DeathPosture

V/A – A Magical Journey Artist: Various Title: A Magical Journey Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Ajana Records (Germany) Cat. #: AJACD001 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 13 Jun 2005 Track listing: 01. 07’43” Capsula – World Of Information 02. 06’34” Ovnimoon - Jabarei 03. 06’48” Dejan - Error 04. 07’41” Derango – An Ancient Tale 05. 08’20” Terra Nine – Axiom (The Omm Squad In Dub Mix) 06. 07’52” Kukan Dub Lagan – Psychedelic Child 07. 07’53” Cell – Asian Morning 08. 06’25” Electrypnose – Perce Oreille 09. 07’40” Psyfactor - REaliens 10. 08’44” Capsula – Crown Ethers Review: Around the world in a daze! Up until know we all thought that Ajana was just a town in Western Australia – but now it’s also a record label. The chilled downbeat/experimental outlet of Germany’s Trishula Records… A record label with an impressive quality level – and now label boss Rudra is getting into downbeat stuff too… Brilliant! Let’s begin our journey and hope it becomes as magical as promised… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Capsula – World Of Information “Information is primary. This world, this cosmos, this universe, this body and soul, are all made of information. Information is a deeper and more primary concept than space, time, matter, energy, charge, spin, angular momentum. The world is *made* of language…” Capsula is Yosef Shamay from Israel and I was really, really impressed by his trippy track on the Chilling Goddess compilation released on Peak Records earlier this year… This track is very similar… It starts out with a lengthy Terrence McKenna sample – and soon evolves into a dubby, chilled downbeat beast of a track… The rhythm section is very impressive and extremely psychedelic… Oh man, I can’t wait for the full Capsula album to be released by Ajana later this year… What a monstrous track to start this journey! #02: Ovnimoon – Jabarei Next up is Héctor Stuardo from Chile... That’s right – Chile! This is my first encounter with his music, but he’s released a handful of tracks on Synergetic Records… The atmosphere in the first part of the track is that of ancient Amazonia… Tribal drums, jungle sounds, flutes, birds and native children’s choir… Kinda reminds me of Kaya Project or Aluna… Later on the track takes on a more spacey, yet floating character… Brilliant! #03: Dejan – Error Dejan Mihailovic from France is up next... A guy that usually makes hard night-trance, but here’s a downbeat detour… Here we’re treated to tight percussion, dubby bass and a mixture of industrial and organic pads – beautifully combined, creating a rich sound… Reminds me a little of some of Aes Dana’s urban tracks… A tasty, well-polished track… #04: Derango – An Ancient Tale Derango are Jens Eriksson & Ola Eriksson – a highly acclaimed mushroom-trance duo from the deepest forests of Sweden… They’ve released stuff on Stoneage, Trishula, Gi’iwa, Inpsyde and Sanaton Records, and so far I’ve really enjoyed their highly original sound… And now the first ever Derango downbeat tune! This is deep, mellow ambient from the deep Swedish forests – dubby, lazy beats and phat trippy soundscapes… If there ever was such as thing as shroombient, this is it… And it would have fit perfectly on the chilled Schlabb 006 compilation released by Schlabbaduerst ReKkords last year… Very nice track! #05: Terra Nine – Axiom (The Omm Squad In Dub Mix) And now we’re really chilling out… Terra Nine/Omm Squad is a bunch of guys from Australia mostly releasing stuff on Green Ant, Deviant Craft and Tempest… I haven’t heard the original, so I can’t tell you what was changed… Despite its Australasian heritage, this track is more Indian in appearance… Complete with native chanting, long flute lines, and slow dubby beats + ancient sounds… Ethno-ambient to be more precise with a combination of analogue and digital sounds… I could’ve been without the ‘oh yeah’ lyrics halfway through though… But it’s still a very soothing track! #06: Kukan Dub Lagan – Psychedelic Child Itay Berger from Israel took everyone by surprise last year when Candyflip released his highly original psy-chill-dub debut album Life Is Nice… A highly experimental album I still enjoy for its unique mixture of leftfield/psychedelic sounds… And I’m happy to say this is more in the same vein… The beats are back and as the title suggests this is one of the most psychedelic tracks on the album… It’s downbeat dubby goa-trance – if that makes any sense? Similar to ancient Juno Reactor in certain places… Come to think of it, it doesn’t make any sense trying to describe Kukan’s music… Listen for yourself! Highly original track – sweet! #07: Cell – Asian Morning Alexandre Scheffer from France has impressed me with the compilation tracks he’s released over the last couple of years… His debut album Phonic Peace was released by Indica Music lately, but I’ve not yet have the chance to listen to it… Anyway, this track is also a combination of digital and analogue sounds… Kinda tribal and ethnic to begin with, but with an unmistakable digital interface leading the way… A nice floating tune, but somehow I expected even more from Cell… #08: Electrypnose – Perce Oreille Swiss producers Vince Le Barde has yet to let me down… He’s very skilled both as a dance and chill-out producer… I really liked his debut album Brain Stretching released earlier this year on ResonantEarth.com and his track on Chilling Goddess was cool! .. This is floating, melodic chill-out beautifully executed by this sonic sound sorcerer… Sweet track! #09: Psyfactor – REaliens Psyfactor is Dmitry Korablin from Russia who’s releasing his debut album Evil Inside on Trishula Records simultaneously with this compilation… And actually this is a little scary too… Halloween ambient? Concept-wise this kinda reminds me of the Digital Talk track Party People which was also kinda dark, despite the low BPM count… Music-wise this is a little lighter though, but still has alien influences as the title suggests… Good, but not great… The album is better! #10: Capsula – Crown Ethers Yosef Shamay comes back to close the show… And wow what a way to end this… Just like the Kukan track, this is a highly experimental, downbeat tune… Bits of dub, tribal, electro and acid are sprinkled around to enhance the listening experience… And it works wonders… The ending is something else – just wait and listen… Sweet little tune to finish things off… ;o) The journey is over… And though it was a little bumpy, it was very enjoyable… Creating the perfect flow is always a difficult task when compiling tracks from different artists… And I can’t say that Ajana succeeded 100% in that – the flow is a little off at certain places here…I would have rearranged the tracks to ensure an even tighter flow, but that’s really the only point of criticism I have for this compilation… I’m actually pretty impressed! The quality level is very, very high… Much higher than I had expected… There is an abundance of great tracks and even the less-great tracks are pretty good… The cover art fits the music, and all in all this chill compilation is a real winner… Well done Ajana! I’m eagerly looking forward to the Frechbax and Capsula debut albums… In the meantime I will not hesitate to recommend this album to fans of experimental chill-out and dubby ambient… Enjoy! Favourites: 1(!!), 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 DeathPosture External links: Ajana Records: http://www.ajana-records.com TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/8e4xa Amboworld: http://tinyurl.com/asbul Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9a9tb Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/awucg Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/azauw Cisco: http://tinyurl.com/bh82u Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/dlfxj

