Manuser

Suntrip records, 2019. 1. The Crane 8:39 2. Kraftpaket 8:48 3. Faster Than Light (Wormhole Edit) 7:07 4. The Elite 8:20 5. Barbed Cotton 9:41 6. Ghost 8:04 7. Life Behind The Sun 8:16 8. Disco Valley 8:40 9. Tenderlion 8:02 Battle of the future Buddhas release their 7th album. First thing we can notice is that the dirty sound is gone Instead, the iconic Swedish band delivers a nice polished sound, clearly morning oriented but also with some (rare) dark touch. It's clear from the get-go that the tracks are "inspired by the music played on the beaches of Goa in the early 90s". The tempo is slower than usual, it's acidic and melodic, very danceable and it includes some key changes here and there. As often with these guys, intros are almost non existent which is good for quick mixing and makes it interesting for dance-floors without a doubt. Also, even though the style is different to what we were used to hear from Battle of the future Buddhas, the signature synths and occasional distortion are still present. The rhythm used is more reminiscent of the slower tracks released in the album Demonoizer. The most inspiring tracks have to be #2, #4, #5 and #6, but I did not find any weak track there. The Elite is deep and hypnotic Goa trance at its best. Barbed Cotton is in my opinion the most accomplished composition, it contains more twists, it's less linear than the previous tracks and it ends with a very intense melodic climax! Ghost almost has a clubbish feel, yes funny to say when we know the past output of this band To sum up in a few words, this is an unexpected morning Goa trance album from the Swedes, more conventional this time but very interesting nonetheless. Rating: 7.5/10. Listen / Buy: https://suntriprecords.bandcamp.com/album/battle-of-the-future-buddhas-the-light-behind-the-sun

Never realized it's a collaboration with Eat Static Nice one, I like the hypnotic style, somehow reminds me this:

I remembered not being very hooked but it was in 2012 or 2013, I should give it another try as tastes can vary from one year to another. Great track to open the release, will listen to the rest tomorrow

Forestdelic records, 2019. 1. Anthill & Loom - Malam 06:50 2. Kaza & Loom - Is This a Dream? 08:09 3. Loom & Kebun - The Battle of Ideas 07:59 4. Kontrol-Z & Loom - Pathological Behaviour 07:28 5. Loom & Dopadocks - Space and Silence 09:01 6. Loom & Via Axis - H13FA 07:56 7. Antonymous & Loom - Direct Contact 07:56 8. Loom & KaliYuga - Blooming Forest 08:14 9. Critter & Loom - Smashing Paranoia 07:09 10. Purist & ViaAxis & Loom - Infinite Ways 08:50 Psytrance project from Italian producer Nicolas Marcato. As the description says, many different people involved in this collaboration album. While it is released on Forestdelic, it is more on the sharp and metallic psytrance side (UK style), with some forest moments here and there. I will not review every tracks, but #3, #5 and #8 are my personal highlights. I was in awe while listening to Space and Silence (Loom & Dopadocks), the bassline is sumptuous, fascinating, the energy in this track is incredible, dark and quite psychedelic even though not melodic, this track can be deadly on a dance floor. If you are a DJ consider this as a serious weapon for a set. Throughout the album, I also love the occasional pans, quite discrete but very well placed to give a forest touch. A weakness? Most tracks are very similar, even though many different projects take part. My attention dropped a bit after Blooming Forest (Loom & KaliYuga) which was a fantastic driving track in itself. The release would be better with 8 or 9 tracks probably. Anyway, the production is flawless and the mastering perfect. The attention to details is remarkable. The high and dark energy, driving basslines and metallic sounds keep you interested all he way. Rating: 7.5/10. Listen / Buy: https://forestdelic.bandcamp.com/album/loom-friends-messages-from-anubia Youtube link:

Listen to track 5 https://forestdelic.bandcamp.com/album/loom-friends-messages-from-anubia

Brilliant stuff.

Matsuri digital, 2019. 1. Growth Of Psychedelics 8:14 2. Dreamer's Sad Alien 9:04 A short EP of only two tracks but a very good one for sure. Jikooha has a very special and recognizable sound. In the past this Japanese project loved to use distorted melodies, especially in Revolution Spaceship (2008) and Sirius Rising (2012). They also released Spacemen Underground quite recently (2017), it was more acid, and even though I liked the album I had so high expectations that it let me down a little bit. My favorite from them is probably Sirius Rising because it is slower, deeper and focuses more on twisted melodies and psychedelic atmospheres. And this EP is in my opinion reminiscent of Sirius Rising: story-telling tracks, smooth kicklines to put most of the attention on the melodies and the acid. The result is particularly deep and trippy! Dreamer's Sad Alien is my favorite of the EP and one of my favorite tracks of the year so far! Slower hypnotic and acidic Goa trance is not a style you hear often these days. It is a shame the EP is so short but if I have to give a fair rating, it's a solid 8.5/10. Listen / Buy: https://matsuridigital-ad.bandcamp.com/album/growth-of-psychedelics-ep Also available on Youtube:

