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VA - Mysteries Of Psytrance Vol 4 Compiled By Ovnimoon and Rigel Ovnimoon Records Tracklist: 1. Gamayun - Droid 2. Stream Of Consciousness - H-Sunrise 3. Super Light In The Darkness (Twelve Sessions Remix) - Ovnimoon & Via Axis 4. Spaceworm - Braincell 5. The Black Sheep - Tron & Glitch 6. Visionary Plants - Dishka 7. Vortex - Mental Control 8. We Are One - Snag The Sunshepherd 9. The Call - Tripy 10. All Systems Go - Braincell 11. Technology - Holon 12. Fusion 303 - Skizologic & Moonweed 13. Dark Horizon - SHX 14. Skydancers - Vimana & Elegy 15. Rivershack - Declaration Of Unity 16. Deep Existence - Psydeva 17. Unidentified Flying Object - Ovnimoon & Rigel 18. Pseudo Anagram - Psychophysical Transcripts At a New Year's gig I attended this year a great full-on DJ went on right before midnight. The build-ups, the drops, the energy, it sent many a fist pumping through the air, many a hand raised to the air in ecstatic celebration, it was the most alive the crowd would be for the remainder of the evening, merely going through the motions and making the best of the Zenon, progressive and generic full-on that made up the rest of the party. It was self-affirming as I have always been a staunch believer that nothing rocks a party harder than good, old-fashioned, earth-rumbling full-on. It was great to be surrounded by a crowd that was in-tune with that attitude even if we were only able to express that appreciation for about an hour. It seems that in 2015 we may be in a bit of a full-on renaissance where more and more artists are beginning to notice the change in attitude, where the pendulum seems to be swinging away from slower-paced progressive and more toward faster and harder psychedelic sounds. True, the Israeli full-on sound has never gone away but I was never a big fan of that particular style and it is a different approach from the full-on flooding the listening markets these days. Instead, the pendulum is swinging back toward the Braincell school of full-on where the producers are bringing not only energy but also vision back to the style. This year, it's good to be a full-on fan with some awesome full-length albums already put out by Ovnimoon, Koxbox and Drumatik, along with some great full-on EPs from usually progressive producers like Middle Mode and Spirit Architect. To top it off, some jaw-dropping full-on EPs are also out there from the likes of Atoned Splendor, Imaginarium and Hujaboy. If any of that sounds kind of appealing or interesting, Mysteries Of Psytrance Vol 4 is the double-disc compilation you should add to your collection as soon as possible. Following up on the three excellent versions that came before it Ovnimoon & Rigel accumulate quite a few new faces while peppering in the usual suspect of Ovnimoon Records veterans to make sure folks will slap down a few dollars to check it out. It's an Ovnimoon Records compilation so the quality of music is excellent with two great ones by Braincell, a mind-erasing speedball from Dishka and a few masterworks by the likes of Declaration Of Unity, Vimana & Elegy, Skizologic & Moonweed and Psychophysical Transcripts. Surprisingly, Ovnimoon himself, a usual high-paced assembly line of mass psytrance producing, offers up only a "Twelve Sessions Remix" of "Super Light In The Darkness" (produced with the great Via Axis) by way of new material. The other Ovnimoon offering is his co-production with Rigel on "Unidentified Flying Object," previously released on the wildly acclaimed Omnipresent Technology album. Still, both sound great here. Disc One of Volume 4 is pretty decent though limited if listening in on a set of headphones. The highlights of this collection and the peak of creativity and vision belong to Disc Two and sound phenomenal no matter what manner of listening you choose to use. However, Disc One sounds much better on a proper stereo system so the big, bold sounds can encapsulate the senses a bit better. Of the top dogs in this 18-track compilation, Braincell thrills on "All Systems Go," Skizologic & Moonweed dress up a goa tune in full-on clothing with "Fusion 303" (and the goa chirps work very well on this full-on celebration, giving a few minutes of great diversity to the proceedings) and Vimana & Elegy make a tight and awesome stunner on "Skydancers." Top honor goes to Declaration Of Unity, however. Earlier this year, DoU member Ion Vader released his good Expansion goa EP through Ovnimoon sub-label Timewarp and the DoU gang released their Optical Delusion EP through Ovnimoon itself, showcasing their intriguing mix of forest, goa and full-on mashups. On "Rivershack," the producers encapsulate some warm and gorgeous morning sounds, complete with beautiful and catchy melodies that hum through the speakers while the full-on bass keeps everything moving along at a brisk pace. It's a surprising departure from the EPs these guys have done collectively or individually and it is fair to wonder if they just put together one gem of this sort to fit in with the focus of Volume 4. Well, they haven't! Declaration of Unity's full-length Luminescent Revolution (their full-length debut no less) is a brilliant continuation of this track and my personal pick for best full-on album thus far in 2015. But back to this one. If you're after the full-on sounds that you heard last Saturday night in the club while your coke was peaking you're probably in search of the latest albums from Hux Flux or Tristan. Mysteries of Psytrance Volume 4 is the real stuff, the good stuff, the stuff you'll hear out at the smaller local festivals where the educated DJs will be driving the throngs of dread-locked hippies completely mental. In that hour or two, don't be surprised if a few tracks from this great compilation are in that particular set. Psyshop