* Orichalcum & The Deviant - Orichalcum & The Deviant (TIP Records 1997) http://www.discogs.com/release/153755 * V/A - Hyperstatial Chrysalis (Ketuh Records 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/474292 /DP

Sad but true... I'm glad I only paid €3 for it...

Rinkadink - Pirate Signal album Awesome!

V/A – Alien FM Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Various Title: Alien FM Format: CD (digipack) Label: Dropout Productions (USA) Cat. #: DPCD 100 Distribution: Arabesque Date: June 2005 Track listing: 01. 01’42” Intro 02. 06’35” JellyHeadz - Intoxication 03. 07’23” The Nommos - Whatever 04. 06’50” oCeLot – Turn It Up 05. 08’00” Yohimbe - Awakening 06. 07’18” Quasar - Hickadelic 07. 07’07” Claw - Botox 08. 07’33” Kindzadza - Surprise 09. 07’52” Yab Yum – Dust Devil RMX 10. 07’40” oCeLot - Flashlight .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/a37c4 (all tracks) Review: Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair… Dropout Productions is a newly established hypertrance label based in swingin’ San Fransisco, USA… The tracklist reveals only a couple of familiar names to me, but I hear the psychedelic scene in the Bay Area is very much alive and thriving, so I’m looking forward to digging deeper into this… Let’s give it a shot… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Intro May 11th 2005… Two dudes are in boat on the Rio Negro looking for a UFO crash site… They find something… A radio-transmitter and broadcasting Alien FM… This alleged alien radio feed is present throughout the rest of the CD… #02: JellyHeadz – Intoxication [148 BPM] “Attention! The energy level is low. The system will shut down in a few seconds. Connection access. Click the red button for a trip to space”. JellyHeadz kick things in gear here… Karim & Fabio from France grace my ears with the first track I’ve heard from them… This is deep, dark, raw and pounding hypertrance… It may seem unstructured at first glance, but after repeated listens I’ve come to appreciate this track more… It kinda reminds me of Grapes of Wrath/Meteloids at certain places… A nice little choon… #03: The Nommos – Whatever [148 BPM] “Am I going crazy? Have my years of wild hedonism finally caught up with me?”. That’s right Peggy Bundy – karma! This is Goa Gil and his wife Ariane from the US, creating the same style of music that Gil plays in his dark marathon DJ-sets around the world. Dark, pounding, acid-drenched night-trance… Similar to the latest Goa Gil mix CD Karmageddon released earlier this year on Avatar Records… It’s a pretty good track, though it kinda looses a bit of its focus during the middle part… But generally I like this – the low frequency acid-lead is intoxicating and very, very trippy… “Yes ordinary water laced with nothing more than a few spoonfuls of LSD”… Ah Gil baba, you spiked the water… Nice one! #04: oCeLot – Turn It Up [146 BPM] oCeLot is Aaron Peacock from San Fransisco… He’s a star in the bay area, released his debut album Aural Sects on Strange Attractor in 2002 and his second album vectorSelector is out Dropout Productions very soon… Very original intro here…It tricks you into thinking you’re playing the wrong track… Nice blend of styles and rapid changes in pace… And then BAM! The track is in full FX… Fast paced hypertrance with darkish pads and stiff jabs – constantly evolving… Surprising and satisfying… I can’t wait for the album! Although there’s a certain demented melody here, I don’t really dig, I can honestly say that this is an interesting track! #05: Yohimbe – Awakening [147 BPM] This is the debut release by Canadian-now-living-in-San-Fran Yohimbe… The intro is so-so with a blunt bassline – stripped down, teKk-trance… The first part here is waaaaaaaay too minimal for my taste… Down-right boring! However, the track does come alive after the 2½ minute mark, though it’s still more horror-techno than psytrance to my ears… And as such I don’t really like it… I tend to skip this track… #06: Quasar – Hickadelic [150 BPM] “You know evolution does not end with us growing thumbs…” I have limited info on Quasar, but apparently it’s the guy behind Fractal Cowboys who had a track on the dark Lhiannon Sidhe compilation, and as Quasar he had tracks on the aforementioned Karmageddon compilation