Basilisk

The results are in! http://www.ektoplazm.com/journal/the-best-free-psytrance-of-2011 I'm in Thailand right now... the Internet here is not so great. This was a lot of work to finish off

No, I never said that... operations are suspended by necessity; I don't have access to a proper broadband connection while travelling and can't update the site without it. That isn't the whole story, of course... but I need some time to think things over and consider what to do next (both in life, now that I've graduated, and with the site). What I don't plan on is picking up where I left off; last year I was spending upwards of 40 hours a week working on the site, all for no pay, not even a few extra gigs for myself here and there. That isn't sustainable. But I have a few ideas about how to make it work. It's mostly a question of motivation: do I really want to devote the next phase of my life to another risky endevour in the psytrance scene? Well, sure; I love the music and the culture, after all... but should I? To quote PKD, "reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away," and the reality of the situation is that I need to make a living with whatever I do (now that my savings are all but gone). Hopefully this explains my need to reflect on the situation. In the meantime, all the music already posted remains available for download.

If I move forward with redeveloping Ektoplazm I would like for it to become a true social network for the global psytrance scene... I'm rather sick of Facebook and don't feel any counterculture should employ it as its primary means of communication, connection, and self-expression.

I couldn't make it work... best to just use a Google form and let people enter their top five themselves IMO.

Yes, polling ended January 31st. I haven't started to compile the results yet... it's been difficult finding time for work while on the road.

EKOPLEX - DISCOVERING THE ANCIENT 01 - Turtle Island (120 BPM) 02 - Hip Shiva Wigga (100 BPM) 03 - Follow The Music (100 BPM) 04 - Shamanic Drumz (110 BPM) 05 - Before The Sun (110 BPM) 06 - Aya (110 BPM) 07 - Shapeshifter (112-119 BPM) 08 - Crossroads (114 BPM) 09 - End Of The Cycle, Beginning Of... (110 BPM) Omnitropic, Ektoplazm’s downtempo imprint, proudly presents Discovering The Ancient, the third studio album by Canadian producer Ekoplex (Ray Vincent). After the success of his previous albums, Journey Of The Turtle and Creatures Of The Forest, Ekoplex now turns inward to explore the cosmic potential of deep tribal trance and downtempo. Featuring live instrumentation, guest vocalists, and experiments in alternate tuning, this is an incredibly vibrant album filled with hidden messages and memorable moments. For greater insight into the creative process behind the music, please consult the extensive liner notes. Mastered by Michael Phillips with original photography by Su MaShakti. Download it for free in MP3, FLAC, or WAV format: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/ekoplex-discovering-the-ancient

It is, but it is also very rewarding when you find compatible tracks. I highly recommend skipping all forms of physical media and moving on up to a proper digital DJing setup with a MIDI controlller. Mixing Goa is way smoother when you can put high and low pass filters on everything. If you'd like to hear some of this in action take a listen to Moonshadow and Circadians Rhythms.

Look up Rapid Evolution and read their wiki for an introduction to harmonic mixing and basic music theory. Atonal, percussive music such as hard techno or some forms of drum 'n bass can be mixed without much regard for the key of the track but it is damn near essential when mixing Goa trance.

