rino

Don't we all have our own wishes and so forth...? "Transdimensional" is getting re-released and whether there will be a bonus disc or not does not really bother me. The fact itself that this album will be available again in a few months puts Joker sized smiles across my face!!!

For the heck of 'em old days...: Dogma & Dogma 3000, which were both consisted of two same members! Those projects are long time out of function though... I'm actually not even sure Parrket is till producing, at least from what I heard. Don't take my word for it. P.S.: wish you all the luck Malevol3nt!

As honest as I can be: 1) I really don't think that the "Transdimensional" album suffers from serious sound quality defects even if it was released back in 1997. So I think that the re-mastering is not indispensable. Trully. 2) On the other hand, fresh and new sound always comes in handy and comes across like: "Wow, so this is how it would have sounded today..."

When people came to a certain point of convinced that they know everything there is to know, and then took this supposedely divine knowledge and decided to diffuse it amongst us common mortals. You bitch when your favorite artist changes style. You bitch when your favorite artist sounds the same for too long. You bitch when the kind of music you fell in love with some 10-15 years ago is not being produced anymore. You bitch when the music you fell in love with some 10-15 years ago is still being produced and you're bored of it, so to speak. You bitch every time a new style is born because you're convinced it's just a degradation of the past sounds. You bitch every time there are no new styles to be heard because you feel like the old one is just recycling itself. You bitch every time when an artist you like breaks into the foreign market and hits superstardom. You bitch every time an artist you like doesn't sell over a 1000 copies and remains an incognito. You bitch when you consider your trance to lack melodies. You bitch when your trance, in your ears, seems over melodic, as you then consider it too fluffy. You bitch about shipping prices for your CDs being too high and thus you bitch about being over charged. Then you decide to succumb to the MP3 disease and then other people bitch about you killing the whole music business... I could go on and on and on and on and on and on... I do however very much see your point Riton!

Speechless. I am speechless. So I will just write my comment: Excellent work, even better news, and even better upcoming projects, and even better upcoming releases... Suntrip- sky's the limit, right? And, no. I wouldn't settle for anything less.

You have got to be kidding me... This is on my top "1" wantlist for years... God, I know there are some real gems out there, but since I don't have much of a collector's mentality, I can't say I am always that hyped about getting them, BUT this particular compilation- "Accidental Occidentalism" needs to accidentaly sneak into my mailbox!

I just put on this ancient tape I found in my room... turned out it's an Eat Static tape from who knows when. Oh well, not that I will complain, since it's been ages I last listened to them. That is partially because I got turned off by their music post year 2000... Juss a matter of taste: I simply adore all their work up to the millenium, and naturally, I love the reissue of that old album, "Prepare your spirit" I think it was called. Anyways, a nice walk down my memory lane...

Quick! Edit your post while nobody's watching- delete the question mark, and add an exclamation one!!!

What in godz name? You said it! Actually wait! You only asked, right?

No matter how cliched or average it may sound, I thouroughly enjoy listening to the U2 sound prior to the "Zooropa" album. Their 1991 release "Achtung baby" is IMO one of the nicest, most well accomplished musical pieces of all times, both sonically and lirically. While I still consider "The joshua tree" in the all time top 5 albums- it is a unique clash of superb, highly intelligent and emotional text writting, with wonderful production by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, topped of by the "infinite guitar", courtesy of The Edge... I enjoy the leaders of the conscious hip hop movement, Public Enemy. I like the californian multi talented instrumental DJ/producer DJ Shadow. I simply adore the debut album by a once great, Queensbridge based lirycist Nasir Jones AKA Nas. The album was released in 1994, and it's called "Illmatic"! It is superb. The beats are some of the nicestto ever come out of the big apple. And my all time favorite hip hop act of all times- Organized Konfusion. They released only three albums before parting, but all three are classics. No doubt. As for my favorite electronic music performers (non psy ones) they would be the manysided Laurent Garnier and Sven Vath, especially because of his first two classic albums, "Accident in paradise" and "The Harlequin, the beauty and the beast"!!!

