THE MUSES RAPT - YOU

2005

IBIZA MUSIC

1. CELEBRATE

2. EL ALMO ESCONDIDO

3. ADAM'S LOVE

4. THE FLY OF THE PHOENIX OVER NATARAJ

5. QUESTION WITHOUT ANSWER

6. SWEET PLANET

7. BES DANCE

8. HUMAN ODDITY

Here is the second, long awaited album by spanish maestro Juan Verdera. While his first album was melodic and sophisticated and by any means innovative, this album goes more into club and enhanced by very strong and loud kick and bass lines tends to loose somewhere. I wouldn't mind this album if there wasn't those strong kick lines that dominated through every single track. There are still his melodies and sounds but kick just get too much in your face where you actually loose interest for the rest of the track, until new, fresh melody comes in and you are tricked again. First track CELEBRATE is not bad but has nothing to do with his old style. And as everyone say here, it is cheesy, my leats favourite from the album but still not obnoxious as everyone says. Next track sounds more intersting but with such dominated kick that you barely hear melodies. Then comes first very good track on the album ADAM'S LOVE. There are very smooth, gentle liquid melodies but then again too fast kick. What happened to him with this overused kicks, it sounds like he wanted to do full on alike album without being full on at all, strange...Then comes THE BEST one on album, FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX OVER NATARAJ...It has perfect morphing melodies and it is the only one that completely reminds on old Muses Rapt, simple melodic perfection, the album is worth for this track only. QUESTION WITHOUT ANSWER is pretty good too, sliding perfectly after previous one. SWEET PLANET is as the title suggest, sweet, but only that. Again in your face kick and you slowly start to loose interest. BES DANCE is nice, has also few gentle melodies and is distinctive and has pretty lyrical structure. HUMAN ODDITY goes slightly into full on but it is also nice song. All in all, very decent album but no remotely comparable with his first. Has 3 really good songs and the rest pretty good but nothing extraordinary. So, Juan, don't get too carried away with your next album...7/10

Puff Dragon

Sazanami

Dakini Records

Tracklist

Sazanami 9:29

Qi Gong 9:11

Chinese Radio (Beijing Taxi Version) 7:43

Marine Drive 7:35

Spacefunk 8:23

Skin as Soft (Soft as Silk remix) 8:16

Lava 6:17

Shimmer (Liquid Lounge Version) 8:10

I bought this mainly because I like the cover, the track names and because it was next to the Makyo album that I wanted to buy. I was REALLY impressed though I love this floaty, dreamy, occasionally funky album.

1. Sazanami

Starts of with soft strings, not sure but it sounds like a plucked harp accompanied by the electric violin and acoustic guitar. Soft beat lies nicely behind it all. after about 2 and a half minutes The beat moves itself into the front and the violin gets more involved. It's a nice dreamy opener to the album. It has the same sounds all the way through but it progresses nicely and if worth the full 9 and a half minutes.

2. Qi Gong

This one seems to come out of the mist. Plucked strings again and a dreamy background texture. Floating out of all this is a beautiful voice (by Keiku if anyone cares to know). A fat baseline perfectly compliments this voice which floats in an out. No words that I can tell just the voice as a proper instrument. It really works well with the beat, bass and strings. This is my Favourite track on the album and one of my top tracks of 2005. I only wish it was longer than nine minutes and 11 seconds. It's the kind of track I could put on repeat and listen to over and over.

3. Chinese Radio (Beijing Taxi Version)

The start of this one kinds of breaks the mood just set by Qi Gong with static and a very prominent if laid back semi melody which continues through the track. Its a little quicker than the other two but after the slightly disturbing start it settles into a nice laid back track. Nice bassline and use of strings again, this one really does fell like being on the streets of Beijing. A nice Chinese flute is used but it's nice and subtle and not over used. Slightly out of place is an English sample repeating "reality, perception" but it's probably there to represent the amount of English you will find around asia. Nice track non the less but I'd take out that sample if I could.

4 Marine Drive

This track is more technical sounding but still with a mystic air. Some backwards beats and drawn out computer like sounds, remind that the music is electronic but there are a lot of more natural sounds hidden in the background if you care to listen. There is another English sample "let it flow in slowly.... and out slowly" which sounds more at home in this one than the last. This is a nice track but the progression isn't as good as the previous 3 and it's maybe a minute too long for my taste.

5 Spacefunk

Starts kind of tribal like with the beat but the other sounds used are more space aged. As the name suggests it's more funky than the previous tracks and it's busier too. I nice relaxed bassline leads into a more sporadic but deeper one. The beats get more complicated and all the dreaminess of the first few tracks is stepped into a more lucid dream. It's still quite floaty and nice but seems more intense and closer to the mind rather that the soul. Very nice subtle guitar hides behind it all towards the end. It's tribal, it's spacey. Space Tribe should have made music like this to live up to his name.

6. Skin as Soft (Soft as Silk Remix)

Original track is on Makyo's album Swara Mandala but this remix fits in better with this album than the original would have, it's a little more colourful. The beat and the bass are a little faster like the last one but there are some nice vocals by Nona Kalra. They seem both prominent and background at the same time which gives them a mystical kind of quality. Once again the progression on this track is really nice. It's very patient. It doesn't try to do too much at once but waits for the right time to introduce each new element. By the end of the track it's sounding wonderful, could have been longer IMO.

7. Lava

An even funkier bass line than Spacefunk. This track is instantly enjoyable. In the background in the beginning there is a sound like children playing. Cool beats underlie the bassline and although it's funky it's dreamy too. Some beautiful subtle melodies are played alongside the baseline and once again the progression of the track keeps it fresh throughout.

8 Shimmer (Liquid Lounge Version)

Starts off shimmering, slow shimmering synths and soft drawn out beats a repetitive baseline and some bubbly sounds make way for clearer beats, the baseline recedes somewhat and a computerised voice floats in and out. I think it just says a long drawn out "I-----" This leads into more shimmering synths and strings and some cool watery beats. This is a very well named song and a great end to what I think is a great album.

So to sum up, this is a really nice release. It's floaty and dreamy. The beats are really good throughout and each song's progression is patient. It never tries to do too much and so does so much more than some albums that try too hard. If you are a Dakini fan you will love this. If your not you might still love it.

Because each song has a slow patient progression you might not like it from just hearing samples but I would recommend taking a risk if you like floating dream chill out music.

My Favourites 1, 2!, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8

Artist: Various

Title: Hyperspatial Chrysalis

Label: Ketuh Records (Portugal/Austria)

Catalog #: Kthcd010

Format: CD

Released: 13 June 2005

Tracks:

1. Psychoactive- 'Crazy Cabby'

2. Hefty Output- 'WTF? Rmx'

3. Sychophant- 'Life and Death Rmx'

4. Sungirl vs. Iron Madness- 'Buddhist Pyramidi'

5. Pondscum- 'Style Stalker'

6. Paranoize- 'Deception'

7. Phonic Request vs. Akhoa- 'Call 1334 Rmx'

8. Psyboriginal- 'Spirited Way Rmx'

9. Killer Buds- 'Biogenese'

Review: This is the tenth release from Portuguese-born

and Austrian based record label Ketuh Records. At the

start of 2005, the paths of the Ketuh Records family

and the Triptamind Crew crossed in Australia. The

experiences gained there, spawned the 'Hyperspatial

Chrysalis', a collaborative effort between the two.

The result- a collection of nine tracks from new and

upcoming Australian artists as well as some fresh

sounds from elsewhere around the globe. Compiled by Dj

P_Mac, Label manager of Ketuh Records and resident

Boom Festival DJ, with liner notes written by Eli of

the Triptamind Crew in Australia. This compilation

showcases the transitional period between night time

and morning- the multi-dimensional and ever-evolving

sound of the chrysalis that is Ketuh Records.

1. Psychoactive- 'Crazy Cabby'- Psychoactive aka Steve

Barr, from Australia, is the co-founder of Fragile

Planet Records. This is his first solo release on

Ketuh Records. "It's like getting a personal visit

from God", perhaps so. It's an enticing sample to

start off the compilation. Extracted from reality, we

are at once propelled into the opening groove. The

result- a crisp, dynamic bassline that's constantly

evolving and changing with surprising subtlety. The

main synth melody is crunchy and raw, complemented by

a squeeky tweaked out synth, more than doubling the

quirkiness. The two sounds are cleverly weaved

together with countless variation, creating the

animated, whimsical groove that drives this track

onwards. Loose percussive breaks add a highly

effective, yet barely noticable punch to the already

carefree, effortless feel of the dark funky

psychedelic grooves, "51 times stronger" for sure!

10/10

2. Hefty Output- 'WTF? Rmx' - From Australia are Dan

Verbi and Tim Hanlon, recent additions to the Ketuh

family, this is their second release, its heavy music

for the night to the max! You can hear the raw, biting

influence of South African artists Damage and Artifakt

here. A deep bassline rolls along fearlessly,

occasionally meeting with a multitude of elastic synth

sounds dribbling nighttime psychedelia. Also hiding in

the shadows a piercing melody lurks, ready to strike

when the time is right. Smooth deep dark psy, in a

genre of its own. From time to time, various creaking

and rewind fx join forces with the ripping main synth

line, further embellishing the already vicious groove.

What is lost in focus and momentum towards the end of

this track, is made up for with psychedelic elements!

Their prior release, 'Ghb (Remix)', was a bit charged

with spoken samples, it's nice to hear a track

focusing more on created rather than found sounds.

Super mean and highly potent. Last words: It's all

about the bass. 8/10

3. Sychophant- 'Life and Death Rmx'- Welcome Aussie

#3, Sycophant, Melbourne based artist John Vougioukas.

This is his debut release on Ketuh Records. The style

is dark and atmospheric, the dancefloor effect-

massive. Ethereal, dreamlike atmospheres collide with

a galloping bassline and scratchy synth- a sonic

depiction of being lost amidst unknown confusion. The

break brings inaudible samples of chaos and disarray

as well as a wind tunnel which sends us swirling into

a super mean psychedelic synth line. A perfect

nighttime groove! This track is all about the

atmosphere as we swirl about in anticipation of where

it will toss us next. The main breakdown brings the

bassline to the forefront where 'your hell awaits you'

as well as a groove full of darkness, scratching synth

lines, and screams of confusion, as we descend further

into the abyss of the unknown. 8/10

4. Sungirl vs. Iron Madness- 'Buddhist Pyramidi'-

Sungirl is Yana from Russia, with previous releases on

Trishula and Manic Dragon Records. Iron Madness is Ziv

from Israel, previously releasing on Doof Records.

This is their first track released as Sungirl vs. Iron

Madness, and also their first Ketuh release. A

symphonic beginning, reminiscent of the opening scene

of an epic movie. This melodrama is soon cut short as

we are instantaneously faced with a dark, driving

baseline and powerful snare interspersed with screams

of horror. The main synth is introduced, catchy and

melodic, yet also with a somber and emotional element

to it as well. The melody doesn't detract at all from

the overwhelming sense of darkness, chaos, and

confusion that is the essence of this track. Rather

than disrupting from the flow, the numerous

breakdown-buildups we hear only serve to propel this

track onwards, further building the intensity. This is

nonstop madness!!! Previously, I had not been a fan

Sungirl or Iron Madness, but together, the blend of

their sounds is magical!!! Best track on this comp so

far 11/10

5. Pondscum- 'Style Stalker'- Aha! The long

anticipated second release from Luke Danielewski,

Aussie #4 on this comp. His full flavored musical

project Pondscum is notoriously known for its

signature dark, minimal, hypnotic psychedelic sound

and this track is certainly no exception to that! From

the start, I am immediately drawn in by an

overwhelming sense of spiraling downwards. Various

complex and intricate synth lines working together

along with swirling atmospheric pads sitting further

in the background of this track further evoke the

downward spiral. This is for sure one of the darkest

psychedelic melodic grooves I've heard in a while. I

really like how this track progresses and changes up a

lot without ever straying too far from its central

theme. Around 3:30, everything falls into place here

and the groove is dark, melodic and extremely

effective, it would have been interesting to see this

idea develop more before the track changed things up

once again. A monstrous spooky nighttime track-

guaranteed to get everyone out of the darkness and

onto the dancefloor, I only wish it hadn't ended so

abruptly. 9/10

6. Paranoize- 'Deception'- From Israel comes Alex

Ladyzanskyi aka Paranoize, this is his second release

on Ketuh Records. With a driving bassline, scratchy

percussive synth and air of eerieness we are

officially launched into orbit. This track is centered

around two synth lines, one which has a metallic,

rhythmic sawing quality to it, the other can only be

likened to the cawing of a scavenger crow circling

above. Every element in this track is precise, exact,

and deliberate. Transitions between different ideas

are smooth and effortless, and the overall level of

production is extremely high. With virtually no

melodic element in this track, I find I'm craving more

melody! As the hi-hats and snare are prominent here,

it would have been interesting to see some more

mid-range percussive elements added in. As this track

progresses, the main synth line increasingly begins to

ooze psychedelia. The constant morphing nature of this

track keeps it interesting, leading up into the final

buildup- Dark psy with a twist of lime. 9/10

7. Phonic Request vs. Akhoa- 'Call 1334 Rmx'- With

previous releases on Magma and TIP, PhonicRequest is

the work of Wilfried Decaesteker. Here he teams up

with fellow Frenchman Akhoa. You may recall the duo

from their track 'Early Reflections', on Parvati

Records earlier this year. This is their second

collaborative release, and their first Ketuh

appearance. The track begins with a funky bassline

full of movement, some short squiggly zooming synths

adding to the raw bouncy sound and a gritty dirty no

nonsense snare reminding me of Rinkadink. The likeness

is again heard in the zooming buildups appearing

throughout. The entirety of this track feels like one

long buildup, leaving me constantly anticipating what

is to come. I must admit, with the comical flavor, I

expected the final buildup to lead to a goofy sample.

I'm slightly disappointed with "call 13.34", which

leaves me with with more of an "um....ok" feeling.

Despite the fact that this track could have had a bit

more drive, it is an essential dirty groove full of

zooming psychedelic sounds and I love it! 9/10

8. Psyboriginal- 'Spirited Way Rmx'- Aussie #5 on this

compilation, Psyboriginal is Marc Freund from Sydney.

A new Ketuh artist, this is his debut release. His

sound has been described as explosive, unique and

highly danceable and now I will hear for myself. We

start things off with a groovy bassline, some quick

start-stops and eerie atmosphere to complete the mix.

The main melody reminds me a bit of Logic Bomb, only

with a darker, more sinister feel contrasting nicely

with the raw bouncy synth line previously introduced.

The sample usage throughout, and especially at 4:40,

is the best of any track appearing on this

compilation. Psyboriginal has managed to weave

together all the right elements to create a perfect

killer groove that just works- so much so that I

cannot give away any more of the details. This is an

insane debut track, I cannot even begin to imagine

what else this guy has got up his sleeve. For sure,

one of the strongest tracks on this compilation,

perfect for bringing in the morning 10/10

9. Killer Buds- 'Biogenese'- From Brazil, Enzio,

Tarcisio and Marcelo, collectively known as Killer

Buds, are a Ketuh Records staple, appearing on the

past 5 Ketuh compilations, as well as recently

releasing their full length debut album on Ketuh. Much

like their previous releases, this track is nothing

short of massive sounding. A slightly different sound

then I've previously heard from Killer Buds- the

bassline is sitting more towards the back of this

track, while the main synth line is front and center

throughout. This track is a bit lighter on the sample

usage than previous releases, giving precedence to the

melody of this morning stomper. The breakdown is quite

unique and my favorite part of this track, slowing the

beat down and then rapidly speeding up once again, a

zooming buildup storming ahead towards all hell

breaking loose. Melodic mayhem perfect for waking up

any dancefloor. 8/10

Favorites: 1(!!), 4(!!!), 5, 6, 7(!!), 8(!!!)

Overall: Another strong compilation from Ketuh

Records. Nothing endures but change, and with each

quality release from this label, we continue to see

just why this is true. Much like the Chrysalis, we

are all evolving to a fluctuating vibration of cosmic

energy, music is no exception to this. If you are at

all curious as to where the future of psychedelic

trance music lies, rest assured, a few of the answers

you will find here. Five Australian artists appearing

on a non-Australian label, Four artists making their

debut releases on this compilation... Ketuh Records

has consistantly made it their goal to seek out the

newest, freshest, most unique sounds around. Well,

mission more than accomplished.

Artist: Nystagmus

Title: The Immaculate Perception

Label: SunDance Records

Media: CD

Cat. #: SUNDCD027

Release Date: July 2005

Tracklist:

01. 08:20 Ananda

02. 07:43 Tommy Is Dead

03. 00:52 Things That You Don't Want To Do

04. 07:30 You're Messed Up

05. 07:20 Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor

06. 00:56 The Marijuana Cigarette

07. 08:08 Weird Noises

08. 08:03 Never Turn Your Back

09. 01:19 This Is A Recording

10. 08:38 Soulgasm

11. 00:54 The Waltz Of Talpania

12. 08:44 Consciousness

13. 01:27 Lysergic Acid Diethylamide 25

14. 07:47 Reality

Australian SunDance brings us their fifth CD, second artist album, the first one was Talpa and now we are introduced to Nystagmus. Previously released at VA - SunDaze and VA - Vibraspirit 23, both SunDance Records and there's also a remix of Talpa's "Dragon Tale" featured on VA - Rehashed released by Boom Records in 2004.

Nystagmus is audio engineer Matte Gillard from Vancouver, Canada. He has 16 years of formal music training and has been instructed in a wide variety of instruments. In 1995 he began creating electronic music and has been performing live electronica for over 5 years. After being trained as a stage performer at Douglas College, he began studying audio engineering at Simon Fraser University. He worked for several years in the movie industry as a post audio engineer at Pinewood Recording Studios, learning invaluable lessons in the art of auditory psychedelia. In Nov. 2001, he purchased his first PC. 91 days later, he completed his 'pre'-debut album, and one week later he was contacted by Sundance Records. His debut album "The Immaculate Perception" combines three dimensional ambient noise construction, classical scoring, and psychedelic trance to produce a uniquely hallucinatory experience. We hope you enjoy. (Information from his web-site)

Nystagmus - A rapid, involuntary, oscillatory motion of the eyeball.

#01: Ananda

"Ananda" was one of many principal disciples of the Buddha, a devout attendant and was renowned as the Guardian of the Dharma. We start our journey through the album with the track called Ananda. Track begins with a melody played on piano then symphonic sounds come into play in the background. After the beat starts you can hear Matte play with various FX and sounds. As for the melody, it's more melancholic and a bit even depressive. Slowly it builds up to a very melodic piece and ends with the same symphonic sounds.

#02: Tommy is Dead

Poor Tommy. The track starts with a radio playing, like it was tuned and then it is destroyed by someone annoyed with that sound. Once again you hear piano-like melodies and symphonic background sounds. The samples used in this tune remind Talpa's "People Are Animals". Norator talkes about Tommy Forester who wanted to be an engineer and had a high iq =) "His problem was acid". In short the story looks like this: A friend told him to try LSD, it would give him fantastic sensations. He tried it... and his friend was right. The air was filled with rainbows. Colorful particles were coming out of the speakers. But then he looked in the mirror and something horrible happend. He saw half of his faced running away, so he was scared. He looked around the room and everybody were becoming monsters, everybody knew what was happening to Tommy because he was screaming and describing what he was seeing. Someone was trying to stop him, but he thought they were his enemies so he tried to run away to another room. There was an opened window looking out on a roof of another building. He thought he could jump on it and escape... it was 18 floores to the ground.

If you imagined the story in your mind, you can easily image the melody - dark and twisted, numerous effects and sounds underline different moments of the story to make it more colourful. ...Tommy is dead

#03: Things That You Don't Want To Do

Here we have a short sample, there are like 5 of them through the album. This one is 52 second long and is about LSD and it's really very funny

How can I get you to take it if you never taken it before? See they can try to trick you, couldn't they? They can say "Thiiisss willl reaaallly make you feeeel goood", wouldn't they? "Here's something for you to make you feel reeally good."

#04. You're Messed Up

Track starts off with the beat from the first seconds and female vocals like "Mm" come into foreground shortly. Psy-scratches! Imagine that? No? Listen to this one. They drive you almost insane and they would do that completely to you if they weren't interrupt by words "God you're messed up!". Then the new groovy sound starts taking us to the nex cimax. Numbers of sound are added making next minutes like a journey. At 5:20 beautiful melody starts, it may remind The Muses Rapt somehow. A very very nice one. More agressive pads come out from nowhere. Beautiful track.

#05: Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor

Another melodic track by Nystagmus. Matte has developed unique bass-line and his every single track can boast of it. Lots of twisted sounds here, this one sound more like an epic tune.

#06: The Marijuana Cigarette

This is a short lecture on marijuana and why to not a car while beeing stoned Funny tune with a funny voice.

#07: Weird Noises

What can I say? It's full of weird noises and vocal samples put through many filters on them saying "Halllluuucinatonn..." and "Unusual noises". Also a guitar here... and it sound nice It's distorted a bit and many noises on it making this track really... wierd. I can't copare it to anything. Tonnes of samples and effects here.

#08: Never Turn Your Back

Begining reminds me of oldschool sci-fi movies with strange electronics and computers making funny bleeping sounds. Propelling sounds build it up to a full on bass-line Well, it's not full on actually but very alike Vibe Tribe's "Albert Balbelt". I mean the melody first of all. Samples from Fear and loathing in Las Vegas are used here. "One of the thing you learn after years of dealing with drug-people is that you can turn your back a person but never turn your back on a drug!". But there's definitely more than one melody here and a nice melodic climax at 6:58. This track may sound simpler compared to the rest but still it's hell of a track!

