Astrognomix

I've got Bose Triports, which are somewhat suitable, but I am looking at an upgrade next year... Something completely over the ear and probably in the $250-$400 range as opposed to these, which are slightly more on a budget, and still have decent quality. I appreciate the advice, and will probably be a bit more careful

I was reading Ormion's topic on the 'kick' in psy and boom boom and what not, and started thinking about the volume of psy for whatever reason, and came up with this idea for another topic... When listening to reaaalllllly good psy, up or downtempo, I, as well as many of you I am sure, cannot help but crank the volume up so I can hear the music better and better. It almost seems it could never be too loud and doesn't really bother/hurt my ears at the time. However, when I get to this high of volume and I'm loving it, and I need to go to the bathroom or something like that, so I take the headphones off for a few minutes and come back. When I put my headphones on and press play again I'm like "OMG GET THEM OFF OWW!" because the volume is WAY too high to just start blasting like that. Yet, 10 minutes of listening to by, and I end up listening to Back to Earth by Filteria or something, and the volume goes right back up... So, overall, I'm wondering if there are any long term listeners or audiologists out there who can tell me if I need to tone it down a bit or if loudness can be safer when it comes to psy, particularly downtempo is what I do this with most, where there aren't going to be sudden or unexpected points of loudness above the rest of the track. That's about it...

Okay I think I found how to answer this one in a metaphorical way that maybe makes more sense than trying to actually describe it. Dance music, psytrance, goa, whatever with a strong kick, is an art form, unique in it's own musical style. Just like an oil painting vs a water color or crayons etc. The kick drum, if this music was a painting, to me is like the canvass. It creates the utterly hypnotizing effect that can draw the listener in, and allow the other sounds on higher frequencies really let brain waves expand and hallucinations happen. Unfortunately, most people find that kick really overwhelming, and when you look at the general populace, most people don't practice meditation or really pay attention to their dreams or anything like that. So basically, the kick drum to me is like a canvass that is very hard to see through, requiring a lot of focus, and it just doesn't make sense to a lot of people because they lack the imagination or the mental capacity to really look deeper, through the canvass and into the art, and to form their own interpretation of it based on the way that it touches them emotionally or imaginitively. I hope that makes sense and maybe leads us to an answer to your question we can agree to. It is the best way I can explain how I feel about this without saying that it's just our l33t musical taste and they are unknowing infidels to not love it . I actually dislike about 99% of uptempo psy, but what I like I LOVE, but still listen to psychill/dub/downtempo much more often :drama:

Androcell's new track "Seahorse Dreams" makes me ecstatic... "My Head Feels Like A Frisbee... Horny and Holy at the same time"... So good I can taste it. The rest of the album is good, if not great, as well. But Androcell, seriously, is off the hook right now.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is right with Are You Shpongled for me, in terms of my late teen transformation into a tripped out psyhead... this forum reminded me I haven't listened to SAW in way too long, and I lost my original CDs.... will have to purchase again or find a FLAC version on P2P (I never feel bad about redownloading an album I have paid for in the past, not to say I am sin free in terms of pirating....)

Endless Rhythms is my favorite Shulman album, and Random Thoughts is utter bleh in my opinion also. Would definitely say you are missing out, though I am a little biased because I got to listen to Endless Rhythms while traveling through Venezuela by river boat In terms of something I am not too fond of but everyone else loves, quite honestly I was not nearly as impressed with the Crop Circles album last year as most. I.F.O and Ominus both trump it as far as I'm concerned.

THe problem here is as with most music... 90% of all music from every genre is essentially crap. So, 90% of what people hear and consider to be the psytrance we research and dig through all that crap for to be what they are used to hearing... even if you get them to listen, most are biased enough that they will not actually *hear* what is going on, especially since really good psytrance up or downtempo requires a tuned ear and mind to really understand and delve into. That's pretty much how I see it, but I wouldn't say stop trying. Honestly I think the best way to convert people is with the downtempo, though, stuff like Ott, Shpongle, Androcell or Kaya Project is more likely to attract outsiders, imo, especially since all 4 of those artists will use more of a range of bass/kick drum patterns. That's my two cents...

This album is seriously a masterpiece... I'm surprised it received so little attention here in the forum then placed 2nd for downtempo album of the year in the psynews votes. It was under my radar until then, glad that I found it! Only thing about this album is it requires a really good system, by Bose Tri-Ports barely do it justice and they handle most psy just fine. The bass here is deep and enveloping and the high tones do a lot to keep the ride very engaging. Just lovely when listened to in the right settings.