Seriously, comparing the 303 with your mom is simply put a stroke of genius. A timeless tune however. On the other hand, La La Land was cool for the first 100 times. Literary. Then I got tired of it, and it's been years since I last heard it, and I think years are still going to pass by until I play it again! Acid Air Raid... Is anything else necessary? If anything can take on Wink's insane usage of the 303, this is it. Look no further.

My opinion on this interesting topic is that there is no better of the two. It is pointless drawing a general conclusion. Some like the old school sound, some don't. It is a matter of subjective taste. I don't think anyone is capable of making a general rule that old school is better or more worthy than the new sound. But this remains an interesting topic though... I personally prefer the old school sound, but not to get confused here, I think there is some really amazing music getting produced today. And I would like to mention the whole finnish Exogenic Records roster, Schlabbaduerst Records, back to Finland's internet Antiscrap Recordings, and Japan's 6-Dimension Sound. Yeah, Twisted Records still do impress me with their releases... And I don't even wanna get started on the old school record companies which blew me away with basically every release out on the market, mainly Flying Rhino Records, Blue Room Released and Matsuri Productions!

This is such a sweet release!!! However, my favorite track from these extremely talanted MCs and two even more gifted DJs would be "Concrete schoolyard"! I believe that's what it's called, but this is one hell of an album nonetheless! I'm hoping that an exchange goes by all right, since I'm still practically out of cash... Damn it, for how long does it have to go on???

OK, first of all, make comments that makes sense... Human taste varies naturally, and thank god for that. Second of all, this album has melodies, albeit not a lot of them, and they are everything but touching and memorable. If a classic goa trance albums consists of "goa melodies" (to use your terms), then we'd have ourselves a classic-packed, filler release absent genre. And we all know that is not the case. And what are "classic goa melodies"? S.U.N. Project? Classic melodies? WTF? These lads are known for virtually everythin except having killer melodies (with a few exceptions of coarse)! I wrote a review above, so there is no need for me to repeat myself, but: by no means is this album bad, and yes this is about as melodic as they ever got, but does that necessarily make the album a classic? Hell no. And most other reviewers didn't complained about the absense of melodies, they were more inclined to comment the heavily guitar ridden tracks. This is a cool goa trance album, one of many, and that is what I already wrote and that is what I still believe.

Damn long ripps... That's what I buy in around 20 months, if that... Nice going there with some of those releases!!! I got ambient/down tempo gems from last year (finally): V.A. Vajra (2006) (Indica Music) V.A. Peace Therapy Vol. 2 (2006) (Kagdila Records) I'm usually no expert in ambient music, but the second installation of the Peace Therapy series is focking brilliant!!! Front to back awesome music!