as well as on the Doof Records compilation Booo… This is the fastest track here – and that doesn’t go unnoticed… This is very dark, very fast and very, very trippy… Reminds me of Kemic-Al at times… Underground hyper-trance to be played during the darkest hours of the night… I’m not sure how well this will go down as home listening, but dropped at the right time on a dark trance floor, this is the shiznitz… Scary! But we all like to get scared, don’t we? #07: Claw – Botox [148 BPM] “On no, I pressed the wrong button again… ” Itz da claaaaaaaaw!... Da claw is coming to get you! Again, I have no idea whatsoever who’s behind this project… But apparently it’s a debutant from Greece and as such it’s pretty impressive… It starts out slow, but soon evolves into a monster… Morphing sounds, dynamic basslines and a really tight production… I dig how this track is constructed and the constant drive/building is downright impressive… Wonderful track – works wonders at home and has immediate dancefloor potential! #08: Kindzadza – Surprise [147 BPM] Kindzadza is Leo Greshilov from Russia and he’s one of the true veterans of dark psytrance with two albums + loads of compilation tracks under his belt… The Japanese samples in the intro are pretty cool… Later on we get some snare drum action, a tight bassline, playful synths, squelching acid-lines and an overall dark vodka-induced atmosphere… A winning combination really! I like this track… #09: Yab Yum – Dust Devil RMX [146 BPM] Yab Yum is an alias for Peak Records label-bosses Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu from Switzerland … I really enjoyed their track on the Peaking In Tongues compilation… As with the Kindzadza track this is a little lighter than some of the raw, unpolished tracks earlier on… But calling this light is wrong – this is still in the dark end of the psytrance spectre… The guys successfully incorporate tribal percussion into this track which adds to the overall bouncy feel here… Though dark and fast paced, this is indeed very funky… The rolling basslines are cool and the acid-lines are very trippy… Also the outro is beautifully executed… Sweet! This is, hands down, the best track here! #10: oCeLot – Flashlight [148 BPM] “Be sure to keep your fingers on the box at all times…” Aaron Peacock makes another entry and finishes off this compilation… Another darkish tune, though it seems oddly bland after what we just heard from Yab Yum… However, there is cool stuff here – I really like the stabs and the high frequency noises… Doggy trance? … This track has one major flaw though; it seems a little too hectic and unorganized… Decent track! The first release by Dropout Productions was indeed interesting, but the quality is a little too mixed and doesn’t drop my jaw completely… The artwork is a good example of just that. Whilst the front-cover excels in its stunning visual beauty, the back-cover is an eyesore with its blemish appearance… I will not go as far as saying the music suffers from the same contrast, but I’m afraid the flow is a little off here… I would have put the lighter tracks first and ended with the darkest tracks… And would have abandoned one track completely! But I guess that’s just me… Now this might sound like this is s bad compilation, but nothing is further from the truth… The good tracks here far outweigh the less good tracks and there is only one track I don’t like at all… The variation is notable and I like the idea of a spoken word intro… All in all, this is a solid compilation and I’m sure Dropout Productions will find many devoted fans among the darkpsy segment… I for one am looking forward to the oCeLot album coming soon. I recommend this compilation to fans of such labels as Parvati, Trishula, Ketuh and the likes… Enjoy – and make sure to wear some flowers in your hair! Favourites: 3, 4, 6(!), 7(!), 8, 9(!!) DeathPosture External links: Dropout Productions: http://www.dropout-productions.com Juno: http://tinyurl.com/7rewk Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/dj3na Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/d4h8q Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/c8bcp Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/cmur9 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/exn4r

