Tsotsi

Haha incredible. I was gonna write about his track on the Va - elan vital comp that if he released an alb with slight variations of that one track I'd buy it 8 times over. Looks like he has done us 1 better

Hey RTP, I finally got around to listening to Arche Goa. I like the idea, 'If you don't like something do it the way you like'. The track was pretty steady, I wouldn't say a certified banger (Yet) but the progression and melody is pretty nice. Even as I listen to First Encounter I still have the melody in my head. I'm not good at critiquing so I'll keep it short, I felt the rawness of the leads was a little mucho, but I like the style in general and think the production is pretty neat. Ok I just finished First Encounter is it me or are their some volume issues going on? Otherwise I would say a way more polished cleaner track. I like this one a lot. On another note, get back to writing reviews.

Log onto my Bandcamp music feed and what do I see but Richpa, NeonJesus and Dj Lurfilur all purchasing a comp. you got my interest. Compiled by Cromonova. Released November 1 2018. First track was very promising. https://melusinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/elan-vital-24bits

Artist: Opiuo Title: Syzygy 01 Label: Self released Date released: March 2, 2018 1. Huckaloogie 2. Ginger Lizard 3. Botrok 4. Boogie Latch 5. Dalmations Opiuo is Oscar Davey-Wraight from the hometown of Ngatimoti, New Zealand, he now resides in Australia. If you venture into his Facebook page you'll see that his influences for music are 'Everything, absolutely everything'. If you've ever seen him live or listened to his work you'll know that that is true. Glitch probably describes his style the best, but it is hip-hoppy, funkadelic, dubsteppy, ambient inspired psychedelic glitch. Syzygy 01 is my favourite piece of work from him so far, I would best describe it as absolute jazz, funk inspired glitch-hop. So funky that he has gone on to collect himself an orchestra and release a full orchestral version of his work. If you like to impress your friends with your good music taste but just can't get them into the best Goa and Psy tracks, then use any song from Syzygy, it'll have them bopping all over the place. If Glitch isn't your usual flavour I would still recommend listening to track 5 Dalmations it's a slow sexy jazz piece full of electronic glory. https://opiuo.bandcamp.com/album/syzygy-01

While we aren't getting answers to questions, can any tell me how to change a profile name? Seems impossible, maybe an admin can do it for me? tsotsi simply needs a capital 'T' in his name. Easy, pick a t, I don't mind.

Artist: Jacob Title: Enjoy The Ride Label: Spin Twist Records Date: 10/12/18 Tracklist:- 01 Where all Begins 02 Sound City (ft. 4i20) 03 Durs - Serendipity (Jacob remix) 04 Fake Idols (ft. Mandragora) 05 Binomial (ft. Harmonyc) 06 Energy Around You (ft. Juiced) 07 Wobbly Girl 08 Synergy (ft. Basscannon) 09 Music is 10 We Come in Piece (ft. Mandragora) 11 Fly Away (ft. Juiced) 12 Enjoy The Ride You really don't need to look much further than Spin twist Records if you're after fun clubby proggy tunes that will get a crowd jumping. Their last release I listened to was Therapy by Fabio which was perfect for a dark club with friends. Now Jacob has come out with a perfect album for a hot summer day, cider and friends. While not particularly psychedelic or trippy and pretty much non stop prog, Enjoy The Ride is a bunch of fun from start to finish. I listened to it while walking through Swedish forests in the sun today and I can say that it fit the mood perfectly. Punchy kick drums, rolling bass lines, lots of catchy vocals and melodies. In fact, if like me your only source of vocal music is a selection of tracks by Sade and Dido but at the same time you still enjoy your words then this album will hit the spot. Instead of following the typical 4 to the floor prog pattern Jacob keeps his music interesting by chopping his beats up while retaining all the rhythm. Most tracks start with cool dubby or breakbeat sections that spiral off into prog wonderland and most end in ecstasy. While some tracks feel like they are going to be typical pieces I can assure you that Jacob doesn't let anything get boring, typical or dry. Favourites: 4, 7, 9 and 12. Tracks 12 is a really really good downtempo piece. https://www.beatport.com/release/enjoy-the-ride/2396790

