Artist: G-light

Title: The Final Element

Label: Deja Vu Records

Date: November, 2003

1. Deja Vu

2. Skyline

3. Dance of The Morning Sun

4. Pitch Black

5. Positive Motion

6. Final Element (Rmx)

7. Circles

8. Planet 604

9. Storm

This was one of the first psytrance CD's I purchased way back when so the nostalgia value was fairly high for me. Until I listened to it again. I don't recall it being this...mediocre. Context is important and when this came out in 2003 full-on was a new genre, an explosion of power from the subdued tones and atmospheres of minimal. 13 years on however that power is like dial up compared with broadband. Smartphones vs. my old candy bar Nokia. His breaks are still nice, but the compositions feel like they are lacking. The album no longer holds up (no matter how many lasers he puts in there). Even the photoshopped cover is dated. As much as it pains me to say it (it really doesn't pain me) this album shall merely be a footnote in psytrance history.

Track 1 is a mix of hard rock and trance ,heavy guitars and synth bass together,not bad at all ,good for mid night.Track is the best because I am a taurus...no just jocking the track is very nice but not the best of the album,I have to accept it Tracks 1 to 12 are a kind of a new style adopted by Talamasca more melodramatic than previous albums BUT with the real Talamasca's juice,People who loved previous albums will adore this new one,it's a kind of evolution.Talamasca made a great third album without falling in the trap of making similar songs as before like Astral Projection and nor making a too much new original style as Infected Mushrooms's converting vegetarians(very disapointed).God exists because Talamasca's Zodiac is here to satisfy our apetit.Overall grade : 9/10 ,grades varies between 8/10 and 10/10 ,Compared to 2003 albums overall grade is 10/10

Artist: Various

Title: Radical Simplicity

Label: Ketuh

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Silicon Sound : The Jaguar

02. Dark Nebula : Down Undertaker

03. Polaris : Clone

04. Membrana : 2f Sugarcubes

05. Penta : Xml

06. Kluster : Bom Shiva

07. Lukkas : Mind Kontrol

08. Penta : 1001 Hangover

09. Fractal Glider : Cicada

Review:

My first thought was: What the hell is Silicon Sound doing here? He shouldn't

be here. The other tracks are way to hard and rough. But maybe it's a nice

thing to start the CD a lil' softer. Dark Nebula have some good shit going on,

album soon plz Dark and a exact melodies and noises. Very balanced. That

goes for Polaris also. They uses many percussion sounds. Like one bam there

and another bam there and some wongs and flongs there. You get the idea. I

like that stuff.

Membrana delivers a very cool track. So dark and with a great melodies

consisting of a clocklike sound. It's sounds somewhat scare. The Penta track

Xml just annoys me. With a damn snare that they should remove. Kluster is very

freaked out as always. Lots of things going on. Sometimes there are just too

much. But this track, as the others got a scary feeling. And the nintendolike

melodie near the end is cool. Lukkas has a more soft feelong. Smooth bassline

and so. But the melodie is wrecking. The dolphin sound is cool

Next is Penta and i gotta be honest; I don't like em. But they fit in here on

this CD with their strange sound.

At last but not least, Fractal Glider. He does cool things in this very weird

track. And anyone who like Fractal will love this track.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10

Scorb

Scorb

Ambivalent Records

Jul 2003

Tracklist

1 Special Liquid (7:40)

2 13.5 Hours (7:40)

3 The Aquarium (2:56)

4 Oracle (6:29)

5 Mutoid (Extended Version) (8:30)

6 Drum War (6:51)

7 Klangman (9:05)

8 Metabolic Activity (7:52)

9 Psycore (9:28)

10 Stupid Science (9:19)

This albums holds a special place in my heart. I have many great memories attached to this album. It was released in the month that I moved to Japan & was one of the first CDs I bought upon my arrival & I listened to it all summer, and the whole summer the year after & after that. The pace is just right & the psychedlica is one of my favourite brands of contained weirdness.

1. Special Liquid

A nice crunchy acid ridden track. The sounds jump about & there is a feeling of acid running down the walls in the back of my mind. A nice dark atmosphere like at a basement party full of mad dancers going nuts.

2. 13.5 Hours

Sweet medieval melody before an urgency comes in. The slow menacing bassline & siren like sounds build the urgency & by the time the beats drop I'm ready to dance. A hard pounding beats with an underlying crunchiness again accentuated by the twisted synths. A number of times the track breaks down & has to rebuild. Each time is a well placed sample be it a creaking door or a unfathomable vocal. The energy comes from more & more surprising places & it's really hard to describe some of the noises used in this weird powerhouse.

3. The Aquarium

A random little ambient number (although apparently at 150 BPM which I just can't seem to notice). The melody is fantastic as are the watery sounds. This feels like a slow dance of fairies at the bottom of a lake. Not deep sea, deep but still able to see the glitter of light up above. Great track if a little randomly placed in the album, acts more of a transition.

4. Oracle

From the little stabbed chords at the start to the soft ambient drone running through it to awesome breakbeats to the sounds all around this track screams modern mysticism to me. Remove the beats & a few of the harsher sounds and this would be one hell of an ambient journey. The presence of the up beat elements make this a really good crossover. The energy of trance & the mood of ambient. I love this track.

5. Mutoid (Extended Version)

A more steady beat again and baseline to match. A lot of the tracks have basslines but they are quite subdues like this & rest in the back of the track allowing the random sounds, melody & synths room to move about & make themselves known. Where as the first few tracks were crunchy, this feels squelchy with a wet synth line & dripping beats. Although this doesn't start brilliantly it builds into a really top drawer track. Towards the end along the wetness there feels like a dark dank underground party with acid soaked walls and crazy faeries dancing on the ceilings & wall.

6. Drum War

A more relaxed pace now with a more Deviant Species feel to it. Very dark nightmare trance. What I always hoped dark psy would be, dark without trying to be horror. Effortlessly scary without being evil. Twisted psychedelic enjoyable night time stuff

Towards the end comes a mind blowing melody. You here it coming but it still comes as a surprise every time as it's released at the same time as a burst of psychedelic bubbles. Nice stuff.

7. Klangman

back to full pace again with klangman. This is a little more off the wall weirdness compared to the straight edged strangeness of the previous tracks. This is little monsters camped in your brain waiting for you to fall asleep so they can set fire to your temporal lobe and lay eggs in the ashes of your charred brain weird. Gets very ethereal towards the end. Lifts your burnt brain up but then casts it down & stamps on it hard resulting in the agonised sounds at the last.

8. Metabolic Activity

This carries on the same feeling as Klangman but is slightly less deranged and more structured dancefloor trippiness. Imagine standing at the front of the dancefloor in an underground club, eyes closed so you can see more clearly the music that's flying around you. That's where I imagine myself whenever I listen to this. Even when it slows down I still see myself in the same spot, eyes closed feeling the euphoria. But when the hard stabs of synth come in & it kicks off again my brain explodes & I must dance dance dance.

9. Psycore

Fast paced right from the start. No messing about. A nice crazy tech melody & a driving baseline (still subdued) push this forward & the melody shifts up a gear my brain is really thrown into a slipstream, a nice comfortable rush! A really well used sample from The Hitch Hikers Guide just twisted enough to fit & to stay recogniseable! The melody that comes in halfway through is not seratonin releasing but pleasant & it's progression in the track is well done. I can't help laughing along with the evil laugh & smile at the final run.

10. Stupid Science

I'm always expecting some ambient track like The Aquarium but I'm always wrong & we get another track in keeping with Psycore. Dark, structured, driving & with weird twisted melodies. Very cool end to a very cool album. This has a black metallic feel to it with spots of glitter on it as the melody tries to escape the surface. The final run of the album is possibly the best music on show here. The dark crispy sounds kicking off the beat for one last time is real end of the night please don't stop even though I know the end is imminent stuff.

This album is a masterpiece of arrangement. The tracks are all perfectly placed here building what is a great work of abstract art. The tracks get crazier & crazier until Klangman where after the tracks build more dancefloor energy & trippiness while keeping up the twisted craziness of the earlier tracks. The theme gets darker & darker right through to the last track which has a black metallic feel to it. All tracks are between great & masterful and the music seems to get better & better the more you listen to it. This is one of the few CDs that after 4 years of listening to it still makes me want to go right out find a big venue a few hundred people a big sound system, put this on & dance the night away.

I'm very happy that I have this album & I'm eagerly anticipating the follow up to it.

Highly recommended!

