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Artist : Mindwave (Anton Maiko) Title : Aura Label : Echoes Records Date : April 2014 Genre : Progressive Psy-trance Hi, dear Goa heads ! This is my first review ever, so please, be gentle with me. I had the desire to introduce you to Mindwave's last release. But before having a serious discussion about this fine product, here is the menu : Introduction : Mindwave is the beloved psyprog project of Anton Maiko, from Israel. After I converted as a 100% Goa fan, he was one of the very few projects able to make me like progressive, alongside with Egorythmia (Boban Lazovski) and Suduaya (Louis-David Roquefere). In the progressive scene, the overflow of projects and songs that sound exactly alike disgusted me from this genre I once loved. Even the massive sound of Hector Stuardo and Lyctum couldn't reconcile me with it. But Mindwave is special. With simple techniques and formulaic melodies, he can cook some deep trance that feels actually like a complex and heartful music. And contrary to many progressive songs that sound cool at the first listening, but whose taste fade at each replay, Mindwave's babies get more and more addictive once you've been caught in the flow. He knows not only how to make this special vibration, he's also super good to build hi-tech climaxes with a lot of feelings. These are the reasons why I subscribed to Mindwave. However, I didn't like his previous album, Insight, released last December by Iono Music. Except the epic psybient opening of this album, I found that the songs failed to mix correctly the several components that constitute a piece of Mindwave, and it was as if the songs couldn't really sustain. It was an attempt to reach a new level, but somehow I got bored when listening. But with Aura, Mindwave surpassed my expectations, and made me really happy. Mindwave's Aura got me happy like that : Review : 1 - Aura This might remain as one of the finest piece of progressive trance of our generation. It opens with a natural soundscape, that brings an organic and oniric feeling to the song. The first ambient sounds seem to describe a night prairy full of fairies, and fireflies. Then, at 00:29, waterly sounds appear, echoing like drops in a stary pond. At 00:27 comes the beat, elegant and simple. It gives a technologic feeling that transcend the song. The natural texture and the hi-tech beat work together very well, suggesting a tribal attitude. The song gains power little by little. But suddenly, at 03:19, it stops. And a few second later, here it comes. One of the most epic moment of nowadays progressive trance. A sudden burst of squelching and melting acid that drives LSD energy straight into your spinal plug. The rest of the song is what you need to get back on Earth. A 2 - Erosion The intro is deliacte, aerial and psychedelic. The beat appears at 00:28, just followed by a subtle chorus obtained with the software. Without realizing, you quickly are hypnotized, and sent into a multilayered soundcape where various skilfully designed sound effects coexist in harmony. The global feeling of the song is a journey into the clouds, a bit like the artwork of Insight. The song lasts almost 8 minutes, but when it's over, you can hear yoursel saying : Already ?! A- 3 - Birth of a New Soul I enjoyed less this song. Maybe that it sounded a little too cliché to my ears. However, it's a good song as well. It is overall well-balanced, it makes you want to dance and at the same it's lounge. The central element of this song is the feminine voice appearing at 03:05. With the uplifting tone that begins at 04:00, you can have the impression to listen to a crossover between a Fantasy movie OST and a psytrance track. It is sophisticated and pretty brilliant, but I think this part doesn't last enough (less than a minute), especially since it's quickly replaced by more banal textures. B+ Global feeling : This is exactly how I would have wanted Insight to be like. Mindwave, in these three pieces of psyprog, offers us a great moment of Electronic Dance Music. He is able to create many emotional tones and atmospheres with almost minimal sounds, and can take you in a journey to another world. Mindwave must keep progressing. This guy have A LOT of potential, and he can go way further. You can buy it here.