Hi all!
[i didn't mean this to be a long post, but decided to re-introduce myself, taking some space. If you just wanted to help without reading crap, jump to the point where you start seeing album names. Thanks.]
Some of you might remember me from, well, the days of way back... I used to be quite active here. Lately I've started lurking about, mainly for reviews, and have noticed many old names are still here. This is my first login. Back in 2002 I don't remember having to register...
Anyway, nice to see some of you are still alive and from what I can gather, rather ok too.
I got semi-turned-off from psy about 5 years ago, as there started to be too many releases, particularly as most of them had no innovation what-so-ever. It became to hard to listen to what was released, too hard to find the gems among the chaff. And maybe I had heard a bit too much psy as well - I got turned off by most stuff just sounding like it had been done before (including also often the stuff that "did it" in the first place). Plus some other more minor issues... Oh, and the major issue of DJ's apparently lacking any musical taste. It seems all that matters for being a DJ is that you have the very latest, preferably unreleased, tracks and that you can beat mix. No matter how soulless the music is. No matter that I might hear maybe one sound, one melody, and one rhythm I haven't heard before in a whole DJ set, of course all three distributed among three different tracks. At least that's what I feel it's generally like in London. Some positive surprises come up once in a while, though, which is utterly refreshing. A DJ with musical taste!?! Who would have imagined!?!
Ok, time to end rant//
Anyway, after not going to too many parties over the last half a decade (roughly 4 a year), I've managed to cherry pick a few that have restored my faith in trance. And thus I also want to get some new (trance) music - getting bored of listening to the same old, same old...
So, after checking stuff here, myspace and here and there elsewhere, I have started to formulate a shopping list, mainly by reading people here mentioning stuff in passing, following it up etc... In the days of old, it used to be simpler, as I could order smaller batches from Chaosunlimited, as the UK-internal postage wasn't that much. Now I am mainly thinking of psyshop and wirikuta, as they are in Europe. Saikosounds seems a bit far. First things first: how up-to-date am I with shops? Anything I should know before placing an order? Psyshop or Wirikuta, which is better? Or equal? Anything else i should know? I thought I would place a massive order to save on postage, but then open only one record per week, so as to have time to get to know each one.
I probably should start by trying to give you a sense of my taste. Off the top of my head, here's some trance that I still bother listening to:
Hux Flux - Bring Your Own Bios (probably the best track ever), Cryptic Crunch, old singles/comp tracks
Logic Bomb - old singles, some comp tracks
Hallucinogen - bits here and there, Angelic Particles and mi-loony-um on top of the pile
Beast single
IM - Psycho, Classical Mushroom, My Mommy Said, bits here and there
Prometheus - Corridor of Mirrors, Ok Computer, older singles
Process (+Prom) - half of first album, Clarity from Deep Fog, Dealing With Demons (w Tristan)
Juno Reactor - bits here and there
S>Range - Singles released before 2001 (album)
Orion - Neu
X-Dream - Panic in Paradise, Irritant, first 2 albums, radio rmx (the track)
Spirallianz
Deedrah - reload (album)
Cosma - Simplicity
Haldolium - Pi-symptome
Atmos - up to and including 1st album
Bus - pretty much all of it, Bullet in particular
Kox Box - 1st and 3rd albums, bit of the latest
Accu - Polemik
Son Kite - Colors
Texas Faggott - Hoosianna, some of petoman's peflett
Eraser vs Yojalka - Home Deep Home
Sam Spacey/Swan & Spacey
Silk - GM Telephone
PsySex - Bionic Bong 2001 + Survival Kit
Bigwigs - some tracks before fraktalik fraternity
Parasense - Boomerang
Morphem - Hypnotone
Prana - Geomantik (album)
Sandman - half of Witchcraft
Reefer Decree - Curved Air (filur rmx)
Plus of course of lots of other bits here and there, pretty much across the board from Isra (Voojoo Rituals, IsrAliens 2) to some prog (FR, Iboga, Spiral Trax); from some Suomi (but generally don't like the too low production values) to some old Goa (but mostly I am bored of the old goa sounds).
Feel free to suggest stuff that I might like based on the above. I want music that stands out of the mass, that doesn't sound quite like anything else. Music that is emotional and clever. Oh, and complex and subtle are usually good. Quirky too. I don't want stuff that sounds like everything else out there... I am looking at you, modern psy-full-on (but quite a lot of prog too). Yes, I'd like innovative full-on, but not the typical stuff I hear too much at parties. And good, innovative, prog tends to really fire me up these days.