01 - Banco De Gaia - Seti I [six Degrees Records] (2000) 02 - Turban Bloc (Gus Till) - As Above So Below [blue Room Released] (1997) 03 - Dubbelhelix (Michael Kohlbecker & Jam El Mar) - Magic Night [spirit Zone Recordings] (2002) 04 - B-Zet - Le Tonnere Dans Les Plumes Voir [Eye-Q Records] (1995) 05 - Robert Leiner - Out Of Control [Apollo] (1994) 06 - Eternal Basement - Overture [blue Room Released] (2000) 07 - Cydonia - Narco Nympho [blue Room Released] (1999) 08 - Orion - Highway [symbiosis Records] (1997) 09 - Total Eclipse - Nakano Ghost [Twisted Records] (1998) 10 - Elysium & DJ Cosmix - The Vision [Transient Records] (1997) 11 - Zodiac Youth - Fast Forward The Future (Voodoo People Remix) [Dragonfly Records] (1996) 12 - Future Human Unity - Freeway [POF Music] (1998) 13 - Adrenalin Drum - Shadowland [unnatural Recordings] (1997) 14 - Total Eclipse - Nautilus [blue Room Released] (1995) 15 - Transwave - Ulysse (Voyage 2) [Distance] (1996) 16 - Man With No Name - Cairo [Concept In Dance] (1996) 17 - Total Eclipse - Time Drops [blue Room Released] (1996) 18 - Ololiuqui - Electrofant [spirit Zone Recordings] (1997) 19 - Banco De Gaia - Gamelah (Dub 3) [Planet Dog] (1994) 20 - Djum Djum (Leftfield) - Difference (Steng Mix) [Rough Trade Germany] (1990) 21 - Shpongle - Behind Closed Eyelids [TIP Records] (1997) 22 - Prana & Eat Static - Geomantik [Matsuri Productions] (1997) 23 - Saafi Brothers - Sweet Sirenes [blue Room Released] (1997) 24 - Ascendence - The Lost Track [Qube] (2000) 25 - Doof - Sticks And Stones [Gliss/Dubmission Records] (1998) 26 - Nomads Of Dub - Spirals [Twisted Records] (1998) 27 - The Infinity Project - When Sound Becomes Colour [blue Room Released] (1995) Circadian Rhythms is a meditation on the passage of time and an exercise in musical archeology. Mixing live on four decks, DJ Basilisk skillfully blends some of the finest mid-tempo Goa trance classics of the 1990s with dub techno, tribal trance, progressive house, psybreaks, and psychedelic dub. Holding steady at or around 120 beats per minute, the deep frequencies of this mix evoke the heartbeat of creation, taking the listener on a full journey through day into night and back again. Artwork by Basilisk featuring Creative Commons-licensed photographs by vincen-t and Chris Dlugosz. Download it here: http://www.ektoplazm...rcadian-rhythms

Great work

...

http://www.littleredumbrella.com/2012/01/lets-be-clear-ron-paul-fucking-sucks.html

Sorry folks, I haven't had access to a decent enough Internet connection to upload the release... it will be coming in the next couple of days at most (I hope).

He never wrote me back about it.

Hello everyone! Polling has opened for the 2011 edition of the Ektoplazm Free Music Survey, now the largest of its kind in the psytrance world. Follow this link to vote for the best album, best compilation, best single, and best netlabel (among other awards) of 2011: [dead link] Be sure to check out the Ektoplazm free music portal to hear what's on tap before you cast your vote: http://www.ektoplazm.com Responses will be accepted until the end of January. Results will be posted sometime in February.

Some free stuff: http://www.ektoplazm.com/style/psystep

SPECTRAL CIRCUITRY [EKTVA05] 01 - Xamanist - Restart (140 BPM) 02 - Magic & Witchcraft - Erotic Nightmares (139 BPM) 03 - Ekoplex - Elewa (143) BPM) 04 - ManMadeMan - Technoid Energized (142 BPM) 05 - EvsY - Headbanger’s Wall (145 BPM) 06 - Planewalker - Sine Qua Non (143 BPM) 07 - Rigel - Crying God (145 BPM) 08 - Amygdala - Wintermute (140 BPM) 09 - Sound Field - Technological Terror (Jikkenteki Remix) (138 BPM) 10 - Phobium - No Longer Current (90 BPM) Ektoplazm presents Spectral Circuitry, an eclectic collection of songs compiled by label owner DJ Basilisk. Returning to the spirit and vibe of Organic Circuitry, the first Ektoplazm label compilation, this release is a celebration of the vibrant diversity of the global psychedelic trance underground. On this timeless journey we are joined by many old friends and allies from the early days of Ektoplazm as well as several newcomers, all of whom possess a strong artistic voice and distinctly individual style. Building steadily from a humble beginning, this release will propel you through many stages of trance before reaching a sublime, enchanting conclusion. Mastered by Jay Kerner (Southwild) with illustrations by Cesar Rodriguez of Neuromantix and digital ink and design by Basilisk. Download it for free in MP3/FLAC/WAV direct from Ektoplazm: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/spectral-circuitry