Artist: Shift

Title: White Widow

Label: Shiva Space Technology

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. White Widow

02. Black Widow

Artist: Downhill

Title: Silent City

Label: Gravity Plus Records

Date: 2003

1. Three Years Drought

2. Perfect Man

3. Ed Lab

4. Ground Effects

5. Final Miles

6. Silent City

7. 33 Degrees

8. Weaken Memories

9. Perfect Man (Human)

10. Silent City (Soundtrack)

The Delta + Midi Miliz =

Awwww....Yeah. This hit me just right. Post dinner with a full belly. Do you like the raw quality of the Delta? Love an industrial, dirty sound? All while...chilling? Then this is the album for you. Tracks like Ed Lab have a funky cool breakbeat and that eerie feel permeates the entire album. It's like I'm tooling around Gotham after I stole Batman's whip. The cover is the color of overcast skies with the dreary melancholy to match. A cold, electronic ride that invites further listens. The melodies and percussion come together to provide a super listening experience. Dig on this.

the quality is high for standard most of the tracks.---BUT the whole compil get

boring very fast. some tracks are pretty good on the dance floor.-----------

bottom line a bit boring , but very very high quality !

there are no many compilation with such a great quality and such a great

concept!---non favorites ,not so interesting ,but still very good material!

7.5/10 .

pretty nice purchase.

Artist: Cosma

Title: Nonstop

Label: HOM-Mega

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. The Time Has Come

02. Minimal Vertical

03. Freedom

04. Nonstop

05. Ethno-Bialick

06. Lemon Light

07. People On Hold

08. Keep Going

09. Yok Yok

Review:

I have not heard this album but hav always loved Cosma's music. I heard that

Cosma has passed away recently and was very sad. My condolences to his family

and the trance scene, which has lost one of their brightest lights. This album

I am sure will be beautiful and I'm sure I'll always remember Cosma as a

person I never knew but whose music took me to many beautiful places. Rest in

Peace, Cosma , We all love you.

Artist: Dark Nebula

Title: The 8th Sphere

Label: Digital Psionics

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Magical Energy

02. Dark Nectar

03. No Mercy

04. Cyber Cult

05. Death Star

06. Carbon

07. Machine Of Lum The Mad

08. Book Of Stones

09. Didgeridoodle

Review:

Dark Nebula is Luna Orbit from Australia, and he is the owner of the label

Digital Psionics, together witk Luke Psywalker. Luna Orbit`s new album is very

good, he has released many tracks on various compilations, and many variated

tracks, but here we have 7 hard tracks in almost the same style and track 8-9

is a bit different. He often uses samples of voices in his tracks, some are

great and some are not so great.. Anyway, the basslines here are hard and very

pumping, really night-time stuff with crazy psych(O)delic sounds all over.

Track 2, Dark Nectar, has some very heavy guitar-riffs in it, very cool and

rocking. His beats are "flat", if you understand me correct, they make a nice

"clack" sounds, as if you clap you hands together. I like it! Track 5 is one

of the highlights, intro with a sample, and then the hard basslines tells you

what to expect before the beats kicks in. Hard, and it gets even harder in the

middle of the track when he changes the bassline a bit, very pumping track,

play this one Loud! Great! Track 6 & 7 is also my favourites here, vey good

basslines, hard with very psychedlic sounds. Track 8 and 9 is a bit different,

not as crazy as the rest, but two good tracks anyway. Luna Orbit gives us 7

crazy tracks here, and two very good ones, I really enjoyed this album, buy it

if you like the older Dark Nebula, but these tracks are probably a bit harder

than many of his tracks on various compils. My verdict is 9/10

Artist: Parasense

Title: Avangaro

Label: Acidance

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Gidra

02. Speech Work

03. Stop The Sickness

04. Mail Delivered

05. Ritual Of Drugs

06. Meteor Shield

07. Tarakashi

08. Big Rave With No Name

09. Skriamer

Review:

It's Parasense, instead of "Parasence". Other than that, a typical russian

sound: very dark, heavy, full on. Didn't listen to the whole album, just to

some tracks. Stop The Sickness (T3) is a heavy one, very fast bassline,

dancefloor killer. T6, T7 and T9(!) follow the same style. Can't give any

rating, since i didn't listen to it all. Well, if you liked the older

Parasense, you'll like it.

Artist: Zorba

Title: Zorba

Label: Shaffel

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. In Tune

02. Fragile

03. No Copys

04. Unlikeanything We Know

05. Deep

06. Zorbarag

07. Hyper Zorba

08. Day Dream

09. In And Out

10. Datora

Review:

Cheesy? No? Well...I think a little. This is kinda cool soft psytrance. Well

built melodies and good moringsounds. If you are in a somewhat cheesy mood

this is it. And I must say that the melodie in track #3 is very good! Maybe

they could have made the basslines darker. It gets better that way imo. Just

like in track #7. Anyway...this is wellstructed moringtrance.

Final Verdict: 6/10 if in the right mood 8/10

Artist: California Sunshine

Title: Sinking Sand

Label: Out Of Orion

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. The Pure

02. Whirlpool

03. Untitled

04. Full Power

05. Secrets Behind The Universe

06. Language

07. Voice Of God

08. Ghost Copies

09. Utopia

Review:

Well... What can I say... I do like Out of orion for their new input and their

melodic old school releases But this cd is just mediocre! I also think the

tracks are not what CS is making at this moment... i saw them live a few weeks

ago here in Belgium and it was much more Astrix-style. Anyway, we do have a

nice collection of old school music here, with Whirlpool already released on

Ptzatzot 2 I think... Most other tracks are in the same style, so rather

melodic, but with a sound quality and basslines that just sound old!

Exceptions are nummber 6 and 7, which are very good old school melodic

goa-trance. It gets a 6/10 from me (because I'm still an old school lover )

Artist: Solar Fields

Title: Blue Moon Station

Label: Ultimae

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Confusion Illusion

02. Elevator Sunshine Girl

03. Cosmic Dessert

04. Magic Eye

05. Infection 268-7

06. Magnetic Air

07. Majestic Feeling

08. Blue Moon Station (Album Version)

09. Planet Zoo

10. Third Time (A-Version)

11. Swimming With Stones

Review:

To tell the truth i haven't listen to the whole album yet. But I can already

say that this is amazing stuff.

This is the best ambient out there at the moment. Very soothing but it never

becomes boring. And sometimes the tracks just explode and creates those very

cool melodies and grooves. Actually...there is only one flaw this far and that

is that there is this 4/4 beat sometimes. But it blends into more sounds

sooner or later so it's not a big problem. Final Verdict so far: 9/10

Ethereal - Anima Mundi

Artist: Ethereal

Title: Anima Mundi

Label: Tranceform Records

Cat. #: TFMCD002

Year: 2003

Track listing:

01: 11’50” All Systems Are Go (Expand The System Mix)

02: 08’08” Cosmic Lobster

03: 12’02” Distant Lights (2003 Mix)

04: 08’14” Cosmic Lobster (Dreamweaver's Infinite Space Remix)

05: 11’47” Flamedancer

06: 09’53” Radiator

07: 10’35” Elysian Fields

Review:

Back to the old school!

Break out your ganeshas, glow sticks & other weekend-Hindu artefacts and light up some incense - this new release from Tranceform will take you right back to 1996… And that’s a good thing! ;o)

Ethereal are Carl Larsson & Fredrik Haglund from Sweden. They had two great tracks on the Blissfull Moments compilation released by Tranceform earlier this year. Now they are ready with a full album of highly melodic, infectious old school melodic goa-trance…

Anima Mundi is Latin for ‘Soul of the World’… “A pure ethereal spirit diffused throughout all nature” as stated in the promotional material… Woow… Sounds fancy indeed! ;o)

#1: Full on from the get-go… Highly melodic, fast paced, multi-layered, complex… Pure old school bliss! Towards the end there are some subtle voice-samples… Reminds me a lot of AP’s “Searching for UFOs”… Come to think of it, that same voice sample was on the Ethereal-track “Fireflies (Remix)” on the Blissfull Moments compilation released earlier this year… Well, a good sample is a good sample I guess… If you put a gun to my head, and force me to find flaws, perhaps this tracks is just a little too long… But hey, when it’s good, it’s not a problem… What a fine first track!

#2: ‘Are you free?’ If you like seafood and psychedelic trance you’re in luck: Cosmic Lobster is on the menu! Darker, more distorted than the previous track, but the melodies are still intact… This track has a kind of hypnotizing feel to it… I can’t really describe it, but damn this is good… The “Searching for UFO-samples” are still there… What gives Carl & Fredrik? We’ve heard it already! Hehe… Nah, it doesn’t spoil the track at all…They are well-put, and by no means cheesy! Fine track!

#3: Holy smokes, it gets even better now… We go even faster now… I don’t have a bpm-counter, but this must be above 150 bpm’s… Smashing bass line on top of no-nonsense straight-forward melodies with twirling acid synths thrown on top… Does it get any better?… Crank up the volume on this baby and let the memories fly… Instant classic! Amazing track! Best so far, hands down!