You know how sometimes people feel weird when they have a feeling that they’re bouncing away from the majority. When they feel like the odd ball. Or the ugly duckling. And that’s how I always saw my relationship towards “Classical mushroom”. I always felt awkward because I never really enjoyed this album. One of the most praised psy trance albums ever, and I never liked it. Not even now, seven years after its release, does it leave me impressed or overwhelmed with awe when I listen to it. While I was more than glad to jump on the I.M. band wagon when “The gathering” was released, I was also very keen to jump out on the next stop because this was a journey I’d rather not take. For me, Infected Mushroom seemed like the next great act on the scene after my favorites like Astral Projection, Etnica and to a lesser extent Cosmosis took musical directions I did not favor too much. Let me try and point out in brief what is it that frustrates me here. After “The gathering” I thought of these guys as being highly witty with their sample usage, only to find myself hating virtually every sample on this release: tracks like The Shen, None Of This Is Real and Mushi Mushi have samples that take the word corny to whole new levels of existence. And especially the first of the three, which has an amazing mid part, until being terrible interrupted at 03:30 by some deep, distorted voice which then takes over and ruins the track’s vibe. As if it hasn’t already been spoiled enough by that classical melody which sounds like something from the “Home alone” soundtrack… And the female vocal near the track’s end muttering something about love and understanding. Was that really indispensable for the track? I think we really could have made it through the track sane & in one piece even without it, I.M…. None Of This Is Real has a killargh guitar riff which I will not comment. I prefer not to. For this track seems around six times worse now than it did years ago. I have absolutely nothing against guitars in trance if they’re aptly used, like for example on Miranda’s Real Rush, The Delta’s remix of Stranded or even some of Infected Mushroom’s tracks from their debut. But this is just wack. And that: "This isn’t real… none of this is real" sample just ruins the track for me and calls for the skip button emergency. Well, and my problem with Mushi Mushi is that it just doesn’t blend in with the rest of the tracks- it has that “banging” sound from their first album, but taken six or seven bars down. And the bass kick is identical to the one from their debut’s second track, The Gathering. At best, Mushi Mushi sounds like a throwaway track from their first album. It sounds as any standard psy trance track circa year 2000. Uninspiring? Yes, to say the least... Sailing In The Sea Of Mushroom has some really (if I may) funky psychedelic effects at the beginning, and the percussion beat to accompany them really fail to raise an eyebrow. And the guitars at 01:50… grrrrrr! Yes, this is psy trance, and yes all the psy elements are here, but IMO, it just doesn’t add up to anything more than a pretty standard psy thang. And the messing around with, and distorting those vocals from 05:10 on sounds like some rookies trying to out do Hallucinogen in his own game. And that part more than any other really kills the track for me. The last two minutes are pretty cool though, a nice twisted melody takes over, but no. That annoying distorted voice just had to come back on track, with the guitar, naturally… Oh well. That is actually my biggest problem on the album. On each track there are intervals and certain sections which really do it for me, but are usually stopped by badly placed samples, cheesy guitar riffs or just being overrun and marred by what are supposed to be psychedelic sounds mixed with classical instruments. Dracul, for example, rolls along just nicely for the first half, until those unforgivingly awful “da da dada da da” vocals interrupt the track’s flow. And what’s even worse, from that point on, the melody and its background effects completely accommodate themselves to the vox, and the track takes a turn for worse… Too bad, because they really had something going on at the beginning. And even the classical intro here sounds wonderful. I’m usually a sucker for those, and this is one of those moments where the album actually comes together in my ears. That is, until it gets spoiled by a mouldy and holed Swiss cheese of a sample going: "My prince is dead... all is lost without him...may god unite us in heaven". Argh, it just had to happen. They just have a knack for those supposedly „laughing my ass off funny samples“! Nothing Comes Easy has almost the same vocal distortion tricks used on Sailing In The Sea Of Mushroom, and yes it irritates me. But what gets on my nerves even more here is that I feel how this track is too long. It would have been perfect if it wasn’t for those last eighty seconds. ‘Cause after the climax, the track is all ready to end, and then all of a sudden it hits you again, with a melody sounding like an unadjusted Stradivarius violin! It seems to me those last eighty secs were added for the hell of it, just to make the track lengthier, for it would have been so much powerful if it were about a minute shorter. Oh, well, I guess Amit Duvdevani and Erez Aizen just needed some more space to kick is in their face with their "oooh, we’re so different than the rest sound"! Disco Mushroom, what could have been a standout track, has all the components to turn it into a real stomper, but they just don’t come together well. Even though the intro is executed very well with the scary sample going: "I’m not afraid any longer mommy!", and it actually does sound scary. The kind of sample today’s dark psy trance producers can only dream of using. It may sound pathetic and worn out in many people's ears, but keep in mind that back when this was released, samples like that one weren't a cliche! And those opening chants from the “Excalibur” movie set the mood perfectly. And the biggest paradox is that after such a spooky opening you get some joyful xylophone sound alike melodies! And without sounding redundant. And what I like the most here is that 40 second interlude from 04:00 to 04:40! That is some wicked melody. Sounds like something I heard on one of those merry go rounds in Gardaland some years back. The same melody is then ended with the sample from the beginning, and here it’s actually done without breaking the track’s flow, as on the vast majority of the album’s tracks. But then, from then on, the track only goes deeper in some goofy psychedelia, and we’re enveloped in effects, sounds and noises we love so much from Infected Mushroom, but it's like we're hearing a whole new track! The mood set at the beginning is gone, those cool melodies are gone, and once again, as on some of the