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I was feeling inspired to share more about this debut after listening through Chi-A.D.'s albums lately. 01. Healing Magic 02. The Ocean Also Dreams 03. Astral Warrior 04. State Of Mind 05. Serpent's Fire 06. Inner Energy 07. Paranormal Activity (Spooky) 08. Organic Forms 09. Sacred Vision Hats off to this artist for producing some of the most arresting introductions to songs. I just had to get that out of the way. Each song is like a chapter to a bigger, deeper spiritual story and vision about nature, our Earth, us our world collectively, and more. Virtual Spirit was my first Chi-A.D. album. I heard the artist's song Exit Eternity on a compilation and here I am almost 30 years later. IMO Hannah of Chi-A.D. is one of the most talented, imaginative, spiritual, visionary, and ambitious artists working today. I resonated with every album to healthy degrees except for the more full on Eyes of Gaia album that I found thin on magic, mythos, depth, exploratory elements, feels, and the overall free-spirited style and approach (memorable melodies, atmosphere, structures, etc.) we all know and love. Chi-A.D. began, at least for me with-- 01. Healing Magic is one of my favourite Goa songs, and what an interesting (leading us into the mystical) and developed introduction. It does a great job hooking us early on. I love how the artist playfully incorporates edgy snippets of synths early on. Some people mentioned samples being overused at times. I could see that with tracks 2 and the reprisal of the intro voice in Track 3, but I really like the Native American sampling here, as it establishes the earthy, spiritual nature of the album nicely. Moreover, there are numerous segments without them, where the music breaks out and breaths which is great. All three acts are strong, and the variety in energy, transitions, and sound/melody work keeps the chapter interesting and lively. It seems that a lot of work went into this, as it feels meticulously composed and arranged. I love the interludes. I love the dark and light, the tribal and mythical touches, synth work, the Native American sampling (very spiritual), the buildups are fun, the atmosphere, kick drum, baseline, and more. There's so many choices that make up the whole, and I love what the artist achieved. The song is danceable, fun, and has that special old-school something missing from most Goa now days. The atmospheric impact effects catchy too! All these little details add to how attractively entertaining the overall song is. I could have maybe done without a few samples saying "Healing Magic" but I'm nitpicking. This is an excellent song from start to finish. A 02. The Ocean Also Dreams used to be my favourite song on the album, and I enjoy it to this day. I first heard it in the 90's when I was getting into New Age music like Enigma and Downtempo / Chill Out. The artist's spirituality and love for the ocean, nature, and aquatic life really shows. The music is more relaxing, floating, and harmonious than the other songs. It's also less pure / Goa heavy and that's okay. The Goa influence grows more noticeably catchier in the second act. I feel that the sample "Whales and dolphins..." repeats a bit more than necessary, and arguably (to me at least) distracts from the beautiful, organic flow of the warm harmony. Nonetheless, the sound/melody work is good, uplifting, full of heart and feels-- a pleasant, unique, and unexpected surprise, strategically placed in-between two more energetic, psychedelic numbers. The slower, emotive approach here may not be everyone's cup of tea, as it deviates in style from Track 1 and is, more or less, the black sheep on the album. I sometimes think the last act could have stood out a little more, but the song is so pleasant. Less is sometimes more. This is a wholesome track breathing with life, love, beauty, balance and harmony. B 03. Astral Warrior -- I'll never forget the first time my friend and I put this on, captivated by the song's introduction and sample..."I have seen places that you can only dream of... I have been there..." The intrigue, allure to this artist's introductions are fantastic. Then the buildup and suddenly BOOM! The song takes off like a race horse, full of energy and excitement, aggressive and danceable! The song could have incorporated more innovative, refreshing development in the second half, as it grows a bit repetitive in ideas and execution by the end. Some positives are the first two acts. In act 2, the interlude coupled with voice sample reignites intrigue before briefly mixing in "I have..." like an accent (cut off- catchy) along with more grit to the synths, new sound/melodies, and substance. The aggressive, dance-friendly approach won me over in the 90's and I enjoy the song to this day, though I feel that the last act runs out of steam and could have used more inventiveness and ingenuity. Still, the song has a energetically cool and badass sound throughout, and I presume the Astral Warrior Remix (superior version according to numerous listeners and myself) was not yet produced since the original inspired it, duh! B+ 04. State Of Mind continues the storytelling approach with a shorter albeit engaging, warm, and gentle introduction (one of my