Dolmot

Saafi Brothers - The Quality of Being One Sundial Aeon - Vulcanosis Banco de Gaia - Big Men Cry 20th Anniversary Edition Ajja - Spira Mirabilis Jikooha - Spacemen Underground Morphic Resonance - To the Stars EP Also got some Lustmord/Dread earlier, my Pleiadians LPs were shipped today, and there are some fairly random (but cool) "oldies" LPs in the in-pile...

For something possibly related, speaking as a potential visitor... I liked the concept. I don't even demand that much regarding the lineup. For me, a week off in a nice, warm place with a bunch of sceners is already 90% good. However, I had to skip this festival, just like many others. Why? Because of zero practical information. I just don't get why so many festivals entirely fail to communicate the bare essentials, such as: How to travel to the general area? How to get to the actual location? What do you provide? What do I need? Note that this is not strictly a BGF rant but seriously, what's the deal with adding yet another terabyte to the site's psychedelic flash animation (which makes the interface entirely unresponsive and unreadable) and booking the 137th DJ, while omitting everything the visitors would actually need? Look, I don't have a 20 people crew, a rental bus and three weeks of spare time to dedicate solely on the festival. Neither I have an extra week (or motivation) to conduct research on completely basic matters while meeting spring's deadlines at work. One organiser could type that in a day, instead of making 1000 visitors google for every detail. BGF finally published some of these basics on 29th of June, one week before the festival. Hey whoopy-doo, that's exactly when I want to start booking flights and possibly extra hotel nights to make the whole trip happen. Nope. Some major festivals can't even put the date and location on their front page. Seriously? So here's a tip to any organiser who actually wants people to visit the event: Try to look at your main, public information page as a complete outsider. How much effort does it take to figure out, how to even get there? If already that is a gigantic hassle, how about skipping the shiteload of flash animation/videos and delivering the actual point as the very first thing? Information buried somewhere in the middle of endless, random FB hype chats isn't the correct solution either. It's not enough that you know where it is and how to have a good week. The visitors need to know too. They're paying (or not). Also, try to make the actual experience pleasant. Make sure that people can get food, drink, good sleep and information, and they know this all in advance. The 137th DJ is just completely irrelevant compared to this. I've had one shit day at a festival simply because the information regarding return buses was completely missing, and there was nobody to answer. From the organising side, I only managed to find people who sold beer and knew absolutely nothing about anything else. Of course, it's still possible to dismiss this all with belittling and insulting, but my common solution to that is to skip the festival altogether. Done that, several times. I don't have that many vacation days, thus I'm spending them on something that reduces stress instead of adding to it. This isn't even any hardcore professionalism. It's the most basic thing with any event. I've organised many, and I've always made sure that people know where to go, what to bring, and where to eat. Otherwise it would be just silly to start collecting participation fees. Maybe there are people out there who will shell out a load of money for a "mystery box", but I'm not one of those. Surely I'm not alone with this.

I think I checked the samples while gathering my latest CD order. My reaction for the first track was "heh, fun". Then already for the second it was "gah, not fun any more". Could possibly stream it for a while in the right mood, but it's not worth the money or space to actually buy it.

$77 according to one site, or something like that. Plus shipping. I visited the store when it was available (for 2 days or something?), but didn't click the 'buy' button. Maybe I should have. The original pressing sells for more like $200. Then again, I do have the original pressing and the Infinite Excursions sampler vinyl with Rumours of Vapours. Maybe it was just fair to give someone else a chance instead of being a packrat myself. The new album, including an LP version, is announced for September. Remember to check your calendars, place your preorders or whatever, if you want one...

Well blimey, looks like I managed to book my trip. As usual, my general schedules and vacation quotas/regulations have been a total mess, but at least this time the situation is looking better than in the previous years when I had no chance (or energy) to travel anywhere in the first place. Let's see if there are any happy campers around...

Not sure if I belong here as I'm finally trying to leave that niche. There were a bunch of years when I was organising events of my own (not music-related), and then a few summers of total chaos with job changes, house moves and whatnot. Now there finally might be a chance of a proper vacation, which is really welcome as I seriously need a few weeks off. (And it doesn't quite work if there's a shitload of deadlines immediately before and after. Been there, done that. Wasn't fun.) So, I definitely know the feeling and can relate. A one-year break is still bearable, but you know it's getting bad if you no longer can even imagine a holiday trip nor start planning one as the whole concept feels so distant. I'm almost there...

