Trance2MoveU

Sangoma Records is what Timecode morphed into when the South African psytrance gravy train ended. Their releases have focused on the darker, forest side of psytrance and haven't done much to move the needle for me. While I appreciate the above review in its detail and scope what it comes down to for me is that the tracks all follow the same pattern. Rampaging basslines with eerie night time sounds and percussive trickeration. But something about this compilation clicked. The sounds are bubbly and the atmosphere is hallucinatory. The kicks pound while the layers accumulate. The above reviewer was correct in labeling this a "wonderland of glitchery" and it works very well in most cases. Many tracks follow the Wildthings Records formula where melody isn't the primary focus. Lo and behold check out who was responsible for the mastering. I liked this compilation even though there wasn't a single track that floored me; it was just consistently good. I would say the only downside when making music without something to grab on to is that there is the potential for it to get a little boring. With that in mind it's a good compilation, but I'm still waiting for Sangoma to deliver that heavy, lush, psychedelic monster.

Artist: Various Title: Fractal Energy Label: Fractal Records Date: February, 2007 1. Electric Universe - Shift 2. Neuromotor Vs. Electrocult - Humamacumadi 3. Outer Signal - Alien Signal 4. Painkiller Vs. Puzzle - Invalid Extension 5. Sidhartha - The Sleepwalker 6. Madnetic - Jungle Groove 7. Kali - Travelizer 8. Chromatone Vs. Random - Lighter Than Light 9. Elec3 - Purple Shrimp 10. Hexagnum - The Poem What is it with these compilations that just mail it in as the you go deeper down the tracklist? Seems it was a common practice with a lot of labels, but let's be honest there's a lot wrong with this compilation. Right from the outset we get a track from legend Boris Blenn that sounds identical to almost every track he's been making for a decade. Taking a sabbatical might not be the worst thing for him at this point. Moving on I defy you to make it through Humanacumadi without wanting to trip a toddler. It's ruthless in its annoyance. Next we are subjected to "full-on with an edge" clones that don't succeed in either category. This includes Invalid Extension with it's insipid sample, touch tones, and bass line made me want to dig up Alexander Graham Bell and punch his corpse. How in the f*ck does that get past quality control? Somehow I have two physical copies and it's the equivalent of leaving a bag of poo on my doorstep whilst you ring the bell and hide behind a bush. Often I wonder why I continue to review so many deeply flawed albums when there's porn to be watched and sh*ts to be taken, but I always come back to the same answer. I do it for you. Psyshop Beatspace

Artist: Various Title: Feel the Force Label: Spectral Records Date: June, 2005 1. Twisted System - Die Nagmerrie (Menog Remix) 2. Khopat - Alien Explorer 3. Shift - Serius Problem 4. Phyx Vs. Menog - Danian 5. Menog - Spiritual 00 (Audialize Remix) 6. Tryambaka - Filth 7. XRC - Medusa 8. Spectra - Borealis 9. Probe - Probe Feel the force. Hmmm....ok, a simple equation ought to sum things up nicely. = X Massively small tiny hands multiplied by a super slow acceleration will guarantee the survival of drosophila melanogaster. Probably the first time that classification was used in a review. While the label begun by Menog & XRC has had it's great moments this one is mostly a miss. The three tracks worth your while will be the bombastic and aggressive offerings from Shift, Phyx & Menog, and of course Twisted System. Pure acid mayhem. Things truly go off the rails by the time you get to Spectra and ends in a dumpster fire of a track by a project called Probe. Same last name as Menog so I'm sensing some nepotism is afoot. As I said mostly a miss aside from those three bangers. Psyshop

I think you missed the joke.

