pedro

Will listening to Psy-trance for decades make you go insane? Is it proof that you are insane? Or a social misantrope? Is Psy-trance even extreme? I won't comment on damage that can be done by drugs (or booze); nor the ennui that can sometimes result from listening music or hanging around a particular scene too long. But is psy-trance extreme? It certainly is underground to some degree in most places. And given the quality of much psy-trance - it probably should remain underground. But is it extreme? Sure you can consider Psy-trance 'extreme' if you like -- especially when compared to Cliff Richards, Coldplay or Richard Claydermann. But there are plenty of extreme examples in other types of music. And it does not have to really lead to insanity if you listen to it for decades. Bartok's 4th and 5th strong quartets are both extreme and intense - and at the same time probably the greatest quartets in the 20th century. The rape scene in Shostakovitch's Lady MacBeth of the Mtensk District is intense - the music sends shivers up my spine. Prokoviev's violin concerto is extreme. Even good old Beethoven could be extreme - his Grand Fugue for example. That was crazy for his age. So, was he insane? Or just hard of hearing... I remembered listening to Phuture's acid house track in the 1980's for the first time. That song went on and on and on...the strange squeeky sounds were absolutely insane. Still listen to that track. And I am old. Still go to parties, too. Maybe I am not as crazy as I used to be, but never felt that I am going insane. 'Extreme' music and 'extreme' (or 'alternative') lifestyles may sometimes be associated together. However, there are plenty of relatively straight (whatever that means) people listening to 'extreme' music. Furthermore, many people who I have known to be ostensibly 'alternative' (and who make a great show of it), have in the end been much more 'conventional' and 'boring' on subsequent prodding. Lastly, the problem with some of the more 'extreme' psy-trance is that it sounds just as stupid, shallow and juvenile as death metal, skate-board et al type of music that seem to co-exist in some foolish people's heads as prime example of cool, extreme music. This type of extremely dull music can never make you insane. Pedro

Hmmm

I do agree that the Psionic comps are now becoming more full-on than dark. At the same time, this is not a bad comp at all, although several tracks are a bit of a bore. The ones I do like are the first two (Safi, Damage) and the last three tracks (Nebula/Talpa, Kluster, Miraculix). Biggest positive surprise - Safi Connection's track. Biggest disappointment - Electrypnose. Pedro

This compiliation is definitely a few notches below Idea FX. Nevertheless, I do recommend it. The Metalogic tracks did not impress me favourably while "Black Magic" continues, in my view, to be a subpar track for Fuzzion. The Mass Turbo track at the end was also a bit disappointing. The rest of the CD was quite enjoyable. The remix of Model 1 works well. Pedro

I had started to give up on the hope that Gi'iwa would come out with another follow up to their excellent debut compilation. Perhaps because my expectations were quite high, this release did not have quite such a 'wow factor' as Schizm. Nevertheless I do recommend Musica Discordia. It is very much in the same vein as Schizm - it is a shame that the artist with the best track on that CD, Mexico's Pimperknuckle, did not do a repeat. Incidently, I think the tracks by the Australians are the weakest on the comp. Pedro

Whatever. Lu Blu, you come across as either a juvenile twit or our new resident troll. Pedro

Err...not sure what you are on about. Perhaps you read too much in my statement. It is easy to contribute in small, obvious ways (supporting the music, the parties etc). There are more significant ways that people can help - from promoting parties, making music, etc. (also all fairly obvious). My comment was a combination of looking to see what (if any) bright ideas people had, as well as exhorting those with talent, drive, money, or time etc not to give up on the scene. When a "scene" is as small as ours, sometimes it does not take too many people to make a difference... I gave the example of Mars and this website as a way of supporting the music and the community. At any rate, I'm off... Pedro