previous tracks, just when I thought they had sumthin' going on, they just had to mess it all up with the obligatory sample inserting formula. And I'm really pissed off now, because for its first half Disco Mushroom is so good it makes me forget some gaffes of the past. But it’s actually not all that bad; as most seem to agree upon, Bust A Move is a true masterpiece here, and possibly Infected Mushroom’s finest track ever. It has it all: a killer sample, a super dance floor friendly beat, very psychedelic, acidic and distorted sounds all over the place, and a climax composed of intensely psychedelic melodies joined with some truly spectacular piano stabs. This is the track that defines the album, and most probably is the tune that I.M. wanted the rest of the album to sound like. Or at least I hope so. Too bad they failed. But a gargantuan track nonetheless. Remember how the rest of "B.P. Empire" seemed just average once you heard its last track, Dancing With Kadafi? Well, to me it did. Same goes for "Classical mushroom"! Only cubed. The opener must be one of my top 10 psy trance tracks ever. And yeah, it does use guitars, and they are flawlessly used here, as well as just about any other sound and effect to be heard on this track. And the album’s closing track, The Missed Symphony, albeit not a stand out, is not bad either. If nothing, like the opener, it successfully captures the essence of this album: it nicely mixes in live and classical instruments with Infected Mushroom’s intense psychedelic gravy. But it just doesn’t come across as striking as the opener, which is really the one to watch out for. The closing number is not downtempo or ambient, but it’s not as crazy as some other tracks on the album either. And I find it pretty original too, mainly due to its slick way in incorporating what is otherwise considered hard to harmonize. And the amount of sounds and instruments skillfully used on this one, without resorting to sounding cheesy or over produced, is to extol as well! A very nice way to close the album. I certainly find this one more praise worthy than Dancing With Kadafi. Now, as I stated above, after “The gathering” I was very amazed by this Infected Mushroom sound, and I thought to myself: “If this is what’s coming next, then all is not lost!”. And yeah, I still do enjoy their debut album very much today as well. Something I definitely cannot say about “Classical mushroom”. While I find the standout track here really amazing, and I would place it among I.M.’s finest work ever, the rest just fails to impress me, and makes me believe that this release does not stand above the average psy trance piece of work. OK, I’m exaggerating now. By now means is this an average release, I can appreciate the amount of balls it took to produce and publish it, and the originality is on high level here. But the fact that this release is original does not necessarily make it good in my ears. I mean, I don’t care how creative and original an album is if all that talent is not used promptly. Meaning that parts of this album are too crowded and overloaded with noises, making it hard to enjoy, whether you're in the bedroom or the dance floor. Other times, it comes across as involuted psy trance. Strip it of those live instruments and you have not much left. Some tracks, being overflooded with live instruments, eccetera are not in any way suitable for any dancefloor, but are simultaneously waaaaaay to intense for home listening. And I always thought how the perfect balance between live instruments and the psy trance aspect of their music would be perfected on their third album. Here, it goes from one extreme to the other. If there is a lot of talent, hard work and imagination displayed, I will be more than glad to hear what the music has to say. But “Classical mushroom” never spoke much to me. When I look past all the creativity and stuff, the music itself, no matter how ahead of its times or whatever else people wrote about it, never clicked with me. And I don’t think it’s because I’m narrow minded or anything. I just didn’t like it and that’s it. Period! These guys are very talented, and they’ve already proved it on the debut, and talent is displayed here as well. So what’s the problem? Well, for me, this is where Infected Mushroom got caught up in their own web of trying to sound so different from everybody else. And on this particular album, they very much succeed. They seem to flirt with their own style and persona, but it gets tiring after a while to continuously be subjected to these sonic onslaughts. What makes this an even tougher album to go through for me is Infected Mushroom’s larger than life braggadocio attitude. They have a lot to say. And they do say a lot in rather unconventional and original tracks. But I don’t think that originality and creativity are the only criteria for making a great album. I mean, Astral Projection made four spectacular albums without their sound greatly evolving! Some of I.M.’s ideas are so nicely laid out and arranged that at certain moments (namely tracks 1 & 5) you’d dare call them the single greatest psy trance act of all times, and then all of a sudden, tracks like Dracul and None Of This Is Real urge me to place this album as a discount item during my next backyard sale. The high points of “Classical mushroom” are sky high, but its low ends are about as low as Infected Mushroom has ever been. While I always appreciate artists taking new directions and experimenting with their music, that doesn’t imply that I am obliged to be satisfied with the paths they take. This just seems, at places, that Infected Mushroom are so busy trying to be different, that they forget to produce god damn good psy trance music. And good psy trance music is what we got, front to back, on their debut album! Some of these tracks combine live instruments with really heavy mental psychedelic sounds just for the hell of it, without really mashing together properly. But when it all comes together, like on Bust A Move for example, this becomes one hell of a ride I thoroughly enjoy. My regret is, those moments are too few and are too far apart… I know that saying that I’m dissatisfied with this album after twelve pages of almost only laudation is the equivalent of imagining myself as being an ice cube diving head first into a volcano, and expecting to freeze the lava upon initial contact! I guess the sample from the album’s smash tune sums up the whole concept for you: "Alien DNA infected us. It's about time we infected them!", meaning the vast majority got infected and heavily hooked to this new Infected Mushroom sound. I am one of the few who haven't got stung. Not yet! And I'm glad I haven't! Or could it be just that my immunity is too tough to breach? Oh well, in the words of one famous Sicilian writer Leonardo Sciascia: "A ciascun il suo"!