Artist: Various Title: 303 Syndrom Label: Mamomam Records Date: 10/10/2018 1. Hypnoxock - Heaven Can't Wait 2. Clementz - Medistajon 3. Median Project -Â Space Monkeys 4. Goad - Entranced 5. Jaraluca - The Ektoplazm 6. Omneon -Â Power of the Ori 7. Artha - Hall-Lux 8. Proxeeus - Suydam 9. Toxeed - Milky Way (Bonus Track) What a month for music. We've been blessed and cursed with a great set of October releases. Blessed because they all rock. Cursed because we must not only buy them all, but find the time to listen to this sweet sweet music coming our way. But I'm on holiday, so I have time and will I use it constructively? Learn a new skill, read a book, write a resume so I can apply for a job? That would be great, but you know whats better than all that? You do, I know you do, 9 Blistering tracks compiled by Mr Jaraluca. If that's not enough to stir up the hornet's nest within then just take a second look at that artwork. Still not cracking a woody? Surely that line up is all you need. Heaven Can't Wait - It can't, or maybe it can. I mean I thought I couldn't wait when i saw Hypnoxock opening this comp, but here I am. Wait I did and boy am i glad about that. An ominous intro leads quickly into a melody and some vocals then woah holy heck this becomes a great track. I still think that most tracks from Eurythmia are better than his singles but that probably has more to do with it being a masterpiece than anything. Still a good track. Medistajon - No autocorrect there, we aren't trying to spell meditation. Clementz is here with fat kicks and melodies that take you higher and higher. Balancing between light and dark for the duration of a track ain't always easy, but you wouldn't know it here. Space monkeys - Whether that's a kookaburra or a monkey really isn't important here. Median has done the usual and come in hot. That explosion after the breakbeat is incredible. This track takes you and Cappuccino the Capuchin directly through nebulas. Entranced - Goad takes us into cosmic space land which really is the most wonderful place to get Entranced. But with under 8 minutes and no real climax I feel like I just got dropped off at the edge of space and left there. The Ektoplazm - Jaraluca picks up where he left off with his last album. Only he got a little wilder, a lil more cray with the same Jaraluca full flavored spice. Very nice track. Power of the Ori - A nice spacetime banger that really take off at the 5 minute point. Man I love that moment. Raw leads and acid take center stage as Omneon marches us into battle with the full power of the Ori behind us. Hall-Lux - Did he just? Is this song the? How did he? ARTHA IS BAAAACK!! What ever he has been up to its well worth the wait. I'm saying my favourite track of the year so far. Clean screeching leads, melodies and perfect direction changes. A little bit of classic Artha dancing around a modern new sound Artha. Every element of this track is done to absolute perfection. I can only say nice pretty things. Suydam - After his track on the Va - Lotus, I really can't do anything to contain my excitement by seeing his name on a lineup. I don't need a reminder why but if I did this track would be it. While I'd probably dislocate my shoulder trying to keep up with this. Milky way (bonus track) - Do you like digital album bonus tracks? As some one who only buys digital it never really feels like a bonus track, feels more like, a track. But I'm not complaining. Another track! The comps not over! And boy am I happy about that. Toxeed comes in fast and hard with some great story telling and really cool melodies. Now I have to go and listen to his older works, I've been turnt. I'd absolutely lose my marbles if I heard this on a dancefloor. More bonus tracks! What a goshdang goddang ride. There are so many good tracks on this compilation that every time I think I have a favourite another comes along and steals my attention. While 604 Syndroms felt more dance floor friendly and spacious, 303’s is mostly space fuelled and a great homage to the instrument that made this genre what it is. I'm hoping more people purchase this to encourage more Goa comps from Mamomam. Well done to all the artists, Jaraluca and Mamomam records on what will probably be the 1st or 2nd best comp of the year. https://mamomamrecords.bandcamp.com/album/va-303-syndroms