Also sounds similar to Insoma. There's a studio version on EtnicaNet and a live version on the Solstice festival CD/DVD. That track is made of pure cool... Edit: Or is it actually 911?

Hey, even his mix CD had Prana on it. Cool guy.

What's "thumpy", exactly? I've heard plenty of different kick styles even in oldschool goa. Of course, one important historical aspect is that goa parties and music have their roots in 80s synth pop, where a basic drum machine kick was used as an electronic replacement for a common bass drum. It provided a steady, mechanical beat (or a rhythm) without totally dominating the track. Think Kraftwerk, for example. You can hear that kind of "beach beat" in a lot of early goa like Total Eclipse and such. Many composers were also simply limited by hardware. They didn't have everything and the kitchen sink to choose from. Then again, a lot of that applies to early techno, house and "normal trance" too. But quite soon many totally different variants were introduced. In some "French style" goa the melodies totally dominate. For example, in many Underhead tracks I wonder whether someone accidentally left the bass gain completely down. Green Nuns was so acid-drenched that you probably couldn't fit a massive bass in there. Conversely, the Ominus family was stomping its way through your roof already in 1996. I've got a few "what the hell is happening" looks when Psychlopedia - The Gurningpoint comes in after more lightweight stuff on a big system. Dimension 5 had its characteristic long & low decay. Etnica / Crop Circles has fascinating tracks, where the kick peak itself is barely noticeable, but the decay blends into a solid bass wall. Some may find it weak, I find it extremely groovy. Meanwhile, a lot of techno becomes boring if it only has the "rope skipping" 4/4 kick with nothing else in the low end to support it. No amount of tweaking of the kick sound itself can help that. Of course, the mix greatly affects how it comes out. If the majority of energy is at ~50 Hz, taking it or cutting it makes a world of difference. A lot of goa/psy was produced and mixed by one man shops with budget equipment and varying levels of professionalism so the final sound varies correspondingly. Obviously people also have their own preferences on whether the bass should be earth-shattering or just a supporting element, and production/mastering will reflect that. I think the kick in general is overrated, and producers should listen to funk and write cool basslines instead.

Yes...

I listened through the Psysutra album. It was 71 minutes (or whatever) well spent. My quality of life improved. Well, Friday and beer helped too.

Hipit eivät intistä innostu. Sounds good to me, though.

Last week: - Ra - Earthcall - Crossing Mind - Beyond Duality - Proxeeus - Weird Tales - Veasna - Energy - Banco de Gaia - Live at Glastonbury 20th Anniversary Edition - BMI Goes India - Flooting Grooves - Monosodium Flootamate - VA - Strange-Eyed Constellations - Andrew Heath - Flux - Eastern Spirit - Lucid Dreaming

Nah, I was just unpacking my previous orders and calling it a day. Didn't feel like rushing to shop more. Next time let us know a bit earlier than 2-x hours before the deadline. However, I already have six of the seven albums mentioned here...

I have two big parcels of fresh CDs next to me, but I'm doing loads of mind-numbing paperwork while trying to figure out various regulations, which are in fine print legalese, self-contradictory or both. In some cases I'm also fixing the paperwork of other people, who got paid for doing it, yet still managed to screw it up. What a jolly Sunday.

He's certainly given us cancer.

I think you might find it's 30000 he needs.

This week: - Virtuart & Friends - Pitch Black - Futureproof - Pitch Black - Filtered Senses - Tor.Ma in Dub - Mara'akames Gathering One 5CD order of 2016 stuff is in, and I'll probably place another this weekend.

"The"? There are probably more than ten different Pleiadians references in this thread, hardly any of them "this is identical to --". Examples from this page: And you're making your own comparison right there too...

You mean there's Skazi and Talamasca in them?

Cooking, drinking coffee, listening to Virtuart, cooling fancy beers, waiting for sauna. I'd say it's going pretty well.

Wait what? Let me check... Crap! My CDs! Gone! Those bastards!

Hey, don't open your Christmas presents early!

Well, we don't judge. (Men du borde logga ut i alla fall.)

Where?!