Declaration Of Unity Luminescent Revolution Goa Records Tracklist: 1. Obliteracion 2. Hypnotic Awakening 3. Luminescent Territory 4. Urban Jewel 5. Canadair 6. Jamaicalien 7. Magick Droplet 8. Prime Consciousness 9. Vista Point 10. Aqua Spirit Of the great full-on albums of 2015, Luminescent Revolution is my favorite. Staggering to think I was unaware of these guys until a few short months ago, staggering to think that of the trio one has a primary focus on making goa, another has a focus on making forest, yet here is a debut full-length where the vibe is warm and wonderful morning full-on. No reason to have seen this one coming which makes the impact of the thing that much more affecting. Of their history here in 2015, DoU member Ion Vader released a good goa EP entitled Expansion through TimeWarp Records. Declaration of Unity themselves then released their Optical Delusion EP through Ovnimoon and showcased an adept skill at blending forest, goa and full-on in one intriguing package, but nothing quite like Luminescent Revolution. The only piece of work similar to this full-length comes on their awesome "Rivershack" track from Mysteries of Psytrance Vol. 4. Both are released pretty close to each other, though, and hardly offered up enough time to register the direction these guys would be heading in here. And, of course, if you're unfamiliar with Declaration of Unity then all of this is pretty new to you anyway. Unfortunately, "Rivershack" does not appear on this album but it should have. It's beautiful, catchy, melodic and would have been one more shining jewel on a sterling album. Perhaps unfortunately, too, is the absence of Ion Vader's goa sounds, much more prevalent in its chirping and synth solos on Optical Delusion. The most one will get of goa on this album is the depth and emotion of the tracks themselves, and maybe that isn't such a down point. Interestingly, among all these full-on basslines and warm and relaxing morning-time vibes, more of a focus is put on the forest effects which quite often adds a lot of moodiness and atmosphere to the music. Sometimes, as on "Vista Point," things get too far into the murky forest sounds and the warm vibe of the album itself gets lost. Meanwhile, on "Luminescent Territory" standard and ultimately uninteresting full-on fails to captivate. Those are the down points. Everything else here is great. The energetic gems of "Canadair" and "Jamaicalien" are afternoon outdoor gems, ready to fill a dancefloor while offering up depth and emotion that has quite a bit of fire in its step for the at-home listener. "Magick Droplet" is a psychedelic masterwork, a track that offers up something new and impressive on each listen. "Hypnotic Awakening," "Urban Jewel" and "Prime Consciousness" are great filler tracks that would likely outshine many other tracks if they were offered up individually on a compilation to be compared against the work of their peers. The centerpieces of this album, however, the truly shining moments, are the introduction and the conclusion. The stunning and hypnotic "Obliteracion" enraptures and entrances the longer it plays on. There's quite a bit of transporting magic in this one made all the more impressive because on repeat listens the effect is replicated each and every time. "Aqua Spirit" offers up a bit of techno and progressive vibes while the full-on bass keeps everything moving along at a brisk pace. The addictive vocal samples add a lot of bounce to the track and makes this one of the more celebratory of the bunch while it offers up a bit more attitude than found elsewhere on the album. It's a great closer, definitely, but to these ears it's more of a fantastic one. Three greek producers walk into a studio and it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. The punchline here is more funny-weird, though. Goa and forest producers, one would think, should come up with something more weird and experimental when they put their heads together. Luminescent Revolution is anything but. It is excellent full-on with a morning vibe so nothing goes about beating the listener over the head. That warmth in its sound makes it a very special listen while all the melodies, depth of sound, production values, direction changes and loving attention to detail assure this one is a keeper and a very strong listen for a great long while to come. I did not see this one coming. But knowing what I do about these guys now and how good and unpredictable they seem to be at what they do, I probably won't see their next one coming, either. And I look forward to that. Psyshop Declaration Of Unity