Void Mantra

https://treesofeternity.bandcamp.com/ Best goth doom metal album ever made. Yes? Yes.

All made with a phone app? Insane stuff!

Oh boy can't wait for this one! Updated artwork is stunning. Nothing but bliss folks.

Good, I'm not the only one confused.

Sorry be to a bit off-topic but I'm not even sure what exactly full-on is. To me ears, it's just an overproduced version of old-school trance. I am missing something?

This might be even more true for the psytrance artists specifically. In my opinion, this scene is hugely associated with crowds and festifals. I wouldn't be surprised if less than 20% of the people who go to festivals actually buy albums on a regular basis. For those persons, music is only part of the experience and largely loose its appeal when considered in and of itself. This isn't the case for other genre such as underground metal for exemple.

Top 3 album of the year for me. No question.

Sadly, I think it's a general thing... Labels are stuggling, bandcamp is a breath of fresh air but for most of them, it's not enough. I know a few label owner who can make a living solely out of their bandcamp sales. They all have an excellent marketing strategy, a very strong fanbase but it's definitely a very small minority. People want their music everywhere, they want it now and they want it for free. For them, it doesn't really matter if labels and artists get screwed. That's the world we live in, that's our reality. If labels want to survive in a world like this, they must adapt, step up their game and hope God's on their side. Until people are more considerate of where their money goes, I'm afraid there's no way out of this mess. To me, that's the major part of the problem. The other is when labels overprice their releases. By doing so, they dissuade many potential buyers and their visibily take a hit.

Out of curiosity, do you have an explanation for this?

This ep is selling like hotcakes on bandcamp (currently in the top 3 on electronic charts). Sounds damn good anyway. Might buy... Thanks for the s/o!

On a side note, I'm sorry if my posts seemed harsh on some labels (ie Suntrip). Far from my mind the idea to insult them, I'm aware that label management is not an easy task in this day and age. I just wish, as a digital consumer, I had as much of a good deal as a cd buyer. It's not the case; labels have their reasons and I must accept that. Still I'm glad I shared my views on that matter so that those who run labels see things from another perspective, a consumer perspective (as I know for a fact I'm not the only one who hold this point of view). That being said, I truly wish the best for those labels, no matter their decision. You guys published some outstanding music and I'll do my best to support your music, one way of another. Cheers!

Indeed. Goa labels generally have good deals cd/shipping wise. Absolutely no complain there.

What if I want to know that my money goes in the right hands and purchase the album at a decent price on bandcamp for 8-10USD? Am I not supporting the label? Would you prefer someome to buy your album on iTunes at 9.99CAD or directly from your bandcamp at, say, 13CAD? On one hand, you make peanuts, on the other you make a net profit of 10CAD+.

I don't buy strictly psytrance music you know . When buying non-psytrance albums, the price for physical release generally goes up by 50% (which is perfectly ok in my books). On top of that, put a shipping cost that is rarely under 7$CAD, there you have your 2.5x.

Yep, I undertand the need for something tangible. Believe it or not, I'm quite an old school guy myself but I came to a point where I needed to reeavalute my consumption habits. Here in Canada, a physical album will cost me, on average, 2.5X the amount of a digital album. When you buy several albums a week, that makes a big difference on your budget. Put that on top of what I said earlier about not being as enthusiastic as I was about physical releases (unless it's truly special), I made a choice. But yes, I certainly wouldn't blame anybody for wanting a physical incarnation of the music they love. Every of my all-time favourite albums I own in physical format and that won't change anytime soon, believe me About streaming, again I understand the appeal but I don't like the idea of not owning your music. When your subscription is over, then it's over, you have nothing left. There's also the fact that small labels don't profit very much from streaming. In fact, your money goes indeed to the big names (Adele, Rihanna etc.) and, of course, the corporate giants such as Apple and Google. So yeah, streaming is, by far, the worst option as far as I'm concerned.

I hear you. In an ideal world, everyone would actually put some money for those "nyp" releases. Sadly, it's not always the case, but on the other side of things, it gives more exposure to the labels. Anyway, definitely a smart move by Neogoa. More reasons why I'm inclined to support your releases.

Seriously guys, your digital albums are too expensive. I don't want to be an ass here, and I know a lot of money and work are involved in the creation of those albums, but seriously anything higher than 10USD is not competitive by today's standard. More frustrating is the fact that, most of the time, the digital release is sold at the same price of the physical copy, which doesn't make sense at all for the consumer. I used to be a big apologist of the physical format; I have around 1000+ cds (mostly underground metal) and a decent vinyl collection. However, there comes a time that getting a cd in the mail is no long special; just another printed piece of plastic on its way to collect dust on the shelves. That was my experience anyway. Once I got out of that "collector" mentality, the switch to digital was just so obvious. Occasionally, I don't mind going for the hard copy and paying the high price for some truly special edition but at the end of the day, I'll go for digital 99% of the time. I'm all for supporting labels and all; I think the fair trade music phenemenon with bandcamp is the best thing that could happen to the music industry but I think we have to be careful going to the other extreme where the consumer is being screwed. Kind of remind me those 400min animé sold at 300 euros pressed on limited edition. Their message is: "We don't sell many copies, die-hard fans will pay the high price to compensate". Is it fair to the fans? I don't think so. To a lesser extend, I think the same scenario happens within the goa scene. What I don't understand is why the digital format sells at the same price as the physical? Is it to discourage people away from digital just to make sure the cd stock sells? That's the only plausible solution I can think of. And yes, when I'm asked 13 pound for a single digital album, I feel abused as a fan. I'm all for support and I don't mind paying a extra dollar or 2 on bandcamp (compared to the price asked on, say, Itunes) to help out the label/band...but considaration has to be both ways...

From what I heard so far, this compilation is an absolute KILLER. From the mastering to the songwriting, everything's just gorgeous. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one ranked in my top 3 by the end of the year. So glad I purchased.

Yep, definitely a good move!! I'm buying this. Thumbs up! edit: Bought from bandcamp as well, thanks!

@JaraLuca My bad, I swear I saw a 18 euros price tag. I'll check my budget and see what I can do. @Antic Strange but I definitely see the 18 euros cd version on bandcamp...

18 euros for digital? Guess I'll pass...

Just bought digital from bandcamp. Sounds fantastic!

Hannibal. The best.

Can't wait!!

So glad the project is still on its way. Thanks for the update Richpa!