#09: This Is A Recording

This is what your hear if you call someone while on acid and hear a female voice on answering machine =)

#10: Soulgasm

Soul + Orgasm. Very melodic tune. Nice sounds take you for a journey with a couple of climaxes right from the start. Nystagmus may sound very similar to Talpa and that's a fact, but if you talk about emotions that's a different story here. Talpa is darker and mysterious, Nystagmus is more colorful and twisted.

#11: The Waltz Of Talpania

A psychedelic waltz

#12: Consciousness

Awesome start for an awesome track. Starts with a melodic bassline - very uplifting, very psychedelic, sounding like Benza. This one is full of stereo effects so it will surely sound amazing on high volume. Melodies lead you to the end of the track.

#13: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide 25

Sample from a movie about LSD and the army. You can find it on most p2p networks. The movie shows british army trying LSD on their troops. This is audio from that clip. Also a military march here

#14: Reality

The album ends with this tune taking us back to the reality. Just like on every journey, on the last day before going back home you start to miss the place, people and your trip. This tune brings you such emotions but still it's very uplifting in the end. A perfect last track, imo.

Well, SunDance didn't disappoint me, that's for sure. Nystagmus brought us very psychedelic piece of music. It's very melodic, experimental and full of soul in every sound. It's about emotions here. It may sound similar to Talpa or even a mix of Benza, Vibe Tribe, The Muses Rapt and Talpa, but still it's unique. Matte is the ultimate acidhead. I mean listen to this music, look at the cover

I haven't heard anything so twisted and psychedelic for a long long time! I just wish there was more such high-quality music! I don't like putting marks, but I'm sure it truely deserves a "9"... at least 8.5.

Favourites: 2(!!), 4(!!), 7, 8(!), 10(!!), 12(!)

-----------------

Nystagmus: http://nystagmus.benow.ca/

SunDance: http://www.sundance23.com/

PsyShop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/sud/sud1cd027.html

Saiko: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=5033

Chaos-Unlimited: http://www.chaosunlimited.co.uk/cgi-bin/pr...asp?LR=SUNDCD27

Amphiton

Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Various

Title: Utopeak

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Peak Records (Switzerland)

Cat. #: PR007

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: December 2005

Track listing:

01. 01’13” The Peaking Goddess Collective - Arcadia

02. 08’04” Yab-Yum – Tits On A Bwwwarhog

03. 07’48” Shotu vs. Suddha - Osiris

04. 07’35” Hyper Frequencies – 4 Peak

05. 07’40” Naked N3xu5 - Maschinen

06. 05’55” Electrypnose - Defasoul

07. 07’28” Phonic Request & Akhoa – Speed Freak Battle (Rmx)

08. 06’17” Drumatik – Vampire Empire

09. 07’04” Digitalist - Jackpot

10. 07’38” Phobium – Touched By The Glitch

11. 07’35” Yab-Yum – Yabyumski

12. 02’36” Master Margherita – Life (Utopian Rmx)

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/7jat2 (all tracks!)

Review:

Utopian trance dance fest!

Utopeak is the 7th instalment released by the Swiss hippie collective Peak Records… So far, these guys have excelled in releasing high-quality psytrance and downtempo compilations… Everything reeks quality and I’ve yet to be disappointed by their releases… As with the previous dance compilations, this baby is compiled by the competent DJ Gaspard – and I pretty must trust his taste blindly… So let’s begin the next trip courtesy of the Peaksters…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: The Peaking Goddess Collective – Arcadia

“Travelling dreamscapes with open eyes, catching fragments of potential, behind glitch of programmed consciousness. Non-ordinary reality illuminates the path to understanding. Utopia. Waking to the unchanged. Still believing. Life is more than an illusion!” As usual, the voyage starts with an intro track by the PGC – this time narrated by P. Van Der Merwe talking about Utopia… Spacy ambient with the emphasis on the spoken word… Gets you in the mood… As usual with Peak Records, the tracks are gently mixed (transition cuts) so we drift seamlessly into the next track…

#02: Yab-Yum – Tits On A Bwwwarhog [147 BPM]

Yab-Yum (Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu) has become like a very comfortable sweater to me… You know, the kind that never fails, always gives you that familiar, cosy feeling… Damn, did I just compare Yab-Yum to a sweater? I guess I did – but what I’m trying to say is, that these guys always delivers the goods with their high-quality, acid-ridden, trippy-as-fuck psytrance… And this track is no exception… I have no idea what the hell a bwwwarhog is, but I know that it has amazing titties… Nuff said, this is a brilliant track… Driving, evolving and trippy as hell… Quality track!

#03: Shotu vs. Suddha – Osiris [146 BPM]

Here’s a couple of Peak debutants: David Marmin & Nicolas Pineau… They’ve released a track made with Jahbo on the Hadracadabra compilation released by Hadra Records last year, but this is my first encounter with their music… This is evidently dark, twisted hyper trance – with a hypnotizing melodic little devilfish lurking just below the surface… I’m amazed as to how something so simple, can be so effective… There’s nothing too spectacular going on here - it’s actually pretty basic, but oh my – this is tasty nevertheless!

#04: Hyper Frequencies – 4 Peak [145 BPM]

French producer Gilles Béraud has released two albums and loads of compilation tracks, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard his stuff… This track starts pretty slow and fragmented, but soon turns into a belching night tune complete with acid-ridden peaks and tweaks… A nice track, but there’s nothing overly exciting here and the last run down sounds a little too random to me… Still a solid track though!

#05: Naked N3xu5 – Maschinen [147 BPM]

This track is made by Naked Tourist (Martin/Z-Neo & Björn /DJ Iguana) and N3xu5 (Luis Miguel Lopes) in cahoots… N3xu5 has made some really fine tracks, and especially Naked Tourist has really impressed me with their tracks on the two latest Psychedelically Yours compilations on Parvati Records… I’m really, really looking forward to their debut album Mad Different Methods coming in February 2006… Anyway, that’s beside the point – let’s focus on this track… Take the raging mad druggy night trance of Naked Tourist and mate it with the flaring, yet subtle acid-riffs and synth melodies from N3xu5 – and you’ve got the formula for this track… The German samples have a certain rawness that fits the track well, and the acid-level is just right… Another great track!

#06: Electrypnose – Defasoul [147 BPM]

Swiss sound wizard Vince Le Barde has been all over the place in 2005 with his very unique, trippy underground sound… Both the album and all the compilation tracks have been great, and it seems there’s no stopping this man… Style wise, this track ‘breaks’ the flow of the compilation, as Vince is not exactly a conformist… He’s got his own, very special ‘deeper underground’ style – which I’ve come to treasure greatly… It’s eerie, dark and totally mesmerizing… The second album Le Tireur De Ficelles is supposed to be out soon – I can’t wait… Best track so far!

#07: Phonic Request & Akhoa – Speed Freak Battle (Rmx) [146 BPM]

Phonic Request (Wilfried Decaesteker) & Akhoa (Olivier Charpier) collaborate on this track, as they did on a couple of other tracks this year… I really liked their humorous take on psytrance released on the Ketuh compilation Hyperspatial Chrysalis earlier this year… And sure enough, this track has funny bits and pieces too… I like that – it kinda takes the edge of the music, which can often come across as a little pretentious with all the darkness and acid all over the place… Anyway, this is basically acid-ridden night trance with a pinch of tech-trance thrown in to confuse you… Simple, yet effective… Nice!

#08: Drumatik – Vampire Empire [148 BPM]

Benjamin Klingemann is another Peak regular whose tracks have been featured on most of their trancefloor compilations… So far, I’ve been very impressed with his tracks, and this is no exception… As usual, Drumatik samples like a madman, switching back and forth between genres… Like flipping through radio-stations, but with a steady bassline… I like oddball trance like this, and this is by far the most original track on this compilation… It’s also among the fastest, but the pace is really irrelevant – this is phat!

#09: Digitalist – Jackpot [148 BPM]

“You sound surprised? No, it’s just not what I expected!” AFAIK this is the debut release from Dropout Productions artist Thomas Franske from Switzerland… Loads more are in the pipelines though… Anyway, we’re still in über-fast night trance territory, and we’re really pushing the boundaries to Halloween trance now… As with the previous track, the experimentation level is high here, and there’s never a dull moment… We slip back and forth between styles there’s an influx of weird samples and crazy twists… Tasty oddball trance!

#10: Phobium – Touched By The Glitch [146 BPM]

Henning Helland Ottesen from Oslo, Norway has released a handful of tracks on different compilations, but this is the first time I listen to his stuff… But not the last I hope, as this is really interesting… Really intense, driving night trance with high-pitched acid stabs and synth explorations… I really like the old-school sound here - highly fragmented and much more multi-layered than any of the other tracks on this compilation… A big, phat wall of psychedelic sounds – spacy, trippy and powerful… Kick ass track!

#11: Yab-Yum – Yabyumski [146 BPM]

Another track by Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu which closes the compilation in regards to dancefloor material… And yes – it’s another stormer! After a brief, naturist intro and a lengthy minimal bridge part, we’re soon right in the middle of a frenetic dancefloor stomp-fest of tribal proportions – unlike anything else we’ve heard on this compilation... Once again this track shows the sheer magnitude of talent possessed by these guys… I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Release an album already!! That’s an order! Brilliant track!

#12: Master Margherita – Life (Utopian Rmx)

Master Margherita (Moreno Antognini) is the chill boss of Peak Records… He has released some excellent chill music and has compiled all the downtempo compilations… So he’s the natural choice for the outro track here… This is windy ambient – soothing, relaxing and pretty much a pleasure ride which will assist you in coming down off the Utopeak trip… Ahh!

Another fine Peak Records compilation draws to a close – and once again, I’m impressed by the level of quality… Consistency all the way has fast become a trademark for this brilliant label… There are no bad tracks here at all, and I like pretty much everything on this piece of plastic… Style wise, we’re still within acid-ridden night-trance – though with a few excursions into darkpsy and tribal… And of course the downtempo intro and outro tracks… A fine package if you ask me! Speaking of packaging, I also like the seemingly simple, yet beautiful artwork made by Ajja S.F. Leu & Tanina Munchkina which will henceforth be known as ‘the purple album’...

If you liked previous Peak Records releases you’ll love this… I hereby stamp this with the ‘DeathPosture seal of approval’… It’s quality all the way and a no-brainer purchase… Enjoy!

Favourites: 2, 5, 6(!), 7, 8(!), 9, 10(!), 11

DeathPosture

External links:

Peak Records: http://www.peaking-goddess.com

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/585215

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/8wuys

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/8em8f

Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/bagka

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cfqdy

Sanity: http://tinyurl.com/be4w6

Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/87chn

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/e2mk9

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/9t2ut

Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/dscth

Artist: Wizack Twizack

Title: Behind the Trees

Label: Stoneage Records

Date: October, 2005

1. Soldier of the Dark

2. Satanic Piggy

3. Kiffen Bitte

4. Jenna Terror

5. Jack Acid

6. 2 Legged Hilazon

7. Kill Me Now

8. San Pedro

9. Smoke With Us

"You're gonna kill me aren't you?"

Almost 8 years to the day that this was released. The debut album from Swedish nutjob Tommy Axelsson is one of my favorite bits of psytrance. Everything screams psychedelia with a super dark atmosphere. He was one of those artists who wasn't afraid to inject a little melody into his nightmares thereby making it more accessible. Oh he still included the screams of women from horror movies (Kill Me Now) so please don't think this is a walk down the yellow brick road. The bass lines hammer away at your sanity while alien effects graze the temples. Bubbles threaten to boil over aggro guitar crunch and Prodigy breakbeats on tracks like Kiffen Bitte.

I find one of his strengths are the complexities he weaves into his dark creations. Instead of being overwhelming (like a lot of darkpsy can be) his layers invite you to explore further. His synth phrases melt into each other for smooth transitions making the hallucination seem all the more real. And that's what this is...one long hallucination. At the same time he is able to stack layers upon one another to create a wall of sound. Another reason to like his work is the samples he uses and manipulates. Never cheesy and usually enhance the mood.

All in all a nice piece of dark work without being to heavy. So something for those who love the night and people like me who like to visit.

Beatspace

GoaStore

Mdk

tracklist:

01 Revelation (5:59)

02 Revolution (8:16)

03 Revelation (6:25)

04 Revolution (2:43)

05 Revelation (2:49)

06 Revolution (4:27)

07 Revelation (2:36)

08 Revolution (3:28)

09 Revelation (2:23)

10 Revolution (2:59)

11 Revelation (5:26)

12 Revolution (1:31)

13 Revelation (5:19)

14 Revolution (4:27)

15 Revelation (3:12)

16 Revolution (3:09)

17 Revelation (3:30)

18 Revolution (8:23)

review:

probably the vilest, most purist opus of dark psy ever released. this is, without a doubt, as dark as it gets. there are no stupid breaks to be found on this album, no silly build-up's, no lame samples. simply put: no nonsense. this is one relentless ride into the realm of the devil himself. all aspects of joy are stripped from the mind like flesh from the bone. all that remains is the extatic realisation of mind over matter, life over death, energy over logic. consciousness over ratio. psychedelic in it's most litteral form. manic shamanic. "rip it - out"

Artist: Jaïa

Title: Fiction

Label: MPDQX/Digital Structures

Format: CD (Jewelcase with 8-page inlay)

Released: June, 2005

Tracklist:

01. In

02. Serial Groover

- 03. Gate I

04. Orchestra2.0

- 05. Gate II

06. Eyengui

- 07. Gate III

08. From Tokyo

- 09. Gate IV

10. Rouge Marine

- 11. Gate V

12. Out Of Control

- 13. Gate VI

14. Electric Sunrise

15. Interval Of Intimacy

16. Desert Walk

Review:

In 1998 a French duo called Jaïa released an album called "Blue Energy" – an album that had a stunning mix of ambient and uplifting psytrance, and received amazing feedback before it was eventually sold out. With a re-release in 2000 under the name "Blue Synergy" (which also included 6 new tracks) they released their 2nd and so far latest album before splitting up and going separate ways. One part of the duo, Yannis Kamarinos, decided to carry on under the Jaïa name though, and now, 5 years later he is ready with the long awaited 3rd Jaïa album "Fiction".

Behind the release is no less than the Swedish powerhouse label Digital Structures, and the package is very professional compared to most other releases – the inlay doesn't seem much at first, but opening it up reveals a quite impressive wide drawing very connected to the music inside. I'm sure everyone who owns this will understand.

Before I go on with the track-by-track review, let me just say that I'm going to take a slightly different approach this time, as the album has a quite special build-up. Between all the dancefloor-tracks there are some short "Gates" (between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long), that connect the different tracks. I'm not going to review these short gates, but just say that they're very well-executed, clever and full of little surprises – and without them the album wouldn't have been nearly as good as it is now. Anyways, lets get down to business.

01. In

First of is a pretty long intro – taking us with Jannis through the streets of Paris (I guess) and back into his studio where starts grooving on a set of drums, followed by a dreamy sequence with big, delicious pads, before landing again on the way to a party. Walking through the streets of Paris again, getting on a train, and arriving safely at the party just in time to hear "Serial Groover" spinning.

02. Serial Groover [130 BPM]

"Serial Groover" is a very laidback progressive house tune, just oozing with atmosphere and with a nice, appealing vibe. The track is constantly evolving and it combines different elements like stunningly simple melodies, a few lush pads and some extremely sexy trumpets. Amazing track with a very positive effect on the mood – I will definitely use it a lot on future blue mondays.

04. Orchestra2.0 [135 BPM]

The first Gate brings us into a big old opera, where the orchestra is warming up, and the concert begins with "Orchestra2.0". The opera singer is there, and so is the violins and the piano, and in perfect combination with the progressive grooves the result is a marvellous tune – epic, progressive psytrance when it's best.

06. Eyengui [135 BPM]

Things get deeper and darker with "Eyengui" – a track with some seriously gloomy undertones, which can easily be associated with being lost in the jungle with something lurking around every tree. Later in the track it gets seriously tribal with some heavy percussion and african chanting – this must be how a secret jungle-party sounds like. My favourite part must be the female sample – weird, yet incredibly sexy.

08. From Tokyo [140 BPM]

"From Tokyo" brings us through the busy high tech metropolis of the capital of Japan – one of the two fastest tracks on the CD, and quite close to the dance friendliness of full on, yet much more tasty and nowhere near as stressful. On top of it all is some extremely busy tribal percussion, which I personally associate with Safri Duo – a nice touch.

10. Rouge Marine [128 BPM]

After some very overwhelming waves in the 4th gate we are swept under water in "Rouge Marine". The groove is very housey, but don't let that fool you – this is a very atmospheric track, totally swept in delicious soft sounds and sweet pads. This is pure auditory pleasure from the first to the last second, and especially the break around the 3 minute mark is one of the most beautiful and overwhelming breaks I've heard in a long time.

12. Out Of Control [140 BPM]

The tempo is raised again in "Out Of Control", and like "From Tokyo" it's pretty close to full on territory with its fast rolling bassline, yet also with a more progressive buildup. I really liked the collaboration "Passengers" with Silicon Sound on Exposure Productions "Digital Performers" compilation, and "Out Of Control" is pretty close to that – a bit more rough around the edges, but certainly very good.

14. Electric Sunrise [135 BPM]

Last track for the dancefloors is "Electric Sunrise", starting quite mellow with female vocals and some relaxing chords, before the bassline kicks in after 1 minute and 10 seconds. The vocals and chords are the returning theme of the track, and overall it feels very relaxed. Not a peak-time track, but excellent material for morning-time or the opening hours of a party.

15. Interval Of Intimacy

Time to get down on the ground after the dance-music, and "Interval Of Intimacy" provides just that – a 3 minute break in kind of a standard psy-chillout style with big surrounding soundscapes, and some very caressing, pleasing drops of water. I can imagine it sounds like lying in a Japanese garden.

16. Desert Walk

The final track is "Desert Walk", and it surely lives up to its name. With lots of Middle Eastern influences, vocals and flutes combined with some very relaxing drums, this feels like a long, lonely and very windy walk in the dunes of the Moroccan desert before reaching the destination 9 minutes later: the end of a truly amazing album.

Bottom line:

I can't remember the last time I was so overwhelmed with an album at the first listen – it's hard to describe the thoughts going through my mind when I heard this masterpiece the first time, but one thing is for sure – it touched me very deeply. 5 years is a long time, but Yannis obviously took his time, and "Fiction" stands out as one of the most complete albums I have heard in a very, very long time – not only is the production absolutely brilliant, the musical content is also amazing, incredibly diverse and filled with surprises and perfectly put together as a journey or a long dream. The last trance releases that had a similar album feel to me (and not just a more or less random collection of tracks) were Saiko-Pods "Phutures & Options", Sashas "Airdrawndagger" and Younger Brothers "A Flock Of Bleeps" – and I even found this baby better than 2 of these.

Besides from all the praising of the album - is there anything I didn't like about it? No. Well, the only thing I can think of, is that I have preferred if "Rouge Marine" was a bit longer (it's only 5:33), but that's just in the very, very nitpicky department. Also some psytrance fans might be intimidated by the low BPM of some of these tracks, but please put the "oh no, this is boring house-music" prejudices aside – this album is certainly not boring and monotonous. If you like dreamy, melodic trance-music, yet deep and never naive – I'm certain you'll love this. Hell, if you like good music you'll love this.

Hands down, this album is absolutely essential, and without a doubt the best album I've heard so far this year (sorry Antix). Don't waste any time – order it now.

Favourites:

2 (!!), 4 (!!) 6 (!!), 10 (!!), 12, 14

Verdict:

9,5/10 – Essential in every collection

Links:

MPDQX/Digital Structures: http://www.mpdqx.com/ds

Jaïa: http://www.jaia.net

Label: Deja Vu Records

Catalog#: DJV CD013

Format: CD, Album, Digipak

Country: Russia

Released: 01 Aug 2005

Genre: Electronic

Style: Psy-Trance

Credits: Mastered By - Xman

Producer, Written-By - Johanes Molinari

Tracklisting:

1 Mutants (7:06)

2 In Virux (6:05)

3 Full Psychedelic (6:51)

4 All Synths Are Possible (7:20)

5 Insanity (6:28)

6 Sinthetic Cell (7:48)

7 Hell In Pain (6:49)

8 Analog Style (8:03)

9 Aliens (6:30)

10 Deamons From Hell (8:06)

I cant understand why this album was not reviewed yet, considering its one of the best dark releases since this genre was created.

Paste an acid on your forehead and GO :posford:

1-the album starts smoth with this one, just the bassline and synths do the job of creating a dark ambience,some freaky italian samples and nice melodies but nothing outstanding.

2-the atmospheric melody is very good, bassline really pumping hard and the main synth is just to die for, unbelivably hipnotic...twisting synths start floating around creating more and more psychedelia until it explodes with the final synth..trippyness is created and u cant just stop banging your feet on the floor.

3-Bassline starts smoth but quickly changes to a hard pumping bass full of scratching synths swinging around, noises appearing from all sides suddenly a melody made of what it seems to me is a siren creating a really spooky atmosphere inviting the main synth to enter and at 3 thats what happens fucking brilliant you just cant believe it happened, the synth is so trippy i adore it!At 5 it gets even harder and trippy..the title itself describes the track!