#4: A remix to #2 … How do you remix a lobster? Well, Dreamweaver did it… This actually bears very little resemblance to the original… The sound seems more mature, more modern but unfortunately also slightly more boring! Well, this is not a bad track; it’s just not as good as the rest… Decent track!

#5: Flamedancer… Yeah, one of those guys you see at festivals looking cool, dancing with fire-sticks… The tempo is slower, but the melodies are strong and the bass kicking hard… This track is very old school Israeli-like in structure… This could easily have been on one of the early Trust In Trance compilations… This is as old school as it gets… Good stuff, though tends to become just a little bit boring towards the last couple of minutes… This could easily have been 2 minutes shorter… The ending itself is great though – Is that a pitched down Twin Peaks theme I hear? Sounds good! Nice track!

#6: Woow, this is one tripped out radiator… Once again the melodies are in focus, tangled in between twirling synths, kicking bass lines and random, yet structured psychedelia…This is where it’s at… So damn tasty… Amazing track!

#7: In keeping with tradition the last track of an album is slower, and this is also the case here… It is not an ambient track as such … It’s just slower than the rest of the album… Ethereal also did the last chilled track for the Blissfull Moments-compilation which I liked very much. This track is pretty good… Dub-elements here and there, bouncy relaxed bass line atop simple melodies… Very nice ending indeed!

Favourites: 1, 2, 3(!!), 6(!!), 7

To sum up, this album is a breath of old air… But that’s a good thing! Melodies are too often forgotten in most releases nowadays… But on this, they are in focus… Anyone, who likes old stuff like Astral Projection, Dimension 5, Pleiadians, Chi-a.d. and the likes should appreciate this… It’s great to get some variation from the norm these days… Even the coverart is old-school with beautiful multicolored, trippy fractal-psychedelic art… This will look great on your shelf! Some of the tracks are just a bit too long and Carl & Fredrik need to update their sample CDs, but besides that, this is album is a real gem…

Recommended for anyone who misses the good old days! ;o)

8/10

DeathPosture

External links: [sound clips available....]

Tranceform Records

Wirikuta Distribution

DRAGONFLY RECORDS

2003

Tracklist

1. AXIS FLIP ... B-

2. SPACE JUICE ... B

3. LIGHTS OUT ... C+

4. COCOON ... B

5. VISIT THE MOON ... B-

6. REINCARNATION ... C

7. BROKEN PROMISE .... B-

8. EAST 98TH STREET ... C+

9. PIPELINE ... B- ... (the most GOA-sounding, GOA-influenced song on the album)

This is MWNN's 3rd main album.

I couldn't find this album to review in the 2003 section anywhere. 2003 was the transition year when the old review section was down and the new one wasn't up yet. Some 2003 albums made it. Many didn't.

MWNN's style has changed. You cannot expect goatrance or you'll be disappointed. The style is more progressive, psytrance and I'll agree with someone who said prog, more in certain songs than others. There is some goa influence such as with certain melodies and especially on the last song. I like the melodies on certain songs and I've heard him do better. This is not goatrance. This is generally a progressive psytrance (or psy and trance) album.

Interstate Highway is made for dancing. It isn't mind-expanding trance but it isn't the Full On that we know as Full On now days either, or not as Full On at least. Nonetheless, this album is more mainstream sounding relative to his earlier work because almost all songs seem to be made (or most friendly) for dancing until the last. He gets to spice things up a bit now and then but they never reach the climaxes or peek that he achieved in several awesome goatrance songs in 1998 with Earth Moving The Sun. Several songs are good here. I can't say any one song is bad but none are great either. Several are average. The album is generally less complex, deep, and/or layered than the stuff he generally did with his goatrance. Nonetheless, the proggy style compliments the album in what could have been nothing new. In short, this is a more linear style, but several tracks retain pretty good energy, character, and groove throughout.

From reading whatever reviews I could locate on the internet, his more progressive style seemed to turn off a good amount of his older goatrance fans. I think this is because they were expecting goatrance really. I was one of those people who loved some of his earlier work. However I happened to like some of this right away because 5-6 years had past since his 1998 goatrance album and by then I had become acclemated to other less elaborate psytrance, i.e: Goa. Regardless, this album took some time to adjust to for me because I loved some of his earlier goatrance songs and this wasn't a real follow-up to that.

In conclusion , there are some pretty good songs and melodies on this album relative to MWNN's more progressive style. No song is superb or great. Some tracks like track 3 and 6 for instance are very repeticious, lacking, and unimaginatice. I don't like those songs. Some tracks build up to more groove and melodies like track 4 and 7 for starters. This is what I like about MWNN on this album, the feeling and melodies when it's actually somewhat catchy. I like the songs with more feeling (2, 4, 9) in this style, but much is forgettable around those tracks. I also like certain sounds such as the *HITS* 2:05 into track 2 which he repeats multiple times to the music. This sounds similar to something he used before on THE BREECH I think. That aside, it seems obvious the artist here had less freedom to be more creative on this third album because he was working towards having a far more mainstream (for clubs and dancing) album than ever before. I can see why many people were disappointed with this album who experienced the more imaginative, deeper, less linear works from him in the past. Not to say they were't danceable either. Much of his best previous work was superior to and for dancing to over this when you carefully select tracks like FLOOR ESSENCE, VAVOOM, OWN THE WORLD, and TARANTULA just for starters. Those were monster, full of energy and character (catchy!) dance songs. Interstate Highway has some good melodies that save the progressive sound from becoming all but a blur from my memory. It would be cool if next time MWNN has some real gems (excellent, really stand-out songs) to showcase as he's done in the past. Personally I hope he goes all out unlike this far less memorable but definitely not bad third release.

At 5:43 this track has a good climax and release. More climaxes and bursts of energy and style throughout the album would have been great!

HIGHLIGHTS:

- SPACE JUICE

- COCOON

- VISIT THE MOON

- BROKEN PROMISE

- PIPELINE

B-

Samples: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/dra/dra1cd063.html

I’ve recently posted reviews on his first two albums, Earth Moving The Sun and Moment of Truth in the 1998 and 1996 review sections if anyones interesting seeing that and my scores for each track and album.

Label: Timecode Records

Catalog#: TCCD004

Format: CD, Mixed

Country: South Africa

Released: Aug 2003

Genre: Electronic

Style: Psy-Trance

Tracklisting:

1. The Continuity Of Prostitution (5:00)

2. Money (8:46)

3. Mass (6:58)

4. The Pimp (2:14)

5. Gremlins (6:44)

6. Beetle (6:18)

7. Ptolemy I (4:33)

8. Ptolemy II (7:34)

9. Last Laugh (0:38)

10. Coyote (7:06)

11. Thalidomede (2:44)

12. Instant Gratification (11:27)

This album starts in a pretty unusual form for a psy-trance album. When the 1st track The Continuity Of Prostitution started it was more like a new commercial chanting of IM's Duvdev but that was just for a few seconds. Beats and all the galaxy of weird sounds give a nice feel cause they are arranged in a distinct way. And now i can be sure it has something fullonish in it but it's wild and interesting.

2nd track Money. Well the title is also un-psy We hear a sample form "the fifth element" movie and go on with a nice rhythm and bass :posford:

In this track we have a constant (so as the rest of the album shows) change of weird and nice melodies. Good track.

Mass is a symphony for junkies and even if i'm not the one i like this track a lot.

4th The Pimp a short track full of breaks and suomi-kinda mellow-D. Maybe it's a tribute to Texas Faggot (i'd like it to be that).

Gremlins include samples from "Gremlins" movie (well you can guess it anyway). It's a great driving track with a really beautiful lead. One of my fav's on this whole album.

Track 6 Beetle is a slower one with amazing samples all the way.

Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II the most experimental pieces here. P1 is a technoish monster with fantastic beat :clapping: P2 is again a reminder of suomisaundi.

Last Laugh is a short non-sense track.

10th track Coyote is another winner and boasts with great rhtyhms and samples. Thank you Artifakt for this amazing piece of a dancefloor jacker.

Thalidomede is just a waste of time. What a horrible track.

And the last one Instant Gratification takes the first place for it's creativity and vividness of forms. 10/10 for this track.

Well, this whole album shows that Matthew De Nobrega aka Artifakt is a truly talented musician, though at times too freaky. But i spent great time listening to it and will definately listen to it more and more in the future as i like his style a lot.

7/10 for the whole piece.

