travbrad1001

I pretty much agree with your "big 3" (I'm not a huge AP fan, but I can't deny the impact they had). I'd probably add Infected Mushroom to that list as well, even if they do make unbelievably horrible music now. A lot of newer psytrance listeners (who missed the so-called "golden age" of goa) were introduced to the genre by Infected Mushroom.

Hallucinogen - LSD, a couple Astral Projection tracks (Mahadeva, People Can Fly), and IM - Bust A Move. Around 2001-2002 I asked some people on an online trance forum (mostly dedicated to Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, etc) for some suggestions on more complex/less repetitive trance and they recommended some progressive and psytrance tracks. I was blown away by goa/psy (particularly Hallucinogen) and instantly fell in love and knew I had to find more of this strange wonderful music.

I love it and it's by far my favorite type of trance. It's experimental, strange, and melodic. It has a lot of the qualities I wish more psytrance had. Too much Psy feels very "orderly" (add one layer, wait 8/16 measures, add another layer, repeat), whereas Suomi tends to be a lot less predictable. In a lot of ways I feel like it captures the Goa spirit more than most modern Goa. Part of what made Goa special in the first place was exploring new sounds and ideas. I like most of the artists already mentioned in the thread, but also wanted to say Igor Swamp is some really great suomi. "Metsä Vastaa, Kuuleeko Suomi" is one of my favorite Suomi albums

I honestly listen to the most ambient/psychill, but I'm not sure it can really be considered "psytrance". It's really a completely different genre, even if a lot of the spirit and themes are the same. That being said: Suomi (fun, experimental, and doesn't take itself seriously) Full-On when it's good (95% of it is horribly generic) Goa Forest Prog Darkpsy (I need some kind of melody/harmony and most darkpsy doesn't have it) A lot of this is in the eye of the beholder though and how they perceive certain genres. For example I've heard The Lone Deranger described as goa, psytrance, or full-on depending on who you ask.

I absolutely love this release, but then I love everything Terrafractyl does. He is probably my favorite current psytrance artist. Something about his music just energizes me in a way that very few others do. The groove/melodies he lays down are amazing, and he isn't afraid to experiment.

IM are one of the main reasons I got into pystrance, so I will always thank them for that. I don't really listen to them much anymore, but it's still good music. After hearing so much other psytrance IM feels pretty shallow now. Maybe I just listened to it too much, who knows. Everything they've done for the last decade has been excruciatingly bad though. I feel embarrassed for them when I hear it.

Yeah I agree. Just looking at all those interviews/biographies where artists say who influenced them, there is a clear trend. When artists have similar influences to each other they often create similar music (obviously with their own unique approach though). The music they create is often very different from the music that influenced them as well, which just shows how creative the human mind can be (probably our greatest asset). Each new generation gets exposed to new music and then creates their own new music based on those influences. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." sums it up pretty well I think.

I don't know how to describe this album but I love it. Really unique and tons of great sounds/ideas. Each track has more variation than an entire psytrance album typically has. It has a great mix of trippy sounds and interesting melodies too, the perfect amount of each. If I had to compare to any other album I'd say Fragletrollet - Playground of Spirit (another album I love) is probably the most similar. They must be putting something in the water up there in Norway I think this might even take it to another level beyond that though.

I listen to my music in pretty much exactly the same spot every time though, so the sound being wrong in a different part of the room doesn't really matter. My speakers are highly directional anyway and you wouldn't want to sit outside of the "sweet spot". I get what you are saying, the only way to truly fix the acoustics in a room are to fix the acoustics in the room, but for my particular needs EQing does make a difference because I am always in the same listening position. I don't have audiences that come listen to music in my home office. Unlike a lot of "audiophiles" I can enjoy music without having perfect sound too. I'd prefer it to sound as good as possible of course, but a good song is a good song on any system.

Yep there is barely an electronic music scene in my area (Minnesota, USA), let alone a trance scene, let alone a psytrance scene, let alone a goatrance scene. Dubstep is about the only electronic music you'll ever hear around here. Oh well, I don't think my tastes would fit in to most psytrance festivals/shows anyway, since I'm not really into most full-on or darkpsy. We do occasionally (once or twice a year) get some good chillout/ambient artists though. Shpongle came here a few years back, and Bluetech played in a bar/small club also a few years ago.