4-My favourite track of the album!a nice bass and some nice breaks, the contortive synth is really good ,the track is somewhat soft for the most part of it and you think the track is average but you dont know what will happen in the end, it builds and builds you get a little bored because bpms are low but suddenly out of nowhere the contortive synth appears again and BAM! an unbelivable explosion of psychedelia that smashes all your senses at the same time...the synths bends and twists at a perfect simbiosis...magnificient...at the end of the track you realize you are smaller and thats because you just made a hole on the floor

5-This one is a very good track full of acidic synths on it that i really enjoy and a hard bass, of course.What i like in this album is the trippyness of it, its like space goa but more harder and always at the edge...at 2:40 the climax explodes and the main synth proves my point, trippy is the word to describe this part.Really great track that maintains the groove of the previous track.

6-It starts with what seems something banging, the atmospheric melody does a good job, and the main melody of the first part made by a guitar is really good....at some point another siren appears but this time darkpsy doesnt make a melody out of it but puts it to do the job that a siren usually does alerting people to something bad that is going to happen.The track rises to another level with a great synth full of power and the guitar appears again...really nice building.The end part has a really spooky ambient.

7-The name of the track is really cheesy anyway what matters is the music.

This track is like the first one, its nice but nothing out of the ordinary, hard and dark it has at some point a nice building that ends on a good climax ...it builds to a faster rythm...its a track made for the dancefloor like all the others but for homelistening is not advisable.

8-Second best track of the album!

The atmospheric melody does a good job...you hear the steps of someone running, maybe running away of something.The bassline gets in, synths swinging around, the ride begins.More synths gets in the way, the breaks gives it a good rythm, the track is getting full of power.You expect a good climax cause you already now what darkpsy is capable of but you dont expect this:Synth explosion bending at the speed of light darkened by an atmospheric noise made by voices of souls from some obscure world ...now you know what the guy was running from, pure power!!The track continues pumping and the hole on the floor gets bigger and bigger

9-This track has a good rythm and melody but is very repetitive...its much less darker than the rest of the tracks, cant even consider this dark anyway its a pleasurable track.

10-Back to darker roads with this one...powerfull bassline...some weirds noise floating around, dont really like the main synth, its a little annoying, reminds me of the ordinary dark trance thats everywhere... but at a dancefloor oubviously this track would work.

The name of the track was dispensable.

By the way the end is very good, another climax darkpsy style.

10/10

I can only conclude that this album is a dark masterpiece...every darktrance fan should own it, the artist deserve more feedback.Go get the album, even if u cant buy it, download it because its already out of stock unfortunately.

By the way, does anyone has it for sale?

Samples:http://www.saikosounds.com/japanese/display_release.asp?id=5138

1. Beyond emotion

2. Kinhos alucination (feat kinho)

3. Already found it

4. Cosmic consciousness

5. Emotions

6. Dna chaine

7. Litle bit freak (Menog album rmx)

8. Analog (Menog rmx)

9. Malana

10. Complicated minds

The second release of Spectral Records, and 'Menog's' second album.

An excellent album that show us the efforts and the work accomplished, by one of our most talented artist 'Menog'.

'Emotions' is a unique album, a different vision of reality, a journey to new sensations, charmed melodies that pass to spookier tones, and noisy sounds, that take us to a fly, to new perspectives and dimensions of sound, excellent work of drum sets.

Trance reality is revolting more every day, these are the results of what we believe, of our efforts to make the best we can.

Spectral Records presents this new album, which represents musical innovation, musical touch, and a kind of music that pleases to all the fans of electronic music.

(psyshop)

Megalopsy

The Abstract Machine

Trishula (Germay)

"I would never have really thought that hard as nails, nightmarish stuff would lend itself too well to the artist-album-as-fluid-single-entity sort of thing. But this bunch of utter psychotics from Argentina have pulled a bit of a blinder, in fact more than that: this album (divided into three movements, sort of) has so many moments that just have me shaking my head in disbelief, grinning like a buffoon, and/or experiencing a rekindled faith in electronic music. The intro, Chaos, has a great sound to it, easing in with big breaks that clear the sonic pallet and ease open the scope for the distant, racing kick of Obscure Warlock, which proceeds to quickly dip you in batter before deep-frying you with high-end mentalism. Fractal Circus is unforgiving, heavy going with a rigid groove to it that’s caustic until you can’t take it any more, at which point it breaks and picks up this noise that sounds like a fountain, coming up from the centre and cascading 303style over the edges, before the tune employs some deliciously evil alice-in-wonderland carousel melodies under scything midrange swoops to really whip things into shape. The wonderfully-titled Goblin Grin has an almost Finnish backbone to it, and is all about pulling surprises out of the hat. Great changes, great noises, utter laughter eeks from the speakers. Absolutely excellent – just indescribable, but let’s say something like “all the evil demons you’ve ever encountered are back as mascots on a cereal box, and they’re chasing you down looking to fortify you with something rather punchier than vitamins and iron”. That’ll do. The flow here really starts to work, with the track easing out into Juggling Spheres, which puts a bit more zany funk into proceedings. More like a hammer horror moment, and the drop into the final run deserves to be committed to a mental institutio n. Then, the track shifts int an actually pretty gorgeous, yet still twisted, transylvaniac breaks movement. Sounding like a completely different track, and further proof that this is designed to work well played all the way through, I mean this really is something that other artists could think of doing. It adds as a great buffer, before Pachamama thunks in, sounding all the more energised for the hiatus. Building up to a really nice and clear peak, it’s a little like it’s taken an oldskool melody and dragged it through a hellish blender. The laughing monkeys then signal the start of something sweet: Monkey Supernova, possibly the standout track here. It’s just hilarious, it picks up and then messes about and just makes me laugh… oh man. So many changes, time signatures and basslines and midsection after midsection, orchestral stuff… I mean this is just sheer genius. Sheer. Genius. Space Cadet marks the final movement of the album, Cosmos, and also suggests a more menacing turn. It’ s a less playful vibe, picking up deep atmospheres at the break, all hanging together nicely. Devenir-Cosmos has an incredibly individual sound, all high-end and but driving, a perfect way to close the album before the outro Cosmos stabs in with messed up breaks, incredibly messed up sounds, delightful movement and… my god. Just staggering. There’s little more I can say that I haven’t said already: this is a ballsy, feisty triumph of an album, utterly adorable and with a gazillion times more imagination and flair than you’ll find on most discs. It may not be your normal style of psytrance, but it’s unquestionably good electronic music."

9

http://www.psyreviews.com

Artist: Psyfactor (Russia)

Title: Evil Inside

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Trishula Records (Germany)

Cat. #: TRISHCD004

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 13 June 2005

Track listing:

01. 06’49” Shitty Bastards

02. 08’06” Ghost

03. 07’37” I’m So Happy

04. 10’08” Child Of Darkness

05. 08’04” Hell Raver

06. 08’46” Brain Destruction

07. 07’52” Angry Goblin

08. 07’03” Fear Square

09. 10’03” Good And Evil

Review:

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me…

Psyfactor is Dmitri Korablin from Moscow, Russia. Before this, his debut album, Dmitri had released compilation tracks on Trishula, Inpsyde Media and Vertigo Records… Also he has a downbeat track on the compilation A Magical Journey released by Trishula’s sub-label Ajana Records simultaneously with this album… I really, really liked the two Trishula tracks – they both stood out on the compilations they were featured on… So yeah, I’m looking forward to this album – let’s take a walk down Elm Street…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Shitty Bastards

Now there’s a smelly track name if there ever was one… The intro is bubbling and lukewarm – somehow indicating what’s about to happen… And sure enough, it doesn’t take long before the dark bassline is introduced… More FX are added, like darkish floating pads in the background + a heavily filtered synth-line… The bassline gets really fast later on – and unfortunately also really monotonous… Dmitri manages to save the day though, by adding more FX… I like the razor-sharp chainsaw-like acid bit towards the end… Truly unruly!

#02: Ghost

The intro is really cool here… Some kind of digital whispering going on… Spooky indeed! Within a few seconds the track is in full effect – a fast-paced, driving bassline sets the pace… Closely accompanied by a bunch of twisted, dark elements… Again there are filtered acid-lines, repetitive percussion and an overall dark atmosphere… Reminds me of older Dark Soho – just darker… Darker Soho! This is a really cool tune – especially after the break and onwards…

#03: I’m So Happy

Happy all of a sudden, ehh Dimitri? I guess this is closest we get to full-on on this dark album… It’s perhaps a little lighter than the first two tracks… But still, there’s nothing happy about this tune… It’s very dark, with rippling noisy elements… There’s some kind of dark melody thing going on here – designed to mess with you… I’m a sucker for acid-lines, and this track is riddled with those… A mad track… Mad I tell you! …I like it! Sweet!

#04: Child Of Darkness

“Spock, this child is about to wipe out every living thing on Earth! Now what do you suggest we do? Spank it…?” Cheesy track name aside, this track also has a very cool intro… Some kind of low ripping sound messing with your head, whilst tension is building in anticipation of the beloved bassline… Once it appears it’s accompanied by a naïve little synth melody – and the low crackling sounds are still around… Add a low, spacey acid-line and you’ve got a winner… This is a huge, driving, brilliant track!

#05: Hell Raver

Another track name that will make your mother proud… The bassline here starts out somewhat more blunt, but once the impressive rhythm section is introduced it takes on a fuller body… The acid-level is even phatter here than in the previous tracks… Oh my, this is brutal stuff… Very Parvati-like… Sweeeeeeeet!

#06: Brain Destruction

As if your brain wasn’t already destroyed by the first 5 haunting tracks – it will be after this brutal assault on your eardrums… This is one of the fastest tracks here – the bassline is simply merciless… And the acid is running thick… Perhaps the bassline is a little too fast, but generally this is a pretty nice track… I also dig the Twin Peaks-like atmosphere that Dmitri creates in the first part of the track – and the last part is simply MASSIVE… Nicey nice!

#07: Angry Goblin

Another very well crafted intro here… Moody, eerie and spooky… This is arch-typical, dark Russian vodka trance… Dark, introvert and repetitive – but still extremely trippy and dancefloor friendly… Similar to Parasense really… Oh, how I love those murky pads with ripping, filtered acid-lines bouncing along… Also the ending rocks – would be an obvious choice for DJs to drop as the last track in a dark set… Another fine track!

#08: Fear Square

Again the acid is running thick and the bassline is a deep, dark and pounding monster! Dmitri has a thing with filters – and somehow he manages to twist and turn those knobs just right… It sounds so fucking good – and I can’t wait to hear this one played loud on the dancefloor! Eat your heart out Goa Gil – this is horror-trance! Tasty!

#09: Good And Evil

As legend has it, the last track is usually for experimentation… And so is this! But if you were hoping for a nice chilled tune by Psyfactor, I’d suggest you seek out the Ajana compilation A Magical Journey… ‘Cause this may be experimental, but it’s not chilled at all… This is a little lighter than some of the previous tracks, but still, it’s pretty dark… Something like dark full-on would be a good bid… By far the most melodic piece here – with darkish elements all over the place… Pretty good, but not outstanding…

Oh my – this album is definitely not for the fainthearted… With the exception of maybe the last track, everything here is dark, eerie and spooky… Fast-paced, acid-ridden, hyper-trance with industrial-sounding basslines and technoid appearances… Sweet!

To be honest I don’t really like the cover – it’s more cheesy than scary… Also, I don’t like the trend with spooky (alleged) track names… I mean, what the hell is a ‘hell raver’ anyway? Angry goblin? Come on – you’re not scaring anyone Dimitri… But let’s not judge a CD by its cover – let the music speak for itself… And the music is very, very good here… I’m really impressed! This is the best darkpsy artist album I’ve heard since Kemic-Al’s Twisted Parameters… I pretty much like all the tracks here, and as such this is a safe investment for any fan of the darker realms of psytrance… Fans of the previous Trishula releases will not be disappointed, nor will fans of Parvati, Yage Records, Stoneage, Inpsyde Media and other similar labels… To put it short, this album is essential for fans of dark psytrance! …Enjoy!

Favourites: 2, 3, 4(!), 5(!), 6, 7, 8(!)

DeathPosture

External links:

Trishula: http://www.trishula-records.com

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/89smy

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/b5nxt

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/c5h8q

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/bk9fd

PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/d5bgn

Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/ad5go

Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/8vora

All tracks are in the same style - dark, relentless, scary-style stuff with few melodies and crowded soundstage...

The cover art is a perfect match for the music..

The tracks aren't really progressive and certainly not minimal, just a pounding beat with sound effects over the top - all sound effects are similar - moogy sqweaky bizzare sounds, very little about this is harmonious or catchy in any way...

The tracks could use breaks also, they're all just so relentless and monotone...

I don't understand the hype about Derango either...

Some people may like/love this compil however so don't be turned off it just because I don't like it, but I'd definately listen to some samples b4 you buy it...

Album: SIGILWEAVER

Label: Wirikiuta Records / Mistress of Evil Records

Web: www.wirikuta.at

Year: 2005

Format: CD

Songs:

1. Table Of Contents

2. WithInfinite [144 BPM]

3. The Invisible College [144]

4. Sigilweaver [142]

5. Thoth Sphere [150]

6. Hex Vex Elixir [150]

7. Book Of Lies [145]

8. Siren Stars [148]

9. Quintessence Unfurls [145]

What's this about

The month is November and a nebulous object is rapidly descending through the gray sky, leaving a jag of thin contrail clouds in an otherwise dim an uneventful afternoon by the coasts of San Francisco , California . The local residents fearing an alien invasion have already notified the authorities, and they all expectantly wait the flying object to tumble down and reveal its passenger. The crowd that has gathered around the landing strip, gasps a sight of relief when a white man with long blond hair, reading glasses, and a grin from ear-to-ear comes out of the ship… just waving the peace sign, looking the part of an interplanetary, traveler-hippie kind of dude...

Ghreg on Earth, otherwise known as Phosphene, or simply ‘Ghreg' as his mates call him, has been previously featured in Soular, Timecode, Mistress of Evil, Innersound records and Spectral Concepts. In his journey for an original sound SigilWeaver, awakens magickal visions of dark gloomy tales, without the overuse of gurgling effects splashing everywhere. A cinematic adventure presenting ominous soundscape designs, power chords and fiery pulsations, coaxing the ear into a state of pure introspection. The 9-track debut forces the journey inwards, while the sharp turns unexpectedly surface in every corner.

Per-song break-down

1. Table Of Contents

Even though we are talking about a minute-long track, the sound is completely spectral surrounding you in its web of resonance, like a motion picture without really needing the video part. “Table of Contents” paves the introduction for the upcoming track, as a communion of the ancient occult with a high doze of glitchy industrial savoir flair.

2. WithInfinite *

Following the quick intro, “WithinInfinite” makes its presence stand out from the ambient prologue very quickly. The synth's rumble in riffs and for once in a long time, the bass seems to have a little movement and diversity complementing the track, instead of twitching on the same notes until the cows come home. The effects drifting in the periphery maintain a gloomy atmosfear. It is best to get used to it by this point, cause it might morph, but it doesn't really go away.

3. The Invisible College *

Where do the young magicians go when they graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft? That's right to "The Invisible College". That being said, this is definitely not PG material, unless you happened to grow up in Rosemary's crib. The wings haven't really unfurled all the way yet, but it's caustic enough, well churned and damn heavy. Effects rain with distortion, guitars whimper and voices roar. They school you with growls passing through a combo of filters, not forgetting to mention this is still stomping material.

4. Sigilweaver *

When you find a track with the album's title it is expected to be a highlight, or in the least you hope it will carry the all-encompassing theme. Well it does not disappoint. The use of alternative sound banks to create a mysterious environment, without resorting to the usual suspects seems to work here. Such is the case with the chimes pouring here and there. Once again the voice sampling is very ghostly, confusing the ear even more to the whole picture, instead of drifting attention to the words. It remains very psy at the same time, in tuneful but metal sort of way. Something strange occurs at around the 6th minute, is like an intentional skip… I think…

5. Thoth Sphere *

Using the same shock tactics Skinny Puppy or Front 242 relied on back in the day, the sphere delivers a form of subversive communication, in a way that is never forgotten. What's the message? "Fire, humanity, frequency, preparation, active DNA" Heavy stuff. Once again the order of the day is a series of shrieks that melt with real screams, as if the poor bastard was having his appendix removed. I really like the beat which overall is fast as hell, but warm and funky, mutating all the time.

6. Hex Vex Elixir

Glitchy sampling loaded with an impressive roster of sounds, dragging out a slow intro. I get the feeling of being in slow motion for most of the way, only to leap forward in the “water of life”. An alternative rhythm comes in at around the 4th minute… but even so, it always feels like a really long break. Experimental stuff in deed, without any hints of predictability. A bit too diffused in an IDM'ish kind of way, which works like a double edged sword throughout, helping in a few parts and loosing cohesion in others.

7. Book Of Lies *

The “Book of Lies” is a hefty and I mean hefty tome, bridging a number of different themes in less than nine minutes. The good part is personally the swelling riff after the break… trashed with a Crungey Crunch, pumping that Boxboro vintage Amp until the tubes explode. The dusky lead appears later on as the listener is completely immersed in the web of sound.

8. Siren Stars

The progression of the “Siren Star” makes most descriptions useless. I love how the delays smear on the walls indefinitely, stretching the fabric of time. After all "I find the unusual spectrum of the siren star quite - pleasing." As well.

9. Quintessence Unfurls *

Ghreg closes the book with my personal stand out. In this last chapter he has saved all the best trills and arpeggios hinting Goa, while the overall premise is in deed… quintessence. Great use of original FX as it has been the norm throughout. The climax alone is worth checking out. It would have been interesting to see this particular sound seep a bit more on to the other tracks, as the outcome is truly magickal.

* Favourites

All and all

Skipping all laureate pretexts, funky graphics, or evil track names, the album delivers straightforward dark trance influenced by the industrial wave of the old days, a lot of riffs and a doze of psygressive here and there. The unique home-baked style sounds like a hybrid of metal trance, with an uncompromising attention to detail, giving a different outlook to the usual psychedelic imagery. If you find yourself thinking of the apple pie with these qualities, then grab a fork and enjoy... in excess.

Where to get

PsyShop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/wir/wir1cd004.html

Saiko Samples: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4741

Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detai...howDetail=77975

http://www.sonic-energy.net/2005/11/album-ghreg-sigil.html

Label: Apocalypse Records

Year: 2005

Format: CD

Web: http://www.apocalypse-records.com

Label Info:

Apocalypse Records was brought into being by the need to support the growing psychedelic dark style. Its foundations are toughened by the talented artists all over the world, older veterans in the scene or the new promising ones. Talented artists from Israel, Russia and Denmark all joined together to rev eal us an obscure and aesthetic quality, a bloom of aggressive rhythms perfect to explode the dance floor.

Songs:

01. Parasense - Sony (Rmx) - (146 BPM’s on A#m)

02. Fungus Funk - Trancefields (Rmx) - (146 BPM’s on A#m)

03. Psychotic Micro - Ghost (Rmx) - (147 BPM’s on A m)

04. Seroxat - Disorientation (Wizard Lizard Rmx) - (148 BPM’s on F m)

05. Azax Syndrome - Evil Force (Rmx) - (146 BPM’s on G m)

06. Winter Demon - Sars (Toxic Rmx) - (148 BPM’s on D m)

07. Seroxat - Death Machine (Rmx) - (148 BPM’s on F#m)

08. Grapes Of Wrath - I Dunno (Rmx) - (147 BPM’s on A#m)

09. Winter Demon - Suffecation (Rmx) – (146 BPM’s on F#m)

The Highlights:

Parasense - Sony Remix

More progressive and organized than his earlier work, striking a bit more melodic with evocative ambient samples and number of arpeggios to back up these claims by the end of the song. The strong and cool bass working in its favor quite well to keep the song fluid.

Seroxat - Disorientation (Wizard Lizard Remix)

Everything except the Halo's chanting monks in the background coming back now and again. They could have done away with that part from the original song, but that’s personal taste. This is a powerful composition and you feel the spiking from Wizard Lizard on the ‘groundwork’ like it’s the Pavarti standard fast and fat. The original song was released last year on the compilation “Oerebro Freak Factory” from Stone Age records. Nice driving full on with the Ph levels brought down a few notches from the norm.

Grapes Of Wrath - I Dunno remix

Monno Wurtz and Jaffa Skouborg like to twiddle out ‘Ultra Spankadelic Power’ Trance, of the magnetic type. This might be a new personal favorite. The whole song is full of strange turns where the only constant might be the hallucinogenic feel of every note and effect. Equipped with an assortment of cartoon-ish samples banging now and again, to keep things light. In the lower end of the frequency ranges we find the usual machine-gun blasting drum work and bass, how else could it sound at 147 BPM's?. It seems like everything in this tune has been amplified for a psychedelic sensory overload, having its output polished like Faberge. Final words? "oink, oink"

we were not particularly fond of much else in this compilation but these days if you hit three/ four good songs is worth a review (in my book)... interesting dark tunes nevertheless. for more reviews check out Sonic-Energy.net

samples by psyshop

-------------------------------

Penta - Funraiser

Hi-res: front + back

Artist: Penta (USA)

Title: Funraiser

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: AuraQuake (USA)

Cat. #: AQCD001

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 12 September 2005

Track listing:

01. 08’14” It Is Done

02. 07’29” Detonator

03. 07’25” Inverter

04. 08’50” Pigletango

05. 08’20” Past Holidays

06. 08’23” September

07. 08’38” Eater Of Worlds

08. 07’31” For The First Time

09. 07’51” Flash Forward

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/d8aqt (all tracks!)

Review:

Tales from the crypt!