OVNI Breakfast (O.V.N.I Records), 2019. 1. Yestermorrow - Cosmic Context (Rose Well Remix) 06:16 2. Pulsar & Thaihanu - Baktun (Zweep Remix) 07:39 3. Lunarave feat. Backsliderz - Sacred Realm 05:34 4. Dopek - Connection to Compassion 06:46 5. Mental Droop - Strech 06:47 6. Liink - Critical Abscence 06:46 7. Psylence Mind - Go On 06:28 8. Eclipsical - Break Even 06:59 9. Thymos - Groovy Raptor 07:43 10. Hecate - Sick 07:29 A familiar style: aggressive full on psytrance, even though the first three tracks can fit to the morning, are more atmospheric and sometimes more mellow (especially track #3 by Lunarave & Backsliderz). Then from the fourth track it becomes clearly harder full on, with the highlights by Liink (#6) and Hecate (#10): these tracks are simply wonderful dancefloor stompers. Mixed feelings overall though because it is a style we heard so many times before, but at the same time the production is top quality, and the sound is always willing to keep the high energy flowing. A must have for the dancefloor in my opinion. Rating: 7/10. To listen / buy: https://ovnibreakfast.bandcamp.com/album/ovni-breakfast-2-alien-flakes

Yes nice one

Not On Label (Toxeed Self-released). 1. Divination Of Times 9:45 2. Aphrodite 9:04 3. Enigma 8:57 4. Shell 9:08 5. Abyss 10:09 6. Constellation 10:30 7. The Call Of Freedom 9:24 8. La Faucheuse 10:04 Checking Discogs, I see that this French artist released 11 albums before, since 2012 how is it possible to be that prolific? Anyway, yes the bassline is pretty much the same in all tracks, the BPM seem to be all the same as well, so there is definitely a feeling of "what if there was more variety?" but that being said, the sound is very interesting for the most part, this is a fast-paced pure Goa Trance album. Cannot compare with the previous outputs, never listened to Toxeed before but I was grabbed for the most part. Shell and Constellation have to be the most story-telling tracks here, generous with melodies, key changes, mystic chants. It is easy listening compared to most new school Goa Trance, there is space between layers, it is easy to digest. As said previously, it does lose a point for lack of variety but I still find this album very smooth and pleasant to the ears. Rating: 7/10. To listen / buy: https://toxeed.bandcamp.com/album/mysterious

Yes an interesting release, mid-tempo, progressive, morning vibes. Don't get turned off by the first track, it has IMO a dull repetitive melody but the rest of the album is solid for what it is. Favorite track: #6. Good material for summer dancefloors or just home listening.

Very solid album indeed, really like this smooth yet aggressive sound, grainy and organic, with the usual characteristics of the genre (use of twisted metallic sounds, variations in bassline layers). Recommended.

Dance N Dust records, 2019. 1. Aug01 09:15 2. Head-Room 07:49 3. Hi5 08:32 4. Control Freak 07:08 5. Channel Bounce 08:05 6. S'Kool 07:42 7. Angels Come Flying 10:16 Project from Sweden. All tracks made in the nineties and early millennium, now officially released. Different and very interesting stuff, not your typical psy-trance for sure. The style is sometimes reminiscent of SUN Project, not their Goa output but more the albums released in the early 2000s, same kind of groove, including guitars and occasional melodies, and some other tracks also remind me of Loopus in Fabula. I remember this kind of sound was often present in the Goa-Head series too. Without reviewing track by track, most of the album contains guitars, groovy basslines, fancy arrangements of trance melodies, and tracks such as Channel Bounce even contains some vocals and funky-disco influences. But for me one of the best track is Head-Room, it launches quickly and delivers a strong middle eastern atmosphere, guitars with percussion and offers an ending full of eastern goa-ish melodies. Control Freak follows the same recipe and is one of the highlights of the album. Angels Come Flying really reminded me of Loopus in Fabula: banging bass line, swanky themes, jazzy touch resulting in a spectacular cross-genre fusion. Maybe not an album that will be remembered because it was released in 2019, it's not psychedelic at all and the basslines are a bit samey-samey throughout, but it's good for what it is when you are in the mood for a more laid back and playful fancy sound. Definitely not your typical psy-trance release, if you listened to Sarolta Monspart before you should know what to expect. Rating: 6.5/10. Listen / Buy: https://dancendustrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sarolta-monspart-old-gold

Cosmicleaf Records, Feb. 2019. 1. Nomadic Universality 09:32 2. At The Gates Of The Beloved 09:21 3. White Dwarfs 08:34 4. Low Sun Tribe 12:35 5. Muses Fly Above Capri 11:02 6. Cloud Break 09:48 7. Phobia 10:52 Project from Greece, delivering 7 downtempo tracks. All tracks have a 4/4 beat and are danceable material, ideal for the early morning or late afternoon. A nice surprise overall! The sound is very well produced, nicely polished, and while most of it is on the chill progressive side, the highlight for me is Low Sun Tribe, it has a technoish and tribal vibe that gives a very hypnotic and entrancing result. The whole album is not very psychedelic so it should please the lovers of the relaxing and dreamy trance sound. Recommended. Rating: 7/10. To listen / buy: https://cosmicleaf.bandcamp.com/album/nomadic-universality

Funny I read the reviews of this album just yesterday! It's been a while since I listened to it but remember being hooked. One of the ugliest artwork of all time but the music is very hypnotic and unusual.