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Space Tribe - Sonic Mandala


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Space Tribe - Sonic Mandala

 

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Artist: Space Tribe

Title: Sonic Mandala

Label: Spiritzone

Date: 1996

 

Track listing:

 

01. 08'40" Ultrasonic Heartbeat

02. 07'34" Waking Dreams

03. 07'40" Solar Power

04. 09'25" Sonic Mandala (Crop Circle Mix)

05. 08'13" The Great Spirit (Hallucinogenic Rmx)

06. 08'29" Tantra Mantra

07. 08'57" In The Hands Of The Shaman (Olli Wisdom And Simon Posford)

08. 06'35" Atomic Pow Wow

09. 07'28" The Flower Of Life

 

Review:

 

Full power psychedelic trance here. No subtleties, just some of the best noise

and structure in the business. On first listen, can be overwhelming, but just

gets better and better. Vocal samples used imaginatively and freely - these

stick in your head and play with your mind. A must have for any psychedelic

trance fan.

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  • 7 months later...

Yeah, this is skilled album. It's not very melodic, but has some nice

screeching and oscillating of sounds.

After few listens I like tracks 3,6,7 and 8 most, but none of the tracks didn't

seem to be bad. It was worth of buying. This guy has potential. I give 8/10.

Bom!

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  • 5 months later...
Guest chis[at]matrik.ndo.co[dot]uk

Hmm, now that classic albums are being highlighted, I really think Sonic

Mandala should join them. Whilst it isn't quite perfect, it's pretty close.

None of the tracks are hugely memorable, but that's really because there's

always so much going on. So many twists and turns, fx, leads and basses are

brought in and out of the mix - there's often something new every few bars.

And to top all this off, this album has serious fucking energy from start to

finish.

 

Despite some slightly annoying spoken samples, lack of much melodic content,

and being a little overwhelming on the first few listens, this comes across a

very competent album and a powerful listening experience. Working well in

your head or on the floor, this is very good quality psytrance. Rare. 9 out

of 10.

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  • 5 months later...
Guest fheierli[at]mails[dot]ch

Not the best album of my collection, but not bad. I think, that Olli Wisdom is

a good producer with good ideas. I like particularly the vocals in the

tracks. Sonic Mandala is a good album, but a little bit repetive. Overall,

it's a nice work. My favourite tracks are 1,6 and 9. Rating: 7/10

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  • 1 year later...
Guest Davidtolsn

good cd, and underrated. there are lots of well placed samples - and they

aren't ultra-cheesy like in the later space tribe albums, they actually work.

combine that with some nice psychedelic sounds and a hard beat, and you have a

cd that's definitely worth listening to. although none of the tracks are

really phenomenal, all of them are good to very good. i especially like tantra

mantra. 8.5/10

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  • 5 years later...

IMO this is Space Tribe's best album to date.

 

Full of real analogue & digital hardware synthesisers, very psychedelic and trippy. Also very melodic in a screechy / noisy way. You'll find there all kinds of out-there samples and really innovative production techniques. It's all very well produced, even by today's standards it still sounds strong - the sound picture is clear and breathing with life, thanks to all those 'real' instruments...

 

All tracks have something special, but special mention has to go to "Ultrasonic Heartbeat" & "Sonic Mandala" (great dancefloor tracks!), "In the hands of the Shaman" (with Simon P. - you can hear that in those lush melodies!) and "Atomic Pow Wow!" (for incredible knob-twisting and haunting atmospheres).

 

One of THE old-school albums worth having.

 

9/10

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 5 years later...

"I have a feeling...that we may encounter life...as we don't know it."

 

We are 18 years removed from when this was produced, but thanks to labels like Anjuna, Zion604, and DAT Records what's old is new again. These days we as a forum eagerly await the next icon of the genre to re-discover lost DAT tapes in grandma's attic so we can look at ourselves and wonder how these classic tracks were never released. Well guess what this was released.

 

I can say that thanks to the above labels I have a new appreciation for the different facets of goa trance then and now. Where I used to walk through goa trance with Dimension 5 / Pleiadians / Transwave blinders on I now look for something deeper and intensely psychedelic, attempting to find gems where I previously thought none existed. Heartbeat and Tantra Mantra are those psychedelic blasters that wouldn't have made an impression on me a few years ago. As mentioned this album is melodic in a very metallic and screechy way with a thumping kick throughout. The leads on The Great Spirit churn like eternal waves that just keep coming.

 

If there was one minus to this album I would say that some of the tracks tend to go on a little too long, but that's some minor nitpicking. I wouldn't call it a classic though as that should remain an honor for the best of the best. Still, if you're looking for some sharp old school that isn't the usual stuff this is pretty good.

 

Mdk

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