damion

one good tune (Tantilus IIRC) but that's one that would have sounded good then... the best thing about this release is the cover

what's the difference between the first Space Tribe album and the last Space Tribe album? the barcode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOLF etc sorry

Mantrix

for me it's mantrix and mood deluxe all the way, possibly with god save the machine coming up in second. and as RAH says it would be interesting to bump this thread up in November and see if anyone even remembers some of the releases up there

"debauchery" and pls copy yr comments to dali@hommega.com (toutes personnes: adder pour L'MSN: dali@hommega.com)

well said franny -- i was just about to drop you a line with the link to this thread so you could respond -- but you were way ahead in 2001/2002 i was very bored with the way "psychedelic" trance was basically starting with a kick, bringing in a theme, playing with that theme, peaking with it, then disappearing. Then Franny dropped me a line asking if I'd like to review Demon Tea. A week or so later Not My Cup and Pelinpala dropped on the doormat, and I still remember the utter, utter joy i felt playing music that was finally what i was looking for. I'm fascinated by one man's journey from the Demon Tea sound through to Vibraspirit and beyond to Nystagmus and more specifically Talpa (which I still consider to be in the top10 psychedelic trance albums of all time). Demon Tea is the only label I remain obsessive about collecting all the releases of (picked up Oozie goodness second hand last month) and the only negativity here is that we have to wait through this downtime, like the salivating trancedogs we are, for the next releases. Delighted that the labels are coming back -- more delighted still that the true 'heads will have some new sounds to tickle 'em. [/rant]

i'm finding the isratrance backlash many times more interesting than the album: http://forum.isratrance.com/viewtopic.php/...c/89190/forum/9 #7 on Saiko???? Unbelievable!

faster than bubble and squeak, way less sub-post-neo-fullon than the manmademan remix. sounds like hallucinogen. starts out with a sample from british telly about magic mushrooms, then gets metallic and a wee bit glitchy, sounds a little like it could have been released circa Lone Deranger. Has this laid back vibe of, "just wait cos i *am* gonna do something..." and then it just about does -- not his best but proves he can still cut it. the way the final melody comes up out of the track is bloody excellent. the back of the promo says it's just hallucinogen, not hallucinogen & lucas -- could be a typo

Mantrix Universal SUB (Australia) Mantrix are a double-act from Melbourne, Australia who made their name through their live set, fusing organic and electronic sounds into a sound that’s more or less Australia’s best-kept musical secret. There’s a couple of bloody amazing things about this album. First, the production quality; secondly the ballsy oldskool energy running through it; and thirdly, samples that really *should* sound shit and clichéd actually work very well indeed. The opening track Levels kicks off with a bread-n-butter bassline before it takes off. There’s a fat, adorable midrange riff that keeps you hooked. There’s cut up high-end vocals swirling in the background that’ll have you thinking, all misty-eyed, about high-moments in trance’s history. Free Your Soul sounds so clear it’s like the music’s happening inside of your own head. Again we’re being dragged into the music by the midrange, and the smattering of new age-y vocals and samples is a goan delight – trust me, it doesn’t get cheesy. The central run to this track is staggering – the sounds layer and get excited all by themselves, the percussion gets tighter and more frantic, and the overall effect is extremely psychedelic. By which I mean extremely. And by which I also mean psychedelic. Armageddon features live guitar, all whipped up into a veritable frenzy. The live sound moulds well into the electronic and while it gets a tad too heavy for my whiteboy ears, the energy is unmistakeable. Psycarumba has no less than five guest musicians, performing brazilian percussion and vocals. The effect here is like dropping acid at Womad and hearing quality goa ringing in your ears all weekend: I don’t think I can name a psy track that’s got a stronger live-band-feel to it. Gaia takes a shift to the deeper, edgier side of things and the sound here reminds me a little of something Cosmosis might come up with when he’s in a bad mood. Universal Reflections is an utter cracker – the sound is simply vast, spreading right out in front of you. A vocoder gives it a sort of unnerving depth that’s balanced by the earthy percussion going on below. It’s the kind of track that won’t so much as make a dancefloor ignite: it’ll make a dancefloor spontaneously combust. The low-set midrange drives it along, keeping everything grounded before escalating it upwards and upwards. Alpha Beater, however, is the utter ripper here. A barking 303, an incredibly psychedelic set of bleeps and whistles, all underpinned by a driving bassline. And, seriously, it’s as good as The Infinity Project, as good as Cosmosis, as good as Doof, and it even has a movement and passion that should get the Posford-devotees glazing over like Easter buns. Rebirth is another belter – it has a deep, fin-de-ciecle feel about it with a whirlwind of dreamtime percussion, subtly-crafted electronic tickles and more energy than a gazillion duracells. Finally, the two parts of Spontaneous Existence give a thundering close to the album. Starting out chilled (and bloody good chill it is too), it goes through 4/4, breaks, before picking up the lysergic quotient nicely. All in all Universal is a f*ing amazing artist album. Psyreviews often bangs on about artist albums lacking direction, flow, or ideas – all three are in bountiful abundance here. There are some dazzling moments, some real blasts of emotional power, and some ideas and production that border genius. I simply can’t bang on about it enough: utterly brilliant. 9