1. Funky Monkey / Cydonia

2. Facing / Infected Mushroom

3. 911 / Koxbox

4. Trance Former / Space Cat

5. ReFresh / Sphere

6. HelloII / Skazi vs. Dj Omi

7. Mysterya / Dino Psaras vs. Sterilizer

8. Tasty Mushroom (Eat Static Remix) / Infected Mushroom

9. Breath / Bamboo Forest

Magnet is an interesting compilation from the Japanese label Vision Quest. Compiled by Dino Psaras in 2003, it features a number of high profile names yet it seems to have slipped under the radar of many trance listeners. There is no theme at work here; the track ordering seems virtually random here. This is merely another CD primed and ready for DJs to filter out some killer dance floor cuts.

The opening track reunites Dino Psaras with Ian Rive for what seems to be the final offering from Cydonia. Funky Monkey is a deadly night-time stormer loaded with tribal drumming, killer bass, and spooky atmospheres. There aren't any strong melodies but a track like this doesn't need any! For fans of the classic tune Anaconda, this is sure to satisfy. As a DJ tool, Funky Monkey is nearly unsurpassed; year after year it remains a recognizable feature of my sets. There is something special about the absolutely unstoppable way in which this song unfolds. In my books, this is essential!

Facing is great song in Infected Mushroom's classical style. It is completely devoid of vocals, guitars, or build-ups. The Infected duo take a deep dive into the emotional side of psychedelic trance without resorting to gimmickry. Instead, this song draws immense power from soft melodies, serene choral overtures, and subtle transitions. This uncommonly genuine piece of psytrance is a tribute to the group's innate talents; it is a shame they have left this path for more profitable pastures. Needless to say, this is essential listening for any Infected fan.

Koxbox released no more than a handful of tracks from 2001 to 2005. In this time, Frank E and Ian Ion parted ways, and the sound of the group underwent a remarkable metamorphosis. 911 reflects the changing times it is much tougher than previous material from the group. Some have called it techtrance, but I don't feel as if that describes this very well. Conventional melodies are not a large part of the action, but there is never any shortage of psychedelic noises to latch on to. Funky mutant bass lines and killer kicks create an impeccable dance floor groove, and the production quality is naturally of the highest calibre. This is top-notch psychedelic dance music that transcends boundaries.

Space Cat's Trance Former is an piece of full-on psytrance infused with hints of the old school spirit. The arrangement is very straight-forward, building and breaking down in the time-honoured fashion of uplifting trance anthems. Gorgeous melodies and shimmering choral voices will combine to lift the dance floor to new heights when the time is right. Sweet and saccharine.

Sphere is a one-off side project from Bamboo Forest (Stephane Dureisseix; Yann Henaff). Refresh is an original composition based on am addictive morning groove reminiscent of Cosma's Saffy Smoke-A-Lot and Quadra's Orbit Simulator. Gorgeous vocals, progressive-style chord strikes, and melodies like liquid sunshine ensure a favourable response wherever this is played. Fantastic!

Skazi & DJ Omi team up on HelloII, an aggressive exploration of monotonous stomping beats and sparse atmospheres. Predictably bland.

Mysteryo will sound familiar to anyone who has heard Dino's Lick It album or the song End from Atomic Powder. Composed with a steady unyielding drive, this track has the feel of a crossover piece aimed at the big room trance crowd. A sparse three-note melody does little to augment the plain rhythms and simplistic breakdowns. Easily overlooked.

The eighth track is the shocker of the compilation! Eat Static put a charming Latin twist on Infected Mushroom's Tasty Mushroom, spicing up the bass line with a killer salsa groove. Curiously mechanical trumpets and a hint of flute complete the transformation. What an unexpected treat! Bold, creative, and uncompromisingly experimental, this exotic dance floor anthem should inspire a strong reaction for years to come.

Bamboo Forest close the album with Breath, a massive festival-friendly anthem loaded with female vocals taken from a popular Brazilian folk song. The richly synthetic Bamboo Forest groove can be heard loud and clear; this French duo sure know how to lay down a sick set of original psytrance rhythms! Initially I did not like this track very much but I will admit that it has grown on me over the years.

Magnet is a surprisingly diverse compilation that is well worth tracking down. Although the quality level is by no means consistent, Dino Psaras selected some absolutely blinding tracks for this release. This is made for DJs, collectors, and fans of the individual acts featured here. Cydonia, Koxbox, Infected Mushroom, Eat Static, Space Cat, and Bamboo Forest all supply some exceptional material, so this is easy to recommend despite the weaker tunes.

Favourites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8

Samples / Buy

http://www.psyshop.c.../viq1cd002.html

http://www.goastore....ino-psaras.html

http://www.beatspace...RAS/detail.aspx

Artist: Various

Title: Breathe

Label: Soular

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Onnomon : I Am Ohm

02. Ocelot : The Way You Get Offon Dmt

03. Mind Warped : Inhalation

04. Deeper In Zen : Look Into The Mirror

05. Sea Of Arrows : The Border

06. Holistik : Beat Monger

07. Mind Warped : Acceleration

08. Ghreg On Earth : The Midnight Fire

09. D-space : Spiral Trials

Review:

Soular Records are based in California, U.S.A

As a deejay, i received this compilation a couple of weeks before the official

release to test the music on the Canadian dancefloor.

So what i've to tell here is more how people on the dancefloor reacted than my

own opinion...

Ho!well, i can start with some kind words to give you the picture:

This cd is very well produced, the music consists in seven twisted full-on

great trax, one more morning oriented and the last one is minimal.

I've to say it's my favorite full-on cd this year.

I play it each times in parties and it's always a great pleasure to see all

freaks dancing like crazy all around.

This music have something special that you won't find in any other classical

full-on label.

It's the most important thing here.

I'm not playing the same way...when i start to put the Onnomon track as an

introduction every times it drives the mind to a deep and powerfull journey.

Track 2 was made by Ocelot and Deeper in Zen actually.

(Ocelot delivered us a great full-on album this year as well).

Deeper in Zen are excellent musicians.I'm following their evolution since year

2000.They made the most powerfull trax i've never heard.They're also behind

Soular Records project!

Track 3 is also a collaboration between Deeper in Zen and Mind Warped as well

number 7.

Now this is is -not only- a cd to be only played on parties or a compilation

for deejay's!

It's also an incredible pleasure to listen it at home on your preferate

powerfull home cd player!

I don't want to make a full review, i want you to discover this gem, this

incredible compilation by yourself.Please keep at least a few bucks for it, do

not copy or download any mp3's to get it free.

As you'll hear, it's a great musical artwork who deserves to be bought.The

cover artwork is also awesome.

The overall reaction on the dancefloor is amazing because this music is

surprising, you won't find any "habitual" patterns on it, any habitual

basslines or even any boring melodies.

It's about power, fair pleasure and even the minimal track is a pearl.

People are always surprised and they enjoyed the music to the bones, just watch

them dancing and you'll see many new ways to celebrate and express the body!

Highly recommended!! 10/10

Thanx to Soular Records to give us such a great release!!

Artist: Various

Title: Psychedelic Dreams 1

Label: Transient

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Quirk : Tribodelic (Mumbo Jumbo Rmx)

02. Cosmosis : Weird Sick And Twisted

03. Mino : Gated Reality

04. Cosmosis And Shakta : Supernatural

05. Process And Slide : Creepy Crawlies

06. Logic Bomb : Thoughts Crossed Back

07. Bamboo Forest : Automix

08. Astral Projection : 1.000.000 Years From Today

09. Mumbo Jumbo : Mysterons

Review:

At first glance, this compilation looks amazing. But really the tracks are not

that great... certainly nothing spectacular here. Lots of noisy sounds and

not too much musicality IMO. It's like so many compilations where you either

like it or you don't, so anything I say probably won't help someone in chosing

whether to buy this or not. If you don't have money to burn, listen first

before you buy. I was most dissapointed with Logic Bomb; I usually like most

everything from that artist, but this track is reallly crappy, aside from the

interesting phasor sounds with some nice rhythms. Seems to me like a step

down from the quality I'm used to from such big name artists. Automix is also

really poor, and that's really a shame for Bamboo Forest who, again IMO, has

always released such quality, which this is not: it is annoying. And that's

how I'll end my review.

Artist: Planet Ben

Title: Test

Label: Hadshot

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Compact

02. Sept.Love

03. Third Avenue

04. Gravitation

05. Cattle Beat

06. Straight Ahead

07. Rotten Lung

08. Domestic Dirt

09. Hi-Fi

10. Screwdriver

Review:

Hmmm nice! Huge deep tek trance. The best album in this style for a long time.

If you like your X-Dream, Spirallienz, Midi Miliz etc, you will absolutly love

this. Still with that typically fat sound you would expect from Ben, epic

atmospheres, huge bass, and the best high hats in the scene (Just dont know

how, but they just keep comming!)I prefer it to the X-Dream album and the

other two, and they are great albums. "Straight Ahead" is classic, would

devastate any dance floor. "Sept Love" also from his latest ep, was the tune

that got me so excited about this release, slightly different from his usual

style, this is morning trance, but with the planet Ben sound, sounds wierd

dosent it, but it works soooo well, it will be played everywhere for a long

time to come!!!! This is a very good album, esp if you like it techy, 8/10.