Well I am off to Portugal to go to the Boom festival, so I suppose I am still in the scene. Somewhat. There are quite a few issues discussed in the thread and thrown together. I could write a really long list of points that I would like to state, some probably already previously mentioned before, but for now these will do: (1) scenes change and music changes and it can also fragment. You might not like all of it - try to catch a piece that you do like. I have. Plenty of stuff I don't like, but I still find interesting stuff. I don't get too worked up about the shitty full-on - it is like getting depressed because people think that Pete Doherty is cool. My life is too good.... (2) support the artists, parties etc you like. You know what I mean - pay for the music, spread the gospel. That is the least we can do. (3) expectations are a big part of the trip. In my case, it has always been music first and only then the cool people that made the experience so much better. But I have never been gung-ho on the "psy-tribe", nor created false illusions (nor heightened expectations) about the scene. I partied with some people, and made a few friends. Sure, my soul was touched a bit - but not too much. I never expected to create a family etc out of the scene. Some have tried to their benefit...or later disappointment. (4) many of the party problems are due to reasons tied to unprofessionalism, incompetence, greed or/and dishonesty. I think we can all agree on that. (5) Perhaps we should think about ways we can improve the scene? Imagine if Mars had not put up this website cos he couldn't be bothered... Pedro

I highly recommend bringing a sleeping mat to place under your sleeping bag. Portugal does get rather dry in the summer and the soil can get a bit hard. Furthermore, parts of the camping areas have quite a few stones. Pedro

I really enjoyed this release. It is a bit on the minimal side but not desperately so. I found most of the tracks engaging (i.e. good for home listening) and quite danceable as well. Strongest section of the CD are tracks 4 through 7. But I also liked the others with perhaps track 8 as the exception. Recommended. Pedro

A competent album rather than an amazing one. A reliably decent release from the Vibrasphere boys, but not terribly enticing. I desperately wanted to love Archipelago but I feel it simply lacks inspiration. The middle section of the CD has the strongest tracks (4-6). The opening track is also nice. The rest is really so-so. I shall give this CD a miss and would strongly advise a close listen before purchase (even though it is....Vibrasphere). Pedro

I find this album quite chummy and I like it. It may not be very flashy and many of the tracks may lack energy for some people, but in its genre this CD is quite enjoyable. This is easily my favourite of the RD releases. On the down side, I already had one of the better tracks (no. 3), which was previously released on Iboga's Set 5 compilation (which also gets a thumbs up from me). Recommended. Pedro

I am not too impressed by this release. A few half-way decent tracks (such as Tristan's) but on average I found it to be boring and uninspiring. These chaps have to try harder. Not recommended. Pedro

Very good release by Loopus. To my ears, it is significantly better than their Astrofunk CD which I also purchased. Like its predecessor, this CD is a funky affair, but the tracks are better built and more interesting. A word on Loopus’s penchant for reinterpretation of old classics. Their take on Funkytown on Astrofunk was quite annoying and pointless. I had some fears this mistake would be repeated on Fat Ladies. And it is somewhat. I Feel Love is a silly take on the great I Feel Love by Donna Summer. I wonder what Giorgio Moroder thinks of this hapless butchering of his music. Lets Dance sees Loopus turn their gaze towards the Bowie hit. In this case, the results are much more palatable and I actually enjoyed the track (gasp!). Nevertheless I wish Loopus would keep to their own tracks. Still, my first prize for most awful and insipid remake goes to Cosmosis with his Also Sprach Zarathustra on his Contact CD. Never since the days of the terribly pompous (and untalented) Emerson Lake Palmer has somebody so miserably murdered a fine piece of classical music. I recommend Fat Ladies. Oh, and I like the cover too! Pedro

I must say that I enjoyed this CD quite a bit and I am not a usual fan of ambient psy trance (I find most of it dreadfully boring and formulaic). There is good nice flow of ideas in the music and enough to keep my interest in the music without crowding out with too much detail. Easily outshined the latest Bluetech CD which I had at hand at the same time I was listening to Synthesis. My favourite tracks are 2,3,4,6 and 8. Recommended. Pedro