I dislike the paper-sleeves too... I always end up throwing them away... But I really like extra stuff like DJ sleeves, stickers, fat booklets, etc... Also added stuff like videos, games, etc is a nice feature... The new Rinkadink CD is very cool... It contains a link + password to download the Techmology V3 video + it has a sticker... And it has the cardboard sleeve too (which I personally dislike, but I'm sure others like it) /DP

* Psyfactor - Evil Inside (Trishula Records 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/473347 * V/A - A Magical Journey (Ajana Records 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/473572 * Rinkadink - Pirate Signal (Alchemy Records 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/448353 * V/A - dTect Magazine Vol. 2 (dTech Magazine 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/473746 (Utter crap - bought it solely for the new BLT & Danny Makow track...) DP

Well, I have listened to everything I own... And will listen to all of it again occasionally... It's not like I don't listen to music enough - I have music playing 18 hours a day, so I get to listen to quite a few CDs every day... And the stuff I haven't listened to for a while, I'll listen to eventually... Like my DVDs I consider them an investment in the future... I'll have them forever - and I look forward to digging in my collection when I'm old and grey... So I wouldn't call it 'pointless' having such a collection as mine... I enjoy it thoroughly and wouldn't want it any other way... Different people, different strokes you know... /DP

I have the same 'problem' as you Tatsu... I have loads and loads of CDs (+1500) and simply too little time to listen to it all... I try as much as I can, to go through it when I'm chilling in front of the computer... But sure, there's stuff I haven't listened to for years... But still I can't justify to myself getting rid of those CDs - It's my collective gene at play... /DP

Ahh ok... Slight misunderstanding... Fair enough... Holla when you've put the tribal mix together... I'd be very interested... /DP

Looks like an awesome mix Scott... Even with the intermission ('the police are here - they've asked us to stop the party...')... And you say you recorded it? Any chance of you making it available as a torrent like you've done with your other mixes? /DP

Well, they are still active... They had a track on the Digital Performers compilation released on Exposure Productions earlier this year + a track on the new TIP.World compilation... But yeah, a new album would be awesome...

Well, both ideas have its pros and cons... If we keep the year and make the threads bumpable it will be just like Isratrance & Psy-forum.co.uk where only the first page is interesting - and other stuff would be easily forgotten... But the way we have it now, you can't easily tell which threads are most active... Unless you use the "post since last visit" function as I do... If I had to choose, I'm afraid I like the current system the most... But it's not like I'm gonna protest if you change it back into bumpable... /DP