Artist: Various

Title: Blissfull Moments

Label: Tranceform

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. 09'06" Ypsilon 5 : Paranormal

02. 07'42" Summamutikka : Vidukadaya

03. 07'03" Xervana : Eye In The Tunnel

04. 09'43" Poly61 : Elamansa

05. 08'22" Ethereal : Fireflies (Rmx)

06. 09'20" Aquasphere : Aquasphere

07. 08'08" Vast : Liquid

08. 09'19" Ethereal : Accessing Infinity (Rmx)

Review:

Do you know what a blissfull moment it? If not, just listen to some of the tracks on this compilation, and you'll soon find out!

Tranceform is a small, independent label from the lakey country of Finland in Scandinavia, run by enthusiastic hipster Kalle... After only 2 vinyl releases since the beginning in 1999, now Tranceform is back with this morning-trance CD-compilation called Blissfull Moments.

[#1] First up is Ypsilon5, David & Magnus who hails from Swedens Orebro... And it shows, well sounds actually... This is a brilliant opener. Full-on stomping, driving morning track... This is pure bliss, alright! Great old-school feeling track!

[#2] This is Summamutikka which apparently translates into 'random selection' or something similar... The guy behind all these random selections is happy camper Kim Ake from Finland... And yes, you get the Finnish madness in this track... It starts with chanting... Then a poor "German" bass and some very cheesy synths... bad start, but then the acid kicks in - and it's most welcome! The tracks starts off kinda poor, but soon develops into a real old school Finnish stomper! Great stuff!

[#3] Here we have Xervana telling us about some eye in a tunnel... The guy behind this - Oluf - used to be in a metal band, but he's doing melodic trance now... This track is nothing speciel, but still quite good. It's melodic old school trance... Kinda reminds me of Chi-a.d., Early AP and the likes... Average track!

[#4] Helsinki-based Poly61 delivers a track VERY different from the first 3... Odd selection really, to put this track here... between full-on tracks... Anyway, this tracks starts very slow... Very atmospheric, almost Twin Peaks-like, intro... They throw in some more fx... First a guitar... Then a piano... After 3 minutes comes the first beats - unfortunately along with a VERY annoying accordian-like sound. Argh! Well, besides the different style and the annoying sound, this track is quite ok... Elamansa is a great trackname - looks Elvish doesn't it? But supposedly it translates into "his/her life"... Average track, it's Finnish - it's crazy... But also, it's kinda boring!

[#5] Things are picking up now with this little gem from Sweden-based trancers Ethereal... From a kind of slowish intro, the track soon picks up a much faster, full-on pace... There's a sample near the end which remind me a lot of the one in Astral Projection's "Searching For UFO's"... Not sure if it's the same one, though! I could ask for more variation - but I won't! This is happy, melodic trance! Nice!

[#6] Let's take it down a notch... For a short while only though! This is another Swedish project... One man project actually, and there's been put some work into this track... Starts slow, but soon a nice pounding bass appears alongside wicked, harmonic melodies.... Another bliss moment for sure! Slightly on the progressive side, but still the psychedelia is intact! Great track! ;o)

[#7] Vast is a project from LOTR-country, New Zealand... And yeah, if you listen closely you can hear the Kiwi's growing in the background! ;o) ... The track starts with a bird-intro... Very cool... Different FX are building as the track progresses.... This is one funky-ass, toe-tipping, feel-good trance track! Great!

[#8] To finish off, we have another track by Ethereal from Sweden... This time they are chilling out... I mean REEEEEEALLY chilling out... But sure, you can use it after all these blissfull moments... Infact, this is another one... This is a beautiful ambient track... Very chilled, relaxed, calm melodies... Great!

To sum up... 5 great tracks, 1 nice track and 2 not-so-great average tracks... Pretty good score actually... I could have wished for a more structured selection of tracks... There is not really any consistancy in the tracks, but hey - most of them are still great tracks... I would've put [#4] right before [#8], but hey, that's only nit-picking... All in all, this is a great compilation for anyone who enjoys outdoor-morning trance. Recommended!

Rating 7.5/10

DeathPosture

Artist: Wizzy Noise

Title: Elecktro Theater

Label: Candyflip

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Radical Payne

02. Screwheads (Rmx)

03. Elecktro Theater

04. Paradise Lost

05. Mental Discipline

06. Demented Drum (Part 1)

07. Timeline

08. Demented Drum (Part 2)

09. Dream Wave

10. Outmosphere

Review:

Wizzy Noise was riding high on the dark psy wave started a few years ago... but

now times have changed and the trend is now more favourable to more "happy" or

"sunny" goa. And Wizzy Noise have followed this new trend with this album...

copy cats? well, I'll let you decide on that, what I know is that I don't

really appreciate dark goa unless it's very well done, so personally I like

the new turn of events :-) Well, OK, it's not all happy, but overall the whole

album feels a lot more fit for the morning hours rather than 3-4 AM like their

previous ones. Fave tracks are Paradise Lost, Demented Drum Part 1 and

Dreamwave. 8/10 (cause I don't like trend-followers...)

Artist: Various

Title: Phase One

Label: Etnica.Net

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Species : The T-Factor

02. Droid : Candle Wax (Live Mix)

03. Atomic Pulse : Hallucination

04. Wizzy Noise : Insane Drums

05. Gaby And Max : The Honour

06. Etnica : Seven Dust

07. Wrecked Machines : Surround Travel

08. Alternate Vision : Cripple

09. Species : Rocks

Artist: Various

Title: Highoctane - Frenzy Inducing Psychedelic Electronica

Label: Procyon Records

Date: October, 2003

1. CPU - Laptop Orgy

2. Monastic Squid Vs. Shift - Suit Up (Remix)

3. Illusion of Self - Spectrum

4. E.S.X.S. - Electryk Mama

5. Nomad - X-style

6. Psysex - Fast and Furious

7. Wizzy Noise - Acid Echo

8. Dynamic Vs. Z-machine - Side Effect

9. Silicon Sound - The Shell

The title of the compilation would have you visualize something like this:

When in actuality this would probably be more appropriate:

It starts off well with a track by CPU before he succumbed to whatever palsy that overtook his ability.  If you're able to make it through the beginning of Elektryk Mama without wanting to punch yourself than you're a better man than I.  Ugh, that sample.  By the time we get to Psysex we are on a full-on waterslide without any water.  

Painful. 

To sum this up it's a compilation that starts off with that described frenzy only to quickly morph into a cat falling into a deep sleep as it attempts to cross a sunbeam.

Vision Quest 2003 (CD Album)

01 :: Dump

02 :: Random Future

03 :: Xperience

04 :: Breath

05 :: Caramba

06 :: Voyager

07 :: Cliché

08 :: Melting Pot

09 :: Joystick

10 :: The Walk

It's a competent piece of work, but this style is just so very busy. There

is no restraint. Get it if you like it full-on, with sounds blasting out of

every part of the audible spectrum. Personally, I'll pass.

Artist: Schuldt

Title: First Error Code

Label: Aurinko Records

Date: 2003

1. Prologue

2. Stained

3. One Step Closer

4. Search For Salvation

5. Tearing the Fright

6. Constant and Sharp

7. First Error Code

8. Picked To Pieces

9. Traced Back

10. When Anger Cries

11. Deceived

12. Forget?!

Is that...?  Holy sh*t it is! 

Picked up a bunch of Cds from Discogs and this was one of them.  It's an album by Tim Schuldt (actually it's an industrial project he founded) and it was cheap so I said what the hell?  He was always on the fringes of psytrance with dark and edgy productions, but with this album he goes full industrial with his band and it is aggressive.  The whole thing is dark with a futuristic feel.  Looking at those track titles will make you think they needed more hugs from Daddy.  When you hear it you'll think of artists like NIN, Skinny Puppy, Pig...But it's not just ballistic, all out sonic mayhem.  Tracks like Search For Salvation really channel Front Line Assembly with it's dark, thematic overtones yet easily accessible melody.  Even the bruising Tearing the Fright is a drum n bass track with eerie breaks and touches to make it heavy and light.  He uses breakbeats to great effectiveness and even though I'm not a big fan of the screechy vocals often found in industrial, the musicality of it was so good that it had me wanting to find some Doc Martens and create some general anarchy!

Gotta say a little something about the final track Forget.  Starts off with a Korn-esque smooth break beat and has a lounge feel.  It's over in 7 minutes, but contains 5 minutes of silence before it has a last industrial gasp.  I hate that sh*t.  Just make an epic dark ambient closer. 

