bomble

phase418 - yeah - this is the closest to the Padmasana style that Makyo has produced solo. Maybe Vismays is not quite as good, but it's damn close and well worth the listen .... There is also a new Makyo album cd called Yakshini, and I shall be getting it as soon as I can, because the mp3's are superb. bomble

Makyo - Vismaya Artist: Makyo Title: Vismaya Label: Dakini Date: 1999 Track listing: 01. 25'21" Vismaya 02. 16'56" Pura Review: I have to say this is one of the most subtly beautiful pieces of psychedelic chillout I know of. It is clearly well known by some members of this site, as it is regularly mentioned in the forum, but for some reason, nobody has reviewed it here yet ? Well, anyway, Makyo is Gio Makyo and this was his third album release, after Rasa Bhava ('96) and Shringara ('99). The evolution of his production skills reaches new heights in this album. Deceptively this is only two tracks, but each go through metamorphoses. The album remains down-tempo throughout, but the intensity of sound does vary and develop. In the track Vismaya, smooth beginnings build into a dub beat that carries the organic sounds of tablas and other Indian influences. The midi guitar provides the mind with input, while the tune develops slowly. Pura was recorded live in Camphuan in Bali, and the place's influences run thick. The opening is prayer-like with chimes and plucked sitar strings - you can almost smell the incense. Very ambient and beatless for the first three minutes, the sound richens and develops until the midpoint, when the wonderful bassline glides in. Electronic treble noising wraps you ears and keeps the mind flying, until you land to the sound of crickets in the paddy fields ! This is really poetic music, and quite inspiring - it's only a shame it's only 42 minutes long. If you enjoy this album, then Padmasana was a collaboration between Gio Makyo, David Hikari and S. Widi from Bali, and is at least as good as this. An easy 8.5/10

V/A - Myosotis Artist: Various Title: Myosotis Label: Peyote Date: 2000 Track listing: 01. 06'48" Mystical Sun : Nebular Mist 02. 00'07" Silk : Tingling 03. 08'10" Sound Safari : Sleep Well 04. 06'58" Myopic : Stigmata 05. 00'20" Silk : Start Up 06. 09'32" Hypothermia : Ice Age 07. 07'02" Hertz : Nutymes 08. 00'44" Tobe And CB : Low Games 09. 00'09" Tobe And CB : See Six 10. 06'07" Lumen And Leo : In The Air 11. 02'47" Myopic : Iconoclast 12. 00'07" Hertz : Maya - 1 Day 13. 04'47" Mega Om : Ku 14. 01'33" Hertz : Water Ballard 15. 05'41" Hertz : Shamens Path 16. 00'46" Silk : Fusion 17. 00'24" Karl : Globally Inspired 18. 00'53" Silk : Fin 19. 00'08" Silk : Wake Up Review: It is so much fun when you take a gamble on a cd and it pays off ! I hadn't heard much about this, and just went ahead and ordered it. Now I give myself a huge pat on the back for a job well done. This is only really a 'various artists' album in the same way that the two Mystery of the Yeti's were - the artists appear on several tracks in different collaborations, and this is produced as a whole rather than a nice collection of individual tunes. It starts out truly ambient, with few beats and plenty of drifting soundscapes. Subtle samples punctuate the longer tunes, which in themselves develop perfectly. The mood is calm, and deeply relaxing, without losing interest. Then a couple of tunes are more beat driven, and there are some dub elements - but still the feeling is chilled. Occasionally a hint of intelligent darkness creeps in (Ice Age for example), but towards the last third of the album the tunes are calmer once more, wafting your mind away to far off places. These tunes are clever without being pretentious - chilled without being boring, and contain choice samples from sources like 12 Monkeys to shamanic mumblings. I wouldn't say that any one track stands out, though they all have a distinct flavour. The production quality is faultless throughout - this is definitely psychedelic, but also uncluttered stuff. A very worthwhile album for anyone who wants to take a journey without raising their heartbeat. 8/10