Russian-born, American-based producer Nikita Tselovalnikov is out with his second album on his newly established AuraQuake label… Another dedicated psy-trance label from San Fransisco… I dunno what the hell goes on in the Bay-area, but the scene is indeed thriving there – the two releases by Dropout Productions earlier this year are still fresh – and now this! Penta really, really impressed me with his debut album Pentafiles released on Spectral Concepts in 2003, and this one has been getting quite some hype… So here’s hoping for an action-packed ride in Pentaland…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: It Is Done

“It is done!” Yikes – a spooky intro if there ever was one… Haunting, disturbing hissing – straight outta Elm Street… But fear not, this is Penta after all so it can’t be too depressing now can it? He does his best though, with a bleak atmosphere mixed up with sharp acid-stabs, spiralling synths and evil chords… Dark yes, evil maybe – but in the best possible way! The re-used Talamasca-samples are a bit over the top though – but the creepy, undecipherable voice-samples at the end make up for that… This reminds me of ancient Parvati-material like Droidsect or old Dark Soho… A very fine track indeed! =)

#02: Detonator

“Not entertaining enough… You’ll have to use the detonator! … Excellent explosion your majesty!” Now this is one demented, deranged track - complete with kitschy, old-school Commodore64 game sounds and some kind of pitched down siren or whatever the hell it is… The main melodic lead you’ll either love or hate... Personally I hate it; it really sucks beyond words… And that’s sad really, coz otherwise this is a good track… It has some really interesting ideas… I just can’t seem to get past that demented melody…

#03: Inverter

Well, the spooky hissing from track #1 is back – but at least the deranged melody from track #2 is gone… Sort of – its ugly cousin is here! Anyway, this is still a pretty nice track… Very forest-like and instantly shroom-friendly… Could have easily been a Schlabbaduerst or Ørebro composition… Cool! A very hectic and dreadfully crazy tune… Good, but not spectacular! Decent so to speak…

#04: Pigletango

“What are you talking about? I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about! … Tomorrow at midnight the light will leave the third planet and be backing home. Sorry you made the trip for nothing!” Oh yes, now we’re getting somewhere… Meet the meanest bassline this side of Alcatraz prison – fuck, it’s gargantuan in all it’s illicit, rawking simplicity… Driving, haunting, kicking up some dust – and what’s that weird morphing sound… A train passing by? Whatever the hell it is, it works wonders… This track is pure evil… Packed to the rim with dark, distorted pads and mean-ass kicks… Would mix well with oCeLoT, Kemic-Al and the likes… Brilliant track!

#05: Past Holidays

“And when the doctor said I didn’t have worms anymore that was the happiest day of my life!” We continue with another brand-spanking amazing track…The intro is packed with classic Ralph Wiggum quotes + added value psychedelia all over the place… A funny, oddball track reminiscent of Killer Buds, Phyx or Kemic-Al… So many fun little twists and turns… The Homer-solo + the climax will cause absolute havoc on the dancefloors! Oh, and not forgetting the excellent hats-off to a classic punk rock tune… Oh man – Dead Kennedy's classic track Holiday in Cambodia has immense nostalgic value to me… Reminds me of my carefree days working as a bartender in London… Skazi kinda ruined the fun in cover-versions, but it seems Penta has revived it… Coz this is so beautifully executed! Stellar track!

#06: September

“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti!” Another gruesome, gruelling intro – taken straight out of some horror-movie! As the track progresses we’re exposed to a lethal dose of acid-driven, high-power, nightly psytrance… With a murky old bassline to beat the shit out of your speakers! The Hannibal Lecter quote fits in perfectly in this grotesque track… Reminds me of Psyfactor! Spooky shit – very good spooky shit!

#07: Eater Of Worlds

“I am the eater of worlds – and of children! And you are next!! … Next on sci-fi!” … Yeah, again we’re in multi-quote land… This track is the missing link between Pennywise and The Sci-fi Channel! But first a very subtle intro… Spooky for all the wrong reasons… That naïve melody is scary as hell! But eventually the track comes into full effect – in all its staccato glory! Experimental for sure, with a sick take on darkpsy as a whole… I’m not too happy with the deranged, high-pitched melodies… They annoy me for a good portion of the track – and that pisses me off, coz again the rest of the track is pretty damn cool… But those demented melodies – they get inside my head… Aaaaargh!

#08: For The First Time

Woow – what an absolutely stomping intro! And I mean that literally! What an impressive work on the drum programming… Stomp motherfuckers! So yeah, this is an incredibly fast-paced, bouncy track… That sampled clockwork is just plain haunting and those nifty little acid-bits rocks! The pitched-up voice-sample is funny and I really like the over all oddball theme in this track… Loads of quotes from the sitcom The Nanny… Good stuff! Good track!

#09: Flash Forward

Sadly we’ve come to the last track… The intro here isn’t as cool as the rest on the album – and that’s a shame! The track itself is good though – a raging, electro-static, full-power dance track… Hectic, multilayered and dark… Save the whales! The chanting is downright creepy – and helps give this track edge… I like it! A fine way to end a remarkable album!

A remarkable album for sure! Oh yes, this was one hell of a ride… There are a couple of tracks that are ruined by some severely retarded melodies, but I hear that people flip out to those too… They are just not my cup of java! But enough with the bad sides, this album has an influx of good sides… I mean, just listen to the sheer magnitude of these tracks – so rich, so full of flavour, so funny, so fucking great… The mastering by Son Kite is also flawless and leaves little to be desired! Also the seemingly-boring artwork has a few secrets to be revealed… I like it! ;o)

This is without a doubt one of the best albums in the darkpsy segment this year – right up there with Kemic-Al’s Twisted Parameters, Para Halu’s The World Of Peace and Psyfactor’s Evil Inside… I’m not sure if this is as good as Pentafiles – but it’s equally good – a tie really! So yeah, fans of Penta and twisted, trippy, oddball darkish psy-trance should definitely check this album out! It’s pretty fucking good! Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 4(!), 5(!!), 6, 8

DeathPosture

External links:

Penta: http://www.pentafiles.com

Aura Quake: http://www.auraquake.com

TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/b8mb2

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/9r8ll

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/a8s35

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/9gajx

Wirikuta : http://tinyurl.com/8pk7q

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/anehm

Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/auo8e

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/9cm74

Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/ar2tz

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/cfq9o

Title: Excession

Year: 2005

Label: Crystal Matrix Records

Tracklist:

1. Stretch

2. Moonchild

3. Closer

4. Toxic Shake

5. Da Business

6. Skelm

7. Push It

8. Plung

9. Cerebral Cortex

10. 10th Day

First of all: I'm an South African-artist-fetish

Since his first album his style has been refined quite a bit. The production is obviously better. I have only listened to this album two times but I can say that this is one hell of a powerful album. I bet many of you are familiar with this kind of style. It's not regular (boring ) full on. This is darker, harder, more screamy and much more "ear-grinding". Somewhat technoish but still with the psychedelia in there. I love it. All those sounds, melodies, patterns and percussion on top of a rolling bassline and nice kicks makes this album outstanding. The breaks are well done and isn't to predictable, which I like. He know where he wants to go in each track and bring us along with him in this chaos of "fatness".

Final Verdict: 9/10

Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Various

Title: Apsara

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Suntrip Records (France/Belgium)

Cat. #: SUNCD02

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 6 June 2005

Track listing:

01. 07’22” Aes Dana - Digitalys

02. 07’05” Yesod – On The Edge of Time

03. 09’14” KhetzaL & Chaï (Avigmati) - Babylone Beach

04. 08’57” Lost Buddha - Metamorphosis

05. 09’01” Filteria – Tiny Universe

06. 08’31” Ka-Sol - Skraqp

07. 10’04” Ypsilon5 - Titanium

08. 08’18” Goasia – I’m Ready

09. 07’51” Radical Distortion - Communication

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/b6mxt (all tracks)

Review:

Full-blown goa-trance anno 2005!

The 26 celestial damsels of Indra's court are known as apsaras. Well versed in the art of music and dancing, they are said to be able to change their shapes at will and sometimes lured men to their deaths… Girl power!

Suntrip Records is the brainchild of Mars & Anoebis from psynews.org… They revolutionized the scene in 2004 with the extremely melodic Filteria debut album Sky Input… An album that got rave reviews and IMHO still holds a position as one of the best albums released in 2004… Now they are back with their second release – a compilation dedicated to bringing us more old-school melodic goa-trance made with modern production techniques… A look at the tracklist reveals a mixture of well-known names and upcoming stars… Let’s get up-close and personal with the apsaras…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Aes Dana – Digitalys [120 BPM]

We kick things into motion with a nice chilled tune by Aes Dana… Vincent Villuis from France is still the undisputed world chill champion - and the Ultimae label boss has yet to disappoint me… This tune is beautifully executed – somewhere in between arpeggio ambient and blissful downbeat… The subtle melodies are made up by floating synths and a smooth rhythm section… The heavily cut-up female voice samples are dreamy and add to the overall feel-good atmosphere created by Vince… This cracked a big old smile on my face… ;o)

#02: Yesod – On The Edge of Time [142 BPM]

This is the debut by Yesod (Fredrik Ekholm) from Sweden… As the BPM counter indicates, it’s time to dust of the dance-boots and move towards the floor… The intro is swamped with bells, flutes and floating pads…Within the first minute the track is in full effect with twirling razor-sharp flute-melodies in the foreground – and a steady bassline in the background… Very, very melodic and very, very old school… It’s an instant flashback to the extremely naïve and uplifting melodies of the early 1990s… The breakdown rules and not since The Infinity Project’s Mystical Experiences and the first Shpongle album have I heard such a wicked flute-line… Nice!

#03: KhetzaL & Chaï (Avigmati) - Babylone Beach [145 BPM]

Avigmati consists of KhetzaL (Matthieu Chamoux) and DJ Chaï from France… KhetzaL already released tracks on Ultimae, Agitato and Kagdila – but until now I haven’t heard any of his work… Anyway, this track has a very spiritual intro… Reminds me of ancient TIP ambient… A deep, pounding bassline is soon introduced alongside one of many melodies… Twirling synth melodies are interweaved between harmonic pads in the background, soothing flute lines and a discrete bassline… The lengthy break/build-up/take off is nothing less than amazing and sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it… I’m guessing this will cream a few pants the first time people listen to it… Damn, it’s good! This is what uplifting, melodic goa-trance is all about… Brilliant!

#04: Lost Buddha – Metamorphosis [139 BPM]

“Next we have another kind of un-composed music”… As far as I know, this is the first released track by Felipe Santos from Portugal… Ahh, just listen to those ripping acid sounds in the intro here… Mmm… Tension is building from the first second and you just know this is gonna be good… And sure enough, before you know it we’re in the middle of a multilayered frenzy of melodies… Works absolute wonders in my living room – and I’ll bet my life saving this track can pack any trancefloor around the world in a matter of seconds… It’s very intense, very uplifting, very joyous and very good!

#05: Filteria – Tiny Universe [143 BPM]

“That means that our whole solar system could be, like, one tiny atom in the fingernail of some other giant being... That means, that one tiny atom in my fingernail could be one little tiny universe!” Filteria has become synonymous with the resurrection of highly melodic, multilayered, modern goa trance with a torrent of climaxes… Jannis Tzikas from Sweden released his highly acclaimed debut album Sky Input on Suntrip Records in 2004 – and ever since I’ve been eagerly awaiting more brain fodder from his talented hands… And finally the wait is over… Jannis takes a new path here, with a very original dubby intro… Tension is building, layers of FX are added and soon the track is in full effect… Highly uplifting, thrilling melodies are dancing around between spacey synth lines and analogue thrusters… Again the Pleiadians link is evident, but when it’s this beautifully executed no-one is complaining… Get ready to soil yourself again for the climax halfway thru… Fucking hell Jannis – I’ve missed your sound so much! I can’t wait for the second album… Stellar track!

#06: Ka-Sol – Skraqp [142 BPM]

HOLY SHIT! Finally a new track by Ka-Sol… Christer Lundström has released some of the most mind-blowing tracks ever on Schlabbaduerst RekKords… And sure enough, this is very hard, extremely twisted psychedelic trance… Raw and gritty – dark and distorted – trippy and immensely psychedelic… And simply massive! I find it really hard to describe this – you have to listen to fully understand what I’m talking about… Trust me! Though darkish, there are still loads of melodies here – exported straight from the deepest, darkest Swedish forests… This is mushroom trance if there ever was mushroom trance… Those demented acid-lines will scare away any non-believer! Grrreat! Monumental track!

#07: Ypsilon5 – Titanium [148 BPM]

When David Lilja from Sweden released his debut album Binary Sky on Tranceform Records in the beginning of 2004 it was such a relief… Old school melodic goa trance was back with a vengeance. Unfortunately he didn’t release anything after that… Until now when the Suntrippers are treating us to this super-fast track… David’s style still reminds me a lot of old Astral Projection/Man With No Name – with his rapid happy-go-lucky uplifting goa melodies and pounding basslines… It’s a very good track, but it’s not as good as the previous tracks here… And also it’s maybe a couple of minutes too long… Funny thing is, this would have been the stand-out track on any other compilation released in 2005 - but hey, the competition is fierce here… ;o) Ok track!

#08: Goasia – I’m Ready [144 BPM]

This is my first encounter with Goasia dance music… Unfortunately I haven’t heard the tracks Balint Tihamer made for the Kagdila compilation Pure Planet… I did however hear his very nice chill track on the Cosmicleaf compilation Chill On Ice… That was a pretty nice track, and so is this… The intro is übercool with very crisp sounds – and a digital bird! And then Balint takes us on a long journey – constantly changing direction, but never losing the overall focus which is leading us to the much awaited climactic ear orgasm… Highly melodic, evolving, melodic psytrance with rich goa influences… Nicey nice!

#09: Radical Distortion – Communication [136 BPM]

The sun has set and the apsaras are dancing like there’s no tomorrow! John Spanos & Nick Polytaridis from Greece have been in the game for years, but somehow I’m not familiar with their music... Anyway, this is more in the same vein – melodic, multilayered morning trance… Though a little less organized at times – and dare I say, a little cheesier also? It’s definitely very uplifting and super-super melodic… It’s not a bad track, but I could’ve wished for a little more edge here… Decent track!

What a nice, long, nostalgic trip down Melody Lane… Just like the Filteria album, this second Suntrip Records instalment is like a breath of fresh air… Nothing like it has been released for quite a while and such is brings something fresh into our scene… Diversity rules!

As you can tell, I like the middle part of this album the best… A few of the tracks sounded a little flat somehow compared to the rest… As DJ tools all tracks will work wonders I’m sure, and for home listening most of them are outstanding…. But rest assured, there are no fillers here – it’s all good! Also the cover-art deserves a special mention – it looks absolutely wicked! Well done!

To conclude, this is a brilliant compilation – and very, very different from anything else released recently… When listening to this, you are constantly reminded of the good old glorious days of goa-trance… The style that so many of first fell in love with – and a style that obviously still is very much alive, evolving and kicking in 2005… I hope it never dies - and with visionary people like the Suntrippers, I’m sure it never will… I give this compilation my highest recommendations – and urge everyone with a healthy interest in melodic goa trance to give it a listen… You will not be disappointed! Enjoy!

Favourites: 3(!), 4(!), 5(!!), 6(!), 8

DeathPosture

External links:

Suntrip Records: http://www.suntriprecords.com

Trance Shop: http://tinyurl.com/8b5ft

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/chp59

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/9z9ez

PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/be9zg

Unicorn: http://tinyurl.com/9t7h6

Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/77mt3

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/dshfr

This is the second album from Matthew De Nobrega aka Artifakt from South Africa, he's well known for being responsible of the Timecode sound as he's responsible of all Timecode & also Nexus Media mastering.

Tracklist ( in real it's a total mess made of strange signs but the trackname according Online shops gives this):

1. Zulu 2'37

2. Plastic 6'31

3. Made 7'00

4. Ohm 5'09

5. 5 8'13

6. 6 7'28

7. 7 0'49

8. Fish 7'20

9. Circle 0'39

10. Peak 7'39

11. Eye 6'21

12. ? 7'39

13. ? 7'34

Artifakt II has a concept, that's why you'll notice 3 short tracks (1,7 &9) that must be considered as transitions, furthermore tracks are all linked together (not mixed but there's a non-stop music flow).

1. It just consists in a short intro with strange distants sounds upto 1'20 than mutes in a Psy-Broken Beat tune.

2. The bassline reminds me Prince's songs especially at 0'40, in other words it sounds funky. By moment the rythmic has some indus elements (from 2'45). At 3'25 you'll experience a swift break made of a sharp decrease filter plus a kinda retro spinning (like dj's are doing). Otherwise the global harmony is quite soft despite the presence of several twisted leads.

3. At 0'30 an inversed sample is played, Made has a part at the beginning with short brass which reminds me Eat Static - City Of Sin & in a minor aspect Bucketheads with their anthemn (these sounds fall into my mind). It sounds more melodic than previous one in a whirlwind style but still with high twist on tones. After the break at 4'30, the restart is, with the same thema, in slow motion.

4. The intro is robotic with incongruous sounds, quickly & frankly the atmosphere gets funkadelik with a very groovy bass in a fast speed. Then weird indus tones comes from a break (from 1'45). The evolution of the track is based on a progressive raise of energy & postive agressivity through the sounds.

5. During this tune, Artifakt has a malicious pleasure to play music hitting on his pans (this is Mrs Artifakt that won't be happy). Particularirty here, a twisted melancholic lead which appears from 4'38. Except this, the global content is more classical Timecode sounding : pachydermic & furious.

6. All along the tune i can't refrain myself from thinking about Infected Mushroom (2 first albums period). There's a funny lead from 1'36, a mix of fly & a plaintive personn. At 5'17, there's an organ solo coming from those in old churchs which confers a gloomy touch. Then the melody part from the organ mutes into a an electrified riffs which is joined by a highly sharp & shrill lead from 6'35. Ok, so let's call this song ArtiMushies instead of '6' .

7. Like i said previously, this track belongs to the short transition of the differents of the album.

8. Come-back to more Artifakt sounding with backfiring brass melodies (from 1'40), the atmosphere is more serious, at first at least, because of the unexpected & disconcerting quick break at 2'30. Indeed, it's like an awful group in the metro playing acoustic guitar plus percussions with a singer for begging that would cut this track in his middle. At 4'22 a new sound is happening, it's half way between a mewing & a sparkling but one sure thing is the total corrosive aspect for ears. I forgot to tell about the bass how warn it is, you can check it at 5'40 during the break.

9. Another swift transition made of a totally detuned tones, in a normal way it could have look like a Xmas tune...

10. The bassline is very flat, and later bolts. Then i got focused on the rythmic, very heavy, boderline with saturation from this point of view if you like unpolished productions you'll be served. From 3'20 a gimmick (sort of digital cry) seems to follow the rythmic in the background. The tune continues thicker with more & more leads & layers, so it's getting a bit indistinct, muddleheaded. During the break a strange sound occurs from 5'28 , it makes me think to an elephant which farts. I think this one is a bit too crazy for the mortal's common.

11.Artifakt has recovered the pans which were hidden by his wife, he can now fully explain his passion for cooking beats with them once again from 0'30. In his mad labo, Pr Artifakt also has experienced some sounds with a plastic balloon putting the mic inside it from 1'18 & some other indus mechanism at 2'30. From 3'33 you get an hardly bearable symphony, coz of the ultra-dominant squeaning tones.From 5'00 the structure changes, it evolves more trippy & then shortly nice, funny psychdelik before a come-back of the trippy part upto the end.

12. This track appears to me like a megamix of several ideas contained in the previous tracks, for example Artifakt makes us again the trick of the track 8's break .

13. The last one is more original, comparetively to the whole album, it's an almost happy, positive feeling bathing in a myriad of twisted sounds like always plus this border line unpolished statured sound treatment.

It's an very interesting album from the production & creativity views consequently it supposes from you a high involvement during the listen in order to catch it all which means it is very mentally & physically testing. Musically, you can expect : Timecode sound trademarks, plus the Artifakt's madness appeard on recent tracks on compilations altogether mixed with his passion for experimentation & incorporating weird sounds. So, an album that won't be easy to enter inside for a lot of Psytrance ears, as even myself i encountered some difficulties on certain tracks. As a result , Artifakt II is an album you'll eitheir totally like or dislike it, the intermediate position being impossible here

Normally i give favorites, here i won't, all tracks are so klonk, except maybe T12 a bit weaker, that's nearly impossible to have any preferances.

8/10

Album: 23 Days

Label: Headstick Recordings

Genre: Progressive Trance

Year: Feb. 2005

Tracklisting:

01. Airwave

02. The Blackroom

03. White Screen

04. Not

05. So 15b

06. Next Time

07. Anything

08. Enstikt

09. Active Reserve

With their first release – the often-unclassifiable tek-flavored album from label-head Igneous Sauria – Greek upstart Headstick Recordings proved themselves as a label willing to dispense with any trends and blaze a their unique path into a musical wilderness. In “23 Days”, the smoothly atmospheric follow-up from fellow Greek duo Drone, Headstick continues to carve their own niche into progressive psychedelia: original, undefinable, progressive-minded, and thick on groove.

The music:

With a mish-mash of influences pushing through the soundscapes in 23 Days, the most definable characteristic to firmly grab the listener is an atmospheric sense of melancholy. Each song is an expressive, often emotional ride, but the story is gently expressed through subtle developments in atmosphere, percussion and structure. Underlying each song is smooth tribalistic percussion and a throbbing bassline. Despite the similar elements throughout, the specific flavor of each track still varies enough to avoid monotony. From the start, Drone holds no punches – the opening track “Airwave” is easily one of the best on the CD, providing a dark underlying mood while skillfully traversing a journey of hypnotic rhythm, crafty melody and eery FX. The ride through the first 6 songs is utterly fantastic and diverse. The subtly emotional “The Blackroom” manages to smoothly speak volumes using only minimal variations in atmospheres and progressions while “White Screen” is a trip into relaxed tribal hypnosis (literally). “Not” and “So 15b” beg for a late-morning dancefloor under the sun with their lush sampling and house-influenced rhythms. “Next Time” combines a heavy dub flavor reminiscent of Pitch Black with ethereal atmospheres – perfect for the last few hours of daylight. The CD loses a bit of steam and direction in the next two tracks before finally closing on a high note with the bouncing and redeeming house & breakbeat-flavored “Active Reserve”.

