that this is totally well done job. One of the greatest releases in 2008. Its real honor to say that music like this
existe even today. From all goa projects today I think that this project is one that keeps whole old elements in music. Inheritors of Mantra,
Shamanic tribes, Alien Mutation, etc...One more time, Respect and see you at the party!!!

Lara

Jikooha Online : http://www.jikooha.com
Jikooha @ myspace : http://www.myspace.com/jikooha
Booking : jikooha@hotmail.com
Panorama Records : http://www.panoramarecords.jp

[Mike A]

I must say that Bay Hall Magic is brilliant. Purely amazing.
Sames goes for the Filteria Remix. Those 2 tracks alone worth the entire CD.

[Penzoline]

Jesus christ! I heard My Revolution And Yours on Golden Vibes II and I'm absolutely intriqued by this. I felt like was floating in space, watching some Epic spaceship battles with a ton of wacky colored laser shots flying all over the place.
Are they gonna release it more widespread? I could by it from Psyshop if it ever reaches there.

[Maden]

Bay Hall Magic is just absolutly fantastic !!!

but Red Road is not my cup of tea. :s

[sunwolf]

4/5

[Trance2MoveU]

Holy Crap this was good. Bay Hall Magic was just that, magic. On Area 51 I didn't really like the key change, but that is a minor nitpick for a powerful track. Fractal Rock City borrows some melody from Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" which is kinda cool but it doesn't really go anywhere. Red Road was released on Golden Vibes III and is a pretty good track with Native American influences. The Filteria remix at the end is a smasher!

So all in all this was a great release that keeps the goa spirit alive and well. Well worth the money!

Mdk

[rino]

I am not impressed, but I guess I am entitled not to be. Right off from the start Bay Hall Magic put me off by the "bombastic" kicks and the epic leads during the entire second part of the track. Despite some playful acid wizardry, the cheese factor made my cheese-o-meter go off balance.
Vega wasn't much better either, 02:40 and I've hit the skip button with both of my fists. Sounds like a throw away track from an unsigned artist making an anthem for the early version of Magix Music Maker, with absolutely no disrespect intended to fans of the software.
Super Secret Area 51 should have stayed just that - a super well kept secret. Is it possible that a goa trance track anno 2008 still can get a passing vote with a "flying saucer" sample. No. Impossible. The melody at 04:00. My window. It opens. The speakers? They fly. My face? The smile is back all over it.
Fractal Rock City and Red Road place me in a stone cold coma, and I've just had a cup of hot coffee. The guitar riff on Fractal Rock City is simultaneously so corny and cheesy that even my socks itch.
I know there are people out there who fully enjoy mystic, natively influenced and tribal tracks, so I would recommend Red Road to them. Well, I don't, so it's yet another reason why is the aforementioned cup of coffee eager to escape from the clutch of my hand and spill its contents all over the stereo. The anger menagement sessions must be working though, as I've successfully held mycelph back.
Omega Point is relatively listenable, although one must keep in mind that "Revolution spaceship" alters the definition of relativity in music. Even the guitars are moderately used, modulated in a manner that they subtly stay in the background, letting some playful melodies pave the way for a break with a sample, and then from 04:40 on, once more we're thrown in some fromage de lait de brebis territory, just not as in your face as on the previous tracks. It's a track I've played through twice, but no more. Sorry... More sorry than the disposable Linkin Park guitar riff entering seven minutes into the track. I was waiting for a Jay-Z hip hop verse as well, but they somehow never thought of doing that. Could have been cool though.
The penultimate tune, Galaxy Journey has a Fisher Price, "my first attempt at making a goa trance track" type of sound. But I'll admit, the track has some very positive vibes all over, I just don't feel 'em as much as others might. I mean, after five minutes, it sounds like DJ Bobo on acid.
However, My Revolutions And Yours (Filteria's Vive La Revolution Remix) is redemption at its purest form. It's a ticket to Noa's arc just when you were convinced a tidal wave would terminate your existence. But my!!! This is almost nine minutes of multiple climaxes oscillating and colliding in perfect harmony, getting drilled in and out of the track at the speed of Schumacher's vehicle on steroids. Fantastic and perfectly placed guitar riffs serve as brief break downs just before you get thrown in an endless universe of intriguing psychedelia and dance floor madness. In short: this is my pick for best tune of the year up to now. Unfortunately, the album is further away from it than I had expected. Ah well, taster's choice...

[Penzoline]

I got around hearing this and I had too high hopes because of the awesome tracks in Golden Vibes II - this album really let me down.

In To The Timewave sets the mood for things, very spacey. There on to Bay Hall Magic, you're taking off a flight in a shuttle to outer space, keeps adding speed up the whole track. This one's great, good climax and fantastic atmosphere and effects. Then Vega hits, you notice how similar a lot of the effects sound, it has some nice parts and the ending is great(5:50-7:20)(Melody is kickass) but rest is pretty boring. Then we're on to <b>Super Secret Area 51</b>, this one's really repetitious. The beginning betrays you by sounding great, but it's the same thing over and over again. Fractal Rock City sounds playful and fresh with the guitars and melodies at the beginning, but it's just on repeat - goes nowhere. The ending luckily is a little different to the rest of the track as the guitar gets more high pitched and it ends with a very layered climax, but unfortunately, it doesn't save the repetitiousness of the rest. I throughly enjoyed the fantastic mood of Red Road, feels like you're in a deserted, very clean and very high-tech non-man-made house where the walls are filled with glyphs and with long windows open, looking at the dead planet of mars. The tracks evolves into a nice deep psychedelic trip. I really like it. Omega Point, again the same effects, now with a bit of guitar vibes, keeps going really stale and evolves to something mysterious and creepy. It is very interesting what kind of transformation it goes through. Not a bad track, could be shorter though. Galaxy Journey is again repetitious but the whole thing still sounds really good(Fact that I somehow neglected whilst I was writing this review back in November for some odd reason). Good track, actually, just that it could be less repetitious. Now then, I had high hopes for My Revolution And Yours(Filteria's Vive La Revolution Remix), since I loved the Golden Vibes version A LOT and that it was remixed by Filteria, who's my favourite Goatrance-Artist. But it managed to let me down , since the original version (Jikooha & Eiji - My Revolution And Yours) was such a killer spacey atmospheric spacebattle(: d) track, this one's more of the same old Filteria. He took out the best bits and... well actually he did not take them out, he just put on his own effects on top of it. (You can hear the old version in the BACKGROUND, which annoys me to hell and back.). Those that have not heard the original, will probably like this a lot more than I did, though.

The old version of My Revolution And Yours on the other hand, is sheer brilliance. Like I said before, it feels like you're in outer space, watching an epic spaceship battle, planets exploding and lasers beams flying all over the place!

Overall the album was too repetitious, same effects everywhere and while they all have an awesome, awesome spacey atmosphere, you'd think it also goes somewhere, but most of the time really doesn't. Definitely recommended for those who love spacey atmospheres, though!
Favourite's 2(!!), 6(!!), 8, 9

7/10 (4-10 scale)

[Oopie]

2 last tracks are the highlights. Overall not worth a recommendation thou...