V/A - Sympathy In Chaos 1 Artist: Various Title: Sympathy In Chaos 1 Label: Matsuri Date: 1997 Track listing: 01. 15'52" Vux : 13 Floor Spectrum 02. 02'28" Mantaray : Zentral Wheel 03. 06'42" The Liquid Dub Connection : Floating Through The Air On Gossamer Wings 04. 10'07" Prana : Geomantik (Fire Dragon Mix) 05. 05'07" Triptaka : Monkey On A Cloud 06. 05'03" Ju Ju Space Jazz : Pizza 07. 06'00" Massimo Vivona : Vice 08. 06'10" Anand : Atmosphere 09. 08'49" The Irresistible Force : Space Is The Place (Intergalactic Ambient Mix) Review: Perhaps the best of the three Sympathy in Chaos albums - certainly in terms of continuous listening potential. What I like about this album is that as a whole it works very very well. It is not a track-by-track experience - probably because Tsuyoshi in his best days was a very gifted dj - but overall it is a blissful journey. The structures are not the simple feel-good melodies of many Ibiza-styled chill sets, but rather complex workings that gradually pull your mind down into the chillspace. There is a strong electro feel throughout - plenty of weird and wonderful noising but without being too invasive to the relaxed state that this creates. It starts in a very gentle and subtle manner, developing rhythms and beats as tunes progress. Vux is the ideal opener, with a warm, delicately soothing sound that keeps on developing through it's 15 minutes ... beats enter and depart - weird seti-type samples, gyuto chanting monks and psychedelic screechings abound. The liquid dub connection track is equally interesting - searching, deep intelligent music. Of course, the tempo peaks a bit with the remix of Prana's (Tsuyoshi's own) Geomantik ..... if you don't know this tune then you didn't get to a dance floor in '97 ! This is a very psychedelic piece, and probably a bit strong for the general feel of the album, but I guess he was proud of himself !! The Triptaka tune is also too heavy to classify this as a purely chilled album - though I don't think it was ever intended to be pure ambience. The Ju Ju Space Jazz tune is predictably unpredictable - though it's certainly not my favourite of theirs. I think you either love these guys or hate them.... I'm a lover ! Massimo Vivona provides a nice tribal style - if a little uneventful - but it becomes the launch pad to the arabic mayhem of Anand. The finale is a beautiful Mixmaster Morris track - perfectly formed and highly emotionally charged. The one let down about this album is that in, my view, the extra noising that Tsuyoshi added reduces what would otherwise be near-perfect production quality ..... was this a paranoid dj trying to keep his tracks to himself ? Who knows... but for that reason, and because the tunes are heavily interwoven, this is probably not a dj's best friend. But for the bedroom listener, this is a journey worth taking many many times. 7.5/10

I don't rate this as highly as some of the reviews here - but certainly a worthy chill. I'd have to say that I suspect that the producers think a little too much of their abilities here - it's a bit of an overkill in the sample department. bomble 6/10

No doubting that this is very good - emotionally charged and enjoyable.... but it isn't as amazing in my view as some people have suggested. I agree with Freak 51 in that the tunes are built in a fairly simple manner 'lego-like' - I feel like I am waiting for the good bits in the tunes more than I really should be..... There are many many influences here that show through - it isn't ground breaking, but it is worthwhile. Many of the beats sound like early Transwave and Total Eclipse sounds (maybe it's just the French way ?), and Code eternity has a melody that is straight from Banco de Gaia's 'Last Train to Lhasa'. Highlights for me are tracks 4, 5 and 7. 7.5/10 bomble

What a bargain ! Due to Matsuri's departure, Chaosunlimited.co.uk 'gave' this to me for £3 ( less than $5) ..... what a treat. It was about the only Matsuri released album that I missed during their heyday, and though it's 3 years after it reached the shelves, it's a good one to be sure ! Even at full price, this is good back-catalogue stuff. bomble

Having seen Slide live a couple of weeks before this was released, I admit to being slightly disappointed. Slide's live set was genuinely one of the best I have ever seen - totally ignited Tyssen st. with unique power. Of course, this is never going to translate to an album, but it seemed a little two-dimensional and not as interesting as it should have been. Still some great industrial-styled tunes here which are probably the last of this type we'll hear from Slide as he seems to have gone down the progressive house alley (aaagh!).

I feel a little disappointed that the copy I have does not have the HEP remix - though I have the original ..... was this a tune included in the USA or vinyl edition, as here in the UK it didn't appear ?

I was more than a little annoyed at the release of this album - not because I don't like it (I haven't really listened to it properly) but because I had my hands on a full track promo-copy in (yes) March 1998. I am not a DJ - this was in a record shop - so I expected to see it on the shelf with a nice cover and everything within a couple of months...... but it didn't appear for another 18 months !! By that time I had lost interest in waiting, particularly when all the trance press (Dream Creation etc.) had adverts running saying things like 'and Dragonfly have rushed to put forward the release date of this all-new album.....' I can't say I was too pleased about this ! I appreciate that there has to be some delay between production and release, so Seb could do live sets etc..... but 18 months ! Maybe someday I'll give it another chance .... but there are other things out there I haven't heard yet.... bomble

a real gem from its day - and holds up well today too. 7/10 bomble

I'm with Ktaadn here - it may be to do with synchronicities in my life, but '97 was a highlight year musically, and this is the souvenir I care to cherish the most. Outstandingly psychedelic in that after a few minutes I can almost feel my mind doing acrobatics. Intense, out there and excellently produced. A worthy reminder of a different direction that psychedelia was taking that summer. bomble