Artist: Various Title: Lurve Connection Vol. 1 Label: Mystic Sound Records Release: September 14, 2018 Tracklist:- 1. False Identity - A State Of Delighted Astonishment 2. Antandra - You Make Me Feel So 3. Shantam - Fly VS Glass 4. Oglob - Nur The Flur 5. Maiia - Lazy Sunset 6. Planet B - Clouds 7. Ben Rama - Initiate (Jeremy’s Aura Remix) 8. Envoka - Ossified Hyoid 9. Nibana - Space Bumper 10. Tuatara - I Forgot To Tell You Something Cute With Mystic Sound Records aiming for Timewarp Records level of output it can be hard to find that special one. Too many choices, or as Alvin Toffler would say, Overchoice (Oh Alvin). And who can blame us, with our ever increasing high standards, insatiable lust for something new and really believing that we deserve to be treated to something special it's a hard dig out there. Well dig no deeper for that special feeling. Jeremy and his Aura has got you covered with 10 dubby, bassy, mystical, beautiful and lovely tracks that will take you to that special place. The place where False Identity brings you a warm tea, wait did he just slip something from an eyedropper into it? No time to think as you are eased into the mood with a soft foot rub, showing you the care and attention that you've been craving, the tea is delicious. Antandra Comes along give you the emotional connection and empathy you've been daydreaming about for so long, to let you know that he is there to listen, that he cares. Feelings are good and all, but Shantam wants to get funky and decides against the traditional episode of Netflix, reaching for the fruit bowl and cream, but there are only oranges and rockmelon, before you know it you're covered in citrus and the least sexy of the melons, are those oranges smiling? Now that the clothes are off Oglob lights the candles and comes out with the room temperature papaya juice and a contract for a pair of antique bronze snap buttons, that de-escalated, are these grandma's snap buttons? Maiia brings the hot wax and dips your toes in it one by one why the toes? you think to yourself, deep deep down you feel like you can remember why, if only you could remember how to remember. Planet B Bursts into the room to raunch things up a bit, with a text book of with words dripping from the cover, no shoes and socks that will soon become your gag, why do they smell of cigarettes you ponder? Eyes watering but with a fresh nicotine hit you glance over to see a bartender shaking away, you wipe a tear from your eye and see Ben Rama pouring thick dull sludge into a glass, or is he pouring a glass into the sludge? He sprinkles it with a hint of Jeremy's Aura and sends it over, straight away you smell it, rockmelon and papaya. Now there is a bear. Where the fuck did a bear come from? Did Envoka really bring a bear? This was meant to be a nice night. Someones at the door, oh no, oh hell no, Nibana with a basket full of Rockmelon, even the bear is staying the fuck away from all these melons. You're tired, you need sleep, mouth wash, a shower and someone to whisper lullabies into your ear. Tuatara is in the bed, covered in actual Tuatara's. Some have shed in your bed, you don't care, you march outside to replay your Lurve connection Vol. 1 album on repeat, curl up in a ball and allow yourself to be spooned while the wall melts into the floor. https://mysticsound.bandcamp.com/album/lurve-connection-vol-1 If you're having trouble finding a worthy downtempo, psybass and dub album then look no further. Every track here is a standout and completely different from the last. The only track I didn't like was Tuatara's closer, it felt like he could have toned down the sweeps and psychedelia by about 10. Regardless it's a wonderful album that I 100% recommend going through and buying to support some funky, trippy lurve music. definitely going to be in my top 10 downtempo list. https://mysticsound.bandcamp.com/album/lurve-connection-vol-1