Overall:

Drone have managed to produce a striking collection that contains both enough variety and consistent musical unity to hold together well as a worthwhile album. The unique and subtle approach to progression within each song needs a few listens to fully grasp, but causes a few instances of picking your jaw up off the ground when you realize what they are doing. A mixture of influences can be heard here – progressive, breakbeat, house, tribal and psychedelic. It all works together extremely well and gives scarce boring moments. A pair of tracks (“Anything” and “Enstinkt”) aren’t particularly exciting when compared to the rest, but the unique and individual character of the other 7 tracks is more than enough to leave an overwhelmingly positive impression.

Rating:

8/10

Favorite tracks:

1-6, 8

(1, 2 and 4 are particularly nice on headphones )

info:

http://www.headstick.gr

http://www.drone-project.com

Title: Lost Entertainment”

Format: CD album

Style: Psy Trance/ Progressive

Release date: December 12 2005 Worldwide

Label: Horns and Hoofs Entertainment

Distributed by:

Tracklist:

1. Born without soul

2. Metallic Mista

3. Pasyonata

4. Hippie Bones

5. Colors of black

6. Pan Prophet

7. Atomic corner

8. Industry of broken parts

9. Well done

10. Dead birds in the sky

11. Man upon the rainbow

I must have been a very good boy this year, because around Christmas time I received the biggest musical surprise of the Year, Kino Oko’s “Lost Entertainment”. The person behind this record with the unpronounceable and unspellable name I’m not even gonna try to type here (I should probably shut the fuck up, my last name’s Krawczyk) is a member of BigWigs and Tromesa, two bands known for polish vodka induced madness. I always really respected BigWigs and Tromesa on an intellectual level, they dared to be different and their music was interesting and funny and very tricky, but being the cheese- and fluffmaster that I am, I couldn’t sit at home and thoroughly enjoy their work, it was just too weird and off-key for me. I always considered them the Schönberg of the trance scene, I respected them for what they are doing and thought they were great artists, but to keep the analogy Id still rather sit through an evening of Mozart then 3 hours of atonal 12-tone music.

Then I read in the promo section that Kino Oko created something different, incorporating melodies and a real old-skool trance feel, and I was interested. I thought to myself “If you combine Bigwigs with real old trance, the result must be pretty cool”. I listened to the samples and was even more intrigued, so when the record was released I got it right away.

And boy was I right!! This record rocks!!! I don’t know why nobody else has created a sound like this before, because when I listen to this record, it just makes sense. It sounds very well thought out, it is very cheesy at times (“ Dead birds in the Skyyyyyyyyyy….”), but its good cheese, because the melodies and emotions fit the tracks perfectly, its not artificial and drug-induced euphoria, but real emotions that are contrasted beautifully with the typical polish weirdness. Its like the ying and the yang, darkness and light, in short it’s a trip from the introverted “Heart of Darkness” to an extroverted sunny morning beachfestival with a big smile on your face

Also I find it very refreshing that Kino Oko on purpose stays away from the modern sterile clean compressed “power sound” that is obviously dominating the full-on scene, but that also is prevalent in all Prog-Psy releases. This record is “Low-Fi” and goddamn proud of it!! And with “Low-Fi” I don’t mean bad production, but different production. It might be hard to believe for some people, but bass lines don’t necessarily have to be “killlAAARRGHH” to rock the dancefloor. What I’m getting at is that this album has a definite old-school feel to it, it sounds very analogue and organic, compared to other psy-releases it lives and breathes like an animal. But at the same time it doesn’t sound old at all, you can clearly hear that this is 2005 material, even though it plays around with the 1995 sound dynamic.

Talking about 1995, one artist comes to mind that must have clearly inspired Mr. Unpronouncable. That artist is Union Jack. First of all the track “Well Done” is a clear homage to their track “Cactus” just like Ticons “Analogue H”, but Kino Oko took it into a whole new direction, he made it more psychedelic instead of more powerful and groovy like Ticon did. But other than that I get a lot of the Union Jack feel in some of these songs, the way the bass lines work, the melodic runs etc…, the major difference is that Kino Oko doesn’t use the characteristic twirling Union Jack 303’s. The melodies also seem to be very inspired by German rave- and hardtrance, they are very emotional and hands in the air type stuff, but they work like a charm and most importantly, they fit the fabric and soundscapes perfectly. When I listen to this record I just wanna be a good old raverboy with Buffalo Shoes and orange pants again and throw my arms towards the sun

I just noticed that when you do a wordcount on everything I have written above, you come to exactly 666 words. Spooky… What a perfect transition to my next point! This is still the same dude who is also behind Tromesa and Bigwigs, and all the talk about melodies shouldn’t distract from the fact that this is some really trippy and sometimes almost scary shit!!! Maybe someone who’s into dark trance thinks this is scary on a Kindergarten level, but I’m a pussy, so I get scared easily. There are some really cool effects and tweaks and blurps and just genuinely strange sounds all over this record that give a really unique and sometimes dark twisted edge to these tracks, like in Metallic Mista for example. The soundwork here is really outstanding, I can’t stress this point enough!!!!! Sometimes you listen to a track and just think “now where the fuck did that just come from”, for example those weird ghost puking voices or whatever the fuck they are from “Born without Soul”. Kino Oko doesn’t have to hide behind anyone in the “sonic trickery department”, not even behind Simon Posford, I would even go so far and say his effects and tricks are a lot cooler, because they are more unique and sound more alive and less digitally dead, as is often the case with Mr. P.

About the single tracks, there are no bad ones on here, there’s a wide variety, some are more melodic than others, some are darker and stranger, but they all have something unique about them. My personal favourite is the very first track “Born without Soul”, it says all there is to say about Kino Oko. Im playing at a electro-techno party in January, and I cant wait to open my set with this “Bad Motherfucker” I’m sure even the electro heads will go insane!!! I can’t wait…hehe. Its hard to pick out other stand-outs, there’s something I like about every track, like the groove of “Hippie Bones”, the “happy trippyness” of Atomic Corner, or the delicious cheesyness of “Dead Birds in the Sky” etc…, I think I’ll let someone else analyse the single tracks, I already wrote way too much.

Well, to sum it up, I made the following formula:

A nice dose of Union Jack + the naiveté of German Hard/Ravetrance melodies + a large helping of Bigwigs polish vodka madness + some current Cologne techno a la Dominik Eulberg or the Boxer label + a bit of electro “low-fi” feeling + sonic trickery worthy of leading IDM bands = Kino Oko “Lost Entertainment”

This might sound like a total walk on the edge, and it is, but Kino Oko pulls it off with amazing style and grace. This is a trance record that I would not be afraid to play to some techno-snobs I know, because it is unique, and it stays miles away from any formula that I’m aware of. And unlike other BigWigs/Tromesa stuff it’s a real pleasure to listen to even for a pussy like me! The only doubt I have is about who will buy this record. It’s a bit of everything so everyone should be able to enjoy it, but on the other hand I think it’s a very mature album that will be too much for the kiddos, and it might be too melodic for the freaks? I don’t know, I hope the other extreme will happen and the kiddos buy it for the melodies and the freaks for the weirdness

I personally think it’s a strong contender for album of the year, but then I’m always soooooo excited right after I discover something I really like If the excitement will stay only time can tell, but I’m very positive that just like a good wine “Lost Entertainment” will only get better, and not turn into vinegar. Thanks Mr. Unpronouncable!!!

Artist: Dousk

Album: D.I.Y.

Released: 17. Nov 2005

Label: Klik Records, Greece

Style: Chill-out, house, ambient

Tracks:

1 All About You (5:29)

2 Anagram (4:44)

3 Robot (6:18)

4 As If (5:03)

5 Florence (7:11)

6 Espero Sun (7:45)

7 Chrysalis (6:07)

8 Busmekanik (5:42)

9 Feign (2:25)

10 Sidewalk Lovin' (6:38)

11 Bubbles (7:47)

12 Page Up (5:43)

13 Dongle (4:11)

14 Falling People (4:13)

I’m gonna be honest with you. I’ve basically heard Dousk’s DIY back to back since it magically reappeared in webshops March 2008 after being out of stock for ages. And I like what I hear. I like what I hear a lot!

Stylewise DIY leans towards Sasha’s Airdrawndagger which is a big, up-beat chill out album in my book. DIY may fit the house label but the entire piece would fit perfect at the chill out stage. It will most likely send you dancing, yes, but not main stage aggressive. Grrrooving and easy going diy is a chillin’ tripper setting you up for early afternoon dancing.

And never more so than from Florence and on. Rest assured the first four tracks are by no means fillers but I like my chill-out with a snare dram and things pick up here.

Favourites? Alright, Espero Sun, Busmekanik and Bubbles trance me pretty damn sweet. The first two for a dance and the dark Bubbles for a ride. Bubbles crosses well into house and succeeding Page Up remains there. Sweet sweet ride.

Dongle ends my ride with a hint almost to X-Dream craziness (!). If one might detect a glimse of cheese here and there, say, in a track like Esperon Sun with its’ grand final theme, through and out this album is so quality infested a journey you have to put aside those inhibitions. The persistence, happy feel and orchestral approach. Fuck me over. I’m in!

Closing track Falling People wouldn’t play on my laptop without a shitload of skipping so can’t be wise about it. It wouldn’t do much difference though. diy is one stomper of an album and an essential in any well-equipped chill-out dj’s stash bag.

Happy hunting

From the samples I can say that it's typical full on.

Am I wrong?

Title: Synthesis of Reality

Released: 2005

tracklist

1.Mulholland Dub

2.Retro Inversion

3.Dont Wake Up

4.Gates of Heaven

5.The Chemists Choice

6.Inorganic Creatures(Laugh of the Goblin)

7.I Know that I Know

8.Out There Somewhere

9.Human Mentality

10.Second Attention

11.Ride The Wave

Ajana Records is out with their third release, and this time we're treated to the debut of 27 year old Yosi Shamay aka Capsula. After releasing a few very promising tracks on compilations earlier this year the expectations are high for his first full-lenght album...

First of all this entire package oozes of maturity and musical knowhow. Even though it's his debut, you can clearly tell that this is a guy who knows whitch knobs to tweak in order to create those crisp, buzzing sounds of pure relaxing psychedelia. What also strikes me is the intense feeling of melancholy found in many of the tracks, but then again the album touches upon the entire spectrum of feelings. Before we start - a quick piece of advice: enjoy this album as a full piece from start to end - this is nothing to pop in if you have five minutes to spare before rushing off to catch the bus. Intense and focused listening is recomended! Now let's take a quick peak at the tracks:

01: Mulholland Dub

This track is first and foremost an excellent opener to a great album. The track is actually not made by Capsula himself, but by someone who goes under the name of "Radius". Even so, its a nice tease to what your about to experience for the next seventy minutes or so. It rolls of in a dubby pace with massive amounts of bass, lulling you into a dreamlike state. It tears you out of it every now and then, as you are met with angstridden sweeps reminding you that reality is never to far away.

02: Retro Inversion

Still within the dubby realms but with a more urban attitude this time. The beat of the track is a bit rougher than on the first one and bass is again a key-element. Huge variety in sounds and instruments also make the track a unike ride. Flutes, an organ(?), and a ton of sythesized sounds together with a 'shpognelesque' warping of various voicesamples should make this psychedelic enough for annyone.

03: Dont Wake Up

The third track of the album opens as an absolute dreamer. Soundscaps and harmonies blend into eachother creating a fluid symbiosis of sound. Again the use of many instruments stand out. Electric guitarsolos(!) panflutes and acustic guitars drive the track as it eventually becomes more breakbeat oriented and upbeat. The transitions from the slow parts of the track to the speedier works well and there is allways a sense of progression as it gradually builds and gets stronger. Nice!

04: Gates of Heaven

First of all – This is a beautiful track. Period. It has a horribly cheesy title, but it actually manages to live up to it! The driving force in the track is a simple relaxing beat together with an acoustic guitar playing a simple, repetitive set of tones. Beautiful simplicity! Thats not all, though - as he key here is also to listen to everything going on in the background; complex, everchanging patterns of sound create these amazing sensations(This goes for most of the tracks here, by the way) - No chillout has made me feel like this for quite some time! And those weird voicesamples...God damn, this is great stuff. Towards the end of the track it becomes more intense - more hypnotic, and I for one am completely lost in this stuff... Very beautiful!

05: The Chemists Choice

This is also a very good piece of music, though not the stongest track on the album. More driven by repeated basslines than other parts of the disc, this really makes me curious as to what this guy could do if he decided to do psychedelic trance instead of chill. I sense a bit of an olschool-morning vibe in some of the melodies here – it ceirtanly pleases my ears!

06: Inorganic Creatures(Laugh of the Goblin) «And now for something completely different...» This track is again more beat-oriented. The bass and the drums push the track which starts off in a dubbish-triphop'ish manner and after a while moves into something that could perhaps be described as very spaced out drum'n bass. After a few tracks of intense introspective mindwork it's a nice change to notice your right foot starts moving a bit as well. Towards the end of the track it's again taken down a notch. Expect to laugh along!

07: I Know that I Know

This is as far as I can tell the only previously released track on the album, as it was part of peak records "Chilling Godess". The feeling I get here is....PARANOIA! Dark(ish) hard edged sounds twists this track far into the not-so-plesant parts of your brain. Again - the use of voicesamples is very prominent, and works well. My advice: be carefull with this track if you're tripping..

08: Out there somewhere

If you manage to get through the intese headtrip of "I know that I know" there is however a reward as we step in to the morning sun with this one. The track has a more upbeat feeling and is definetley the "feel-good" track of the album. A nice piano and some violin-like instrument puts you in a cheerfull mood. The voicesamples are entertaing as well, and throughout the track you are bombarded with small little impulses creating an overall psychedelic feeling.

09: Second attention

Atmosphere is the key in this track, and it's one of the less melodic ones on the album. The main focus here is on shifting soundscapes as well as small constant changing of noises. The rythm is also an important aspect as it's more tribally oriented than on other parts of the cd. Capsulas love for voicesamples is once again demonstrated, but luckilly he doesnt overdo it.

10: Second Attention

Now for more paranoia! A constantly morphing wall of sound hits you in the face, and thats just about it. And yes, it works out fine.

11: Ride The Wave

The last track of the album sums it all up beautifully - the cycle has come to an end and we are slowly taken back in to the real world. As you surface at the end of this track you realize you've experienced something truley special, beaytiful and pretty unike.

Final remarks:

Damn! That was some some trip! It's nice to see that electronic music comming out of Israel is more than the average killaaaargh full-on releases we're getting so used to. I'm extremely happy to report that this album actually lived up to my extremely high expectations - and perhaps even delivered more than I had dared to hope for. There is so much going on in every tack here,but it's never overdone - it's never too much. The wonderfully complex melodies, all the work being done in the background, the beats, the use of voicesamples, the constant sonic manipulation - it all seems to melt together in a near perfect manner. Ajana records made a vice choice signing this guy and the result is a unike journey of chilled dub, downbeat and sometimes almost ambient music. The flow of the album also work out really well and there are no tracks here that stand out in a negative way. No less then a highly recomended album for the dedicated psyhead!

Tomas (Psychedelic mustache)

Get it Here:

Saikosounds

Psyshop

Amboworld

Beatspace

Trance-shop

Discobole

More fun: www.sonic-energy.net

Artist: Various
Title: Portal of Perceptions
Label: Celestial Dragon Records
Date: May, 2005

1. Ishq - Aphrodite
2. Makyo - Jasmine
3. Adham Shaikh - Ohm (Transfix Mix)
4. Aes Dana - Haze (Celestial Mix)
5. Androcell - Caribbeyond
6. Cell - Twisted Sun
7. Androcell - Fungus Garden (Acoustic Mix)
8. H.U.V.A. Network - Rain Geometries (Solar Fields Remix)
9. Ishq - El Morya

What an rich and satisfying compilation.  Mixed by Vincent Villuis himself it's 12 years old and still hitting all the right notes.  All the projects are established in the downtempo genre and they are doing some heavy lifting.  Lots of tribal percussion here with ethereal chants, breakbeats, and trance inducing dreams.  Special mention goes to the sublime Ohm (Transfix Mix) which is everything you could want in a dreamy, mystical downtempo piece.  I don't believe this sub label of Sonic Dragon Records is around any longer which is a shame because it certainly delivered the goods!

Beatspace Digital

Artist: Gataka

Title: In Trance We Trust

Label: Phonokol

Date: October, 2005

1. Deeper Level

2. Blast From the Past

3. Night Becomes Day

4. Viva La Mexico

5. How To Create A Monster

6. Experience

7. Down To Earth

8. The Mind Twister

9. One Day Ticket

10. Israelizer

No.

Seriously, just...no.

For the longest time I've been calling this label Oh No kol just to remind me of the crap they put out on a consistent basis.  What was once a proud label has devolved into fluffy, full-on eye rolls.  Every single trope is represented here and this confection is about as deep as a petri dish. 

Pretty sure this information is already known by this community, but just in case any newbie stumbles upon this review, do not put your trust in this.

Artist: Various

Title: Inspirazzia

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: VP Records (Domo Label Group)

Cat. #: VIPICD001

Distribution: Sigomus Distribution

Date: 21 Jan 2005

Track listing:

01. 08’37” Igal M. – Fall In Green

02. 09’13” D-Sens – What You Want

03. 09’24” André Absolut – Elevent 1

04. 07’12” Qualia - Feedback

05. 09’06” Vision & Canedy - Insane

06. 08’25” V-Tunes - Girl

07. 07’48” Sweat Attack vs. Klangstrahler – What Can I Say

08. 06’23” Feuerhake & Okay – Move The Signal

09. 09’36” Homer & Lazon – To The Unknown

Review:

A funky, groove-ridden cross-over bonanza… Can you dig it?

VP Records is a new label on the scene – adopted by the Domo label group… VP is short for Very Progressive and that is an aptly named label if I ever saw one… I mean, just take a look at the tracklist! And as the cover clearly states, this debut release is compiled by none other than DJ Zombi – the progressive top dog of Israel… Yeah, this should be interesting – let’s find out!

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Igal M. – Fall In Green

Mr. Igal Magitman is from Israel and this is his first ever released track… But don’t let that throw you off – this is high quality progressive trance… Semi-fast, pumping, driving and knee-deep! I dig the mixture of edgy progressive trance, house and the more melodic and electronic influences… There are distinct Balearic-epic qualities here… Nice track!

#02: D-Sens – What You Want

D-Sens is Matthieu Delepau from the French Sub Machine crew… He’s a member of Luna Spice and Cosmosquad - and D-Sens is his solo project… The intro is very cool here… Some Asian chick is repeating an undecipherable word – bouncing back and forth between the left and right channel of your speakers… Ah, I love trickery like that… The percussion is in focus here, but we’re also treated to some synth action… Somehow this is just a little too anonymous and housey I think… I could’ve wished for more edge here… It’s nice, but nothing more…

#03: André Absolut – Elevent 1

André Absolut from Switzerland is well-known and respected progressive/tech house producer and DJ… He’s released two 12”s and several remixes within the last few years… This is my first encounter with his music, so I can’t tell whether this is his usual style… Anyway, this here is a pretty gloomy/dark tune… Sharp, metallic beats and stiff kicks – with plenty of aggressive hisses thrown in just to freak you out… My kind of music! Deep, dark, monotonous tech house… Brilliant!

#04: Qualia – Feedback

Qualia are Alan Rapoza & Maja Gabar from Slovenia. This duo has had a few tracks and a 12” released already – and you might already know the track ‘Plasma’ or the ‘Freshwater Rmx’ of the same tune… This is new however – a fast, uplifting, extremely danceable tune… Again the epic-like qualities are obvious and I’m certain this will be popular on the progressive dance floors… I have to restrain myself from bopping my head and wiggling my ass when listening to the best pads in this track… And that’s about the best damn recommendation I can give a track! Nicey nice!

#05: Vision & Canedy – Insane

Marc Wollenschein & Marco Mellmann aka. Vision & Canedy should be a familiar duo to most fans of progressive trance… They released their excellent debut album Another Life on Hadshot Haheizar in 2004 as well as two 12”s on Avalanche Records and Plusquam Records + several tracks on compilations… Anyway, this strays a little from the usual V&C path… Just a little though… Though still tribal, this also has melodies and subtle female voice samples… All creating another track of epic, Balearic decent… Nice track, but I have to admit I expected more from these guys…

#06: V-Tunes – Girl

V-Tunes are Sandro Kulka & Hans Muster from Switzerland… They had a track on the successful compilation The Swiss Connection put out by Domo Records in 2004 and a track on the Groove Zone Records compilation Back To The Future released in 2005… As on BTTF this track is on the trancier side of progressive house and has more edge than some of the previous tracks… I like edge – especially a subtle psy-trance edge as here… It’s just small hints, but it works… I dig this girl!