Change for its own sake is not necessarily good. In my opinion Astral Projection have not released a better album since TiT - I listened to this in total darkness and saw such lights and colour (unaided by chemical stimulant) in this music. Admittedly, there was once a time when AP were setting new boundaries but there's no reason why they should continue to do this if they have such a strong following of people who really enjoy what they produce. They may be more commercial than most - but I think in this case it is deserved - they have worked hard and they make people happy - why shouldn't that have it's financial rewards. I'm not a big fan of AP or Israeli stuff in general, but I think it's better to give these guys credit for what they do so well than to chip at them out of jealousy .....? bomble

Orion - Metamorpheus Artist: Orion Title: Metamorpheus Label: Phantasm Date: 2000 Track listing: 01. 07'37" Spider Monkey 02. 08'51" Pot Alert 03. 08'10" Solid 04. 08'23" Metamorpheus 05. 10'22" Future Funk 06. 09'03" Lamfighter International 07. 09'52" Area 51 08. 07'46" Blue Point 09. 08'21" Neu Review: Quite frankly I am amazed that I'm the first to review this album on this server because it deserves huge attention. In short, these are just high quality, intricate, stomping, tuneful and genuinely psychedelic tracks. Each tune oozes production quality and timing - I thought Orion's last album (Futuristic Poetry) was very creative if somewhat lacking in dancefloor power...... this keeps the mental activity levels up while giving the feet plenty to do ! Jean Borelli (Orion) has been one of the most consistently powerful DJ's for many years, and it looks like he's going to be filling dancefloors even when he's not there with these gems. I wouldn't say that any of the tracks are bad - they all have an unrelenting beat signature and plenty of high pitch tweaking to put you into trance in the true sense of the word. Plus you get your money's worth with a full 78 minutes. Why on earth (or anywhere else for that matter) do so many producers just turn out a 50 minuter and hope we won't notice....? I suppose that stand out tracks for me would be : Future Funk (because it is funky surprise surprise), Lamfighter int. (I pity the fool who doesn't want to dance to this) , and Blue point (for it's tasty tribal drums). But frankly it's a joy from start to finish (or should that be 'Danish' ?) This won't appeal so much if you only like minimal tunes (Yumade etc.) because there is quite a lot going on here - though it's definitely not cluttered. If you liked Orions last album, or think highly of Mindfield, then you'll be a happy hippy with this in your collection. 8.5 / 10 (atleast)

Lots of fun to be had here no doubt about it. As a point of interest , Avalon was released under the name Celestium on RTTS Ambient Meditations II - did they do anything else as Celestium ?? Incidentally.....Yo are you the 'Yo' I know in Cambs. ? bomble

I bought this the second it came out nearly three years ago. I listen again today and I love it just as much. This hasn't become a dust collector because what these guys did was creative and really activates the neurons. It wasn't following a trend it was just being itself and what a treat that was.

I think I should reiterate that most of the production of this album was in the capable hands of Greg Hunter, who also produced the best Orb tunes ...... the link is not as surpsising as Infiniti500 may have thought

I understand your cynicsism Snow Dog - but the 'excerpts' series on Matsuri were always intended to be back catalogue or single releases - not everyone gets to listen to all the singles so I don't mind compilations like that .....

In not sure I can easily justify why I think so, but in my opinion this is a fraction better than Helium. The tunes of Helium are certainly more powerful and stand out better on their own, but if I listen to the whole of Phototropic, I find myself torn about by the ever building level of psychedelic energy. I bought this as soon as it came out, and I still love to listen to it - but only when I can play it from start to finish ! 9/10

Progressive.... meaning with progress.... moving on ? What's it all about really ? I mean, psychedelic trance has been moving on ever since it's earliest days, shifting, evolving, growing up.... so why now do we call this shift towards minimalism and a blurring of the boundaries with acid techno 'progressive'. I'm not saying I don't like the sound of some of these tracks, because apart from the first two tunes they are pretty sound in my view - but I'd have to say that the amount of neural activity they generate in my brain is a lot less than some of the psychedelia of a couple of years ago. Tunes for the dance floor in the early hours in the heart of winter ! 7/10 and please don't call music progressive .... it's a meaningless word !

