V/A - Peace Therapy 2

[Jon Cocco]

V/A - PEACE THERAPY 2

KAGDILIA RECORDS

2006

 

 

1. MASTER MARGHERITA - EL ASSOUAT ... B-

2. JUNE RASHAVA AND SENZAR - BEAUTYFUL ... B

3. KHETZAL - CHIPS TREE ... B+

4. AES DANA - OPAL-IN ... B+

5. CHI A.D. - FLUID CLUSTER ... B+

6. AZRIEL - LES WEIRNS ... B+

7. SYNSUN - TATARIA ... A-

8. IMAGINATION CORP - DEEP IN BLUE ... B

9. ASTRAL WAVES - SHANTI (Dancing flames in the Dark mix) ... B

10. GOASIA - SUNNY MORNING ... B-

 

AES DANA (!!) ... CHI A.D. (!!) ... GOASIA (!!) ... KHETZAL (!!) ... SYNSUN (!!)

 

Why was this kickass GOA/CHILL comp not reviewed until now?? It came out in March, 2006. (!!)

 

Peace Therapy 2 is easily one of the years best chill and Goa-ANYTHING albums. There are good and great songs here. I suppose the only fall back is that the SynSUN song has been released on 2004's Symphonic Adventures album, meaning you may have heard that beautiful ethnic-influenced song before. Also, I've heard better from Goasia before and their song isn't exactly spectacular or great here IMHO, but it is above average still. That aside, this things impressive. It's a great compilation with lot's of good, great songs, strong goatrance/ambient influence and melodies!! There are no bad or average songs here either. It starts ambient and subtle. I wasn't impressed with track 1.. The music builds up to track 3 gaining momentem, beats, more pick up, melodies and layers before hitting it off back-to-back. None of the songs are too fast. They all seem to fit in that more peaceful, relaxing tone the album sets. This is chilled goatrance and goa-influenced downtempo... meaning NEW AMBIENT GOATRANCE!! It is one of the best PSY albums of 2006 and worth checking out.

 

 

Best tracks tracks: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!

 

 

B+

 

 

SAIKOSOUNDS SAMPLES = http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=5363

 

PSYSHOP = http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/kag/kag1cd121.html

[Titik]

I agree, it's a great compilation but i prefer the first chapter. Best track here is Synsun which remind me some old ambient track from Astral projection

[Guest Cosmogenesis]

Awesome review, Jon! The second chapter of the Peace Therapy series is very high quality as the first one, and certainly one of the best ambient trance releases I have heard since a very long time. A big thanx and respect to Dj Zen's work and also to the artists who have been released of this rich, original and peaceful auditory experience.

Hope a third episode will see the light some day.

[Anoebis]

For me it is still the cd of the year, awesome stuff! I listen to it like once a week, and I'm still not tired of it!

 

JUNE RASHAVA AND SENZAR - BEAUTYFUL

 

is one of the best tracks ever, so intense, sensitive... it hits the spot 100% , also Khetzal is wonderful, so is Synsun and Goasia imo (Jon Coco, this track is already 3-4 years old, it was one of his first so that may explane why you like his newer tracks more...)

[amphiton]

Chi-AD and Azriel my favs so far, also I want to mention Goasia with a laid-back weekend track.

[avogadro]

Chi-AD and Azriel my favs so far, also I want to mention Goasia with a laid-back weekend track.

I agree !

... the final solo on Azriel song is fantastic !

[Sideffect...]

indeed very intelligent and atmospheric psychedelic ambient,

 

a journey

[Ale]

weak

[Rupture]

weak

dude,you're getting boring.if you're so fed up with the scene nowdays just freakin' leave it!or do your own music !

 

i liked this one very much,although i didn't listened to too much chill last year...my fav is defenitly synsun's track

[rino]

In my humble opinion, this still ranks as one of the nicest surprises of 2006! Kagdila Records brings us the second installment of the Peace Therapy series, and just looking at the tracklist makes one buy this release with haste; Chi A.D., Khetzal, Goasia, Synsun and Aes Dana. The heavyweights are all in check.