God, this one is still such a disappointment in my ears... I'll add a review in a few hours, just lemme get my head straight. The cheeseness effect of this album is killing me...

Pay us a visit as well!!! Fuck us up too!!! Anyways, I just remembered I ought to order those Schlabb compilations I'm still missin' before it's too late!!! And I shoul probably order another 3 copies of the 7th installation, as my only copy is slowly wearing out from over playing! I just gotta wait for some money to "fly" in. Where's that damn cash when you need some?

As for the new Deedrah side project, I can't say I'm all that excited since I was never a fan of his music. Not that I think it sucks, just that it never really caught my attention. However I do appreciate his will to try out new things. As for the rest of the topic: each and every artist has the freedom to chose his direction. Whether he wants to remain an underground icon or try to break into the mainstream market is his and only his choice. We can approve or disapprove his decision, but it will never be anything more than our own subjective view of the whole situation. Because what may seem like a sell out move in our eyes might look like a career defining decision to someone else. What we see as cheap, somebody else might see as a masterpiece. We are just not competent enough to scratch off artists from our appreciation list because they chose to try out new things... From your own little "window" you may agree or disagree with certain decisions an artist may take, but that is about the maximum you can do. Why? Because first and foremost, an artist couldn't care less whether or not you consider him a sell out or not. You won't buy his music. So what, he would say. Many others will. It's only natural that when a musician takes a new path, he loses certain fans, but gains new ones. And no, an artist will have no problem whatsoever leaving you behind. In conclusion: I do not accuse any artist of diving into those commercial rivers, for it is their artisitc freedom to do so. I may or may not like it, but I keep it to myself and don't make stereotypes of it. Bottom line is music is an art, and musicians are artists, free to act as they please and walk down paths not everyone would dare to take. And yes, that is why I love music so much!!!