I was also surprised to see Tango de Color Mango on this CD since I have it on the Digital Collusions compilation from 2003. I also remember Fuzzion using this track in his set in Boom in 2004. So it is not quite fresh off his hard drive. At any rate, I too have enjoyed this album. Almost all the tracks are strong ones (exceptions: track 6, 11 and 12). The syle is a bit more electro and less technoish than one might have expected. However, that is hardly a complete shock - Fuzzion's track on Chronika Chapter II (City Limit) already indicated Fuzzion's electro tendencies. I suppose he feels this is a bit more chummy and cuddly... The White Rabbit interlude is more interesting than amazing. Quite recommended. Pedro

Charlie, you have clearly misunderstood my post. Let me rephrase it, perhaps you will then understand. Cinos did not have the change his behaviour if he did not want to stay. But it was made clear to him that he would have to if he wanted to stay. So...if he really wanted to stay he should have then changed his behaviour. That was my point. And I therefore started my post by questioning whether he really wanted to stay or whether he just wanted to see how far he could push the envelope. Either he was aware of the risk of the ban or Cinos is a bigger fool than I had thought. What exactly did Cinos think the endgame was going to be when he ignored the warnings? Another different point is whether his behaviour is acceptable or not. In my opinion (not that I have any say in the matter), I found it incredibly boorish and tiresome. A bit TOO juvenile, even by this site's standards. Being true to oneself can be quite laudable. But it is a laughable excuse and scant justification for not having changed his behaviour on this site....that is, if he wanted to remain here. Pedro

Cinos can not have been THAT interested in remaining on this board. If he did not change his behaviour after repeated warnings then this is what I must conclude. Even if he thought he was in the right, clearly he must have understood what was being conveyed to him by the people who own and manage this site and act accordingly. Either that or he is an even bigger fool than I take him for. I have learned to ignore his posts, so personally he does not bother me too much. But am I happy to see him gone? Yes, I must confess that I believe that we are better off without him posting in here. There is a whole cyber world out there for Cinos to go out, have his fun and grow up. Best of luck to him. I suppose there will always be those that think that Cinos's banning means that we are "lame" and that "this forum sucks". Some of these people will stay on (despite this), and others will go elsewhere. But the bottom line is that I think we will manage quite well regardless. Pedro

It is a coincidence, of course, but the cover also made me immediately think of 'Amber'. Although I prefer the Autechre cover. Pedro

Radi, your faux fixation with Simon Posford is getting a little bit old. It is a little joke that is about as stale as five day old bread. I reckon that only NHJO, our Korean wonderboy, manages to be a more infantile troll than yourself. Pedro PS By the way, you could do worse than correct the spelling on the caption of your picture. The Bulgarian mountains are majestic and steep.

You hang out with the wrong people, son.

I suppose every board has to have its troll. The sad thing about NHJO is that his joke is way past the sell-by date. I find it is getting a bit tedious. And what I find particularly grating is his fake 'poor' English. I am currently doing work for a Japanese firm and have travelled a few times to that country and to South Korea. And I have seen some very poor examples of English. What NHJO is doing is the equivalent of going around chanting "uga-bugah" and pretending that you are a Neantherthal. Which is what NHJO probably is... Pedro

Ahem...I would classify Haldolium's album as progressive. Hadshot Haheizer's compilation 'Hosted vol II - Red Square' has some good tech trance tracks. Pedro

The album starts off with a great track (Crystal Cream) and the quality is sustained throughout the CD. Plenty of groove and quite funky at times, this is a very likeable release. It is smooth, but not over-sugary. Strong recommendation. Pedro

Yes, it is a bit housy (so are a lot of prog trance releases). Flowjob have always impressed me with their tracks in compilations. Perhaps because of this, I was somewhat afraid that this would mean that their album might then disappoint me (I can be a bit of a pessimist sometimes). It has not. This is a cracking release and I recommend it. Hooray for Flowjob! Pedro