favourite parts of the song which is often the case with Chi-A.D.). I love how the music begins, the gentle bong-esque sound, kick drum, and Goa sound/melody work. The beat is emphasized with claps. The music grows increasingly danceable, layered, and psychedelic, though the flute or windpipe (whatever type of instrument) softens the energy a bit. The first act is excellent. In act 2 a club-esque synth enters. It's dance-friendly and though a bit typical, works, though it's bit in my face and combined with the flute or wind pipe, I often feel energetically mixed between higher energy and wanting to close my eyes. I feel like the song loses some interest and grows a bit repetitive in ideas and sounds (those opening minutes felt tighter, punchier, tastier to me), past the halfway mark. In that sense, it doesn't stand out to me as Healing Magic and Astral Warrior did, and I'm all for softer, gentler approaches to Goa. In the presence of stillness and stillness of presence is where some of the most wonderful work, clarity, peacefulness, realizations-- consciousness resides, but I digress. There are lots of good ideas throughout this song, and numerous listeners clearly favor, appreciate, and enjoy it more than myself. In my opinion, I feel that it could have been better considering how captivating those first several minutes felt. I just feel that the song's second half is unable to match or elevate how catchy and refreshing the song's first half is. And yet even in the last act, the song continues to showcases tasty/edgy synth work that I love. My challenge has something to do with those two sounds (flutey sound and the club synth) that takes me away from how much I enjoy the rest of it. B / B+ 05. Serpent's Fire packs more feels, and has an intoxicating (captivating and emotive) opening. It's beautiful, coupled with complimentary sound/melody work. The first act is really special, followed by an interlude that curiously allows opportunity for fresh growth and development (something the artist often takes full advantage of in ways that are positive). The second act maintains the feels, elevating them with higher notes. A second transition showcases edgier synths... buildup, and climax-- the fire part of the song. This part is high energy, psychedelic, stomping, and danceable, though I feel it's overall sound, arrangement, and composition could have complimented the fantasy sounds around it better, as it's execution wise, it's a bit harsh and repetitive in contrast to how gorgeous the sound/melody work is. But I love the idea of incorporating fire and my perspective may be very different if I was on the dancefloor. Still, I love the mystical/fantasy feels, melodies, and warm atmosphere throughout this track. B+ / A- 06. Inner Energy is hooks me early on with sci-fi sounds / feels. The mixing is more dynamic in the first act, and the combination of Eastern Indian melodies along with a psychedelically wobbly accent-esque (lower pitched) synch works well early on. For me, the Eastern Indian melodies grow a bit tiresome and redundant as the song progresses. I would have loved more development, possibly in the sci-fi direction. Hearing the more minimal segments showed me what could have led been, leading to more intoxicating terrain. Alas, the artist wasn't inspired to go in that direction. Nonetheless, more complimentary changes and variety would have been nice, as the song's second half sounds fairly similar in ideas to the first. That said, the Eastern Indian melodies are nice and compliment the lower pitched undertones. Moreover, the artist finds ways to improve the music and brings virtually every established sound and melody together into a sweet fusion by the last act. The song simply feels less less memorable, interesting, captivating, and eventful to me, and that's how I felt about State of Mind to some degree. B 07. Paranormal Activity (Spooky) has IMO such a great use of an accent-- more naturey in the form (or formless sound) of a tastefully echoed chirpy effect utilized differently throughout the track and while effectively allowing it to take a breather in all the right spots before allowing its freedom more often than not. This works so well. Around it, I find the melody/sound arrangement and composition more memorable. The song's design is full of complimentary ideas and sounds, and pops/stands out because of the accent. Listening to each act feels carefully crafted, choosing when to supply and take a beat (break) from said accents before switching it to the exact variation and timing that feels right. Maybe I just have a sweet spot for catchy/unique accents a la Khetzal, Space Cat, etc., etc. All in all, this is one of the more fun and memorable songs for me. I really like the overall tribally sound, flute, sound/melody work, and chirping bird (whatever that is) that emphasizes the danceable nature of the song that keeps things free, fun, and light. A- 08. Organic Forms is the most chill out song here since the second song. It's deeply entrancing and floating in subtle ways and melodic. The mid-tempo ambient and trance with Psy/Goa development deeper in that's excellent, great! You could argue that it's a nice background song and very little happens, and you'd be missing the complimentary