His Story: OK, more or less everything that is to be known about Astral Projection up to the year of 1999 has been said and written, rewritten and retold thousands of times all over the place. Even I've repeated myself on numerous occasions. Prior to this release, A.P. were celebrities of the goa trance scene, and not even newcomers like GMS and Infected Mushroom could diminish their ever lasting presence on the scene. Too bad it was only for a moment though, for not even 6 months after "Another world" dropped, the Israeli magicians took a back seat and passed the Olympic torch to their fellow countrymen. Now, after the immense success of "Dancing galaxy", Astral Projection were the most sought after goa trance live act and had the #1 sales, without losing a single bit of dignity or credibility. A feat successfully pulled off by a chosen few. But for Astral Projection, I cannot remember one thing that seems impossible back in the day. Except maybe producing a bad track. So it was only natural that the arrival of their fourth album was THE thing to watch out for. So without further ado, let's see what are we in for here: The Album: The album opens up with Nilaya, and we're thrown right into the A.P. soundscape: thumping bass kick, and joyful melodies from the first second. I couldn't call these melodies mind blowing or anything like that; in fact I'd say these are your pretty standard Astral Projection effects, melodies and sounds. But yeah, this is somewhat more up-tempo than "Dancing galaxy"! It'll work on the dance floors, it works for home listening, it's Astral Projection so you know it'll do just fine any time of the day. Nice way to open an album. Next up we have Another World which is a remix of a very old track by A.P. (but I think it comes from the period when they still were SFX). I find the first half of this track to be really uninspiring, with some effects thrown over a throbbing beat, accompanied by a robotized voice saying: "another world"... But then at around 03:30 the bass kick is gone and this really uplifting melody comes in! Yeah, it's much, but much more mainstream than any other previous A.P. track, but good nonetheless. And it keeps on rising until 04:25 when the beat jumps back in and the last two and something minutes are just "keep your hands in the air" type dance track. I like this track, even though it has huge cross over potential. Nice melody, if not somewhat overly simple and just too easy to like. Yeah I know that Astral Projection somehow have this way of making us like anything they produce, but this is just a lil' too much on the clubby trance side, wouldn't you agree? Visions Of Nasca, the album's third track has a really groovy bass line which I've just recently noticed when listening to it on my big living room speakers. Tempo wise, this one seems to use the exact same hi hats and kick of the album's opener, but it's much darker. I even like that melody at around 02:20, never minding the fact it's so far from those uplifting and dreamy melodies "Dancing galaxy" was packed with. I like certain parts of this track, but I think that overall it lacks focus and certain direction. Plainly put, it goes nowhere... For example: during that break at around 6 minutes, it just couldn't be more predictable where the track would be going from there. And that is something that sometimes wears me out when listening to "Another world", just that knowledge of where certain tracks lead you. The lack of imagination and courage to take new directions can at times seem like reliving some old classics, but just around 10 notched down. And yes, I barely finished my lame complaining, and Searching For UFOs makes me blush from embarrassment. Why? Because this track was, is and will be a classic. Plain and simple. From its opening, whistle-like melody, to its not too banging bass kick, the obligatory space age samples and tons of psychedelic sounds- this is the track you really want to hear on an Astral Projection release. And at around 03:50 the first melodic wave hits you like a UFO the track depicts in its title. At certain parts of the track, this wonderful, almost ambientesque melody floats in the background, really setting some mood, until around 07:30 when we are sooooooo kindly thrown into the second melodic climax. The last ninety seconds are very nice too. An amazing journey through some "shapes of sounds" and stuff, until the track is abruptly ended with the sample. Already done? Yup! And who would have said that it actually went on for almost ten and a half minutes? Now, Tryptomine Dream takes the same path as Another World. But don't draw any wrong conclusions. What I mean is that this one has pretty obvious cross over potential as well, most due to its really happy and baroque melody. And to emphasize its possible appeal to average club trancers, it would be the track's BPM range which is fast to say the least. And the bass kick is, well, pounding almost all the way through (with one break), making this an uninterrupted dance floor journey for almost ten minutes. This is still pretty much your typical Astral Projection sound here, just more filtered and way less challenging. I never had any trouble with these melodies sounding too body engaging, rather than focusing on the mind, what really bothered me here is that this is below the Astral Projection level, but in