I've bought everything I want from Twisted Records already, so no need to suggest anything from them.
Ok, so then to some stuff I've been planning to buy:
Based on *samples*, I've given a rating of 0-5 for some of the stuff I am considering. If there's no number, I haven't listened to samples. Feel free to comment on them regardless. When I felt I had something to say, I've marked it with *. I won't buy everything here, just the "best". But I know from experience that some albums grow on you, while others wither and this is something that I can't judge very well on samples, thus, I would appreciate your comments.
5 Perfect Stranger - Learning = Change
Perfect Stranger - Changed
* This is what inspired me to buy some new music. I saw them at Glade and was blown away (the highlight of the festival). Then I thought buying just his albums would be bad value (due to postage), so tried to figure out other new stuff, which became a bit of an obsession and has taken too much of my time. Here's the result.
3 AMD - Bigfish
* Everyone seems to rave about this. Seems "just" good prog to me. What am I missing?
Wingmakers 2
* mainly for the Prometheus track (I've always been a fan), but doesn't seem a bad comp.
4/5 OOOD - Free Range
* Used to hate old OOOD, but seems they've matured. Or I've changed?
2-5 MEEO - Highlight me please
*nuts. Opinion changes each time I listen from shit to awesome
Ott Skylon
* Will buy. Decided.
4.5 Loud - Abstract
4.5 Loud - Some Kind of Creativity
* will get both: nothing quite compares and they sound good.
3.5 BUS - morebusinesslinkyouthere
* saw Gus live maybe some 20 months ago, really liked it. The samples from this album sounded somewhat similar, but just not as good. Again, am I missing something?
3.5 Luomuhappo - Pogo... 30....
* people rave about this, yes, sounds good to me to, but *that* good? Really?
3 Kiwa - On the Frequency
* I love Hertz, but the rest seems just usual Kiwa (have previous 2 albums, don't listen much)
Nuclear Ramjet - Mission to Sedna
* Lots of praise here, unfortunately it's sold out everywhere (haven't listened, but first album sounded promising to me, yet not quite there)
Hujaboy - Black Belt
* am I confused or was this that nitzhonot dude? Any good, anything new?
4? Kindzadza - Waves from Inner Space
* dark in itself is not a value to me, but I love older Hux Flux. However, this doesn't quite seem to flow the same way, or have melodies as much. Not quite sure what to make of it.
3 Voice of Cod - We Are Free
* myspace samples of upcoming album sounded fantastic, but wasn't quite as impressed with this.
Freaked Frequency - FF
*supposed to be somehow special: myspace samples are so-so IMO. Give me the same basic melodies, but improve (=complicate) the rhythm section, twist and modulate the melody-sounds more (and use other sounds as well for melodies), add some fitting noisy, crunchy and glitchy sounds, AND give me some breaks without the in-your-face melodies - THEN I WOULD BE DROOLING! I don't mean offend, just not my cup of tea, but in an annoyingly specific way where I can see how it could have been my cup of tea.
That reminded me that I downloaded Jikkenteki's album, which he kindly offered for free and was thinking somewhat similar: It's almost a masterpiece (closer than the FF stuff I've heard), but he should really recruit another person to the group to do the low end, the groove, plus nicer rhythm section. Great melodies, but that just isn't enough. Almost there. 10 points for effort. And more general sound-crazyness (modulations, noizes), wouldn't hurt.
Xenomorph
* The old stuff used to sound to me like childish "I wanna be evil and a bad-ass"-sort of stuff, not managing to pull it off, but someone again praised newer xenomorph here... Haven't listened.
4.5 Fuzzion - Black Magic
* Will get this. Liked his old trance and this sounds just FRESH!
PS. Really like the Chordless myspace sample that seems unreleased.
3.5 Reefer Decree - Point of You
* Frames of Sound was a bit too samey for my taste. This seems better. Samples were nice. I was just wondering, would I actually listen to this (does it stand out enough)?
5 Haltya - Book of Nature
* I got the first Haltya album; was weird and unusual, some nice ideas, but like most Suomi, too chaotic and without direction. From the samples, it sounds like this one could be first Suomi-album I could really call a master-piece. Need to hear it at home, though. Will buy. Borboleta Purpura made my jaw drop.
Ticon
*what is his best stuff so that I can check it out?
Vibrasphere
*as above. I have Lime Structure, but never listened to it much. Actually, haven't listened to it in years. Because didn't like it then. Tastes change, should try again... But anyway, I was under the impression they've got better since.