state-of-mind and the whole thing. The song is intended I infer, as are all of the chapters here, to fit into the spiritually visionary storytelling whole. Another great track! B+ / A- 09. Sacred Vision is a conundrum for me. The first downtempo act is so earthy, beautiful, heartfelt, tribally, conscious aware/wise and mystical. As the song progresses, the second act transitions-- increasing in energy. The buildup is catchy as the song's energy increases, though it increases so much so that we shift into a seemingly less natural uptempo approach with intense and aggressive synth work that seem to underscore and overpower the magical and poignant mastery of the Navajo / Shamanic, downtempo influenced approach. While the second half of Sacred Vision incorporates some others the first half's ingredients, the song's direction becomes so energetically intense, that I feel jarred from the wondrous, uplifting, and spiritual effectiveness of the amazing opening minutes. I would have loved for the song to continue in the downtempo direction. I don't want to speculate on what inspired Sacred Vision to sound less sacred in the second half, for lack of better words. Numerous listeners also seem to have fell in love with the first half, and I think a couple refinements could have brought more joy to the whole. It's challenging for me to rate this because the first chunk of it is no less than a solid A. B+ / A- CONCLUSION Virtual Spirit is full of passion, beauty, innovation, and imagination from start to finish. There are no bad tracks here. The debut showcases sensitive, emotional, and heartfelt songs and elements, along with numbers carrying fire and intensity. Although I find Anno Domini superior and one of the best sequel albums in Goa Trance, everyone starts somewhere, and for a debut, the pros far outweigh the cons. Every song seems mindfully crafted with love and care. If not for taking risks, we wouldn't have hits like Sacred Healing, Astral Warrior (which naturally inspired the improved remix), the fun dance track Paranormal Activity (Spooky), and more. Naturally, when it comes to songs and albums, we all have our favorites. Not everyone is going to like or love everything. That said, my biggest constructive criticism if I were to provide one, is that there are a couple tracks, or parts of tracks (4, 5, 6, 9) where things start off great, except for (at some point) a certain synth, sound, idea, or change in composition and direction that sounds less synergistic to me, from the rest of the track. This is probably most notable in Sacred Vision, a beautiful piece of work that shines brightest in the song's first half. For me this is also apparent in the type of Fire approach a la Serpent's Fire. I love the idea. I just like the execution, e.g., sound selection and arrangement/approach could have sounded more synergistic, complimentary, and satisfying to the other sounds. The Ocean Also Dreams on the other hand could have used a few less repeating samples IMO. That said, creative freedom is essential, and without it, Chi-A.D. wouldn't have created so many beloved treasures, so I praise the risk-taking, even if some inspire feedback via constructive criticism. For me, Chi-A.D.'s music is more than music. It symbolizes, deeper, more expansive, higher consciousness. I consider Chi-A.D. one of the best electronic artists, right up there with Astral Projection, Hallucinogen, Juno Reactor, Pleiadians, Cosmosis, Transwave, MFG, Khetzal, Filteria-- the best of the best. It's so interesting and inspiring to hear how far this artist has evolved since 1997, like ripples in a galaxy, flowing throughout the Universe. Through every choice-- every moment of being and forgiveness allows us to untangle our consciousness from the split / separation-- from the fear and guilt associated with our collective consciousness-- from our falling out with Infinite Creator / unconditional love, IMO, hence duality, the lower realms-- and inspiration to ascend higher-- to be whole again, beyond space and time in ways that are positive. But I digress! Something tells me that we have yet to fully experience and comprehend how deep this all goes regarding spiritual influences and intentions beyond [that inspires] the music. I'm personally, and believe more of us collectively are becoming more conscious-- whatever that means in respect to where we are headed, a higher octave [vibration] of love. Thank you Hanna for producing so much wonderful from your heart and soul over these decades. Highlights: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and the first half of 9. B+ if I were to grade it, and I'm caring for ratings less and less as I get older because, spiritually speaking ,it just feels so subjective for me to slap a grade on something as if that's the answer when it's subjective. I love you for appreciating my reviews over the years when I had more time and interest writing them (circa 2000 to 2018-ish). How time flies. Pretty soon we'll be living in the 4th dimension (on the way to the 5th), and remember there's truth to everything that's said, so we'll see each other in the expansion for real at some point Love and light PS: Chi-A.D. Official YouTube Check out her song Into the Light... just beautiful ... A

I double dare you.