Artist: Manifold Title: Digital Sun Label: Ektoplazm Date: June, 2016 1. Manifold - The Wolf (Part II) 2. Manifold - What Time Is Love (2016 Edition) 3. Manifold - F-five 4. Manifold - Hated 5. Manifold - Voinamirov (Ektoplazm Edition) 6. Manifold & Dissociactive - Mara (RNKH 2016 edit) 7.Manifold - Faces (Ektoplazm Edition) 8.Manifold - Links234 (Ektoplazm Edition) "Look around you...what do those faces tell you?" *Shudder* Look I expect grandpa Eastwood to hate this. Probably makes his hearing aid whistle and it was made by Russians. This is what they came up with after a 7 year absence? Eight tracks and only one of them (Hated I think) hasn't appeared on other compilations? But Mike, they were reworked and remastered!" Who the f*ck asked for that? Was there a crowdfunding page where the masses wanted to hear remastered mediocre tracks? This was the same guy who was responsible for the tech-trance monster Acid Box? Lots of questions and not many answers. This was an utter sh*tshow. House vocals, cheesy samples, and eye rolling phrases. It's full-on and not even well done full-on. You're kidding right? Am I getting punked? Ashton, come out man, this isn't funny anymore. Just a few quick notes: Voinamorov has that Nexus Media vibe to it, but that makes sense because it was released on the Midnight Storm II compilation. Even though I thought it was a good track that was 11 years ago, you don't get credit for that sh*t! Reworked and remastered? Sounds almost identical. Faces had almost every atrocious cliche that you can imagine. It's what makes people think psytrance is dead. That should've been buried when it appeared on the Edge compilation. And the "rocking" guitar of the final track was so 10 years ago. Look it's a free release and they are entitled to do whatever they want. But if you're gonna pimp some old tracks generally they should be improved. Miss me with this. Mystic Sound Bandcamp

Artist: Mindsphere Title: Mental Triplex - Mindream Label: Suntrip Records Date: March, 2017 1. Solitude 2. Circle Sphere 3. Seclusion 4. Fate 5. Orientelic Genetic 6. Serenity 7. Respiratory 8. Reformation 9. Far Away About a year after his last album Presence, this limited edition partially mixed CD is the second installment of the Mindsphere Trilogy. Of course you can also buy the digital version which is unmixed. Joske described it as "Drony, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, floating and here and there exotic!" And I would say that is a very apt description. Mindsphere is Ali Akgun and he is one of the premier names in today's goa trance scene. Solitude is a deep space ambient track that seems to have some Jean Michel Jarre influences. Dark and cold. Circle Sphere continues the futuristic and electronic cold of deep space. There is more motion with the inclusion of multiple melodies amidst a digital wash. Louder with more gravitas and drama yet still without a kick to be heard. Seclusion has an ominous air and the first hint of percussion, perhaps the booming of the sound barrier as the space craft leaves the atmosphere. The melodies are melancholy and bring to mind an astronaut on a solo mission thousands of miles away from home. And here is where I detect some Vangelis influence. Fate is a purely drifting vehicle. Ambient bliss that increases in intensity, but never loses that floaty feeling. Orientelic Genetic sounds like a word salad, but it's when his goa begins to shine through. It's also the first real, perceptible "beat." The flute is mysterious and the entire track resembles some Khetzal production. Downtempo goa trance that becomes quite busy. Serenity is just that, tumbling melodies and soft, gentle sounds that are well suited for catching a nap. Much like I did when listening to Tangerine Dream back in the day. Respiratory is another downtempo track that has a soundtrack feel to it. It's grand and many layered. Maybe a movie about a war where people pilot Mech Warriors. There is a tinge of regret here. The weird thing is the "supposed" ending where the music stops and then a new strain appears. Perhaps that transition could've been smoother. Reformation is probably my least favorite track on the album. It doesn't fit with the style of the rest of the album and feels like a mish mosh of sounds above an oscillating sine wave. Far Away fittingly ends on a beatless note. Unfortunately the track doesn't have the same verve and depth that a lot of the others had. It just kind of...is. It's gentle yet doesn't tell any story. At the 6 minute mark it leaves the flighty style and changes completely, resembling the atmosphere of most of the album. And without any subtlety. This is such a relaxing experience. I literally felt my blood pressure dropping as I prepared for hypersleep. A large portion is beatless ambient and I can see why Suntrip went with a limited edition for this release. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but like others have said it's very lush and floaty. Dude clearly has talent. However I felt the album failed to maintain its theme near the end and the quality and mood suffered because of it. While I found it enjoyable I would recommend people to give it a good listen to find out if this is what they're looking for. Suntrip Bandcamp Suntrip Shop