I mostly listen through my PC (with ASUS Xonar DG sound card) on either M-Audio BX5a speakers or Sennheiser HD280 headphones. I prefer the sound of the speakers but sometimes you have to listen more quietly to not annoy neighbors/family. I also have a Sansa Fuze for portable audio but I still use my Sennheisers with that (or my crappy car stereo)

As others have said, EQing is more for adjusting for the room and speakers rather than EQing for specific artists or types or music. My headphones sound great when EQ'd flat, but my speakers need the upper frequencies tuned down slightly. I'm not sure the "original sound" can ever truly be recreated either, but it's a nice goal to aim for. Even if you were to get identical speakers in an identical room to the artist, your ears aren't the same, and your brain (which interprets/processes everything you hear) isn't the same either.

I've gotten more people into Shpongle (to at least some degree) than any psytrance. Some of it is pretty dance-able too. I think Jaia is a good choice. They have some some some very progressive sounding stuff. If you're looking for more "normal" trance check out this thread: http://www.psynews.o...-normal-trance/

I definitely fit into that group. I would like to go to more parties/festivals but psytrance is pretty much nonexistent around here, let alone goa-trance. Most of the parties/shows/festivals are 1000-2000 miles away, which is just too far/expensive for me. The electronic music scene around here is about 95% dubstep/house (probably my least favorite genres of electronic music). I've only met one person in the "real world" who has ever heard of psy/goa (and even he had only heard of Hallucinogen/Shpongle/IM/etc). The only artists I've ever seen in my home city/state are Shpongle and Bluetech (neither of which are really psytrance). Hardly anyone at the Bluetech set seemed to know who Bluetech was either.

Probably my favorite neo-goa wasn't even a full album, rather the 2 free releases from Sky Technology at Ektoplasm: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/sky-technology-time-space http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/sky-technology-next-visions "Mindsphere - Patience for Heaven" is great too though. To be honest I'm not the biggest neo-goa fan either. When it's done right it's amazing, but most of it just sounds too "perfect" and doesn't have enough soul IMO. Just packing as many random melodies as possible into a track doesn't do it for me.

Tracklist: 1. Zymosis – One Day 2. Zymosis – Awakening 3. Zymosis – Usual Miracle (Micky Noise & Alkan Rmx) 4. Zymosis & Seamoon – So Far, So Close 5. Zymosis – Path Of Nocturnal 6. Zymosis – She 7. Shulman – The Unexpected Visitor (Zymosis Rmx) 8. Zymosis & Zero Cult – I'll Be Waiting For You 9. Zymosis – Quiet Sadness 10. Zymosis – Forgotten Days Zymosis is Dmitriy Lihachov (Dimitro) and Grigoriy Sobinov (Gree Shanti) from Kiev, Ukraine. They are also the artists behind the goa-trance project Alienapia. I'm familiar with them from the Air/Water/Fire/Earth compilations put together by DJ Zen. I really enjoyed their tracks on those compilations, so I figured a whole album of them should be good. Apparently they also have 3 full albums prior to this one, which I may have to get a hold of now. This album has beautiful pads, accompanied by nice warm yet powerful bass lines, and inspiring intricate melodies. The melodies are really done well, and always suit the harmony of the track, with little playful tweaks here and there to keep things interesting. The tracks usually start with no beat or bass line but when the percussion appears it always feels very natural. Each track has it's own unique style while still clearly fitting the rest of the album. Some of them are more relaxing and laid back, while others rapidly twist through your mind and soul. Even within one track there is often quite a bit of variety, some moments of beautiful slow gentle pads and melodies with no percussion or bass lines, then other moments where you are lost in a dense labyrinth of sounds. I really enjoyed this album, and the tracks range from good to great. Definitely one of the best downtempo albums I've heard this year. Favorites: "One Day", with it's relaxing pads that eventually turn in to powerful melodies, then fade to leave you relaxing on a beach somewhere "Awakening", teases you with melodies that almost sound like they are singing, then eventually an acoustic guitar shows up and jams with some melodies soaring high above. "Path of Nocturnal" starts out with droning pads and the sound of nighttime, then slowly builds into a breakbeat goa track with hints of acid dripping in the dark. Amazing and unexpected track from this album. I wish there was more music like this being made. "Forgotten Days" begins with some gentle synths and a beautiful melancholic piano. Some slow but powerful percussion appears, and the piano is joined by some wonderful Violin/Viola. Some plucky melodies and guitar replace the piano then the track ends with some lovely synth melodies. Absolutely gorgeous song, and really evokes the feeling of days forgotten. Sad yet hopeful. You can buy and listen to samples at Altar Records BandCamp iTunes