Last track aside this is a great listen when you're tired of the triplets and common sh*t found in psytrance or goa.  Great combination of psy, industrial, breakbeat, and yes guitar trance.  Some of it is too heavy and noisy, but not a lot of it.  Perfect for breaking stuff!

Good work Mr. Miyagi

1) Crystal Skulls (Western Rebel Alliance Remix) (6:34)

2) ...And The Day Turned To Night (Eat Static Remix) (9:16)

3) Star Shpongled Banner (Brothomstates Remix) (4:57)

4) A New Way To Say "Hooray" (Prometheus Remix) (7:51)

5) My Head Feels Like A Frisbee (Delusions Of Grandeur Remix) (7:01)

6) Dorset Perception (Total Eclipse Remix) (7:26)

7) Around The World In A Tea Daze (Ott Remix) (8:25)

8) Once Upon The Sea Of Blissful Awareness (Esionjim Remix) (6:54)

Pretty good album. Hated it at first because I was expecting some nice ambient

but it grew on me. Its more experimental and trancey than ambient I think.

So basicaly at the start of the album it has some drum and bass tunes (1-3) then it becomes trancey in the middle (4-6) then some downtempo at the end (7-8). You should buy it if you like diversity and good electronica. 9/10

Favourite tracks: 1, 4!, 7 and 8.

album starts with a short ambient track, which builds up very nice to "Lemon

Phase", which is a very soft, progressive track. Track #3 is the beautiful

"Newport" from the Digital Emission compilation, and basically all tracks are

in this style. There is an exception tho: Track 5, which is a truly amazing

ambient track with a guitar ala Celtic Cross. Overall the album has a very

nice flow, and top-quality production, and if you liked Vibrasphere earlier

stuff you're definatly going to like this. 8.5/10 Best tracks: 1, 2, 3(!) 5(!)

and 8. You can btw download track 8 "Infusion" from the Digital Structures

website - thumbs up for that!

Artist: Audialize

Title: Wanted

Label: Ketuh Records

Date: September, 2003

1. Interface
2. Perfect cell
3. Nirvana rmx
4. Detune
5. Generator
6. G-Strings
7. Plug-n-play
8. Wanted
9. Try 2 Bass rmx

"I will bring you hope! And I only ask for one thing in return...don't get in my way."

Ketuh Records was Timecode and Nexus Media before they were a household name. Yeah I know they weren't a South African label, but work with me here. Ketuh released some of the twisted night time full on before that became a thing. Audialize is Joao Apell and this was his debut album. Now more than 10 years old it still brings the heat even if it can show its age in spots. Howver, back in 2003 it was on the cutting edge of night time psytrance. Full of acid and dark atmosphere I think it opened a lot of peoples eyes. Almost as if we didn't understand what type of music this was. It's not the happy full on that's everywhere, but it's also not totally dark. Generator and G-Strings are prime examples of the type of melodic yet dark tracks that still rock. This guy blazed a trail for those that would follow. Killer Buds, Ex-Gen, Concept, Tickets...you name it.

I can still enjoy the twilight sounds in this one.

Mdk

Artist: Various

Title: The Delta Force

Label: Phonokol

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Der Interpret : Wechselstorm

02. Authentic : Vampires

03. Spirallianz : Battlejuice

04. Midi Miliz : Aeromoda

05. X-Dream : Thorazin

06. The Delta : Low Level Format

07. The Delta : Send In Send Back (Atmos Rmx)

08. Midi Miliz : Intermediate

09. The Delta : Standby

10. G4 : The Final Conflict

Review:

I heard about this comp a long time ago, but only now it was released

worldwide. That's maybe the reason that it has 4 already released and pretty

old tracks. Anyway track #1 is from "The Interpret". It's only 3'49 long, and

can be seen as an intro. It's not really trance, it even has vocals - Marcus

Maichel singing (in German). I don't find it bad though, pretty cool actually!

Track #2 is from Authentic with a powerful track. It's pretty much the same

style as The Delta maybe a little more percussion. Track #3 is from

Spirallianz. I think we all know this track by now. It has been released on at

least five different records before, first time almost a year ago. It was a

good track. Track #4 from Midi Miliz, also already released. It's almost

techno, very hard and powerful. Track #5 is a one year old track from X-Dream.

Good, but I would have preferred a new track. Track #6 is from The Delta.

Finally a new track from them! Usual stuff - begins techno, ends trance. It

could have been taken from their last album. Best track on this comp! Track #7

looks very interesting, Atmos remixing The Delta! The "tech" feeling is gone,

replaced by a synth. Has not much in common with the original track, but still

a good track. Track #8 is again from Midi Miliz, also their usual stuff that

could have been on Passages. Track #9 from The Delta again. Probably the best

track from Send in Send Back. Last track #10 is from "G4" and it's sort of

breakbeat, I have nothing special to say about it. So this comp had 4 already

released tracks 2 non-trance ones. Remaining are 4 new tracks, #2, #6, #7, #8,

all of them very good. This comp should have had 10 such tracks instead. So

only 5,5/10 for The Delta Force.

Artist: Jikooha

Title: New Breed

Label: Tod Aquarium

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. New Breed

02. Blue In Heaven (Feat Chamar)

03. Eagle & The Ghostdancer

04. Mt Meru Calling (Feat Yamabikaya)

05. Silver Blade

06. Rainbow Sequence

07. Flow Experience

08. Dreamwalker

Artist: Total Eclipse

Title: Update Files

Label: Arcadia Music

Date; December, 2003

1. None of This

2. Jardan Temple

3. On the Road

4. Time

5. Distorted Soul

6. Totally Biodegradable

7. Multivers

8. The 11th Dimension

9. Chewbaka

10. Aguas Blancas

"None of this is real."

This totally nails how I feel about this release. Zero emotion. There are no highs or lows this just...is. Like a pine cone or the dump I took in the toilet. It's just matter. Even for 2003 this is a musical non-entity. We're coming up on the 12th anniversary of this album from one of the old is gold projects and nobody has even bothered to review it. The cover art is such a colossal misrepresentation of the music inside. So utterly non thought provoking they could've went with this cover.

Except perhaps the font would stimulate too much synaptic activity. It's on sale for about 10 bucks on Discogs and I assume that price includes the pillow and a blanket. This is the definition of vanilla. This is one update I shan't be downloading.

Artist: Various

Title: 7 Eleven

Label: HOM-Mega

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Melicia : Running Out Of Time

02. Xerox : Out Of The Blue

03. Intergalactic : The Mushroom

04. Xerox And Illumination : Marley On Acid

05. Xerox And Illumination : Domination

06. Xerox : Frequency Drive (Hujaboy Rmx)

07. Spectrum : The World

08. Maskalin : Time Reverse

09. Xerox : There Is Another

10. Maskalin : High Fusion

Review:

Compiled & mixed by Xerox, 7 Eleven gathers energic & melodic full on.

Melicia?s music is very close to Astrix one, indeed Running Out Of Time sounds

like a Astrix vs Xerox production, i mean in one hand same tones , sounds,

build up & fx as Astrix & in the other hand same raving energy explosive as

Xerox. Despite all this, the track is good & i particurlarly appreciate his

adrenalistic build up.

Out Of The Blue, is a very good track for a solo Xerox production, normally i

find him weaker when he?s alone.

The melody way playing reminds me a bit of Karina (remix) old anthem hit from

Xerox & Freeman. This is typically what i was expecting from Xerox to do in

his last album ?Frequency Drive? and what unfortunatly he didn?t deliver. So,

i?m very happy with this one.

The Mushroom from Intergalactic, is a groovy full on stuff for me, something

alike to The Inner Light album of Sesto Sento but more pumping & faster tempo.

Then comes Marley On Acid already released on Israliens 4, it's the only track

re-released as all the other are first released.

Second collaboartion with Illumination , Domination has got the same trademarks

like Marley On Acid nevertheless results more agressive with some few high

sharpy sounds but less impresive.

This remix of Frequency Drive by Hujaboy, confirms his new musical way :always

dark but more full on with mainly strident metallic tones & soft percussions.

If like me, you enjoyed 27 AM, you ?ll be fond of this remix.

It?s time for the Spectrum trax, a typical crappy morning full on, always the

same shit (same syth line & tones & harmonies heard one million times before

in their previous productions) . Don?t understand what it does in this

compilation, it?s the big error of the tracklist.

Hopefully, Maskalin (Xerox & Izik Benisty) wakes up thigs with some funny

country guitar riffs& also some cool fun rythmic gimmicks, the whole into a

smashing atmosphere. The break is quite surprising with a very hard jerky

fluffy synth line & comes back a bit later on.

Second solo Xerox stuff is called There Is Another, there?s a bouncing

bassline, some electric guitar riffs & later some other grinding ones (to be

exact the guitar is moaning the melody) & metallic tones, the whole in a

boisterous feeling. Once again, this kinda production is much better than the

solo tracks from his Frequency Drive album.