Artist: Various Title: Ultra-High Frequency Label: 3D Vision Date: September, 1999 01. 08'20" Elixir : E Motion 02. 08'01" Systembusters : Synthetic Garbage 03. 08'47" Wizzy Noise : Twisted Love 04. 10'00" Absolum : Goldfinger 05. 06'15" Three Point Turn : By Any Means Necessary 06. 07'38" DJ Maël And Manitu : Zergshake 07. 08'25" Deedrah : Sibling Uncovered 08. 09'00" Yumade : Black Sun 09. 11'11" Absolum : Smoking Kangaroos "Can anyone stop the mechanical mayhem?" I think you will discover exactly where it is stopped with this compilation. This was from the pre-millenium days of 3D vision and let's be honest it sounds a little dated. That said there is some goodness found here. Nomad & Absolum team up for a hallucination that is constantly evolving. The sound picture is kind of limited, but it's not bad. The Systembusters (GMS + Lotus Omega) get pretty drippy and psychedelic. Sure the track pretty much repeats the same loop over and over again, but who's counting? Wizzy crafts a dark track and one that I think holds up the best. Goldfinger is electric and crackling energy and just as quickly is broken down. A little heavy on the scream sample, but not a deal breaker. No, that comes next. Insert deal breaker. Clearly 3.Turn did not use any means necessary to make a deep track. More like just enough to get by. Zergshake is just noises amidst a kick and bassline. Deedrah's track was different, but hardly in an engaging way. Some drum n bass and dub along with some trance into a weird mixture. Don't need to hear that again. Black Sun was consistently boring and then there was the Kangaroo. Oh, the f*cking kangaraoo. *hits blunt* "Dude...if you get out of the shower all clean and shit...how does your towel get dirty?" That track is terrible and goes nowhere. It's so slow and makes me want to ask questions like that. Don't do drugs kids. Wow did that fade quickly. You can actually pinpoint the moment where the compilation went from interesting to GTFOH.

Artist: Various Title: Full On Vol. 4 Label: HOM-Mega Productions Date: February, 2000 1. Infected Mushroom : Psycho (Live Mix) 2. Passenger : The Race 3. Yahel And I-Zen : Waves Of Sound (Edit) 4. MFG : Tsunamillenium 5. Psysex : The Evil Turkeys (Censored Version) 6. Xerox Feat Passenger : Angel Kaya 7. Freeman : Just Making Noise 8. Green House Effect : My Old School 9. Xerox And DJ Goblin : Highly Classified Project "What about their intention? Are they a friendly people?" Well, yeah sure. They're nice enough. Just dumb as f*ck. And racist. And they don't believe in science. Oh, and they call themselves Christians, but f*ck the poor. Whooo. Is it just me or does it feel like this alternate reality with Emperor Orange has been going on for half a decade? He just keeps proving how utterly incompetent he is doesn't he? I know it's wrong to want to see the president of your country fail, but let's face it this prick has got it coming. A little less than half the country is going to eventually wake up and try and chew it's arm off to escape this bloated wildebeest. So....Full-On. Volume four. Normally I would stay away from the fourth volume of anything, but I think we all know I'd review a ham sammich if I had the time. Yeah it's full-on, but guess what it's back when it wasn't loaded with carbon copy paste sh*t. Tracks actually go somewhere. In theory. Psycho was back when IM still made psytrance and goa and not whatever the f*ck they're doing now. Psycho is a great track, but this track putzes around too long before the climax. That climax tho...pretty good. MFG with less Aharon Segal delivers a track I've never heard and I'll be honest I liked his album For All Mankind Better. I usually stay away from all things Yahel, but this one was very involving. Tsunamillenium sees MFG transitioning nicely into subpar full-on. Oy vey that key change at the end. Psysex continues it's crusade to remove deep, meaningful psytrance from the world with an enema of South Park samples. The first half of Angel Kaya is just lazy as f*ck, but then these guys turn it into some type of Dutch anthem trance track. My head's starting to hurt. Just Making Noise is actually pretty psychedelic, but the final couple of tracks are just...there. There is nothing here that will remotely stay with you. Nothing. As a matter of fact, I would bet that this review will stay with you longer than anything regarding this compilation. If there was a picture in the dictionary of what mediocrity would look like this would be it. *puts finger to earpiece* I just got a message from the HOM-Mega PR department. Haters gonna hate Mr. Wayne. Haters gonna hate.