I don't really have a single favorite movie, but some of my favorites are One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Love and Death Pulp Fiction Taxi Driver Magnolia The Godfather II Fear And Loathing (the book is even better!) and I love Stanley Kubrick films (A Clockwork Orange, 2001, Dr Strangelove, The Shining, etc)

Yep. So many people listen to music on very low quality speakers/headphones. People spend all that money on music then listen to it on crappy ear buds or tiny portable/computer speakers. You don't need to spend crazy amounts of money to get decent sound either. The difference between $15 ear buds and decent set of headphones for around $100 is enormous. Obviously you can spend more and get even better sound, but I think some $100-ish headphones are a great way to introduce people to good sound. I remember when I got my first decent pair of Sennheisers I was blown away by the richness of the sound and all the little details that I was able to hear. It completely transformed my music listening experience and gave me a lot more appreciation for the music. Speakers/headphones last a long time too, so they really are good investments because they will last many years (or possibly even decades) and don't get me started on people with subwoofers so loud/EQed that all you can hear is the bass... I like bass, but there's a limit where it just gets in the way of enjoying/hearing the music.

The one I put as my favorite " Fraktophon - Nachtvolk" isn't neo-goa or darkpsy either, so that may be worth checking out. "The Path" was one of my other favorites that year though, so our tastes may not be the same, although I do quite like most of the albums on your list.

I like a little bit a sound when I fall asleep for whatever reason, usually some beatless ambient or in the summertime an electric fan. I can fall asleep with silence too but I seem to fall asleep A LOT faster with those things. Without that sound I'm one of those people who takes awhile to fall asleep, like Ormion.

Yeah, if you expanded the question to electronic music in general I think it would be very hard to make a case against the UK producing the most great artists. They've had so many pioneers in so many different genres.

I only first heard psy/goa around 2002, so I probably missed a lot of the albums from the earlier years, but anyway here goes: 1995 The Infinity Project - Feeling Wierd 1996 Total Eclipse - Violent Relaxation 1997 Hallucinogen - The Lone Deranger 1998 MFG - Project Genesis 1999 Pleiadians - FOL 2000 Texas Faggott - Petoman's Peflett 2001 Haltya - Forest Flavour 2002 EvsY - Round 1 2003 Blowfish - Puffed Up 2004 Vihtahousu - Too Weird To Live 2005 Jaia - Fiction 2006 Psyknights - A Faint Light From The Dark 2007 Igor Swamp - Metsa Vastaa, Kuuleeko Suomi 2008 Tamlin - Spectrogram 2009 Fragletrollet - Playground of Spirit 2010 Kino Oko - Colours Hate Themselves 2011 Fraktophon - Nachtvolk 2012 Escape Into - The Dream

Overall I'd have to say UK, Finland, France, and Sweden. Israel has obviously been hugely influential in the scene, but there is very little Israeli psy that I actually enjoy. It just doesn't feel as otherworldly/experimental as I'd like. A lot of my favorite psy artists are from countries other than those that are often associated with psy/goa though.

A lot of music programs have a track rating function as well. Those ratings are usually saved into the tag data (for a FLAC/mp3), so as long as you keep using the same program it will see your ratings. You can also use the "group/category" in a FLAC/mp3 if you want to transfer the ratings between different programs (that may use a different ratings tag). As for calculating an album rating from those track ratings that can be a bit more complicated, but you can do it with MediaMonkey+Magic Nodes, or MusicBee, for example. I'm not sure that is the best way to judge an album though. Some albums may be more than the sum of their parts, or less. If you track all of your listening with last.fm that's probably a pretty good way to judge how much you like an album. If you listen to an album a lot, that probably means you like it a lot. The only issue there is that trance tracks tend to be a lot longer than most music, so judging only by the number of tracks played may not be the most accurate. For a time-based chart http://www.normalisr.com/ is great though. As for the actual topic, hmmm I will have to go think about it for awhile.

This album is fantastic. I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't. It really captures that underwater feeling of drifting through the sea, with chilled out sounds and incredible melodies. This really is a perfect album, best downbeat/chill of the year easily IMO.