Trance2MoveU

Ritmo - Archive 9 Iono Music November, 2009 1. Practical RITMO 2. Dimension (Suntree rmx) RITMO 3. Disharmonic Silence(Time In Motion rmx) RITMO 4. Unseen (Ritmo rmx) SUNTREE 5. Check One (Unseen Dimensions rmx) RITMO 6. Rapture (Gaudium rmx) RITMO 7. Disharmonic Silence (Flegma and Nerso rmx) RITMO 8. Rapture (Egorythmia rmx) RITMO 9. Disharmonic Silence (Zyce rmx) RITMO Aside from being a goa and South African psytrance fanatic, I find myself listening to more progressive trance lately, as I feel the producers allow the track the grow and breathe; I guess you would say "progress." The tracks seem deeper and fuller these days than the majority of psy out there. This is basically a remix album of Ritmo (Dubi Dagan) tracks except for the 1st (his track) and 4th (Suntree). His first album Disharmonic Silence was a superb, fluid effort and I for one hope for more deliciousness. But let's start with the cover. It shows you an old warehouse suitable for...wait for it...archives. No mystery there. What we have here are some of the biggest names in Progressive Trance today remixing Ritmo's tracks. The results? Awesome. Big, heavy beats with lush pads surround you as melodies creep in and out of earshot. Nothing abrasive, just smooth, groovy goodness. Some say that progressive trance suffers from having the exact same song structure no matter who is producing it. Maybe that is so, but the music seems so emotive and large as if it was on an epic stage that I am drawn to it. I cannot recommend this highly enough if you like progressive trance or music that will just carry you away. Psyshoppage Beatspace Mdk

Total Eclipse - Tales of the Shaman Mandala Records November, 2009 1. Tales of the Shaman TOTAL ECLIPSE VS ECOSPHERE 2. Mescalito Ghost TOTAL ECLIPSE 3. The Quiz TOTAL ECLIPSE 4. Present Past TOTAL ECLIPSE 5. Pochutchut TOTAL ECLIPSE VS ECOSPHERE 6. Cyber Party TOTAL ECLIPSE 7. Aztecodogon TOTAL ECLIPSE VS ECOSPHERE 8. Apprenti Sorcier TOTAL ECLIPSE VS PHONIC REQUEST 9. Empregnatizer TOXIC ENGINE 10. Espagnolizar rmx (The Curandero mix) TOTAL ECLIPSE I know what you're going to say. Here we go again, another of the old school pioneers coming back with a full-on effort to sully their legacy. Why even bother, unless it's for the dough. Who is to say? I do know however, that what was once was a three man outfit is down to just one Stephane Holweck. The group responsible for the goa trance classics Le Lotus Bleu, Free Lemonade, Aliens, and the Furnace is now a one man show with his latest full release in 10 years. So the question in my mind is it goa, a hybrid between psy and goa (allowing memories of the past) or just the latest in a once great project offering a shitshow of full-on? Before I answer that, check out that cover. Absolutely beautiful, possibly one of the best of the year. There are mushrooms and flowing colors and eyes...a perfect picture for the music. Aesthetics only. But let's be honest. Stephane is in a no win situation here. If this album doesn't consist of layer upon layer of Goa, then the purists won't be happy. If he doesn't change his style, then he will be accused of not evolving. A fickle scene we belong to. Bottom line, this album is not a return to the golden age and does consist of full-on tracks. The whole album is rather vanilla to me. It's not terrible, but it's not that great either. Unfortunately as a pioneer of Goa, that is what you run into. Perhaps my own expectations were too high, but I didn't hear one track that would stay with me. I suppose the best track is the the final one, which is a remix to his track from Violent Relaxation. Nothing more to see here people, keep it moving. Psyshoppage Mdk

Seroxat - My Violent Obsession Boost Records November, 2009 1. Endless Stream 2. Goddamn Noize 3. Panic Attack 4. Breathe In 5. Feels like 6. More I know 7. Inside my head 8. Cryptomnesia 9. Wishes First, the good: Man that cover is sweet. What the hell happened to this guy? Remember his tracks on V/A's Keepers of the Freakuencies, Psycho Acoustics, Subculture, Trojan, Cryptology, and Vision of the Future? They were great, hard hitting psyinsanity, but this...Singing, stopping and starting, guitar laden nonsense. This is like a very weak Talpa wannabe mixed with SUN Project guitar trance sprinkled with odd female operatic vocals. Perhaps he saw the success that Infected Mushroom was having and decided to make an album in a similar vein. To be honest I couldn't tell one track from another. The flow is non-existent and IMO is a tremendous disappointment. I suppose he is trying to take psytrance in another varied direction and for that he should be applauded. This sound however is not for me. I don't have any favorites, but I suppose that last track meant more to me than the rest. It vacillates between downtempo and psytrance but beware it clocks in at almost 19 minutes. But not in a Jikkentekki long track good way. It stops at 7:51 and doesn't begin again until the 13:51 mark. It then descends into a wall of guitar noise and breakdowns and buildups...you know what? I don't see the purpose of this at all. What is that 6 minutes of silence supposed to accomplish? Do they think we are on the edge of our seats waiting to hear what comes next or did he have some last minute "messing around" that he felt needed to be worked into the album somehow? Samples: Saikosounds Mdk