Artist: Aion Title: Scepter Of The Machine Construct Label: None yet I don't think, Maybe Kali Earth soon? Release: September 3, 2018 Tracklist: - 1. Scepter of Ra 2. The Construct 3. Insane Cyborg Aion is Norwegian trance producer who has gifted us with a 3 track ep with a range of different influences and styles. No matter what style is being used, you will hear notes of melody, with full body, low acidity, low tannins, rich buttery synths, with a spicy finish. Scepter of Ra - A proper slow intro has you unsure what this track is gonna be. But the beat kicks in eventually and the track really does develop beyond your expectations. Where'd you hear those eastern melodies in Norway Aion? Oh sure the internet. This track is a complete banger that I more than like. Without a doubt my favourite. The Construct - I guess we know what we are in for now so the dramatic intros can disappear. We have now entered blissful psychedelic territory and I don't want to leave. Insane Cyborg - You know from the second this track starts that it's gonna be some heavy full-on. It's fun to be right. I don't normally find much to say about full-on but after getting to like Aion's style in the last couple of tracks I am more than well lubed for this banger. The beat tempo changes, melody, synths pretty much the whole shebang is pleasant. Not once does the track get corny or predictable. I don't know what they feed you there in Norway. Wait yes I do, it's the Surströmming isn't it? If tinned fish that needs to be opened outdoors is what it takes to make great music then I'm ok with that. Unlike your fermented salted Herring I can take this ep with me on an international flight. It's available for NYP as the moment in Aions band camp page. https://aion.bandcamp.com/releases

Ah Neogoa, ol reliable. Not only are their darker releases always full of thumping forbearance but they also come equipped with album covers that Ray Charles could appreciate. Every NeoGoa release should be as instantly bought as a jar of Vegemite in Stockholm. Real fast. No deliberation, show those Swedes that there is more to life than salted liquorice. Onto the album CP46TA - A wicked track that would be the perfect theme for standing over a city and casting a spell of contagious raunch on it’s citizens. Because that is what this song is, pure energetic earthiness. Lobotomites - More acidic, more knob turning more opportunity to lose yourself. The perfect song to forget yourself to at 2 am on a dance floor. Telepathy - Banger, I don’t now what to say I guess this is why T2MU didn’t hit each song up. Every element of Telepathy gives me little eargasms. Spectral Flux - Nice intro, great bassline, hard kicks and a wild trip. I could skip my morning coffee for this track everyday. I know what your thinking ‘Woah Tsotsi, skip your morning coffee? You crazy son’. Well I’m in Sweden, there’ll be more coffee later. Oh wait this isn’t my blog. Great great crazy track. Aviation - Intro full of funk. Song full of wild whips of sound zooping all over the place. Aviation has me flying. Exosphere - No messing about, straight into the trance. Synthy house vibes. Rawness, acid and melodies end up defining this track Voyager 1 - OOOOOH you know he got the breaks. Wouldn’t mind if it was just a track full of breakbeat. But Veasna aint here to play around. Veasna here to make you move. More floaty than the other previous tracks, but still with a nice emotional final act. Wormhole - A toned down kick drum allows the other layers to truly take centre stage here. Less energetic than the rest of the album as Veasna starts to tone it down. Lost In Space - Oh looks like I get my downtempo breakbeat after all. A nice final song to ease us out of the last 8 tracks of raw madness. Plenty of changes keep things interesting as the mysticism keeps going up and up. I don’t know why I didn’t lose my mind the first time I heard this. Veasna develops each song like a true pro with wild moments scattered throughout each track. It feels like a release that is right up NeoGoa’s alley. Each one of these tracks would create euphoria on the dance floor, there’d be arm flailing, whooping, hugging and dancing. Well done to Veasna on a great release and NeoGoa for another addition to many of our collections. https://neogoarecords.bandcamp.com/album/spectral-flux