Yeah this is a good one. Aliens is a good track, but far from my favorite. I really liked the depth of The Rezistor. Great way to open a compilation. Sly-ed hasn't held up (still good) IMO unlike Slinky Wizard which still sounds extremely psychedelic. Also I thought Prana's track was a quite trance inducing without being bombastic. A few years ago if I was asked if this was essential I'm sure I would've said yes. Now, I'm not so certain. Not a single thing resembling filler, but maybe not as shiny as it once was. If you're looking for a compilation that symbolized the classic goa sound then you won't be disappointed with this.

Artist: Various Title: Classical Distortions Label: Organik Media Date: October, 2009 01 - Tickets - E'naxx (Intro) 02 - Principles of Flight Vs Phonic Request - No Sense 03 - EMP - The Wreckoning 04 - Deliriant - Blackout 05 - Zion Linguist - Toy With Your Mind 06 - Chemogen - My First Chemistry Set (Cybernetix Rmx) 07 - Parana - Toccota Infuzued 08 - Solar Axis - Know What I Mean 09 - On - The Dream 10 - Artifakt - The Runner This was another noble effort to do some good in the world and God knows we could use it. All the proceeds would go towards repairing South Africa's poorest schools. I assume that means getting desks, fixing bathrooms, and general maintenance that schools regularly require. Not getting an armed security guard to protect the students from lions and sh*t. Sounds stupid doesn't it? We actually had the head of the Dept. of Education say that she believed that schools in Wyoming had armed officers present to protect the children from grizzly bear attacks. Yep. Like they're just sitting and waiting for little Timmy to chase the errant kickball into the woods. This is what happens when you don't fund education yet you spend more money than all countries combined on defense. Don't know if you follow what the hell is going on over here, but Rome is burning and that orange dipsh*t is holding the book of matches. I hope a lot of people bought this album because God knows education needs all the f*cking help it can get. As far as the album goes you can look at the tracklist and see the style of psy they were going for. There is a mood here and a lot of haunting piano melodies to drive it home. Enjoyable when it flexes it's Talpa-esque muscle yet annoying when like a toddler it waves it's full-on hard on at the guests who came over for dinner. And there is a lot of that exhibitionism. There were parts of tracks that were great, but the converse of that is also true. Sometimes it achieved its desired effect with the symphonic work and other times it was just outright noisy. It seemed like the compilation tried to have it both ways. Full-on while trying to shoehorn a classical bent in the music is a situation where everyone loses. Bottom line the tracks just aren't that great to recommend. Psyshop

Artist: Various Title: Erratic Distortion Label: MMD Records Date: 2006 1. Lost & Found - Rhythm Machine Stick 2. Phyx - Fall of Babylon 3. Zion Linguist - Masquerade 4. Hiyarant - Mechanism 5. Multistate - Press Any Key 6. Frozen Ghost - Dr. Hooligan 7. The Linguist Vs. The Cell - The Door 8. Hiyarant - Split 9. Sworn - Last Chance 10. Rabdom L - Hidden Land "Oh hey so uh...wanna try something?" I think you know that I do. Another of the less heralded South African labels delivers with some heart pounding night time psytrance. Thumping music with dark atmospheres is the name of the game. Another one of these compilations that holds up a decade on. It's all 140 ish bpms so that might get a little tiresome if you're of the mind to give this a full listen through and they use a lot of similar sounds. Having said that the tracks are so energetic and powerful a minor quibble as that doesn't bother me. Like a lot of compilations that offer this style of music it's often drenched in metallic sounds, twisted samples, and forecasts a post-apocalyptic future. But those basses son! Also a heavy techno influence here that reminds me of the Artifakt. Lots of psychedelic madness to be discovered within. Recommended. Psyshop Beatspace