such a way that I just cannot get rid of the impression it was meant to be. I have a feeling that this track is sub-standard because A.P. were clearly aiming at a certain crowd, and to achieve that goal, they even resorted to some compromises, such as not really doing the best they could! A fine track however! It is well known that Trilithon is Astral Projection's all time greatest influence, so it's no surprise (I even wonder how come it hasn't been done before) that the album's sixth track, Trance Dance, is a remix of an old tune by that legendary figure in the world of electronic music. And this is one hell of an intense tune!!! It's the most banging and up-tempo track on the album. Good thing is the intro is about 45 seconds long because once the beat is in, I guess it's kind of hard to catch up with this one on the dance floor- it is fast and furious! It really has a speaker poking bass kick, some pretty wild effects, but it's not really until the break at around 05:45, and the royal entrance of the lead melody at 06:12 that the track seems anything other than another dace floor killer. There is no bass kick during the break, but you can sense the blast off is about to come as the melody keeps on risin' 'n' risin'. And your doubts become reality at 06:52 when the beat is back, in the company of this pretty crazy melody, and you have yourself one wicked climax! This one was clearly intended for dancing, as the title implies. And dancing only. God damn it, if I was one of those lazy party breakers, dressed all in black and chewing on my straw peeping out from a Coke bottle, I'd sent everything to hell and get the body in motion to this one! Another remix. Ant this time it is the third(!!!) of Astral Projection's earth's core breaking classic Mahadeva. Yes, this is Mahadeva ('99 mix), and if I recollect correctly, this is the newest one since the '96 version, which appeared on some Transient Records compilation. It doesn't depart too much from the original, but it's still more than interesting. At least twice as good as the '96 mix was. Well, I think so. I stated many times that I always felt disgruntled with alternate mixes or remixes of A.P.'s classics. But I guess you could take that as a general statement and conclude that I don't favor remixes too much. And that is true. I always thought how remixes can never recapture the magic and the energy of the original. Of course there are exceptions, and the master of remixes, Man With No Name often comes to mind, but in Mahadeva's case, no matter how much I like this one, it just doesn't come close to matching the original. The original version of Mahadeva is like the national anthem of goa trance. The tune we all listen to while we "raise the flag". So this one, I guess, comes in as a nice little bonus to see how the lads play around with their milestone track. The remix, however, does have a really enhanced and emotional melody, and the track does seem so much more than another party number, like most of the previous tracks. It does seem repetitive at times, the melody, no matter how enchanting it is, but when you're in the mood for some mind transcendence, it'll do just fine. Aqua Line Spirit is in a close run with Trance Dance as the album's fastest track. And IMHO, that is about the biggest compliment I can give this track. It really fails to impress me everywhere but on the dance floor. It does have some really over the top melodies, which in my ears often sound overdone. Not in terms of being over produced and too layered, but rather sounding excessively high pitched. Which, I guess, makes perfect sense in some club, during some mainstream orientated party. One again, I hold absolutely no grudges with club trance, or any other form of trance music inclined towards the dance floors. And Astral Projection, if anything, always had tracks that blew people away and turned an average party to a "Love Parade"! So, why am I not impressed by this? Mainly because in those older A.P. tracks the order was: first and foremost you had an amazing goa trance track, and only then did you have a party booster. Now, it's vice versa! Seems like this track was crafted for those world wide party freaks, rather than for the core following of Astral Projection, which brought them to this superstardom! By no means is this track bad, it just doesn't function on so many levels as the older A.P. stuff. It's like I have a feeling that if this one fails on the dance floors, it's bound to fail anywhere. Ant that's not something I would appreciate about an Astral Projection track! And the album closes with Still On Mars, which is very good, but nothing more. For those who have read my review of "Dancing galaxy", you might remember how I thought that Life On Mars was the album's least impressive track (which by the way still meant it was awesome). And this is basically a downtempo version of that one. And in my ears the original, up-tempo version sounds much better. I cannot really explain why you could like or not this one, but for me the bottom line is: if I did not truly enjoy the original, and this album ends with a downtempo remix of that same original, how enjoyable can this one be for me then? Not too much I'd say, but to stay on the bright side, this is an adequate way to end an otherwise wild and up-tempo album. Nothing to blow your mind, but to get your feet back