Artist: Psychowave Title: Chronicles ep Label: Spacedock Records Date: July 27, 2018 1. Elephants In Pocitos 2. Fight Like A Woman 3. Life Waves Psychowave has produced two tracks which have found their way into my favourite list. His ear for melody and production technique is a treat and sends me into euphoria every time I listen. The new ep comes complete with some pretty artwork done by Natan himself and 3 tracks containing plenty of funk. Elephants In Pocitos - Not as many elephant sounds as I was expecting but still a well produced song thats got a fat baseline and trip atmospheres abound. Fight Like A Woman - Yea declare a never ending battle that you can escape from at any moment but subject your enemy to at any moment at your discretion. Yea that’ll do it. Great trippy song with good development and huge drums pounding away. Life Waves - A quick lesson on waves and a great collection of melodies intertwined with one another. My favourite of the three but just by a hair. This aint no Sunshine Reborn, but a less melodic more psychedelic trippier blast into happy land. Well done to SpaceDock for their continued support of a great artist, who has managed to avoid the norm of the Brazilian psytrance scene and produce Goa blasters. The title of the album suggests more eps to come in the same vein, I'm looking forward to those insta-buys. https://spacedockrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sddg014-psychowave-chronicles-ep

I feel like some labels are to blame for this. For a few months I thought progressive goa was Goa. Until I found Ra and Artha I don't know if we should give them slack for simply referring to the birthplace 'Goa' when they label comps. Or if they use the word 'Goa' to refer to the genre. I still think it could be either. regardless Yellow Sunshine Explosion seems to love the word. Possibly encouraging other people to use the word when they use their music.

Artist: Zebbler Encanti Experience Title: Id.Entity Label: Gravitas Reecordings Release: June 5th, 2018 1. Id.Entity 2. ZEE & Woulg - Flesh Out 3. ZEE & Of The Trees - Let Me In 4. Trance Humanism 5. ZEE & Prismatic - Caverns 6. Journey To The Centre Of The Artichoke 7. ZEE & Hlafred - Immanent Flow 8. Id.Entity (Mr. Bill Remix) 9. Exit Stance From their website: Zebbler Encanti Experience (aka “ZEE”) is an audio/visual collaboration between video artist Zebbler and electronic music producer Encanti, based out of Boston, USA and Valencia, Spain. Remember the first time you got lost listening to Psytrance? Finding yourself in a state of complete bewilderment, unable to predict what was going to happen next, looking around for someone to share your confusion with, desperately trying to figure out if it would be ok to pick your laundry up a few days late? Or do they give it away after 2 days? No it couldn't be two days. They can't hold onto it forever though can they? whats the time limit then? And will they tell me off when I arrive or is it normal? whats normal though? Wait a minute is this the same DJ? Well thats pretty much what you get with duo ZEE. It’s a beautiful thing to find an album as completely messed up, crazy and unique as what ZEE produces. Whether you like the style or not their ability to dance between 4 different genres in one song so seamlessly is a worthy of a mention. From the entire Gravitas crew ZEE gets me moving in the most directions at once. The album cover accurately portrays their style, one look and you know you're in for some psychedelic madness. Psychedelic madness that will help you push 104 when you’re in a 100 zone, any track from a ZEE album will get you there. While the last albums I listened to from them Inner G and Freakquency were all about the drop with elements of trap and trance throughout most songs, here we get an even amount of glitch, bass, trance and trap, all heavily psychedelic of course. If your not a fan of the style I wouldn’t recommend listening the entire way through. But I’m sure the style or craziness of a few songs here might make you say ‘huh, what the heck just happened? Lets do that again'. Zebbler Encanti Experience has a way of making sure that you have no idea what's going to happen next and almost always pulls it off. Favourite tracks 4, 6, 9. https://music.gravitasrecordings.com/album/id-entity

I'd give them a taste of something with lyrics that doesn't get to wild to early. Zopmanikas Namaskara Mantra seems like a perfect fit. Not too serious, plenty of fun.