If you do those blind tests through a louder, high quality multi-channel sound system there is unquestionable difference in quality between mp3 of any kind and lossless. I don't notice as much through my Bose Tri-Ports, but when I listen to the original CD in my car it makes a huge improvement over burned mp3 versions. Ummm as far as this album (to stay on topic), it's amazing psytrance. I don't like a lot of the uptempo, but this album is really great, especially love track 7.

Sooooo... Who is gonna tackle HiD Live? I think I'm too much a Twisted fanboy for it, plus I've never written a review. Jon Cocco, I'm curious as to what your reaction is

I don't see how they could justify replacing the intricate bass lines from tracks like Solstice or LSD with that repetitiveness, though... I will try to see your point of view on my next listen through the album. I do still enjoy listening to it, but I guess my expectations were set too high.

This album is outstanding, but is scarred by a very lackluster bassist. Would have been an absolute mindblower given a bassist with creativity, talent, and an actual understanding of the psychedelic nature of this music. I can't help but feel depressed when listening to the album due to the fact that it sounds like an amateur is on stage with some of the greatest producers known to man. Totally fucked

Oh PLEASE... You should be less humble, after having won the 2008 vote for best downtempo psy of the year. More confidence will only bring more ooompphhff to your future sounds, and I can't wait to hear them.

Phutureprimitive is one of my favorite ambient artists and is from here in Portland, Oregon. First and only album so far is called Subconscious, I highly recommend it. I will be seeing him perform a live set in June, opening for the Shpongle DJ set... it's going to be phenomenal :posford:

I am surprised no one as mentioned Brazil! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/ That movie both satirizes our ridiculous way of life while mind f*cking you at the same time... good stuff

I'd have to go with Distant System's cover or Opus Iridium... both really spectacular. *edit* Really liking Crop Circles also... tough decision between the three...

One that got me recently, though the songs weren't quite as similar as I initially expected, was Distant System's 'Gravitational Vortices' from Spiral Empire vs. Filteria's 'Back To Earth' from the Sundrops compilation. Not exactly similar, as I noted, but a very similar vibe, and I could stand to hear 100 more like them before I thought it was enough. Very very well done spacey vibes that beautifully create a nebula of sonic space... or something like that

+1

I'm not sure if you noticed, but this forum/website is called PSYNEWS.ORG. I would share my enthusiasm for other styles of music in a different forum, if I was quite as enthusiastic as I am about new psy-electronica. There aren't a lot of genres which are undergoing a huge transformation/birth like this in our current time, though that is not to say that there isn't great new music of all styles coming around all the time. Anyways, I thought that was kinda meaninglessly negative for this thread. Also, it's awesome to hear about the new Slackbaba album... didn't know that was coming around. At the same time, I am already drooling over the samples of Hallucinogen In Dub Live, and absolutely cannot wait for that. Alone I think it will make this a far better year than last, if not more.

Supposedly Hallucinogen in Dub Live in Brixton will be released late in May... I am incredibly excited for that in terms of downtempo. Also sharing the enthusiasm for the new Solar Fields album, have yet to get into HUVA Network though.

Indeed.... Daze of Our Lives already topped it IMHO...

This is getting pretty amazing... Solar Fields - Movements Filteria - Daze of Our Lives Impending albums from Twisted including a new live set with expanded tracks for Hallucinogen in Dub, a new Shpongle album, and even rumors of a new Younger Brother... Truly epic :drama:

My jaw is on the floor because of this album so it's hard to type... This is some of the coolest fucking music I have heard in my entire life. I am blown away, astonished, and above all, can't wait to hear it while tripping. This is just out of control... raises new bars for the future of psychedelic music. I just wish the last track filled the last 3-4 minutes of the CD space... and then another CD... Guess I'm getting greedy... but hot damn this is amazing.

This sounds like the best stuff you have come up with... The first part of the teaser sounds like a profound adaptation of A Bowl Gruel World... I can't freakin' wait to hear this one in full. Reminds me a bit of Mauxuam so far... only better...

On the contrary, track 4, Upperfloating Fantasy, would take me to a ridiculously higher level if I were to hear it right at midnight.... The vocal samples in this song and way the throat singing is looped as well as the call and response between the two vocal types.... ooohhhhhh myyyyyyy ggggaaawwwwwddddddd......... Also... the name of the album is Search Your Dream... though I love hearing this album while driving around, I think it would almost be too much for the morning... this is for deep within the journey and tribal footstompin... very tribal