Leigh is alive and well and living in (i think) london Bloody nice bloke! There's a new ECT track coming out on the next Gi'iwa compilation Musica DiscOrdia. He has some other new tracks as well -- similar vein to his earlier stuff and bloody mesmerising He also does great leftfield/chillout/eclectic DJ mixes that give mine a run for their money Oopie, i've PM'd you his email.

briliant

hey come on -- if you were posford, having a spliff and a drink and a laugh with a couple of mates, and one of them said, "hey i wonder how much you could make on ebay just selling something you've signed?" cue LOL, ROFL and perhaps a LMAO i think this is what it's about. if i could make £75 out of some daft ebay numnut then i think it's a fairly safe bet that i'd do through with it to see what happened -- he is just having a laugh here, i don't think it's profiteering.

heheh yeah it was set up as hell i dont mind simon having a photo taken with me though, i can deal with it. He paid me three quid.

my two vaguely amusing encounters with His Holiness... 1) Samothraki 2003. Me and a mate were "enjoying" a chicken kabab and a few beers up in town. Out strides the maharaja himself, girlfriend in tow. They then walk up to his hired little Fiat Cinquecento thing, tiny little silver compact car which he then tries to reverse out of a space. Takes him bloody ages! An easy three-point-turn takes about seven points, before he eventually drives off, slowly. Conclusion: maybe he can't drive, but Michael Shumacher never made any good goa. 2) Nothing Lasts launch party in Bristol, UK. I get pissed as a fart and ambush him in the chillout, pointing out what he's done wrong and what he's done right, and what he does next (Hallucinogen In Breaks, was my volatile suggestion). The following week I was at an outdoor party and he turned up. As we walked past each other I said, "hello simon" and he replied (get this) "hello damion"!!!111oneoneone i spent the rest of the night telling everyone this. My mate Lurk gave me a punch on the arm everytime i told the story which, drunk again folks, i told to everyone (instead of saying hello). Come Monday, my arm had a bruise on it the size of Nigeria. But it was worth it.

Kundalini is to this day my favourite psy track ever. Stuff like Shamanix and Enlightened Evolution got me interested, but Kundalini was the one that kept me interested right up till now. Nothing has ever moved in that way since, and it probably never will. Utter belter - played it out last month and it still goes down a cracker. A Live is better than breathing space IMO, and for my money the Kundalini on Fill Your Head With Phantasm 3 (the studio one) Is better than the live cut. Colin, I know you're reading this thread btw

i think it'll be recorded... should be accessible from tomorrow (weds) on http://www.psystream.net/damion/recorded.m3u i'll say 'ello if i remember

Infected Mushroom Live From The Bottom Of My Toilet www.psystream.net 8pm GMT till collapse. This is the last one before I leave the UK and head overseas..... so it might be a slightly tearful* one (* this doesn't mean it will be any good) highlights: bluetech, new tip comp, tron, ecliptic, capsula lowlights: madonna, led zep covers, and the bullet proof remix of Switch

you have an ASSISTANT?!?!?!??!! i want one or two

you could make your own. simon pegg from spaced.... there's a longer one i'm dying to hear used in a track.. he goes "oh--my----god........ (silence) .... i've just remembered.... I'VE GOT SOME F*ING JAFFA CAKES IN MY JACKET POCKET!!!!!!!!"

erm... yeah sorry i've used up all my originality

knocked up a bit of cover art -- download a jpeg at http://www.psyreviews.com/xmas/xmascover.jpg or if you're flash then there's a .pdf of it here