#07: Sweat Attack vs. Klangstrahler – What Can I Say

This track was already released as a Domo Records 12” last year – and gained support from big shot DJs as James Monro, etc… This is the first time on CD though – and this is a slightly different version… Sweat Attack is Gero Bode from Germany – and he also compiled this CD… Klangstrahler is Okay Candan also from Germany, and it’s been a long time since the last time I heard new stuff from him… But it was definitely worth the wait! I’m very, very impressed by this track… After the initial build-up it soon develops into a phat, phunky and sexylicious guitar-choon… From 4’20 and onwards it’s pure groove-a-delic overdrive… Sweet!

#08: Feuerhake & Okay – Move The Signal

Stefan Feuerhake has been in the game for years, releasing stuff primarily on Free Form… But this is his first release in 2½ years! Welcome back Stefan! Okay is Mr. Candan again… I think he’s a guitar-buff ‘cause we get more guitars here – mixed into a fair dose of progressive morning trance with housey elements… Nice drive in this track… Scores high on the funky groove-meter… Steamy hot!

#09: Homer & Lazon – To The Unknown

Omar Chelly & Jason Orfanidis from Sweden are better known under their psytrance moniker Tegma… They released their debut album Encoded / Decoded on Digital Structures in 2002… And when they produce music under the Homer & Lazon alias they cannot hide their trancy heritage… This is the hardest track here without any doubt – and also the one with the most psytrance elements… Floating rich melodic pads mated with complex percussion-driven progressive soundscapes… A massive track – indeed a worthy ending to this compilation…

This is one solid collection of tunes – will work wonders both at home, on the beach and on the dancefloor… Hats off to Zombi! I like it – I like it a lot… And I’m looking forward to future releases bearing your stamp of quality music… I’m not too impressed with the cover though – it’s a bit… I dunno… Tacky perhaps!? Nice girl and all, but the cover takes some getting used too… But hey, the cover is not what’s important…

An important aspect of VP Record’s philosophy is trying not to label the music they release… It’s all just good music breaking boundaries… As such the cross-over potential is huge and this omnium gatherum will appeal to a large crowd I’m sure… This is already the second great progressive trance compilation of 2005 – and hopefully we’ll see loads more… I’ve got high hopes for the future of this kind of music… Recommended for any fan of groovy, funky electronic music! Enjoy!

Favourites: 3, 4(!), 6, 7(!), 8, 9

DeathPosture

External links:

Sigomus: http://www.sigomus.com

Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/vpr/vpr1cd001.html

Saiko Sounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4588

Chaos Unlimited: http://www.chaosunlimited.co.uk/cgi-bin/pr...asp?LR=VIPICD01

Trance Shop: http://www.trance-shop.com/de/catalog/prod...roducts_id=4411

Artist: Khetzal

Album: Corolle

Label: Suntrip Records

Year: 2005

Format: CD

Trackliste:

1. Listening Winds

2. Anamatha (Remix)

3. Bells of Sarnath

4. Narayana

5. Ganesha Pramana

6. Indian Attic

7. Djaningar

8. Nyiragongo

9. Avasari

check out the tracks...

1. Listening Winds : Track starts of with tasty forest sounds...birds twittering...the sun playing tricks with clouds... trying to set free... freeing the mind...calm upper track with floaty synth laced sounds:::2'28" brief pause with the forest emerging again...varied tapestry merging into the subconscious...hints of eastern grooves flying floating:::5'04" the sounds melts into the horizon with some spectacular synth once again bringing out the rainbows ending blissfully into the jungle.

2. Anamatha (Remix) : Intense powers of the chakras accumulating...track starts of beautifully with an Indian female vocal sample...tablas....classic Goa bubbling... hypnotic sound starts the ride at 2'26" twisted acid sitar trails...psychedelic textures which we have been thirsting for so long...the eastern ambience is hard to miss...the female vocal sampling itself here n there...melodic but not in a cheesy way...just the perfect groove to set the gear to powerdrive....4'33" brings out the melody in an indistinct manner pouring sweet nectar into the eyes...ears n mind....the sample still playing somewhere ...building up energy....rising...ready...6'30" you can feel the exhilirating influence of the cosmic power...leaving you energized...state of peaceful bliss....

3. Bells of Saranath : After attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya the Buddha went to Sarnath; and it was here that he preached his first discourse in the deer park to set in motion the 'Wheel of the Dharma'. It is one of the most holy sites as in this place the stream of the Buddha's teaching first flowed. The whirling vortex of goa melodies floating inthe air....0'53" the sky tears open with the drums...forgotten goa kicks n licks...the mantra begins...driving you further n further into trance...hypnotic currents of electricity...3'31" the baba unfolds the sacred prayer and serious flying with cosmic fragments into another dimension is about to set-off ....4'07" weaving the delicate fabrics of acid into the atmosphere...shadows of spirits racing in the hidden depths of the sky...catching a wisp of psychedelic!

4. Narayana : Narayana, in Hinduism, is the purification of the creative of Lord Vishnu associated, therefore, with the sun. It is Narayana, as solar energy moving upon the face of the waters, which produces creation. At the end of this cycle of this particular universe, Narayana/Vishnu rests on the coiled form of Sesa-naga, the endless serpent, and when, in due course, he awakes again, the creative process is renewed. And the track starts just at that .....fiery fierce powerful solar energy building up dust in the sacred dancefloor...0'58" the superior solar flares skimming ur aura to brighten up the soul...1'27" harmonic strains of a strange synth sitar acidified and melting with the skyline...the melody haunting and daunting at the same time....a weird animal coos at 2'22" bringing the fiery power of the bass to be churned against the hynotic melody which surfaces....3'42" brings on the melodic swirl captivating the youthful energy of the sun....4'20" leaves you pondering over the cosmic powers of existence....like a ninja slicing the air the sounds chops you at 5'08" attaining supreme control over the senses....indeed you have merged with the Sun God and all else that is divine~

5. Ganesha Pramana : The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. 1'05 the sacred sound of the elephant god wakes you up from the acidic myst speeding with doses of color and magic....ultraviolet visions of insight....lemurian beings communicating....and the most haunting violin string reminds you of the complexities of nature..... 2'37" flies u higher n higher like a kite....only that there is no one controlling this flight...you are the rider, the navigator...emerging out from various portals of light...realizing that you are needed in other parallel dimesions....4'11" mystical worship of the elephant God and his powerful natural being is reflected as spores of light start shooting outta ur third eye...where at 4'55" you feel him all the way in your veins and glistening with sweet sweat of the pacy racy psychedelic sounds....yes this one rises bringing in the strong tornado of lysergia...transporting you into hyperspace...never letting you go...and what BPM is that....whoah!

6. Indian Attic : A mystical initiation into the tradition of Goa...melodies spin in chaotic order of harmony...the violin soothes away the peaks of jagged edges in the sky....a psykedelic haunting lead manifests itself raising the energy...3'30" climate changes giving way to a change that is inevitable....haunting and taunting ur insides...familiar tablas invoking ancients gods and goddesses, rooting yourself to the dance floor becoming unified in space...5'24" brings in the awesome force of the Gods lifting you through the energy channels climbing, flying, soaring, spaceborne, the melodic hypnotizing acid filled sounds putting u into a complete controlled trance consciousness...this is one non stop ride into the cosmos...

7. Djaningar : A galloping horse ?! or was it just a hallucination...squidgy polished sounds rubbing against each other...1'20" the splendid delicious acid lines and drums scrunch and munch through the air....2'07" a melody so mesmerizing...rapturous emotions...tunneling of cross platform whirlpools....3'.00" different layers of color trail around each other....alien languages spoken with a babylonian twist.....unstoppable feelings of movement....obscure incomprehensible 5'11" resonance of aliens...6'23" uplifting refreshing cool fresh unpolluted landscapes....genial genius of crystal sounds....this track demonstrates the purity of Goa harmony....and the horse gallops by~

8. Nyiragongo : Nyiragongo is associated with the East African Rift and is part of the Virunga Volcanic Chain. It is in the Congo, not far from the border with Rwanda. Nyiragongo is in Virunga National Park and is of Africa's most active volcanoes. And as it is with the volcanoes the bubbling of the lava can be heard right from the start. Hidden sounds from the center of the earth....Tight sounds holding the fabric of psychedelic tribal drum textures like an adhesive....1'37" brings in the phased sound of an african heritage...tribalism and shamanism synergize...3'40" turns up the power of the tribal warcraft....strong power unleashed into ur soul....beautiful harmonic resonances of shadows on the shifting plains....wild spirits of Africa....amalgamating to form an untainted ball of force...no way to miss ur primal tribal nature...arousing the cry of the god Oduduwa...amazing track!

9. Avasari : The feeling of perpetual need of expanding your horizon is the staple on this track and as much as technology has taken us further into progress u cant help but notice that we are still in our primordial form of being and rather than fight to change we need to just let go and relax into the ebb of our cosmic psyche..water flowing...releasing the strains of the tedium...3'30" a beautiful flanger brings on the Goddess of ur soul urging you to take the next step into the higher consciousness of evolution. The goddess unfolds the true meaning of being....Very beautiful ambient track!!

Really hard to choose....and so many favorites

Fav Tracks: 3/4/6/7/8/9

Glad I bought this CD....and this is such a relief to my sore ears....sore from hearing the patented repetitive tiring full-on sounds....Khetzal has released something like a breath of fresh air each track filled with energy and hope that is Goa....melodic pure luscious GOA...lotsa people say this is a remake of the oldies injected with the new...not quite....rather this is a statement of what Goa music is all about...the beauty... the warped but refined complexity.... the textures.... the drive to evolve is all featured in this incredibly twin turbo-charged album...shiniest of sounds and the most liquid melodies around! reminds me of sweeeeet Arambol back in 97

===

peace n love...

+++++

Artist: Xerox & Illumination

Title: XI

Label: HOM-Mega Productions

Date: September, 2005

1. Night Shift (Remix)

2. Ghost In The Machine

3. Battleship

4. Paranoia

5. Soul Control

6. Funkenstein

7. Assimilation of Reality

8. Astrix - Oranda (Final Mix)

9. Bottom Line

10. Xerox & Illumination with Chakra - 7 Days (Etnica Remix)

""As I was going up the stair I met a man who wasn't there!"

C'mon where else can you hear a track that has an excerpt from an over century old poem along with an Animal House sample?  Nowhere, that's where.  This duo has been around for a very long time and deserve to be called rocks of the psytrance community.  For me this was their best album and they took full-on in a very dark, industrial direction when it was (some may say still is) wallowing in its own generic swamp of mediocrity.  Thumping beats along with wailing leads make this a fairly eerie listening experience.  Battleship is an absolute monster.  They take a break from the haunting full-on with Funkenstein which is more of a techno, big beat track.  Not great, but I like to see artists stretch themselves on occasion.  There is even an Etnica remix!  Everybody loves Etnica remixes, right?

Well, maybe not this one.  It's kinda boring. 

But overall this is a good full-on album that rises above the swamp.

Beatport

Tracklist:

1. Goma - Intelligent Solution 7'30

2. Digicult - Infection 5'52

3. Optokoppler - Spacetravel 8'05

4. Vibe Tribe - Zimba 6'57

5. Cyber Cartel - Always 6'31

6. Ananda Shake - Pressure 8'33

7. 4 WindsCircle vs Electic Universe -4Tune Circle 9'45

8. Avigmati - Password Request 7'42

9. Psynymph - Psycordia 7'17

10. Azriel - Akane Still Dreaming (remix 2005) 6'30

Avigmatic is a new french label from Villeurbanne (Lyon's suburb) led by Khetzal & Dj Chaï with a major goa flavour or at least melodic colorfull full-on orientation, as you can check half of the artists are newcomers.

Positive Alchemists vol1 is compiled by Dj Chaï & Khetzal, mastering done by Huby Sea & Vince (Ultimae crew).

1. Goma (Renato Schnyder from Switzerland) opens up with a morning full on tune in a quite close style from Tri-Force's album 'Entrance To Reality'. The musical journey couldn't get started nicer.

2.Digicult (Davy Piessens & Bert De Decker from Belgium) proposes something more goaish even if at first, it seems to sound more full on. I find out the bass, during the goa part (from 2'31) , to have a little something of E.B.M. which doesn't bother me.

3.Optokoppler (Oliver Schmidt & Tim Rüsken from Germany) launches the more fullonish part of the compilation, an energic one with a remix (a twisted guy voice in this version) of the famous spoken sample contained in Dancing Galaxy from Astral Projection at 4'50 "...The space extends life, the space expands the counsciousness, the space invites to space travelling..." . I do enjoy their album Replugged but here it lacks a bit of magic (results too much classic full on), as a result i feel some few frustration here. However I hope to listen to some new hits from them in a soon future.

Tracks 4 [Vibe Tribe (Stas Marnyanski & Elmar Ivatonorov from Israël]), 5 [Cyber Cartel (Vik Sheki aka Intergalactic from Israël)] & 6 [Ananda Shake (Osher Swissa & Lior Edri from Israël)] are typical Israeli Full On songs. You may like that or probaly consider this country has generated too many artists providing the same indigest & un-inventive formulas. I'm for the second option, although i must recognize that the Cyber Cartel's one is a bit nicer due to the hypersonic-funky influenced bassline.

7. 4 Winds Circle vs Electric Universe (Luca Szekely aka Dj Geza & Boris Blenn from Germany) deliver a long floating cosmic goa stuff. This collaboration is a success, this 4 Winds Circle/Dj Geza is someone which deserves to be looked after in the future. Obviously, Electric Universe should endoss a big part of responsibility in this production too as it's easy to catch several Boris's trademarks all alongTune Circle like his typical floating layers at the beginning or some more acid melodic part on the end.

8. Come-back to kicking goa sounds with Avigmati (Khetzal & Dj Chaï from France), i appreciate here the work on the rythmic with a changing kick tone which caught my attention. Another thing has drawn it also, at 1"20 it's the saple of a woman saying 'are you talking to me?". So officially here i asked for the remix of Password Request with this time the correct sample , i mean the José Garcia's (french actor) one saying the same thing with the add of 'you fucked my wife?" & keep the laugh answer of course .

9.Psynimph (Hans & Brice aka oLOvonborg & Skysurfer from Germany & France) with Psycordia evoluates between fullonish-goa with shrill riffs from 1'40 & more fairy like moments such as at 2'50 , some ideas for the construction but still lacks something. I consider that these guys still posses a progression margin, let's see with the next productions.

10. Azriel (David Lebossé from Canada) closes up on a softer goa tune in a midtempo. The particularity of the song is the slighty sour lead played in a way (during his solo break at 4'10) that makes me thing the melody comes out from a violin, probably coz of the following of spinning around arpeggios.

Globally , a good compilition if you don't have anything against a current Goa revival obviously.

With Positive Alchemists vol1 let's just say: Welcome to Avigmatic records & Goa Is Not Dead!

Favorites:1,2,7,8,10

7,5/10

Artist: Sidhartha

Title: Reverse Mode

Label: Metatron Production

Date: May, 2005

1. Reverse Mode

2. Motion Detector

3. Mars Arrival

4. Inner Voice

5. No Worries

6. Physical Form

7. Sudden Shifts

8. Deep Sonar

9. Psychotic Behaviour

10. Dance With The Stars

Nuno Santos has a long history in the psytrance scene and is well known as a purveyor of the hard hitting acid style.  This was his debut album that unfortunately is showing its age.  It's dark full-on with plenty of psychedelic sounds and lasers, but lacks the punch and bombast of his own later work.  The bass lines are a bit tiresome and most of the tracks sound very similar.  Not really an enjoyable listen. But hey we all gotta start somewhere and he eventually turned it around.

Beatspace

Artist: Derango (Sweden)

Title: TuMuLT

Format: CD (digipack)

Label: Inpsyde Media (Italy)

Cat. #: IME 010

Distribution: Wirikuta

Date: 20 October 2005

Track listing:

01. 08’40” Deranged

02. 07’50” Confusion Is Next

03. 08’10” Made Out Of Vapour

04. 07’43” Masterdamnit

05. 10’51” All Channels Open

06. 09’58” The Poisonous Square

07. 06’37” Lost Theory

08. 07’54” Fnatt

09. 08’38” We Are All Mad Here (Rmx)

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/9fgva (all tracks!)

Review:

Surgeon warning: This will fry your brain!

After several delays and some hardcore internet hype, the long-awaited debut album by Swedish forest-trolls Derango (Jens Eriksson & Ola Eriksson) is finally out! Released by the infamous, nocturnal Italian label Inpsyde Media, this album has already caused quite a stir within psytrance circles… And I can totally understand why… Throughout the last year of so, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing five compilations which featured Derango tracks – and every single track was a stand-out! These Swedish nut-jobs know their shit… I’ve been really looking forward to this album, so let’s get this introduction over with, and move onto the more fun stuff: The music!

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Deranged

Of course we start of with something deranged… This is Derango after all! From the first second the forest feel is very much present here… Birds singing, trolls tripping, acid flowing – more psychedelic FX are added and the track cruises at a comfortable speed… Not too fast, not too slow… Yeah, this is subtle psychedelia… But oh, this is so fucking deep and multi-layered… About half-way thru the track speeds up and goes even deeper underground – drenched in acid! Towards the end it breaks up again and becomes insanely fragmented – good luck trying to mix this on DJs! Haha – awesome style! Kick-ass opening track!

#02: Confusion Is Next

“So, what planet are you from?” Next up – confusion! That’s right – this is a very aptly named track! This is some confusing shit! Some sick, perverted, deranged, insane, alienated shit – and that’s all meant as superlatives mind you! This track pretty much sums up the Derango sound in its entire extrovert, psychedelic glory! Full-power, fast-paced multilayered, eclectic mushroom trance… Like Hux Flux on DMT! Best trip-tool so far… Smashing track!

#03: Made Out Of Vapour

Picture this: Intergalactic space-trolls have taken over the deep, dark Swedish forest now… Psychedelic hornets are all over the place with laser beams attached to their little heads… R2D2 is in there dancing and twirling like a fucking mad droid on dwarf mush… And it’s all happening in slow motion – and warp speed! At the same time! Suddenly there is a tsunami of liquid acid flooding the place – people are electric and shapes and colours are changing before your very eyes… Can you dig it? I can – this is a fucking HUGE track… Immensely deranged!

#04: Masterdamnit

Breakz, bleeps, cuckoo watches, digital water, analogue synths, old school drum programming, fucking crows on PCP, twirling melodies, geo-metric patterns, cut beats, off-key kicks, acid mayhem, electronic farts, robot burps, space drums, troll chanting, power electronics, quantum leaps in time, matter & energy… And that’s describing the first minute only! This is psychedelia madames et monsieurs! Brace yourself!

#05: All Channels Open

Sadly we’re already half way through now – but hey, at least all the channels are open! And thank Hofmann for that! Though drenched in subtle acid, the style here is maybe a little too held back… Supposedly! This is all part of the Derango master plan to take over the world! In all fairness though, I must say that this track is not as good as the previous four… It’s still good though – trippy as fuck, and miles about your standard, alleged psychedelic music… And the last rundown is just fucking impressive! A trippy, though introvert track… Not bad at all, but not among the best here…

#06: The Poisonous Square

“You have to wake up, there's-- What is it? What's wrong? There's something here. Do you see anything? You're probably just dreaming or some…Whoa! There is-- there is something! What the hell is that? What do you see? It's a square. It's just floating. Now there's two - it's multiplying! Maybe that's what a four-dimensional object looks like?…I hate it. It sounds wrong… It's stunning! The math of it - it's a perfect quadrangular oscillation!” I’m fortunate enough to have sampled those alleged poisonous squares – and what a fucking rush that is! Just like this track… The intro is very atmospheric and spooky as hell – seriously this is what it’s all about! Gone are the grim, introvert speculations from the previous track, and we’re left with full-power, in-ya-face psychedelia – Derango style! This track just grabs you by the balls and drags you in… Like those small paper squares! Resistance is futile… This head rush is indefeasible! Don’t fight it… just lean back and enjoy the ride! Perfect track!

#07: Lost Theory

And we’re back to reality… For a brief moment only though! This is perhaps the darkest track here, complete with razor sharp stabbing sounds, high-pitched static and even church bells! Holy fuck, just check out that sick, demented melody… Deranged yes, derailed no! This is seriously complex, multilayered and highly fragmented – forest trance 101! Gnomes, elfs, trolls, pixies – they are all over the place! Just another Saturday night in Malmø, Sweden… Kicking track!

#08: Fnatt

I dunno about Swedish, but in Danish ‘fnat’ means scabies… And yeah, I could see that… This is a rabid bitch of a track! We’re still tripping extremely hard on shrooms here, and this track has nothing on the latest Parvati Records compilation Psy Stories… A very similar style indeed! Fast-paced, experimental, wall-to-wall psychedelic hyper trance… Oh yeah, this is mesmerizing, hypnotic stuff… The light, naïve melody half-way through strikes a notable contrast to the grim, acid-ridden, underground sounds… The Derango guys are once again show-casing their immense skills and outer worldly capability of creating alien music… Sweet track!

#09: We Are All Mad Here (Rmx)

“It was as though I had been here before. I mean, we all have moments of déjà vu but this was ridiculous!” All good things must come to an end – including Derango’s debut album… AFAIK this is a remix to an older tune. Sadly I haven’t heard it, so I can’t really tell you what was changed for this remix… Anyway, this is classic Derango right there – instantly trippy and pretty damn scary! The eerie Jack Nicholson sample from The Shining isn’t exactly making it less scary – oh yes, this is eerie, haunting, spooky stuff… Still very trippy, but with the added spook spice… Boo fucking hoo! I like the tribal drum action going on half-way through… Who would have thought? Another fine track that sadly ends this album…

The ground disappeared from beneath

And all that was solid is air

I tumbled end over end into my nature

And darkness appeared from below

Carrying voices of query, voices of theory

Dark voices, near me

All around and reason is drowned

By the sound of clamour

The pound of the hammer

Is confusion, illusion?