2 Texas Faggott - Pilluminati Cunt-Roll
* same old fags, no self-control. Still they make the occasional master-piece track among a forest of tracks that are weird, funny and innovative, often with several good elements, but that somehow still manage to break my ears by going to far or by not clearing up the junk. Gotta love them for what they do, even it's usually not really my thing. The samples of "Who needs Koneisto" sound really promising.
1.5 Texas Faggott - Kinigin
* as above, some bits sound promising. But I get the feeling that even they are starting to follow more their own formula. Ok, it's not someone else's formula, but sounds too familiar, having heard lots of Suomisaundi already.
3.5 James Reipas - Personal Trainer
* Some quite good bits. Might check it out.
2.5 Astroschnautzer - Debut
* Yes and no. I haven't quite heard this exact same thing before, but I've heard rather similar stuff...
3.5 Vishnudata - Dreamforce
* again, decent prog, but is it really anything new?
3 VA Ultrapop 2
* funky, original, can't complain about that. It's just that with most of the samples, something didn't quite click. Maybe better than I rate it now.
4 Bigwigs - National Heroes...
*promising couple of samples. I really liked the stuff they started with, before fraktalik fraternity. Need to listen more thoroughly.
3.5 Digicult - OotW
* Very typical melodic full-on. I might still like this in small doses, as it sounded rather good for typical full-on.
4 Matenda - Natural Development
* Liked some matenda's stuff before on comps, though not the 1st album. Melodic progressive. Nice.
3 Zub Zub
*Nothing particularly wrong, nothing amazing though.
3? The Zap
Benji, but not quite there. I like "because", which is not on the album.
4 Logic Bomb - Sonic Algebra
*would probably get this already purely out of principle, but some tracks sound rather good too... yet not really anything surprising.
3.5 Ace Ventura - Rebirth
* again, good prog, but is it anything more?
Ian Ion - Gringolocomotion
*the few samples I hear were so good that will probably get it... And I have faith in Ian Ion.
Ok, below are more stuff that I've picked up mainly by lurking in the forum and reading your texts. But these ones I haven't got around to listening yet.
Concept
VA Universo Parallello
FREq remixed
Furious
Psykovsky
Hamish
Flowjob (heard especially that support normality should be great)
Zen mechanics
flip flop
ans & allaby
yotopia
quantize
daily basis 2
latest Juno Reactor
Atmos - 2nd brigade
Tegma AtWi80mins
Human Blue - BBB
Moon Spirits - Moonkeys
Tip.world comps: I used to like them, but seems they've gone down hill. Some I'd like to ask about:
Red
Purple
Digital Collusions
2.5 God Save the Machine
* This I even listened to - sounded like well-made, but typical full-on - not new
6 stringadelica
imagi:nation, day 2
Most of the above list was from the last year or two... I checked less carefully backwards beyond that. Basically, I'd like to hear about anything good after 2001. I might have some of the 2001-2003 stuff, but not that much. After that, hardly anything.
Some other non-psy music that I am interested in, usually would like a recommendation of what album to pick up if I would take one:
[More of] Dead Can Dance - what are the good albums?
iTAL tEK
Venetian Snares
Pendulum
Proem
Kattoo
Secede
Stendeck
Kettel
Far Too Loud doesn't have an album yet?
While I am now looking for trance mainly, some chill suggestions would be welcome. People here seem to rave about Ultimae: where to start?
Some examples of chill I like:
Shpongle (duh!)
FSOL
Silence (Pete Namlook + Dr Atmo)
Dead Can Dance
Briskey
DH Krill
Cinematic Orchestra
Ott
Abakus
Alien Soap Opera
Opak
Whoa!
I didn't really mean to write at such length.
Actually I am being a bit of a selfish asshole here, asking you guys to help me out, as I could simply read more reviews and listen to more samples, but frankly: I've done probably close to 100 hours of that already and I am starting to be sick and tired of it. T'was fun to begin with, now I just want to place my order and listen at my leisure. Plus I don't have internet at home (staying at work after hours to do this stuff and I'd rather be home). Thus the plea for help...
While I wrote at length, you don't have to. Any little will be of help, I am sure. Suggesting one or two albums I haven't listed, or eliminating some based on what you gathered about my taste, or telling me to reconsider something I didn't find that appealing... Every small effort welcome!
Thanks a lot everyone, nice to see that this forum is still active!