Last but least, second Maskalin appearance on the cd with High Fusion, it?s

another nice energic adrenalistic & fast way playing melody, typical Xerox

production would i say.

Only 2 black points, first one it's a mixed compilation, second one the

presence of the Spectrum trax, indeed the compilation should have been called

?Xerox & Friends? as he?s involved in 7 tracks over 10 instead of 7 Eleven .

Highlights by order: 2,8,6

Other nice ones by order :1,9,3,10

Bad one :7

Mark :8/10 (i would have given 8,5 for the same tracklist with non-mixed tracks

& full lenght time version)

Defintively , the unexpected good surprise of this summer.

Artist: Carbon Based Lifeforms

Title: Hydroponic Garden

Label: Ultimae

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Central Plains

02. Tensor

03. Mos 6581 (Album Version)

04. Silent Running

05. Neurotransmitter

06. Hydroponic Garden

07. Exosphere

08. Comsat

09. Epicentre (First Movement)

10. Artificial Island

11. Refraction

Review:

A very good first album including very fresh tones, which is a good news

currently with the dogs days in Europe.

As refreshing and as tasty as a daiquiri, Hydroponic Garden is the must-have

trance/chill-out album either for bringing with you in hollydays or for those

who want to travelling without moving from their home through the 11 softfull

sonic journeys proposed by the 2 swedish guys (Johannes Hedberd & Daniel

Ringstrom) from Carbon Based Lifeforms.

Highlighted destinations :2,3,6,9,11.

Mark:9/10

Recommended

Artist: Asura

Title: Lost Eden

Label: E-French Sound

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Prologue

02. Lost Eden

03. From The Abyss

04. Raindust

05. Land And Freedom

06. Fahrenheit

07. Requiem From Nowhere

08. Incoming

09. The Battle Of Devas

10. Le Vol D'Icare

Review:

Ohhhh! what wonder of music is this one. If you liked the first album of Asura,

you will love this one. I dont know how many times I have heard it already.

The whole album is a journey to the ambient world. Track 2 "Lost Eden" is full

of feeling and emotion and track 6 "Fahrenheit", with single 4 minutes is a

masterpiece of the Trance. non apt for people with emotional problems. This is

for sure the album of 2003.Go to get it NOW!

Artist: Flying Scorpions

Title: Lipoptena Cervi

Label: 6 Dimension Sound

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Avari (Raivovajari Mix)

02. Diskosuper

03. Rave On !

04. Evil Hippie Sock Revenge

05. They Love Fucking You Up

06. We R The Hirvikarpaset

07. Flying Scorpions (All Over The Place)

08. Bush Attack

09. Victory Of The Scorpions

10. Who Are They ?

11. Equadoor

12. Let Us Free

13. Ruskababa 10 Years

Review:

Cool, I'm the first to review this one

Well, you might not know Flying Scorpions, but you should, they're very very

good!! Why? Well, they manage to do 2 major things in this album which very

few artists can: 1. it sounds happy without sounding cheezy and 2. it sounds

wierd without sounding random!! My 2 loves are Avari.. a total stormer, it

will make people on the dancefloor go insane!! and Victory of the Scorpions

which has a very catchy melody, the kind you hear near the end of a goa party

and then go home whisteling it... untill you forget it and think "damn, what

was that cool melody again?" he he another good one is Evil Hippie Sock

Revenge... interesting reinterpretation of oldschool goa... and again, totally

insane!! You can see that these guys don't do anything conventional: even the

track lenghts are unusual for psytracks: almost all the songs are between 4:20

and 5:30 minutes!! Hmm... I could've gone with lenghtier tracks personally...

but what I like is that they totally abandon the too-typical and annoying

structure of (maybe) 20 second mini-climax in the first 2 minutes, then

nothing happens untill the 40-second climax in minute 5 and then nothing

again. None of this here, you get continuously-morphing melodies from one end

to the other!! 10/10 when innovation sounds GOOD!!

Artist: Various

Title: Psychedelic Picnic

Label: Mushroom Mafia Records

Date: January, 2003

1. Beat Sentient - Myoclonic Twitch

2. Xatrik - Level 3

3. Nimbler - U.V. Pagan Pilots (Clonex Remix)

4. Clonex Vs. Rinkadink - Purple Chino (Rinkadink Remix)

5. Phyx - Cold Fusion

6. Artifakt - Composers Grave

7. Cannabidroid - Dedication

8. Shift - Breakpoint

9. Sho Pi - The Rift

"You have no idea what I'm talking about I'm sure. Don't worry...you will...someday"

Ummmm...yeeeeaaaah. I don't want to know. I'm pretty sure the parents of the 5 Hooters waitresses you swallowed are looking for their daughters.

This is another early 2000's compilation that was beginning to show where the South African sound was heading. Notice I said beginning. Night time psytrance that wasn't darkpsy, with dark melodies. Hell it's full of future Timecode artists and managers so they might've said "F*ck this, we can do this for our own label!"

But like a baby that still sh*ts itself, you gotta crawl before you can walk. It's about finding your groove. And this one was still crawling. For example Xatrik's track Level 3 was a minimal, boring offering that needed a few more levels. The Clonex and Rinkadink remix were more of the same. I mean it's damn near false advertising...look at the cover. All those people gathered ready to dance and these artists are making f*cking lullabyes. Things get a little harder when the Timecode crew steps up, but it's far from their crowning achievement. You would think an almost 10 minute track from the Artifakt would be appealing, but I assure you it is not.

So if you're in the market for some minimal sounding rough drafts from artists that would get exponentially better I'm afraid it's not available through the regular channels. I see at this time there are some kind fellows willing to take $70 of your money on Discogs. However I imagine it also comes with a hand painted picture of a middle finger with the caption "Dumbass."

So there's that. C'mon...unless somebody died or has a sex tape there is absolutely no reason to fork over that kind of cash.

TRACK LIST:

1.Killer Rabbit (remix)

2.Doors To Visions

3.Shot Shot Voila

4.Down The Stairs

5.Haight Street Freak

6.Peak Detector

7.Processing Unit

8.Virtual Flirt

9.A Beach In Japan

First album of Samy Guediche ex-member of Biodegradable. This is seriously insane stuff, full on to the bone but really interesting and full of surprises!

First track is the remix of Killer Rabbit from the Masterminds compilation.I've never heard the original but this is great! Typical CPU track with lot of funny sounds and a killer bassline. 9/10.Next is the Doors To Vision track. Ok, things are getting really serious now.The first half is powerful and the second insane!!! A mayhem of sounds, kicks and powerful melodies. Especially the last build-up is unbelievable! 10/10. Next is Shot, Shot Voila. Hmm, strange title. Well, this is Absolum style for sure.Especially the bassline is 100% ''absolum-ish'', but is better from most of Christof tracks. Very fast and pumping it makes you wanna dance like a crazy! It hits you again and again and when you think is over it hits you again! KILLER! 10/10. Down The Stairs is written by Samy and Christof but it sounds more CPU than the previous track. After the strange intro the track explodes! Killer basslines, ''fake build-ups'', nice samples, it is a bit simplier than other tracks but is a killer again! 10/10. Ok and now the big surprise. Haight Street Freak is a melodic masterpiece! Although is a 149 bpm track(!) isn't that fast. The intro is really great (the sample is awesome) and the track builds to an amazing Hallucinogen-style melody! No kidding! For the end we get a great melody again and the track explodes! 10/10. Peak Detector is written by Samy and Nomad. It has a tribal percussion, more funky and more ''light'' melodies but is a great track! 9/10. Processing Unit is a bomb! Killer from the first till the last second this track is awesome.POWERFUL bassline and superb synths with a great melody at the end.GREAT 10/10. And now the...BLAST! Virtual Flirt is unbelievable! Especially the build up in the middle of the track... damn you think that the speakers are gonna explode! Maximal Psy for sure! 10/10. The last track is slower but still nice to dance.It starts wuth japanese melody and it become really,really nice.Clubby sometimes but still good track. 8/10

Yeah this is surely a great album.If you tired of the boring full on stuff, give it a try! It won't let you down.

Artist: Frequency Surfer

Title: Respect

Label: Inpsyde Media

Date: June, 2003

1. Reaction

2. Elstir

3. Universal

4. Suspiria

5. Phenomenon

6. Heavy

7. El Bepi

8. Lucifero

9. Moonswing

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Oh girl. Who the f*ck let you out looking like that? Your lack of self-respect is troubling. Those sloppy milk jugs could touch your toes before you can.

Ok then...sufficiently horrified?

Somebody please hand the gentleman in the back this wastepaper basket he looks to be ill.