Plunged into shadows and mist

I catch my breath, frightened

But I will not face death still unenlightened!

Welcome to the wonderful world of advanced forest music! Yeah, that Penny Shaw poem seemed just about right when trying to describe the feeling you get from listening to this magnificent album… This kicks the shit out of most I’ve heard this year and is definitely a strong contender for forest trance album of the year… Derango has their very own style, and they stay true to that throughout this album – but still leave room for experimentation… Yeah, this album never gets dull and unlike other off-key albums, I can actually listen to this again and again in one sitting... Or standing… Or trip!

There isn’t a single bad track here – they all stand out in one way or the other… I like pretty much every single minute here, and I’m so relieved that this is something as rare as an album that actually lives up to the hype… The expectations were sky high, but they were met! This is such a mature album – maybe not easily accessible, but eventually rewarding… It’s nothing short of a blast! The cover art by Emil Wennborn is in perfect harmony with the actual music, and all in all this is worth every single penny…

I give this album my warmest recommendations… Fans of highly psychedelic, eclectic forest trance needs to own this album… That’s an order! Get it before it’s deemed illegal! …Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 2(!), 3(!), 4(!), 6(!!), 7, 8, 9

DeathPosture

External links:

Derango: http://www.derango.tk

Inpsyde Media: http://www.inpsyde-media.com

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/545650

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/74x9t

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/ce2j2

Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/a4d3j

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/c4yjd

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/8cybh

Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/bf5e4

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/dtdbf (obviously the wrong cover art…)

Artist: Various

Title: Feel the Force

Label: Spectral Records

Date: June, 2005

1. Twisted System - Die Nagmerrie (Menog Remix)

2. Khopat - Alien Explorer

3. Shift - Serius Problem

4. Phyx Vs. Menog - Danian

5. Menog - Spiritual 00 (Audialize Remix)

6. Tryambaka - Filth

7. XRC - Medusa

8. Spectra - Borealis

9. Probe - Probe

Feel the force.  Hmmm....ok, a simple equation ought to sum things up nicely.

=

X  

Massively small tiny hands multiplied by a super slow acceleration will guarantee the survival of drosophila melanogaster.  Probably the first time that classification was used in a review.  While the label begun by Menog & XRC has had it's great moments this one is mostly a miss.  The three tracks worth your while will be the bombastic and aggressive offerings from Shift, Phyx & Menog, and of course Twisted System.  Pure acid mayhem.  Things truly go off the rails by the time you get to Spectra and ends in a dumpster fire of a track by a project called Probe.  Same last name as Menog so I'm sensing some nepotism is afoot.  As I said mostly a miss aside from those three bangers.

Psyshop

Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Various

Title: Psionic Circus

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Digital Psionics (Australia)

Cat. #: DPSICD12

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 16 May 2005

Track listing:

01. 06’34” Safi Connection – Albert On Acid

02. 07’07” Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case

03. 07’07” Tube – Land Of Reason

04. 06’10” Skazi & CPU – Highest Party

05. 06’50” Damage – Unspeakable Evil

06. 07’28” Shift - Corrosion

07. 07’15” Bon – The Only Escape

08. 07’09” Xatrik – The Spice

09. 09’15” Kluster - Walker

10. 09’22” Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/9zek7 (all tracks)

Review:

Cirque du Psionics…

Australia’s leading export, Digital Psionics, is finally out with its much awaited and heavily delayed 12th release... A quick glance at the tracklist reveals a close resemblance with the tracklist on last year’s Psionic Storm compilation – and what looks like too many Skazi disciples… Oh well, Luke Psywalker and Luna Orbit compiled this baby – and they rarely let me down, so let’s dig a little deeper and smell the saw dust…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Safi Connection – Albert On Acid

“…His family was away at the time, so he had a lot of fear, that he had perhaps damaged his mind by doing this. He lay in bed, at one point his consciousness was up on the ceiling, looking down on what he took to be his dead body… ” Mishel Bitton from Israel is a very productive full-on producer with no less than 4 released albums and tons and tons of compilation tracks… None of the tracks I’ve heard from him have been outstanding though – but this takes the cake as the best one I’ve heard thus far… The intro is very experimental and the overall groove is smooth and bouncing… I like the little melody and the many crazy FX sprinkled throughout the track… The drug-samples are perhaps a bit over the top (and also used by Vibe Tribe!?), but they don’t annoy me at all… A nice little track for sure!

#02: Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case

“They play music and meditate. And wait patiently for UFOs to appear…” Here’s another collaboration between Ollie Wisdom and Luke Psywalker… I really liked the collaborations on Psionic Storm and on the Space Tribe Collaborations album… Again we get Olli’s light, fluffy, melodic full-on mated with the harder, wicked input from Psywalker – a well-tested formula that works! Twisted, futuristic full-on… And whenever Ollie is about to get too fluffy, Luke saves the day… Another nice track!

#03: Tube – Land Of Reason

Enter the first member of the Chemical Mafia: Pini Alon from Israel… It’s no secret that I’m not particularly impressed with the whole Skazi spin-off hell circus… And this track is a good reason why – already within the first minute the track is drenched in the same mind-numbing heavy metal guitars we’ve heard over and over again… And as others have pointed out – the obvious Infected Mushroom-inspired reversed piano-riffs… Move on already! Filler!

#04: Skazi & CPU – Highest Party

“Welcome to the highest party in the world!” And now for the most hated man in our scene… Skazi! Before Shaffel Records turned into Chemical Crew and before every single Prodigy, Metallica and Britney Spears was brutally butchered, I actually liked some of his stuff… The first album was pretty good, but ever since I’ve avoided everything labelled Skazi Inc… Oh well, it’s not Skazi on his own here – he’s collaborating with CPU (Samy Guediche) so I’m gonna give this track a fair chance before I bash it… Actually it’s not as bad as I had expected… There are indeed interesting moments here – especially the breaks and acid-bits are pretty well executed… And it seems as if CPU was in charge of the track construction, as there are only a few obvious signs of Skazi’s usual arsenal of sing-a-long samples and electric guitars… Unfortunately the track seems to lack an overall sense of direction and as such the flow is a little off… Decent track!

#05: Damage – Unspeakable Evil

Third member of the Chemical Mafia is Deon Baard from Japan… The recent Damage track on the Electric Embryo compilation was so-so, but on the other hand the track on the Psionic Earth compilation released last year was awesome… And actually, this is a pretty nice track too… I’ve always been a sucker for squeaking acid-lines and there’s an abundance of those here… Deon twists his knobs like a madman on this flaring hard, acid-ridden night-time tune… It reminds me of Rinkadink/Time Code stuff at times – and I really like that! Solid tune!

#06: Shift – Corrosion

Next up is good old Chris Hoy from South Africa – an extremely productive guy who’s also one half of Twisted System… I really liked his track on the Ketuh compilation ALittle Lunacy released earlier this year – and this follows the same formula… An extremely demented acid-line hurts your teeth in the intro – you will either love it or it will annoy the hell outta you… I think it’s pretty cool – same with the breaks here… This is fast-paced, acid-ridden night-trance with enough stamina and dance-potential to last well into the summer… Good stuff!

#07: Bon – The Only Escape

“God is not here today!” Bon is Fausto Emiliano Gianni from Italy – he’s been a Digital Psionics regular for years and so far I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from him… As with earlier Bon material this is darkish night-trance with epic, melodic qualities…. The long pads in the background are beautifully executed and they are quite trance-inducing… Quite refreshing after the extremely complex, diverse Damage and Shift tracks, but somehow also a little anonymous… But for sure a nice track…

#08: Xatrik – The Spice

“The spice must flow…” Greg Hamber from South Africa released his excellent and extremely psychedelic debut album Project A on Digital Psionics last summer… An album I still get much enjoyment from when I want to challenge my senses… This track is a little less complex than the album tracks - actually it’s pretty stripped down for the first three minutes until the break… Greg plays around with filters and layers and manages to create a paranoia-like atmosphere… I’m not sure whether I like this track or not… For sure it has its moments, but somehow I find it to be a little too introvert and not very living room friendly… A decent track!

#09: Kluster – Walker

“You do understand that our time is limited don’t you?” Michael Petterson from Sweden released his debut album Bug Fix on Digital Psionics in 2002 – and has had quite a few tracks on darkish compilations… And sure enough, this is a darkish track too… With the trademark synthetic Kluster melody… Reminds me of Derango, Procs or old Hux Flux at certain places - meaning this is very, very trippy Swedish forest trance – shroomy and psychedelic! … Just the way I like it… Very nice track!

#10: Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn

“That’s weird… I’m loosing my mind. I must be imagining things… Hey don’t forget! This weekend – all weekend long, it’s a crash and burn weekend!” Just like on the last two DP compilations, here’s a collaboration track between two of Australia’s finest producers (Luna Orbit & Adam Walters)… Just like the last collaborations, this is a very, very sweet track… It’s just like you’d expect from these guys – weird! The intro is super-trippy and kinda old-school … The melodic lead is very Scatterbrain’ish – twisted and psychedelic… A dark, yet uplifting track – with a distinct drive and tons and tons of funny bits and pieces… I mean – check out the break – and the Gregorian chanting monks… It works! One of the best tracks here!

Digital Psionics is indeed one of my favourite labels and they have yet to put out a disappointing release. This is a very tasty compilation – well, I don’t like the lousy Tube track and there are a couple of not so good tracks here… But the rest is very nice, and the good/bad ratio is high enough to validate a purchase… Digital Psionics fans will not be disappointed, and I’m sure people who liked the last Ketuh compilation In Crypto will also find something of interest here… High quality, in-your-face modern hyper-trance… Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 2, 5(!), 6, 9, 10(!!)

DeathPosture

External links:

Digital Psionics: http://www.digitalpsionics.com

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/a74c3

Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9mqlm

Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/a4d36

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/clc9e

Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/8qkpl

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/e3nyr

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/bhtml

Artist: Various

Title: Psionic Tales

Label: Digital Psionics

Date: October, 2005

1. Kluster - No Doubt (Rmx)

2. Fripic Bounce - Inflated Troll

3. Frequency Deluxe - Our DNA

4. Rastaliens - System Shock Rmx

5. Bon - Problem Child Rmx

6. Xatrik - Specific Procedure

7. Damage - Wicked

8. CPU & Skazi - Highest Party

9. Space Tribe Vs. Psywalker - Twitch

10. Scatterbrain - Hex

11. Dark Nebula - Firefighter

"Welcome to the highest party in the world!"

The label identified by the kissing door knocker was already 6 albums deep into their Psionic series by the time this came out in 2005.  This compilation tries to have it all by combining lighter and darker tracks, some with identifiable melodies and some just good old fashioned pounding psychedelia.   Inflated Troll by Fripic Bounce destroys while hanging onto its goa roots while Our DNA and System Shock Rmx blend together for some sick psychedelic madness.  Specific Procedure is futuristic mayhem as is Damage's Wicked, but the bass is pitched too high for me and the lead is too screechy.

Side note, I never realized Skazi was an actual person.  Thought is was just a ghost story used to frighten children.  His thumping and acid laden team-up with CPU wasn't half bad and then Twitch had its moments.  The final two were just noisy nonsense and not very interesting.

I was listening to this during my workout and it's partially mixed so oftentimes I didn't even notice when the track changed.  But sometimes the mixing wasn't done that well and it was impossible to not notice.  Minor quibble.  Not a bad compilation considering when it was released. 

Psyshop

Tripswitch

Circuit Breaker

Released on Liquid Sound Design

Released April 2005

1 Exiled (Manta Mix) (9:10)

2 Shamanic Tea (7:06)

3 Indigo (8:39)

4 Roll Your Own (6:39)

5 Tachyon (2:37)

6 Cartwheel (6:04)

7 Silver (Robot Baby Mix) (8:06)

8 Tomahna (5:33)

9 Viscous (7:14)

10 Deer Park (10:21)

This is a Fantastic album. The production for me is sublime and a lot of the ideas are out of this world. It kicks off with Exiled (Mantra Mix), The original is on Butterfy Dawn but this is better. It is a nice spacey dubby track. Some really nice percussion work (by gaudi) and ethnic vocals although I'm not sure where they're from. The track stops and starts creating a slightly disjointed but still floaty (on water, not air) feel.

Next up is Shamanic Tea which for me is one of the best on this album and one of the best chilled tracks made recently. The beat is slow a precise and the background synth work is so ethereally beautiful and there is a nice soft baseline under it. A tech-y melody leads into some of the nicest vocals I've heard ever. The timing of this track is superb, all the elements work well together and are brought in and dropped just when you think they should be.

Indigo follows bringing us a more spacey feel. A sample starts off talking about the stars and what not and it sounds like it's taken from an early 80's TV documentary. Soft distorted vocals float around and then a really nice soft break beat comes in. Faster but still chilled synths drive the track and give a more sci-fi feel than the 1st two tracks. More vocals briefly at around 6 minutes push this forwards again. Great progression in this track. A nice Journey that comes full circle with the opening sample closing too.

The fourth track is Roll Your Own and it starts with accoustic guitar in a very redneck hillbilly style. Behind it though are some ethereal sounds and the contrast sounds really trippy and spacey. A nice baseline comes in with some long drawn out beautiful vocals floating around a nice chimey melody and all the while the guitar sounds prevail in perfect harmony.

Next up is a short track called Tachyon and it is basically just a sample from the movie K-Pax when the doctor is talking to the alien (guy who thinks he's an alien) about space travel at light speed on tachyons. The sample is echoed and there are spacey sounds surroundind it all.

It's nice and it's a good transition into Cartwheel which builds up slow in the first minute or so with slow sounds and just a half quick but very soft high hat then introducing a very electronic sounding baseline and a (harmonica?) sound. Then an absolutely amazing beat comes in and takes the track and the album to a whole new level. It feels so involved and it's hard to concentrate on anything else while you're listening to it. The beats drops away and it leaves you with an empty space filled by the lovely sounds at the beginning. Good Stuff!

Track 7 is Silver (Robot Baby Mix) and it sounds like a baby's voice at the start, but not the annoying scream of a little brat, it's quite a nice laughing sound used well. This is slow with a heavy beat. It all sounds nice with a cool atmosphere but it's slightly out of joint with itself and although it ambles along pleasantly it doesn't really go anywhere.

The next track Tomahna is better, the progression of the track is clearer there are softer beats which sound a lot more involved in the track and fit better. Not particularly a stand out but it's pleasant in a very summery way even sounds like I can hear a seagull in there somewhere but you hear it then it's gone

The penultimate composition here is Viscous. It's a very deep track and has the feeling of falling. It's slow and chilled to start but also feels like you are rushing. The soundscape is very dark too, the beat kicks in and it's really driving this one fast, it's the fastest on the album and would fit quite well into a progressive set. Great atmosphere, dark but melodic and although it's faster it fits in very well with the rest of the album.

Ultimately (and this is ULTIMATE) is Deer Park. This, is one of the best chilled tracks made in my humble opinion. It's starts of with some wierd fantastical conversation then drifts into slow beautiful vocals and slow accoustic sounds which create a warm atmosphere and you can tell it's building to something. Around 5 and a half minutes a slow soft beat comes in and it just sounds so beautiful and well timed, this leads into a more involved beat and more tech-y sounds buzz about along with slow dropping synths. The beat drops away then builds up again until it just drops in around 8 and a half minutes with a heavier beat and a really complex technical melody. This track for me is one of the most brilliantly produced tracks I've ever heard. The progression is sublime, the timing is great, the sounds are crisp and the ideas make you want to listen to it again and again.

So to sum up. Buy this album, it's absolutely brilliant. There are some less inspired moments but the inspired moments are absolutely spectacular. The atmospheres created work well almost anytime. Pre party, post party on a hot summer's day or while chilling out at night. If you are a fan of Liquid Sound Design then I'm sure you'll like this. It's even better than the Abakus album.

Favourites: 1, 2, 4, 6 & 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Artist: Trinitix

Title: Aspeclaria

Label: Sigma Records

Date: April, 2005

1. Moira (Rmx)

2. Aspeclaria

3. Eskimo - Popcorn (Trinitix Rmx)

4. Trinitix Vs. Electro Nation - Black Hole

5. Trinitix Vs. Hypersonic - Psychedelic Samurai

6. Trinitix Vs. Star-X - Wakannai

7. La Musica

8. I'm U R DJ (Live Mix)

9. Let's DUI (Live Mix)

There are certain projects and albums that will be better remembered for their album art than for whatever is located inside.  May I introduce to you one such creature.  What do you get when you cross two titans of the full-on genre Holymen and Dynamic?  Full-on sandwich with a side of full-on.  Triplet bass lines, melodies of the cheesy variety, multiple drug samples, and an echo on the kick drum to begin the track.  Basically your full-on starter pack.  The music is no worse than your regular generic full-on, but also no better.   By the way if you're wondering how many times full-on was written the answer is 7.

But that cover tho!

Psyshop

Artist: Various

Title: Network

Label: Nano Records

Date: June, 2005

1. Uberstar / Allaby

2. Dr. Freakenstein / The Commercial Hippies

3. Big Dipper / AMD

4. Real Stuff / Aphid Moon vs. Laughing Buddha

5. Welcome To The Future / Headroom

6. Hoax Trigger / Manmademan

7. Unbelievable / Hydrophonic

8. Coral / Scoofy

9. Mental Master / Polaris

I just sat through a Jennifer Lopez movie about having a baby. Voluntarily. Solely to remove it from my DVR which means that I actually chose to record it in the first place. Nobody to blame but myself. Sure it had a couple of laughs that I could appreciate now that I am a parent, but it could've been written by a fourth grader. Every cliche you can name was in this. Single successful woman meets mysterious stranger and falls in love only to have to overcome her own hangups. Seen it a million times. And yes, when she was brand new I was all over the J-Lo kool aid. Now that she is on American Idol (a show I have a healthy hate for) her bitchiness makes me want to put my foot in her over sized rear. So as you can imagine I am not proud right now. I feel dirty. But not the good kind of porn dirty...no, it's more like the caught by mom in the bathroom not combing your hair dirty.

Nano records has a lot to be proud of. They have released some of the best full-on out there. Protoculture, The Commercial Hippies, Aphid Moon to name a few. It's groovy and intelligent and proves that it can be done. And at a time when generic full-on was at its height don't think that was an easy thing to accomplish. Sure they released the boring Fearsome Engine nonsense, but hell, I still put my son's shoes on the wrong feet sometimes.

Uberstar-

Not that one?

Matthew Allaby hasn't released an album to my knowledge, perfectly content to skate along the periphery with compilation work. This is a good track to start things off. It's driving without being overly complex. You know the type, no real melody to key on, but you can feel what the artist is trying to say? It's a drifting track that has oodles of atmosphere. Not light, but not intensely dark either. Liked it.

Dr. Freakenstein- "Let us understand one thing doctor. These are not theories. I have successfully proved every point over and over again in my laboratory. You want me to believe that you've produced these...things?!?"

Love me some Commercial Hippies! These guys have the Midas touch as their two albums were superb. With a dirty bass lead and effects the menagerie begins. It rumbles just beneath the surface creating a dark feel, like something is behind you. Can't see it, can't outrun it, but you know it's there. Synths percolate like coffee brewing and with no real melody line they manage to blow you away with a dark stormer. Bravo gentlemen!

Big Dipper- "He was trying to spread a little love and joy together..."

All men want to do that. It's called hooking up. Big Fish was a great piece of work, but that was still 2 years away when this was released. It gallops along in full on fashion with sounds echoing on all sides. The sample is extensive but not intrusive as the track rolls on. Not super powerful, but still a good effort.

Real Stuff- "I don't wanna bring you down, but like, let's try to sort the real from the trip."

Jules is the man with several strong albums and this was before Jeremy released the impotent Sacred Technology. This is a dream team that brings forth a churning track with a nimble lead that soars. The break is an exercise in ominous and uncertainty as a new lead shimmers with loads of delicious reverb. The end is a little anticlimactic but still one of my favorites here.

Welcome To The Future- "The future begins today ladies and gentlemen. More sophisticated, more intelligent..."

This is Adam Metcalfe and he released a great album called Artelligent a few years back that I urge everyone to pick up if you can. Plenty of effects over a rolling bass line as he places sounds in all the right spots. It has a techno vibe to it with samples and changes in tempo. With numerous twists and turns it turned out to be a very interesting track that begs more listens.

Hoax Trigger- Never been a fan of this project. Well, I liked their goa period, but after that it was one thick slice of boredom after the next. Between the robotic "you don't stop" and the guitar riffs it takes all I've got not to just skip this sh*tshow. I'll give them this, it is groovy, but I need more than that please. Meh, it's not terrible...maybe I'm just being a grump.

Unbelievable- "Are these real."

Umm...no. No they're not. What the f*ck is wrong with you? Stripper with Daddy issues or niche porn star? You make the call.

Only a matter of time before the Tacon brothers and co-owners of the label had their say and they do a pretty good job. This compilation would be a year after their Aquabatics album. It's a lead that sizzles right into the break which has a sci-fi theme. Very appealing and descriptive as they set you up for the finale. Great track.

Coral- This is what I think of when I hear the word Coral.

She was on the tenth season of Real World back in 2001 but that's how old I am. I remember the first couple of Real Worlds MTV forced upon us. Sure she was a bitch and her forehead was actually a five head, but those boobies...it's like crack to a young guy.

Scoofy's undulating synths grab my attention right away, and you could be scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef. The break is a treat that is very vivid as another lead dances out to finish it up. Pretty good stuff.

Mental Master- "Elevate you to a spiritual plane."