Artist: Various Title: Dark Side of the Mind Label: Vision Records Date: December, 2007 1. NRS Vs. Kode Six - Cluster Duster 2. Rubix Qube - Exhale 3. Kode Six - Cell System Reset 4. Gerasene - Syllable Lottery 5. Zion Linguist - Freakenstein 6. Frozen Ghost - Ghost Meat 7. Hiyarant - Driven 8. Scam - High In Disguise 9. Technodrome - Gate For Hate 10. Tested Extension - Virginity "I'm sure there's going to be more than one unpleasant surprise before we're done." I've been listening to the sh*t out of this for the past week. Gym, laundry, going to pick the kids up from school...doesn't matter. It always rocks. South African labels in the 2000's were the absolute top when it came to great psytrance, but with only a few releases in its history you can see why this was overlooked. 10 years on and this night time beast continues to rage. Bludgeoning kicks, acid, and dark atmosphere make this a great addition to your collection. It's futuristic and melodic and most of the tracks are not static. By that I mean they are constantly evolving and don't find a melody and ride it all the way home. It's like different levels of blistering music. I know we used to call this twilight music (can't do that...makes me think of the ridiculous movie), but if you liked Nexus Media or Timecode stuff from the time I referenced above then this should be right in your wheelhouse. Psyshop

Artist: Various Title: Forever Psychedelic Label: Matsuri Date: April, 1998 01. 07'02" Digitalis : Telepresence 02. 08'40" XIS : Shadows And Flashes 03. 08'17" Space Cat : Space Cats 04. 09'10" Prana : Kollage 05. 07'05" Freeman Vs Liquid Metal : Liquid Noise 06. 08'20" Quirk : Dark Matter 07. 06'30" Deflo : Naked 08. 05'00" Scare Electric : Grind 09. 08'08" Dendron : Sun God Jeez...smells like something died in here. The question with releases by Matsuri after the golden age of goa was always which Matsuri was going to be represented? As a label they were a bit up and down. Shadows and Flashes had shadows and flashes of a good psytrance/goa hybrid. Missed it by that much. Space Cats had potential. True, a lot of it went unrealized. Kollage could be one of Prana's weakest efforts. Throwing noises together doesn't make it psychedelic. Stop f*cking around with Boundless and someone please update this one. Liquid Noise had it's moments, but wasn't very coherent. Just kind of a aural regurgitation. Dark Matter see Liquid Noise. And anything else by Quirk. Deflo's track Naked makes me want to tell it to put it's clothes back on. Noisy mess. Scare Electric is more raw breakbeat and I cannot get enough of that funky percussion! Not to mention some saucy turntablism. Funky like hockey gear that hasn't been washed. Sun-God is breakbeat juicy, but not very varied. The first few minutes are great, but after that I'm lookin' at my watch wondering if Dendron went for a smoke break. I look at it like this. If you wouldn't want to put any of the tracks on a mix tape, then you probably aren't really that in love with them. IMHO I don't believe these tracks have any staying power. So yeah...I would say this was an example of down. But it's different and sometimes that can be a good thing depending on your mood. Just don't forget a courtesy spray.

Agreed Dead Meat is the star here yet I think Bleed by Abomination is a close runner up. However the "pup-pup, pup-pup" sample is strangely addictive in an otherwise unremarkable Ragga Time. A surprisingly weak effort from the mind f*ckers at Nexus Media.