PROKAION - DREAM FILAMENT [EKTEP20] 01 - G-Spot (136 BPM) 02 - Anywhere Out Of The World (140 BPM) 03 - Muses Rapture (142 BPM) 04 - CERN (144 BPM) Prokaion is a new project from Daniel Mondry, a psytrance producer based in Berlin, Germany. After discovering electronic music in 1994 he founded the Zerotonine project with Robert Junge in 1997. Together they released an album, Cygnus Loops, and several different tunes for various labels such as Iboga Records, Nova Tekk, AP Records, and Society FX. Around 2003 the collaboration ended, partly because Daniel no longer felt excited about the sound of the time, and soon retired from production. In the intervening years Daniel frequently recalled fond memories of the happiness and bliss that good psychedelic trance can create. And so, last year he started over, bought new equipment, began to relearn music-making skills, charted a new creative direction, and wrote several fresh tunes. Four of these have been included here, on Dream Filament, a new release from Ektoplazm. Mastered by Colin Bennun at the Stooodio, Bristol, UK, with original photography and design by Basilisk. Download it for free in MP3, FLAC, or WAV format direct from Ektoplazm: http://www.ektoplazm.com/2011/prokaion-dream-filament

About the noise: it could have gone either way but in the end we went with the recommendation of the mastering engineer to just leave it. As I understand it, running a noise reduction plugin can adversely affect the quality of the audio signal on the rest of the track... so it isn't an easy decision; there are trade-offs. I don't like the noise either but that's all we had to work with, unfortunately. I'm glad you like the release though... it was quite a project!

I worked for many years in IT doing web development for banks and such. It was dreadfully boring so I quit to enrol in university for ecology and evolutionary biology with a side order of physical geography. I'd like to do my masters or Ph.D. but plan to take a gap year of sorts... travelling (hopefully) and working full-time as a music technology entrepreneur, label owner, and DJ.

I tried the same thing in 2002. It was too late then and it's too late now for some kind of vinyl revival... but if you've got money to burn, go right ahead

HINKSTEP - SUNRISE FROM THE TREETOPS 01 - Sunrise From The Treetops (126 BPM; 9/4) 02 - Moonwalk On Mushroom Street (80 BPM) 03 - Dreamland Dub (120 BPM; 6/4) 04 - Medusa (67.2 BPM) 05 - Aldrig Mer (130 BPM; 6/4) 06 - So Beautiful So Strange (75 BPM) 07 - Sleep Again (120 BPM) Sunrise From The Treetops is the remarkable debut of Hinkstep (Jonas Tegenfeldt), a talented musician and audio engineer born and raised in the northern part of Sweden. After discovering the “other side” of Infected Mushroom’s groundbreaking album Converting Vegetarians, Jonas was hooked on the manifold possibilities of downtempo psychedelia. His boundless experiments in the years that followed eventually gave rise to a refreshingly eclectic style further influenced by the likes of Porcupine Tree and Younger Brother. Now, having cultivated a bold creative vision, Hinkstep is ready to share the sublime experience of this unique album with the world. Additional credits: female vocals on Aldrig Mer by Sara Johanna Lindström Westman; male vocals on Aldrig Mer by Milad Becky; guitar and sitar on Aldrig Mer by Peter Ekelund; guitar on Aldrig Mer by Daniel Schwartz; guitar on So Beautiful So Strange by Oscar Hägglund; vocals on So Beautiful So Strange and Sleep Again by Jonas Tegenfeldt. Mastered by Jonas Tegenfeldt with design and original photography by Basilisk. Released by Omnitropic, Ektoplazm’s downtempo imprint. Download this album for free in MP3/FLAC/WAV format direct from Ektoplazm: http://www.ektoplazm.com/2011/hinkstep-sunrise-from-the-treetops

Yes, it's cleaner all right... will post bugs if/when I find them.

Yes, check his two previous releases on Ektoplazm! He also has an EP out on Geomagnetic.

This sort of thing happens all the time. Don't be surprised.