See I always wanted to like this artist, but his boring repetitive music got in the way. However, here his track starts with a very drifting electric guitar. Just wavering in midair. Sure it's over the same bass line you've heard a million times, but the sum of the sounds is greater than the individual parts. Dreamy and mellow full-on which works well for the last track.

Solid compilation with good tracks surrounding some really good ones. The vibe is futuristic with a dark feel that all the tracks have in common. This was done over 6 years ago and still holds up. Recommended.

Psyshop

Beatspace

SaikoSounds

GoaStore

Mdk

Artist: Various

Title: Alien Paradise

Label: Fungi Records

Date: 2005

1. Boogieman - Haunted

2. Natinel - Irritaded

3. Concept - Sequence Activate

4. Suria - Super Dooper (Menog Rmx)

5. Ananda Shake - Purple Heaven

6. Killer Buds Vs. Cosmonet - Consequence

7. Ananda Shake - First Rain Rmx

8. Cosmonet - Dreamland

9. Odyssey - Madrugada

"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?"

The final release of this label and I feel like I hardly knew ye. That's cause I didn't. Not really, but there are some pretty good tracks to be found here. The first two tracks tend towards the darker side of things and are pretty good rumblers. Sequence Activate is the true stormer here with power and liquid synths oozing all over the place. Menog's Remix of Super Dooper isn't bad and Consequence by Killer Buds is good for some acidic madness.

All in all not bad for something that is over a decade old.

Hi-res cover: front + back

Artist: Killer Buds (Brazil)

Title: Interfiber Skunk

Format: CD (jewel case)

Label: Ketuh (Portugal/Austria)

Cat. #: KTHCD009

Distribution: Arabesque

Date: 2 May 2005

Track listing:

01. 07’15” First Step

02. 06’22” Optical Activity

03. 07’05” I Got The Virus

04. 07’22” Interfiber Skunk

05. 07’33” Spells And Temptations

06. 06’56” Anti-Gravity

07. 07’37” Orbital Interference

08.07’17” Goa Bombay Cartoon

.m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/c5wp6 (all tracks)

Review:

Brazilian acid-samba-freaks on the loose!

9th release by the Portuguese-born, now Austrian-based label Ketuh Records… We’ve seen an increase in quality as the label grows stronger and despite the high release frequency, it’s always a pleasure popping a Ketuh release in your sound system… This time it’s the debut album by the Brazilian trio Killer Buds… Enzio, Tarcisio & Marcelo are Ketuh regulars and their tracks have stood out on all the compilations I have reviewed so far… So I’m really looking forward to this full album… Let’s light up and see if The Buds can pass the acid test…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: First Step

“Drugs – always kills you in the end!” The first step is… First Step! The theme of the track is a very characteristic snarling tweaked acid-line – hurtling relentless through the cosmos… It twists and turns alongside a fast-paced bassline somewhere in between full-on and darker night trance… After the climax the track is in full effect – sweet! A nice track, but somehow I feel the Buds haven’t fully opened their goodie-bag yet…

#02: Optical Activity

Really trippy intro here… What the fuck just happened? The twisted lead from the first track also sticks its ugly head out here - ahh, consistency… Nice! The Buds uses stereo FX to the fullest, and it’s a pleasure to enjoy the twisted music jump from one speaker channel to the other… And back again! This is a very visual track – with rapid changes in pace and direction… Hectic maybe, but trippy as hell… The build-up and take-off here is impressive, but towards the end of the track it gets a little too hectic even for my fucked-up taste… But a nice track nonetheless…

#03: I Got The Virus

Another brilliant intro… When was the last time you heard scratching in a psytrance track? Cool! The lead melody is frenzied and again the acid is running thick here… Sprinkled around are loads and loads of little twisted voice samples and psychedelic FX… I like the acid-stabs and the brilliant breaks here… Oh, and the scratching is pretty refreshing too… Tasty track!

#04: Interfiber Skunk

Time for the title track… Again there is consistency from the earlier tracks – certain riffs and themes that correlates… Nice! Another crazy, in-yer-face raging acid-track here… With a ton of psychedelia to mess with your head… The rapid changes in pace and direction ensures that you don’t get bored…Check out the very cool build-up/extended climax part - guaranteed to tear any dancefloor apart… Pas the bud this way dammit – this is excellent Brazilian skunk!

#05: Spells And Temptations

“Ahh, my dear listener. Have you ever been hypnotized or put under a spell? Have you heard of mysterious disappearances?” Do not give in to temptation! After a lengthy voice sample I cannot identify we launch into yet another full-blown psychedelic acid-stomper… Acid being the keyword here – the track is soaked in acid-lines, naïve melodies and one break/climax part after the other… And a pounding bassline to even things out… Massive track!

#06: Anti-Gravity

We stay in acid-country here… Hints from the previous tracks are still present, and yes you’ve guessed it – this is pretty much the same well-tested formula… Hectic, multilayered, fast-paced full-on with enough acid-leads to satisfy a grumpy old trancer like myself… One could argue, that the Buds are repeating themselves now… Squeaking to the max, formulated full-on - throw in a handful of fast take-offs and add a head bob-friendly melody – and we’ve got a winner! Good, but the novelty is starting to wear off now…

#07: Orbital Interference

And it looks like they got the message… this is different… If only a little, but still different… The intro is very atmospheric – and once the track is in full session, the kicks are harder… We still get the Killer Buds madness that I really like, but with a harder edge now… The break that begins after the 4th minute is long enough to for everyone on the dancefloor to start screaming, whistling, jumping for joy… And the Buds really know how to tease this listener... Well done! Nice track!

#08: Goa Bombay Cartoon

This track was produced by the Buds in corporation with some dude who calls himself Cosmonet…. As with the previous track the style here is a little darker than the first tracks on the album… But rest assured, this track has the Killer Buds trademark stamped all over it… Twirling acid-lines, melodic leads and funny twists and turns all over the place… The cartoon link is evident with all kinds of funny FX and samples… Very funny and trippy! Stand-out track!

Right – this is a good album in the familiar Ketuh style… Killer Buds have found their style, and if you’re familiar with that, you will not be disappointed… This is acid-galore to the max! Full-power relentless psytrance in a multilayered, complex frenzy with crazy samples, rapid changes in pace and oddball turns and twists… And for a debut album, they’ve done damn good! There is consistency between the tracks which generally is a good thing – but it also has the negative effect that too many of the tracks sound alike… The novelty starts to wear off after 5-6 similar tracks in a row which can be a problem when it comes to home listening. But it’s a positive drawback really… On a smaller scale it’s kinda like they’ve drowned in their own success… But if you know what you’re getting into, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the album… I do! It will also come in very handy as a DJ tool – there are enough bombs here to tear any trance floor apart …

To contradict myself even further and add to the confusing, I’m also slightly disappointed that this album only runs for about 58 minutes… Another couple of tracks could’ve been fitted in easily – perhaps even a chilled track to finish things off!? It’s not the best album I’ve heard this year – but it’s still a good, fresh psytrance album drenched in acid… Acid fans unite! I would pick this album over a formulated neo full-on album any day… No doubt about that! It’s Ketuh quality after all! Enjoy!

Favourites: 3, 4(!), 5(!), 7, 8(!!)

DeathPosture

External links:

Ketuh Records: http://www.ketuhrecords.com

Killer Buds: http://www.killerbudsmusic.com

Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/bkovq

Trance Shop: http://tinyurl.com/a9wl8

Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/a2mug

Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cgurr

Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/8hkt6

Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/7lfx5

Juno: http://tinyurl.com/76szl

Play: http://tinyurl.com/96hyf

Artist: Lamat

Title: Master Control

Label: AP Records

Date: 2005

1. Aerobic

2. Neovibration

3. Hi Thinking

4. Master Control

5. Reborn

6. Chemical Disorder

7. Loudness

8. Teletranceporter

"Maybe you're being paranoid."

Who's ready for some full-on?

Sigh.

Dunno what happened, but when I bought this over a decade ago I was in love with it. The aluminum siding on the 'ol doublewide was shaking back then I can tell you. This is the debut album from Marcos Sanchez from Mexico and I think it was his best. But it's lost something. Or perhaps as the years have gone by I've gained something like a healthy distaste for full-on. It's very melodic and high tempo with euphoric synth sounds, but that bass line tho...Tough to get past that and it's in every track. Nah scratch that...it's an outright chore to choke this one down. Lasers are fired at a hectic pace and the shiny quality to it just seems a little too much in your face. There is no easing into any track it's just thrust upon you. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

Either it hasn't aged well or I've aged myself out of this music. I feel like that old guy yelling at kids to stay the hell of my lawn.

Marcos...get the f*ck off my lawn.

AP Records Bandcamp

And what an amazing track, it has a little something that don't many full-on releases have, emotional melodies

lsample!

This sounds like Vibe tribe/Lani, very melodic, tight production..

Post later when I've listened to all of the tracks..

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4616

it comes across as a funkier Logic Bomb type of sound.

favourite track already is track 3 Deep Reef...just awesome.

Artist: Technodrome

Title: Earthquake

Label: Metatron Production

Date: December, 2005

1. Kawabanga

2. April The Slut

3. Technologic

4. Earthquake

5. Bob the Demon

6. What's The Rush?

7. Turtle Power

8. Reset Dimension

9. Dickhead

"The hope and survival of mankind rests on us!"

Excuse me have you met us? We humans are woefully unqualified for this responsibility. Perhaps you have something in the social media field. We love to put our business out there.

I have to believe this is the jewel in their crown. Everything I've heard from these guys since just hasn't measured up to their first album. Didn't one of them get arrested in India a while back? Tough to come back from that. Ask Michael Vick. Sigh...google him. Technodrome is the project of two Shays from Israel and their debut was a ground rumbler. Lasers, acid, and the unforgettable cover. I mean who doesn't love ninja turtles? It's full-on the whole way that realizes that it's still dance music and as such is supposed to elevate the heart rate. Most of it is four on the floor power trance without any cheese so if that's your thing this will appeal to you.

Beatspace Digital Download

Artist: Bliss

Title: The Rhythmus Gene

Label: Phantasm Records

Date: December, 2005

1. The Love Hack

2. No Gravity

3. Upside Down

4. The Rhythmus Gene

5. Dirty Boy

6. Pause

7. Tidal Waves

8. Monitor Access

9. Miracle Whip

10. Spaceless

"Things don't always go the way we expect."

Yonatan Marcow. Yonatan? Sounds like a Indian with a lisp. But yes Yonatan Marcow is the mind behind one of the fluffiiest, dare I say cavity causing, cotton candy, multicolored unicorn rainbow sh*tting albums ever made. He seems Israeli, but I suspect that this was made in Cloud Cuckoo Land under the watchful eye of Unikitty.

"More melodies f*cker! Stay positive, more f*cking positivity!!"

So...how to tackle this. Here's what you do. Find the largest black man you can find and just call him the n word. Right to his face. If you somehow survived this encounter what will undoubtedly have happened is multiple blows from his fists will have connected with your face and promptly removed a vast majority of your teeth. This is of course a more extreme method of reaching the same conclusion, but on the positive side I have saved you almost 80 minutes of your time.

Time is money and you will now need said saved money for the extensive dental reconstruction. You're welcome. But seriously...

Nope, nothing serious about this. This is eating a whole bakers dozen of Krispy Kremes by yourself. It felt good going down, but now you feel sick and have explosive diarrhea. It's full-on to it's very, very, sweet core right from the first B-52's sample and after finishing it there will be shame. Perhaps you'll go for a long walk in the rain because you think that that is what you deserve. Alone, to gather your thoughts and breakaway from this destructive shame spiral. But the shame is thick, make no mistake you will wallow in it.

And there will be self loathing. And then shame again. Sure you'll throw on some intelligent music. Maybe some Hallucinogen in an attempt to wash off the stink. But you know what?

I'll do it all over again.

This is my secret, guilty pleasure. When I'm with my friends (please, I don't have any friends) I'll chuckle along with them and make fun of this. Then when I get home I'll lock my door, turn it up and let it howl. The sound is excellent with lasers, acid, and pounding bass lines on full display. The melodies are highly euphoric with multiple layers. Halfway through, I shame regurgitate in my mouth, but I will see this through. I will not let that shame define me. I shall wallow in it and make it my own.

Delicious, delicious shame and self-loathing.

Artist: Various

Title: Global Alliance

Label: Fragile Planet Records

Date: June, 2005

1. Neural Rectifier Syndrome - Byson

2. Scorb - Tundra

3. Winter Demon - Time Attack

4. Principles of Flight - Lava Frog

5. Psychoactive - Stick Ya Disco

6. Killer Buds - Behind U

7. Shift - Cipher Jabbawokkee

8. Phatmatix - Pyroman

9. Mr. Peculiar - Funny Mushrooms

Hmmmm...I seem to be mired in mid 2000's full on when it comes to reviewing. Well can you blame me? There is a lot of it. This particular subset of psytrance exploded with so many cut and paste releases, each one being a carbon copy of the next. Fragile Planet Records was gone almost as soon as it appeared which is a shame because they seemed to be on the right track. This compilation is an example of night time psy music that pulsates. It's dark, melodic and powerful with a great atmospheric feeling. I know cause I was rocking this at 4 this morning. Wasn't at a party or anything like that.

Just woke up and needed some music.

As with all compilations there are some weaker moments, but the majority is solid. Unlike Ketuh Records who went out like a wet noodle, this label's final output made some big boy noise. Shift and Killer Buds in particular really own on this album with Mr. Peculiar also putting in a strong showing. If you're a night time full-on lover this one should already be in your kit. Recommended.

Psyshop

Artist: Various

Title: Trancelvania

Label: Pukka Music

Date: 2005

1. No Complication
Z MACHINE

2. Out of the Chaos
BLISS

3. Harlequin's Guard
PARRKET

4. New Mecca
UNNATURAL

5. The other Side of the Scale
ALTERNATIVE CONTROL feat. DJ AQUAPIPE

6. Alcohol
220V VS INTERACTIVE

7. Restricted Files
INNER ACTION

8. Ambush
ELEC3

9. After Hours
ESKIMO

First off I love the artwork. Very beautiful that has me finding new stuff in it the longer I stare at it. Second I know what you're gonna say. So much music and you choose to review something right smack dab in the middle of the full on tsunami? Yes, because I'm trying to clean out the hard drive. But news flash this ain't going.

After you get through the disappointing Z-machine and Eskimo effort, this compilation takes a ride on an all black bullet train. Eerie atmosphere and twilight textures rule as movie samples tumble down causing me to smile in recognition. There is good layering here with punchy bass lines and rhythmic leads. A few buildups but nothing like the crap that comes out today. Very enjoyable and holds up well some 8 years later.

I have it in sh*tty quality and a part of me wants to buy it again. But another part of me says if I do, it should come with a punch in the face.

GoaStore

Mdk

Album: Sonic Addiction

Label: Manic Dragon Records

Web: www.sonic-dragon.com

Year: 2005

Format: CD

Songs:

01. Sweet Thing [140 BPMs on G m]

02. X-Ray Vision [145 on G m]

03. Behind the Mask [145 on A m]

04. To the Body [142 on G m]

05. Jimi The Page [145 on D#m]

06. The Knife [146 on G m]

07. Suckubus [143 on F m]

08. Master Plan [146 on E m]

09. Play Ball (With Duckeraf) [145 on G#m]

What's this about

At some point is always nice to find someone that forces you to redefine the concept of sub-genre's, to blur the idea even more. What is full on? What is progressive? What is in between? The drums, congas and other tribal recurrences define carnivalesque rhythms and splashes of melodies a-la house, with a modern day touch of treated filters, mixing surprising well in the pot. For what is worth, it is a fitting connector to bring your musical directions smoothly into different vibes, remaining ‘psy-gressive' with a melodic intent. Musical coherence comes in between highly distorted arpeggios and melodic artifacts tuned to high heavens, inviting a very complex interaction of grooves that seem familiar and strangely fresh at the same time. It is a resource you will not be ashamed to plaster in the midst of a progressive set.

Per-song break-down

01. Sweet Thing

A deep kick opens the track with the shakers punching the rhythm in strange accompaniment. The Sweet thing here is definitely the stuttering-flute, reminding somewhat of Saint Germaine in the first minutes. The bit that sets Jocid apart from other hybrids is the effects, dripping and squeaking in a structured interaction maintaining a balanced whole. It's a rhythm you could swear you have heard before, but not in this context, it might sound a little bland at times, but those lower ranges are still very much alive.

02. X-Ray Vision *

The voice conversation makes it unclear if someone is taking of in a spaceship or is setting up the sound. But, is damn cool! To bad the mid-breaker sample “I got super powers, I can see through wooden doors, I got x-ray vision.” In my view crumbles as a total waste of great sampling work. It is a personal favorite though. The synth work is minimal compared to the majority of the tracks, merely complementing the groove. What remains though, is a lead washed away in squelching and distorted synthetic notes. Very uplifting in a Zillion Mental Anarchy style that's tough to corner and even tougher not to dance.

03. Behind the Mask *

What is behind the mask? A back-to-roots effort with the congas included and a minute cow bell in between. The mid ranges arrive with an orchestra of jarring synthesizers turning wobbly, metalized with a melody that's tastier than grandma's cookies. It is satisfying to hear harmonies develop with a strong sense the song is moving somewhere.

04. To the Body *

To the body soothes and energizes in one tasty package. It is soaked in flaring modulation goodness and screetches atop palpable techno rhythms, which admittedly work best dancing.

05. Jimi The Page *

Jimi comes fueled with a few riffs in tasty distortion and one hell tune. The sub-melody is so spacey I would love to hear this as I'm taking off in the challenger. The cheeky bass line is deceptively simple and bad-ass for lack of better vocabulary. There is one sample bit that gets recycled from the previous song, adapting quite well to both stories, which mind you, have nothing to do with each other. Again there is organic drumming keeping things progressive as the mid ranges go Israeli in a squeaky kind of way.

06. The Knife

The knife cuts right through the speakers reminding a lot of "Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix)" by New Order, showcased in the Blade Movie. Different octaves sure, but the sultry synth knobbing is questionably similar. That is until the song takes off and we start talking about different subjects altogether. It is still very 303-ish and happy as it could be expected from twisting those melodies in the heavenly distortion.

07. Suckubus *

According the South Park Dictionary of modern English: A Suckubus is a lady friend that enchants you in her female qualities, until you loose yourself in the charms of the opposite sex. The female achieves this act of dumbfounded ness on the male counterpart by playing a melody. What does have to with the song? Not a whole lot to be honest, except the magically dispersed tunage here and there squeaking in full glory. The track is more structured in the break, returning with what seems to be an inverted version of the original synth by the end, which strangely enough sounds really Asian. After all that is how you're supposed to kill a Suckubus... gentlemen, mental note.

08. Master Plan *

The song opens with a peaking selection of heavenly pads, quickly clearing the road for what is undoubtedly the strongest, deepest rhythm in the album. The kicks are cyclic, redoubling on top of effects and a few filter sweeps. Another slightly dumb sample unconvincingly explains why it is called the ‘Master Plan' ruining the flow a bit personally, while it opens the doors to mellodica land. The first round of synth's this time around sounds a little flat. There after the song presents a truly awe inspiring melody, as if someone had thrown a life saver on a sinking castaway… and the rescue mission is a total success.

09. Play Ball (With Duckeraf)

Play ball fittingly begins with the samples of a couple playing squash… the sneakers sliding, the balls bouncing on the walls; it shouldn't be hard to figure out names in this album, judging by the samples alone. On this match Duckeraf lends a hand on the production. Throughout the first part you can feel those squeaks in the upper ranges ducking like a slightly annoying trumpet. Thankfully an unannounced break comes in with the adapted melody at much lower octaves, working well to improve the cool factor of the song. We slowly return to hight pitch chaos and a whole lot bang for your buck. On the whole a few too many screeches for my virgin ears, but i have heard lots worse.

* Favourites

All and all

A very convincing album full of groove and strong beats to back up the madness. A crossover exploration that remains on the whole fresh, with very a snappy melodic intend that is never jaded. Strongly recommended if the description seems to fit your taste. I would have removed 90% of the voice samples but it's judging it in my opinion. The digi-pack is colorful and you can see the strong resemblance in the visual touches with V/A – Multiple Personalities, that if you happened to pick up, it will look great next to each other.

Where to get

PsyShop > http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/mdr/mdr1cd002.html

Saiko Samples > http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4932

Samples, artwork, more reviews > http://sonic-energy.net

Artist: Cell

Title: Phonic Peace

Label: Indica Music

Date: May, 2005

1. Sensitive garden
2. Mister Ayatih
3. Zaz
4. Magic karma
5. Soon
6. Lord of silk
7. White call
8. Phonic peace for Tibet
9. Orange

I'm absolutely stunned that this has never received a proper review on this forum. After all this was our introduction to Alex Sheffer and his mixture of downtempo and old world goa spirituality. Well, he made some great compilation tracks, but this was his long awaited debut. Long pads and foreign language chants that scream blazing sunshine and mystery. Ethnic instruments like tablas and the hammered dulcimer transport you to dangerous lands and ancient cultures and trying foods you have never heard of.

Like Walter Mitty said, it's why the airfare to Kabul is only 64 bucks.

The Indian vibe is ever present as the trail leads across the mammoth mountains of Nepal and Kashmir. If you enjoy that type of downtempo sound then this is for you. This is one of those albums that is very relaxing and left me with an inner peace. Unfortunately it's no longer in print. You could always go the Discogs route, but voluntarily submitting to a endoscopy with a rusty knife probably wouldn't leave you with a good feeling.

Mdk

Thanks

btw - it rocks