This is Sebastian Claro who dropped this one album and then went on to govern the small country of Luxembourg. Maybe. Probably. Sh*t I don't know. What I do know is that before a life of possible political corruption and questionable soul singer blind dates his one and only album was a powerful mix of goa and psy. Not readily seen in 2003, otherwise known as the year before we were introduced to Suntrip Records. Respect is full of deep psychedelic thumpers with the aforementioned goa licks. The melodies aren't the elaborate kind like you would hear today, but the dark atmospheres and effects capably fill the void. Good album and just a cup size away from very good. I would say this is similar to the work of Fractal Glider. So if you liked his style of music you should check it out.

Mdk

Nano 2003 (CD Album)

01 :: Homeworld

02 :: Silicon Sunrise

03 :: Magnetik

04 :: Refractions

05 :: Hallusignorita

06 :: More Directions

07 :: Avalon

08 :: High Orbit

09 :: Melody Machine

Bonus :: Peekaboo

[...]

Artist: Eskimo

Title: Can You Pick Me Up ?

Label: Phantasm

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. The Scorpion

02. Fire And Ice (Rmx)

03. Spotted Dots

04. Dirty Trancing

05. Travelling

06. Hyperdelic

07. Israeli Beautiful

08. Tbc

09. Can You Pick Me Up ?

Review:

This guy is only 17 year old! I'm pretty jealous For a guy that age this is

very nice offcourse. But this is again another isralien sounding album. I get

tired of that. Hey nothing agains israel hey, I just don't know how to call

this sound. And there are accidentally many isralien groups that sound totally

this way.

That is indeed my problem. If I forget everything that has been done ever, then

I would like this CD very very much. If this would be released one year

earlier this was a bomb. Now its just the next in the row for me.

The album sure has its moments and in some way this differs from what we have

heard but just not enough to amaze me. I'm sure this is still a killer album

for some people and it will sure set dancefloors on fire but not mine.

There is only one bad song on it and that is the 'fire and ice remix'.

Something is not right with that track, don't know what. All the other tracks

could be great tracks.

I will still give this 8/10.

Artist: Cosmic Tone

Title: Overwhelming

Label: Trancelucent

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Hard To Open

02. Total Lust

03. Mukambaru

04. Human

05. Cosmic Tone

06. Love Expression

07. Stress Pill

08. Not Like That At All

Review:

Cosmic Tone are Roei Nissan & Noga Sudai -fresh names in the Israeli minimal

trance scene and are now out with their first album on Trancelucent Production.

They have quite a unique style - nightish fat bassline with soft melodic tunes,

which turns their music into a very powerful one, and yet at the same time

minimal. Their music is perfect for a sunrise set.

Very very recommended. I can't stop listening to the album ever since I got it.

Artist: Various

Title: The Encroachment

Label: Timecode Records

Date: November, 2003

1. Artifakt - Drugged and Base

2. Phyx - Cro-Magnon

3. Stralia - Airlock

4. Shift Vs. The Slug - Apocalypse Cow

5. Twisted System - Vile Substance

6. Rabdom L - The Decoy

7. Tickets - Terminal Personalities

8. Rastaliens - Troll

9. Ghreg On Earth - Output Device

"Fantasies...have to be unrealistic. Because the moment, the second that you get what you seek...you don't, you can't want it anymore."

This one. This was the one that saw Timecode begin to emerge from solely being just a label of screeching leads and dark overtones to something that forced people to take notice. Their sound was blossoming, becoming more substantial. The melodies began to appear and they were far from cheesy. The big beat and deep throbbing bass line remained as they found their calling. A new subgenre of psytrance began to scream from the dark and this label perfected it. From the classic Apocalypse Cow and impending explosion of Vile Substance Timecode became a force to be reckoned with. They weren't at the pinnacle of their success yet...but it was coming.

Timecode Bandcamp

Mdk

Artist: sHiFt

Title: Red Line

Label: Timecode Records

Date: December, 2003

1. No more humans
2. White widow rmx
3. X-Trasensory
4. Centrifuge
5. Dont you know ?
6. Reflex
7. Digita D.N.A
8. Animated Logic
9. Infrared

"First Trip? Well, don't worry things hardly ever f*ck up around here."

You couldn't ask for a bigger kiss of death if you had a make out session under the bleachers with the grim reaper before 6th period history. How did that work out for you technician from Total Recall?

Chis Hoy is a very important figure in psytrance as far as I'm concerned. When things were quiet he did it harder and louder. His first album provided an inkling as to where he was taking this music. It's a loud and abrasive look into a futuristic world. Full of mechanical scrapings and deep rumbling bass lines and loads of sci-fi samples. Infrared with its funky rhythmic sway and acid explosion is especially sweet. He hadn't put it all together just yet as it sounds fairly samey, but he was on his way.

Timecode Bandcamp

Mdk

Artist: Aes Dana

Title: Aftermath Archives of Peace

Label: Ultimae Records

Date: November, 2013

1. Aftermath #1

2. Aftermath #2

3. Aftermath #3

4. Aftermath #4

5. Aftermath #5

6. Aftermath #6

7. Aftermath #7

$450.00

Are you f*cking kidding me. Must be Canadian dollars.

Nope, still too f*cking high. What do they use in Poland? Zloty?

Even that's too high.

Got it...Iraqi Dinars. 450 Dinars =

...32 cents.

All right that's too low, but we're getting closer. Obviously that seller is going to retain possession of that used copy of this album. Unless Beyonce decides she's into ambient in which case Jay-Z is going to f*ck it all up.

Is there anyone who is more identified with quality downtempo and ambient music? Who is Vincent Vilius? How about co-founder of arguably the best downtempo label, founding member of Asura, contributor to H.U.V.A. Network, and of course electronic activist.

What the hell does that last bit mean? Does he travel to exotic locations and protest acoustic festivals? Demand more government spending on electronic bass line research?

I'm being silly of course as he has made his mark and become an icon in the genre. This was his second album as Aes Dana and there seem to be those that think this is better than chocolate sex. Not me.

I love chocolate.

This is now 10 years old and while it still sounds fresh as the day it was made, I believe that he has gotten better with age. Recounting a tale of life after a great cataclysm it is one of those that demands a straight through listening to fully absorb its message. He weaves through vignettes of ambient and downtempo with floating pads and melancholic textures putting the listener in a relaxed state. The story is expertly told and I think it is a great piece of work, but there were times I found it less engaging than it could've been. It was good ambient, but this is Aes Dana we're talking about. I want better than good.

I want great.

It's my opinion that with successive albums his productions became deeper and more challenging. Then I realized I was judging this album based on his later works and where he's taken his music. And that's not fair. Like anything else he has grown and matured with time spent perfecting his craft. Each album is part of the puzzle and the picture cannot be completed without it. That's all you can ask of an artist.

So with repeated listening I found myself enjoying it more and more. The beatless ambient is supremely ethereal and while I still believe he has gone on to produce better albums I can appreciate this album for what it is.

Mdk

Artist: S-range

Title: Space

Label: Spiral Trax

Date: 2003

Track listing:

01. Ten 4

02. The One

03. Freak Out

04. Test Tones

05. Space

06. Ilha Bela

07. Star Alliance

08. Dimension Jump

Review:

Second album from S-Range. Before this album I didn't like S-Range

and I didn?t enjoy his last album 2001 very much, thought it was quite boring

and low quality. But after hearing SRange live in December where he played

these new tracks I changed my mind. This is a very melodic album, some mixture

between 2001 and melodic/morning trance. At the same time it's pretty full on

in its style. Ten 4 begins directly with a 'pling-plong' melody with a full on

bassline. Very uplifting. The One is darker, but kind of the same style. Very

good. Freak Out sounds a bit like Human Blue, nothing special to say about it.

Test Tones is the highlight on the cd. A lot of space-samples used, including

?the five tones? from movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At the end

this track sounds a bit old school, very nice. Space is also sort of Human

Blue style. First half of the track is pretty calm, but second half is pretty

cheesy with its kind of hoover-sounds. Ihla Bela (whatever that means) is a

slower track, which makes it a bit boring. Star Alliance is again a very good

track. Very uplifting. Dimension Jump is kind of cheesy, but not bad. It ends

this album with a nice anthem. Overall a very uplifting and melodic album,

which hopefully can help bring more melodies to the psytrance scene. The whole

album is very Space oriented (surprised?) - A lot of samples and spacey

sounds. Not overused samples though, they fit in well. Best tracks would have

to be 1, 2, 4(!) and 7. If you like Human Blue's last album or morning/melodic

trance, buy this one. But don?t compare it with 2001 because Space is a lot

better, especially the production quality which is great. I also want to

recommend the SRange track on 'Ease Division' compilation, which is the best

track on that comp. Hope for more from SRange in the future. Overall rating

7/10.