V/A - Nada Masala 1 Artist: Various Title: Nada Masala 1 Label: Dakini Date: 2000 Track listing: 01. 09'25" Makyo : Tantrika 02. 07'27" Hydraulic : Guidance 66 (Rmx) 03. 05'09" Ollkemya : Boubanebass 04. 13'11" Professor Trance : Medicine Trance 05. 10'30" Drift : Arc En Ciel 06. 05'20" Takashi Kohgo : Tsubo Dance 07. 08'45" Jaia : L'Ivresse Des Profondeurs 08. 13'27" Padmasana : Multiverses Review: This is an exquisitely produced chillout compilation from our friends in Japan - Dakini records. As this website doesn't seem to have any reviews of Dakini cd's I thought I'd start it off with what must be one of their best. The tunes enclosed in this cd are frankly gorgeous - if you like to really calm down after a good party, or need sounds to travel to (physically or mentally) then this is ideal. It is one step more chilled out than, say, sphongle, but there's a hell of a lot of thought that has gone into some of these tunes. Slightly surprising therefore that the two tracks co-produced by Gio (Makyo and Padmasana) seem to hold samples that have been kicking around for years. Neverther less, these two track still have a fresh flow to them, and when united with the other 6 tunes, I'm certainly not complaining. Drift's 'arc en ciel' is a highlight for me and anyone who isn't moved by that should stick to their amphetamines. Jaia's effort is also a worthy one - but any tune on the cd would find it into my chillout playlist. 8/10

Dub Trees - Nature Never Did Betray The Heart That Loved Her Artist: Dub Trees Title: Nature Never Did Betray The Heart That Loved Her Label: Dragonfly Date: 2000 Track listing: 01. 10'37" Buffalo 02. 02'29" Cobalt Waterfall 03. 05'33" A Way Of Being Free 04. 13'27" Butterfly Trilogy (Parts 1,2,3) 05. 02'35" La Rosa (Live While You Live) 06. 07'11" Orpheus 07. 08'01" Magnetica 08. 07'13" Dreamlab 09. 05'14" Concrete Tourist 10. 04'02" Freaks Of Nature 11. 06'08" Return Of The Native Review: This is a thrilling chillout album. It represents several years of collaboration and tweaking and it works wonderfully.The album opens with a gentle delicacy that really gets the mind watering, and continues through many avenues of dub and hypnotic rythms. It is somewhat less Posfordised than Celtic Cross in that only Magnetica has his unmistakeable signature stamped on it. In fact it would seem that this really is Youth's baby, and a beauty it is too. Greg Hunter adds an enormous amount to the production quality of this album - coming from the Orb, Subsurfing (- GET Frozen Ants or forever be sorry!!) and most recently Alien Soap Opera. His particular flavour shows through especially in Concrete Tourist- a dub lined groover, and Return of the Native - a tribal/hispanic treat. Each tune has a definite flavour, and I admit that they are not so immediately earcatching as, say, Shpongle, but there's plenty there to involve even the most discerning ambient lover. Not every tune stands out enough to be heard in the best chillout mixes but overall a superb quality. Don't expect Shpongle or Celtic Cross - but do enjoy ! 8/10

Perhaps the purest of all the chillout spin off's that came out of the Infinity Project (followed up by Mystery of the Yeti 1 and 2). A total journey that delicately wafts you into another world..... Raja Ram's flute is totally ethereal, and the weird swirling atmosphere created in each tune gets me every time. If you can't get hold of it, try chaosunlimited.co.uk as they re-stock it from time to time.

I strongly disagree with anyone who puts this album down -it is totally astounding. I agree that Shpongle is more involving and dramatic, but Hicksville is a superb addition to anyone's chill out stock. The gentle interplay of rythms, samples and guitar make this a real musical journey that demonstrates the wide acoustic experience of Youth and the technical wizardry of Simon Posford. It oozes lush warming sounds held together in a tribal bassline, and shows a maturity that is so often lacking in many efforts at producing decent chilled tunes. It neither rushes into anything cheesy or melodic, nor loses variety and interest. An easy 9/10 bomble

Ok - whoever got into the Hallucinogen/Hux Flux debate needs to step back and take them each for what they are. Posford's superb use of the dial-up demonstrates his mastery of all things electronic, but HuxFlux have captured something raw, deeply psychedelic and totally astounding. If you're reviewing Hux Flux, then point out how fresh and intriguing each track sounds even after several playings, and how totally unpretentious the whole thing is. Album covers - pixellated - frankly who cares ! If you judge this by its cover you'll be sorely mistaken. Don't delay, buy it today !