This psychedelic dub that he employs is quite impressive. Sometimes it seems he crams either too many sounds together or the sounds he uses are a little to frenetic for my tastes. It can become tiring to the ear. However, the majority of the album is a good listen. Not many people use this style. It is very melodic and has a ton of layers to sift through. I believe this to be a great album. Relaxing and psychedelic at the same time. Mdk

Boy, they just kept getting worse didn't they? Like movie sequels, they try to recycle some of the things you loved about the original, but the majority of it is just thrown together crap. The good tracks are good, but been there done that. I also believe they should take "Goa" out of the title. If we had a true recognized definition of what goa is, maybe we could sue for false advertising. Gotta admit though, Between Worlds by Shakta continues to kick major ass. Mdk

I found this release to be quite boring. Mind you, it was eight years ago when this was made. It is your basic progressive beat with some light synths and pads. Very near minimal at times. It plods along straight ahead without any evolution or destination. If you compare it to stuff nowadays, well, it just doesn't hold up. Mdk

A little more elaboration please. Is this goa or strictly psy? Or a fusion of both? How is the flow? Mdk

I didn't know Clint Eastwood spoke such good French!

Wait I have to add this to the mix. Hands down the most crazy, melodic groove intensive psy IMO: Mdk

Mdk

I think I would agree with Frosty on this one. The interludes and classical tones are truly rich and pervasive. The actual trance parts are nothing special. This reminds me of the Sigilweaver album from Ghreg on Earth. Not in style, but the ambient and interlude pieces really pique my interest. To the point of hoping that POF would do a concept dark ambient album. One thing is for sure, POF can tell a good story. Mdk

U-recken- Deeper Into Man

So.....you're review is positive? Please elaborate as I am intrigued by a master making a comeback. Mdk

I'm a Johnny come lately to this album, as I am nervous about jumping into darkpsy with the cliche bassline and random weirdness along with lack of melodies. SA psytrance is usually about as dark as I go. For me the intros were the best part. Very deep and eerie, providing a very dark and scary vibe. It would be awesome if he did a Dark Ambient album. Like all have said before, it falls into the trap that a lot of darkpsy does: lack of variation. Nonetheless, because he furnishes breaks in his tracks I believe it is more accessible than the relentless pound you in the skull scary music. So for me, it is not bad for a DarkPsy album. Good work. Mdk

Oh...hell yes! :posford: Mdk

This was quite good. Love the tabla in track 3. Congratulations on the new artist and thank you for making it free! Mdk

Man Chris that sucks. A contract means nothing these days it seems. On the positive side, your album 9th still has permanent residence on my cd player. Mdk

Thanks for the info! I no longer have any of the gear except for a JV 1010 sound module, but maybe later I will resupply. Mdk

Ok, settle down everyone. I made this thread to profess my admiration for a label that has given me music that I missed out on when it was at its zenith. To be honest, I enjoy the music. Other than production, I cannot really tell the difference between new and old school. And I don't care to. I'm not into labeling. If it sounds good and moves me, I like it. Mdk

Good track Filipe! Very enjoyable. I used to have an MC505 with an RM1x and a Yamaha SU700 sampler but I couldn't ever figure out how to get them all to work well together. Maybe when my sons are grown I will get back into it. What software did you use? I ask because I have never used any and would be interested in what you recommend. Mdk

I've enjoyed his tracks very much. I wouldn't be averse to him attempting a new goa album. Any chance you can do that Suntrip? Mdk

1. E-Mantra- Arcana 2. Alienn- Cosmic Matter 3. Filteria- Daze of Our Lives 4. Radical Distortion- Psychedelic Dreams 5. Merr0w- Born Underwater 6. Cosmosis- Fumbling For the Funky Frequency 7. Geko- Posion Flowers (very overlooked IMHO) 8. Hypnoxock- Synthetic Resurrection (check it out!) 9. Outer Signal- Fabric of Space 10. Phatmatix- The Divine Comedy 11. Sick Addiction- Demented Diary 12. The Commercial Hippies- From Beyond 13. Transwave- Frontfire V/A's Temple of One Abre Macabre Alternative Colours Artificial Sun Digital Decadence Hypnotwist Positive Alchemists IV (great comeback) Psionic Force Psychofluid 3 The Art of Noize The Sitting Goddess I realize that you can only nominate 5, but perhaps someone will read this and check out an album they missed. Mdk Suncockreti would've been on there if not for the dreadful California Sunshine nonsense!

HOLY CRAP is this full power acid insanity! Full steam ahead that will move you. Fantastic job! Mdk

Now Mars, you know you cannot dangle a juicy carrot like that in front of us! Spill it! (Well, how bout some of it?) Mdk

Wouldn't it be something if the reason the album took this long is because they wanted to make such a great goa album to put them back in the driver's seat? Mdk