 

But in my opinion, it is the more obscure and unknown acts that snatch the crown away here. "Beautiful You", a collaboration between two relative newcomers, Senzar and June Rashava, is a downtempo number as good as any I've ever heard, and it went immediately on my all time top 10 list of chill tunes! The piano stabs combined with June's vocals are a marvellous combination of pure emotion and floating, dreamy music. The stand out track here- fantastic! I read a while ago that June Rashava is working on her solo ambient album packed with vocals resembling the ones on "Beautiful You". Yeah, you got it, I can't wait.

 

Azriel, who by now has already released some tracks on Avigmatic Records compilations, brings us "Les Weirns", a mid tempo goa trance track, and I always had a thing for those. The long track takes some time to properly develop, and followed by a short break, the last three minutes are pure magic. Azriel plays around with, and twists the lead melody, creating a magnificent climax, and then slowly breaks everything down, bringing the track to a grand finale. It is tracks like this I've always wanted to hear more of. Music that oscillates between goa and ambient, that flirts with both without being confined within the boundries of just one. Great job, Azriel.

 

Chi A.D. and Khetzal, neither of which needs introduction, deliver top notch tunes. And it's always a pleasure to see a veteran like Dave Young still active on the scene, constantly pushing out excellent music. "Fluid Cluster" is nothing short of what you'd expect of him. "Chips Tree" is fabulous, especially the second part of it, after the track is broken up into two segments- the first one ends when the music slowly fades out, and a sudden sample of a howling wolf brings it back to life. Sweet. Matthie Chamoux has been one of the most talked about new school goa trance producers, and this is just another diamond in the champ's belt. Fans have been asking for that new album, and as long as he keeps on dropping immaculate tunes wherever his name appears, it is most likely that will remain a hot topic for times yet to come.

 

That said, I'm not too crazy about the rest though: both, the Aes Dana and the Synsun tracks have been released back in 2004, and the Goasia track, whilst nice, has been floating around for quite a while prior to getting released here. I would have prefered to have some more new music, but the way things are, all three track are nice additions to the compilation, well worth listening to. Vincent Villuis fans must know "Opal-in" by heart though, while the Synsun track has fabulous music completely devastated by what must be the single most irritating female vocal over a chill track my ears have ever come across. Hell, poke Mickey Mouse in the eye with Slinky Wizard's shitty stick and you might get a vague idea of what the vocals sound like. And the fact it's already been released on their 2004 album Symphonic Adventures only helped "Tataria" gain the fast forward button status in my stereo. The Goasia track is overall nice, but placing it as the closing number is a cardinal sin. No matter how picky it may seem, I just cannot see "Sunny Morning" effectively closing this compilation.

 

The first track by Master Margherita is not that great either. Its main flaw is that it's just not musical enough. Sure it serves as an introduction, but for well over five minutes the listener is exposed to some sort of a prayer spoken in a language most probably unknown to a vast majority of those who listen. What gives? If I needed a soundtrack while touring the Taj Mahal I might have given it a few more tries, but it just bugs the hell out of me now. Astral Wave's "Shanti" is no different. If I had refined linguistical capabilities, maybe the track would reveal a dimension I've yet not discovered due to restraints in my comprehension department. Both artists have done better. Imagination Corp. has their debut here as well, and they deliver. Nothing astounding, but it isn't skip material either. The violin is something I have a soft spot for, and it really adds a more mature and instantly appealing melodic touch. I'm digging the vocals too, moreso with every new listen.

 

All in all, four great tracks, and the rest is far from throw away material as well. What I dig the most about this compilation is how it avoids to sound like another one of those drony, beatless and floating ambient compilations which I just don't like. Elements of dub are also brought to a minimum here, to my liking. Dub is acquired choice, I know it doesn't make everyone's day, so the smile off my face did not want to rub off for a long time after realizing that its elements are omissible, without tarnishing the overall beauty of the music. Keeping that in mind, Peace Therapy Vol. 2 won't please everybody. Those looking for mellow and spacey ambient music will want to search elsewhere. There is enough beats and bass here to insert at least half of these track somewhere near the end of your goa trance set. It is relaxing and soothing music, yes, more suitable for some home chilling or playing in your headphones while strolling through the park with your dog, though, rather than sleeping, getting hypnotized or dragged into the deeper realms of space. Bottom line is: if you're after some quality psychedelic downtempo music courtesy of some of the most renowned modern artists, accompanied by a few fresh names, I really suggest you give it a try.

 

My verdict: 4/5

[xaliate]

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