Artist: Various Title: Deep Into The Nexus Label: Nexus Media Date: February, 2007 1. Brethren & Outer Signal - Rock 2. Hydraglyph - Nowhere Near 3. Phyx - Evolver 4. Abomination - Pass Away (Shift Remix) 5. Twisted System - Mad Method (Live Version) 6. Slug & Abomination - Where is Magneto? 7. Shift - Pump 8. Pitch Hikers - Counter Culture 9. Artifakt - Gravity Spine Pt. 1 10. Artifakt - Gravity Spine Pt. 2 "And then suddenly....BOOM!" Any astrophysicist or rocket scientist worth his salt will tell you that this compilation is devastating. It's night time psytrance from 10 years ago that holds up very well. Acid all over the place with the ominous melodies that made Nexus Media one of the premier labels for this type of music. The first 7 tracks are blisteringly good and don't let up a hair. It culminates in the techno influenced weirdness that garnered Artifakt a loyal following. If you're a fan of the South African style of psy from the mid 2000's (and let's be honest you should be) then this is a must have. Psyshop Beatspace

2000. Seventeen years ago. Back when every male felt a little bit dirty lusting after a Louisiana high school student. A time before 9/11, smartphones, and Kardashians. Remember when the world got itself so worked up about advancing to a new millennium? This CD from formerly great label Koyote Records is a bit varied, but let's face it our scene is a bit varied. If there is one track to hear it would be Psychoid's Second Sight but that's because the rest are so...unremarkable. There's some trancey stuff like Xenith's Critical Mass and then some dark, drum n bass atmosphere in Millennial Madness. The Hux Flux track is pretty psychedelic and a breakbeat track Bulb is fairly funky. Even though the style of music is a wide cross-section the quality of the tracks are subpar. Let's face it, it ain't no pre millennium Britney.

Artist: Various Title: Dimensional Gateway 4 (Veil of the Moon) Label: Neogoa Date: February, 2017 1) Dragon Twins - Illa Tahin 2) Veasna - Dendrites 3) Goad - Voids 4) Clementz - Black Dwarfs 5) Goad vs. Proxeeus - Acid Implant 6) Pharaom - It's Alive 7) Proxeeus - Dagon 8) Negans - Silver 9) Cybernetika - Unknown Entity "You think that what you'll do will make you into something different? What is it you think you're becoming?" Reviews are really easy to write when the album is fantastic or when it's a frisbee of sh*t. Ivan delivers the fourth in the Dimensional Gateway series and he's earned some kudos for this one. There is a palpable sense of darkness that flows through this. And I like it. A lot. As we eagerly await a full album from this guy Illa Tahin will do for the time being. The journey of darkness and hallucination begins here. This thing pulsates evil. Forest meet goa. Dendrites from Veasna is a bit laid back compared to a lot of the others here, but still hits the spot. Voids doesn't appear too complex, but it is still cloaked in darkness. It doesn't have a true climax yet it's consistent in its eerieness. Black Dwarfs. Hmmm... Close enough. Still not getting healthcare under this false president. This is another track with power. Half of it uses a weird lead and the other half (perhaps its yang) is blissful to the ears. Acid Implant...holy f*cking cow. I haven't wanted to have sex with a piece of music since M-run's album, but I'm ready to get back in the saddle with this beast. Who's down with bestiality? It's Alive welcomes PharaOm back to the scene and he delivers a bludgeoning track. No prisoners taken. Dagon is true Proxeeus acidic, blistering style. It will leave scorch marks. Silver was going to get the meh gif treatment, but then that break happened and made everything all eerie. So now I guess it gets While I enjoyed the Cybernetika track I believe it went on a bit too long and lacked the depth that his tracks characteristically exhibit. Neogoa has done it again. This is a great goa trance compilation that foregoes all the sunshine and embraces the darkness. Thumbs up homie! Free at Ektoplazm