on firm grounds, it won't fail. Track listing : 01 Nilaya (9:25) 9 02 Another World (6:54) 8 03 Visions Of Nasca (8:57) 8 04 Searching For UFO's (10:26) 10 05 Tryptomine Dream (9:51) 8 06 Trilithon- Trance Dance (Astral Projection Remix) (9:33) 9 07 Mahadeva '99 (8:21) 9 08 Aqua Line Spirit (8:35) 8 09 Still On Mars (7:31) 7 The Verdict: A lot of people seemed to bash this album because of its lack of creativity and Astral Projection's lack of development in style. And if you add some cross over ingredients to the potion, what you get is a cocktail just waiting to incinerate your thirsty throat. The ever growing fan base of Astral Projection was I guess pretty thirsty for more after "Dancing galaxy", and to a certain point it's quite understandable why some people got initially turned off upon first listen. This is in no way a quantum leap from their previous releases, and I would just have to agree that at places, "Another world" sounds just like an outstanding party album, with the goa trance title added to it just for the sake of the name involved. But don't get misled- this still has enough of those Astral Projection elements in tact to offer you many pleasant listens, just don't sit and expect to hear another "Dancing galaxy". But get on your feet, open your room window, crack the volume up- and the whole album will all of a sudden seem much better! As for Astral Projection's lack of diversity, I guess the accusations are justified. To a certain extent. While it is true that Astral Projection have not evolved in any way since around 1996, I honestly think there was no need for them to. What I mean that I was always against artists changing their sound for the sake of sounding different. Why change if what you have and do is just fine. Doing something in life just for the heck of getting it done is pure nonsense. It's pointless to do stuff you really prefer not doing, and especially doing it just so others can see you got it done. I mean, A.P. could have changed, and released a GMS like full on album, and said: "Well, y'all critics keep your mouths shut, because we've finally changed sound!". And where would have that left us? Astral Projection were outstanding goa trance producers who during the mid nineties turned the whole scene upside down with their sound, and there was really no need for them to change. For the simple reason that their sound was so universally loved and appreciated that only a few complained! What I did want to see on this album is less of these banging tunes and some more ol' school goa trance sweets these boys are known for. Most of "Another world"'s track are neck snappin', head nodding club bangers. With occasional goa trance elements. OK, not occasional, but it seems to me most of these tracks were crafted keeping them ravers in mind, rather than the happy trance crowd... And I don't mind listening to awesome party or dance music, because after all, goa trance is dance music. What I do mind is when that same dance music loses that factor of "dimension traveling", that dreamy and mind expanding effect, to pumping bass lines and high BPM rates. So, is this essential? Yes! Yes! Each and every one of those first four Astral Projection releases should be in everybody's collection. This still is Astral Projection, the super creative duo from Israel and this album still very much holds all those elements that mad you fall in love with their music in the first place. Which obviously, some people did not like. They just thought it was boring hearing the same stuff over and over again. My opinion is, you like A.P., you're bound to like this. Maybe not as much as their unique masterpiece, "Dancing galaxy", but I'm positive some of these tracks here will amaze you. At least that's what they've done to me! My advice is: make sure you already own "Trust in trance" and "Dancing galaxy" before copping this! But do not miss out on this one, though!!! Vote: 8.5/10

"powerful industrial modern base lines", full on bass kicks and Posford's music all in one sentence... WOW! It must have taken you some time to come up with that one!

Whatever you do, I'll just have to give it a listen, especially the heavy metal band remixing- sounds challenging to say the least!

No hard feelings, but how the hell can I tell you on what speed should you spin a vinyl I don't have, and even worse, that I've never heard. I only speak for the vinyls I own, and as I said before, even when there is nothing written on them, I listen. Good and sane ears will do just fine any given time of the day...

Then you do not know the half! For example, my Slinky Wizard- "The Wizard EP" (ZFR001) (1994) (Flying Rhino Records) is played on 33 RPM, and is considered an EP in each and every possible way... Bottom line is, I honestly have no idea why some records are played on 33, while others get spinned on 45 RPM! Is there an old school DJ around here?

Damn, I don't want to sound like a show off, but even when there isn't a hin't of any information anywhere, I can still tell by listening. Example: My "Timepiece EP" from Technossomy. Those two tracks (I think) never came out anywhere else except on that vinyl, so even without any other reference, I could just hear by listening to the record on both 33 & 45 RPMs, and therefore deciding where does it seem more "natural". I remember playing Lunar Civilization on 33 RPM...