Doowoop, listening today, looking forward to it.

That's how i get my album info. If you like comps then this year/month has been great for them. Check:- Timewarps Va - Lotus, Mamomams Va - 303 Syndroms Global Sects Va - Shambala Geomagnetics Va - Call of Goa 3 Otherwise I recommend Ephedra, Veasna (haven't listened yet but it's Neogoa Records), Lectro Spektral Daze, Ufomatka, Ubar Tmar, Median Project, E mantra, Unknownium and the Jayex album Soul Echoes. I'd start with Jayex and Unknownium then move from there.

I'm very interested.

Boom! payed for, downloaded and listening all night tonight.

Blacklight's a banger but nothing will beat 'Blue Effect' for Tsotsi. Such a strong build.

I thought the same but have a few issues with what this would mean. First that guardian article I posted explains how vegan farms actually destroy vital parts of the ecosystem and inhibit life from taking place via fungus, small critters, bugs, birds etc. I never considered the effect of mass use of pesticides and herbicides. Second is more an issue with the world system of capitalism and anthropocentricism, my fear is that once animals become useless to us we will stop considering them necessary when push comes to shove.

I think you're right but I'm going back past hunting days. I'm quoting Yuval Noah Harrari from Sapiens here. He or his source think that before fire we didn't have much reason to hunt animals so we did the whole bone marrow thing. Then fire came along and we used it to burn forests down to kill and cook animals in one hit. Then we started hunting.

To be fair on live performances I've never minded and think they actually work. I guess I just listen to most my music on headphones and find that they disrupt the flow of the track. Maybe I should have complained about it on a 'general' thread.

Artist: Fiery Dawn Title: Trip To The UnderWorld Label: Self Release Date: September 8, 2018 3 more tracks and you coulda had an album. No matter. Fiery dawn is at a sweet spot in his production. Not only is his output just ridiculous, with a 2018 album, another Ep, tracks on various comps, a bunch of down tempo while maintaining what I can only assume is some semblance of a life. I have a life too, it revolves around listening to banger after banger of Fiery D and others output. This ep takes a couple of tippie toes away from the space trance that Dawn is well known for. Trip To The Underworld is the most unique. Coming at you without a distinct melody you know you'll need something else to keep your attention. Fiery know's too, he doesn't fail and has me hooked from that wonderful intro all the way to the end. It certainly is a track that'll take you to the underworld. Next up we got Phantasmagoria. Acid riffs, hard kicks, a squelch or two and a solid baseline are here to carry us away to trance land. Other than a few key changes (which are starting to irk me) the track is absolutely wonderful and full of funk. Even on bandcamp I missed the change between this and the next track. The flow is unreal. But we aren't off the hook yet. Goblins and Trolls comes in even hotter and crazier. Fiery D has either expanded his sound box or developed his repertoire, or both. Either way he is putting it to good use here. The track gets real wild just after the 3 minute mark and it doesn't let up. My favourite here. A straight arm flailing stomper. Temple of Warriors Is a nice little downtempo closer that Fiery D does so well. The Ep is awesome, with a unique first track and two flaming tracks following it up I would recommend getting this on your hard drives. transfer it to your phones, mp3's, listen on the band camp app, what ever you want. I'll be bumping this for a while as I feel like you can hear a strong development in his production and ideas. Good work I do need to ask what the idea behind key changes are? Can I get some artistic input. My position is it disrupts many a good moment in a track making it feel like an unnatural direction change. That being said I get over it pretty quickly and do understand that some notes need a different key to work. But I do know that I've never listened to a track and thought 'This needs to change key right about now'. Grumblings of a guy on a forum. https://fierydawn.bandcamp.com/album/trip-to-underworld

Gungdangit, who let me do reviews? Updated, thanks for the info.

I can't look past Psy-H Procession of the Universe. I've been left in awe by a lot of tracks but nothing has done to me exactly what Psy-H did.