Artist: Various Title: Ascending Label: Melusine Records Date: December, 2016 1. Lauge - For Evigt Og Altid 2. Logical Elements - Flower Nebula (Original Mix) 3. Olexa - Miss Spring 4. Ancient Core - Caracatitza Cuantica din Oceanul Mecanic 5. E-Mantra - Ascending (Live Version) 6. Lifebloom - Rest In Self 7. Reasonandu - Immerse 8. Metamorphosis & The Adaptive - The Long Way Home 9. Cabeiri - Uranus' Seed 10. E-Mantra - Daydream (Dense Mix) 11. Saranankara - Awakening 12. Jaraluca - Spiritual Transformation 13. Ascent & Argus - One Day In India This digital release (24 bits) is from the label started by E-mantra and Reasonandu. It's a charity release with all the profits going towards underprivileged and abandoned children in Constanta. I won't pretend to know where that is, but doing good is universal. This is a long release at over 100 minutes and it contains quite the variety of music. A few mentions...All of the tracks have a good amount of depth in them and I didn't find one that was subpar. I'm not one for beatless ambient unless it's time for night night, but you get a couple of tracks of that here. Flower Nebula is a gentle and silky smooth progressive track that screams sunshine and the promise of a hopeful future. E-mantra has a couple of really good tracks here and they flow in the same vein as his downtempo releases. The music varies from utterly relaxing to strong, beat oriented downtempo with tribal touches. For example a track like Uranus' Seed has all of the above. While Awakening wasn't anything special, the middle break hit me just right. Shame it was so short. The fastest track belongs to Jaraluca and it is unapologeticaly goa. Mid tempo swagger stuff. And lastly if you like female Indian vocals than the closing track is your holy grail set amongst a head nodding beat. All in all a very good quality release and for a good cause. Recommended! Melusine Bandcamp

Artist: Enertopia Title: Magic For Eternity Label: Krembo Records Date: 1997 1. Intro 2. Broken Sky 3. The Shout of a Headman 4. Marakesh 2000 5. Novelle 6. Van Spooker 7. Manga 8. Volvoker 9. Wacky 10. Marteff 10a. Untitled "You're not ready for so much excitement!" To further drive home the point that not everything released in 1997 was gold comes the debut of Emiliano Solazzi Griminger. His second album Face Adaptor was appealing to me in a I don't know why I like this, but I do kind of way. With a heavy techno influence this has a raw and electric feel. With that description it should be appealing in a cold and dark way, but something is missing. There are melodies of course, but they sound abrasive rather than melodic. Marakesh 2000 isn't bad and with it's power and symphonic layers reminds me a little of a Kris Kylven production. He goes a little heavy on the sample usage in Van Spooker (even though I like the sample) and then annoys the crap out of me with a looped vocal tacet on Volvoker. For one final insult with the last track he adds some more music after an extended silence. I hate that. Ask me if it made any f*cking difference with the overlook of this album. Pass.

Artist: Emmanuel Top Title: Asteroid Label: NovaMute Date: October, 1996 1. Asteroid 2. Industriel 3. Replay 4. Generation 5. Reflex 6. Introduction 7. Development 8. Conclusion Paper. Deceased intact frog primed for dissection. Honey Baked Ham. Delicious. None of these things could shake me from my catatonic state which was induced by listening to the first half of this album. Minimal techno that took forever to get nowhere. This was a ride on a merry go round at a blistering 2mph. And with the track lengths being what they are every revolution is greeted with a punch in the nuts by the weird looking ride operator. Up until Generation came on I wasn't sure this thing had a f*cking pulse. The highly detailed cover should be a heads up. And just cause I woke from my nap doesn't mean this all of a sudden became Hardfloor. Far from it. Noisy at times and sounding quite dated. Yes, worse than Delta Aquarids. Poking around the interwebs you would think this was Jesus Christ in techno form. Introduction? Maybe to some more shut eye. If you're a fan of dated minimalist techno then this will probably be perfect for you. Tastes vary in music of course, but I would be interested in hearing anyone justify having to listen to this again.

Artist: Filteria Title: Perpetually Delayed Voyage Ep Label: Lost Language Date: March, 2013 1. Perpetually Delayed Voyage (Original) 2. Perpetually Delayed Voyage (Sonic Entity Mix) 3. Perpetually Delayed Voyage (Konektiv Mix) Jannis Tzikas is a pillar in the goa trance community and a major reason for its resurgence and continued popularity. His album from 2004 Sky Input was musical napalm and just what was needed at the time. Also it was the first release from a then fledgling Suntrip Records. Hard to believe it's been 13 years. This little ep came out before Filteria's last album Lost In The Wild and is interesting as it consists of a goa track and then two progressive remixes of that track. Released by a label with a long history it's available in digital or a Cd-r format. Although I don't know where you would get the Cd-r as it doesn't seem available at the Lost Language site. Perpetually Delayed Voyage is in the vein of his last two albums fluid with smooth melodies instead of the chaotic bombast with which he burst onto the scene. The Sonic Entity mix retains the goa flavor of the original yet spreads it out over something you might hear from Iono or Ovnimoon. The Konektiv Mix has a housey feel; close and connected if not a bit dark. Enjoyable. Beatport

I don't normally vote in these things, but I'll throw a list out there... 1. Morphic Resonance - City of Moons (Suntrip) 2. Virtuart - Virtuart & Friends (DAT Records) 3. Goad - Galactic Aviator (Neogoa) 4. JBC Arkadii - White Tiger's Empire (Hado Records) 5. Proxeeus - Weird Tales (Goa Madness Records) 6. UX - Lazarus Rising (Neogoa) 7. V/A - Goa Trance Revolution 2: Retrofuturism (Goa Trance Music) 8. Crossing Mind - Beyond Duality (Suntrip Records) 9. Mindsphere - Mental Triplex (Suntrip Records) 10. Svemirski Hod (Neogoa) Honorable Mention Veasna - Energy (Neogoa) Also a question...Filipe put out an absolute f*ckton of material this year and the lion's share was superb. Question being, a lot of it was recycled material. For example, Tofu by Chynacid was released I believe in 2010, but was repackaged in the album Book of Changes this year. Does that count?

What a bunch of noisy sh*t this was. Monomanic was psychedelic as hell though. The two breakbeat tracks (3rd State and Dog Tag) were funky enough.

Artist: Various Title: Need for Speed II - In Speed of Light Label: Metatron Production Date: May, 2006 1. Burn in Noise - Psy Drugs 2. Z-Machine - East Generation (2006 Dance Mix) 3. Luxor - Mexican Theme 4. Sidhartha - Transform 5. Killer Buds - Organize 6. Technodrome - New York Baby 7. Insane Logic - Face To The Road 8. Karma Crop - Killer Crop 9. Technodrome Vs. Karma Crop - Ignition 10. Nemesis Divine - Last Man Standing Need for speed? What the fine folks at Metatron needed to do was slow down and find something other than mediocre run of the mill full-on. Look we all know what this is and in 2006 it wasn't bad. Unfortunately it doesn't really hold up today. Galloping bass lines? Oh you know that's in here. Lasers? Sure, but you like lasers. Changes in tempo and bass line patterns? C'mon man...it's 2006. That's like asking if there are enough guns in the US. There are parts of tracks which actually do hold up, but they aren't maintained. In fact some are ruined by stops and starts that were typical back then. No track development or depth just a quick burst of energy and then on to the next one. It's the equivalent of bad Chinese food. Musically you'll be hungry in about 10 minutes and sorry to say, but Fat Kok is the last thing you'll want. So this is just another disc that will end up on the vast mountain of sh*t I don't have to listen to again. Beatspace

Artist: 2Minds Title: Anomaly Label: All Records Date: 2010 1. Eat Dust 2. Anomaly 3. Sun After Clouds 4. Arturia 5. Mind Bender 6. Back In Time 7. 6 Feet Under 8. Before The Digital 9. Muezzin These 2 brothers are of one mind and that mind has a mission to create psychedelic trance soaked in goa elements. Their debut album is a great example with layered tracks that don't hover in one place for long. It's not just full steam ahead and the nuances are quite enjoyable. Their talent for genre mixing is on full-display and I'm impressed with the atmosphere they create. The album is a bit of an uneven effort with some filler near the end, but they show good signs of depth and dynamism with their music. And they got better with their 2nd release Wave Shell. Psyshop Beatspace