V/A – Psionic Circus Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Various Title: Psionic Circus Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Digital Psionics (Australia) Cat. #: DPSICD12 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 16 May 2005 Track listing: 01. 06’34” Safi Connection – Albert On Acid 02. 07’07” Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case 03. 07’07” Tube – Land Of Reason 04. 06’10” Skazi & CPU – Highest Party 05. 06’50” Damage – Unspeakable Evil 06. 07’28” Shift - Corrosion 07. 07’15” Bon – The Only Escape 08. 07’09” Xatrik – The Spice 09. 09’15” Kluster - Walker 10. 09’22” Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/9zek7 (all tracks) Review: Cirque du Psionics… Australia’s leading export, Digital Psionics, is finally out with its much awaited and heavily delayed 12th release... A quick glance at the tracklist reveals a close resemblance with the tracklist on last year’s Psionic Storm compilation – and what looks like too many Skazi disciples… Oh well, Luke Psywalker and Luna Orbit compiled this baby – and they rarely let me down, so let’s dig a little deeper and smell the saw dust… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Safi Connection – Albert On Acid “…His family was away at the time, so he had a lot of fear, that he had perhaps damaged his mind by doing this. He lay in bed, at one point his consciousness was up on the ceiling, looking down on what he took to be his dead body… ” Mishel Bitton from Israel is a very productive full-on producer with no less than 4 released albums and tons and tons of compilation tracks… None of the tracks I’ve heard from him have been outstanding though – but this takes the cake as the best one I’ve heard thus far… The intro is very experimental and the overall groove is smooth and bouncing… I like the little melody and the many crazy FX sprinkled throughout the track… The drug-samples are perhaps a bit over the top (and also used by Vibe Tribe!?), but they don’t annoy me at all… A nice little track for sure! #02: Space Tribe & Psywalker – Space Case “They play music and meditate. And wait patiently for UFOs to appear…” Here’s another collaboration between Ollie Wisdom and Luke Psywalker… I really liked the collaborations on Psionic Storm and on the Space Tribe Collaborations album… Again we get Olli’s light, fluffy, melodic full-on mated with the harder, wicked input from Psywalker – a well-tested formula that works! Twisted, futuristic full-on… And whenever Ollie is about to get too fluffy, Luke saves the day… Another nice track! #03: Tube – Land Of Reason Enter the first member of the Chemical Mafia: Pini Alon from Israel… It’s no secret that I’m not particularly impressed with the whole Skazi spin-off hell circus… And this track is a good reason why – already within the first minute the track is drenched in the same mind-numbing heavy metal guitars we’ve heard over and over again… And as others have pointed out – the obvious Infected Mushroom-inspired reversed piano-riffs… Move on already! Filler! #04: Skazi & CPU – Highest Party “Welcome to the highest party in the world!” And now for the most hated man in our scene… Skazi! Before Shaffel Records turned into Chemical Crew and before every single Prodigy, Metallica and Britney Spears was brutally butchered, I actually liked some of his stuff… The first album was pretty good, but ever since I’ve avoided everything labelled Skazi Inc… Oh well, it’s not Skazi on his own here – he’s collaborating with CPU (Samy Guediche) so I’m gonna give this track a fair chance before I bash it… Actually it’s not as bad as I had expected… There are indeed interesting moments here – especially the breaks and acid-bits are pretty well executed… And it seems as if CPU was in charge of the track construction, as there are only a few obvious signs of Skazi’s usual arsenal of sing-a-long samples and electric guitars… Unfortunately the track seems to lack an overall sense of direction and as such the flow is a little off… Decent track! #05: Damage – Unspeakable Evil Third member of the Chemical Mafia is Deon Baard from Japan… The recent Damage track on the Electric Embryo compilation was so-so, but on the other hand the track on the Psionic Earth compilation released last year was awesome… And actually, this is a pretty nice track too… I’ve always been a sucker for squeaking acid-lines and there’s an abundance of those here… Deon twists his knobs like a madman on this flaring hard, acid-ridden night-time tune… It reminds me of Rinkadink/Time Code stuff at times – and I really like that! Solid tune! #06: Shift – Corrosion Next up is good old Chris Hoy from South Africa – an extremely productive guy who’s also one half of Twisted System… I really liked his track on the Ketuh compilation ALittle Lunacy released earlier this year – and this follows the same formula… An extremely demented acid-line hurts your teeth in the intro – you will either love it or it will annoy the hell outta you… I think it’s pretty cool – same with the breaks here… This is fast-paced, acid-ridden night-trance with enough stamina and dance-potential to last well into the summer… Good stuff! #07: Bon – The Only Escape “God is not here today!” Bon is Fausto Emiliano Gianni from Italy – he’s been a Digital Psionics regular for years and so far I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from him… As with earlier Bon material this is darkish night-trance with epic, melodic qualities…. The long pads in the background are beautifully executed and they are quite trance-inducing… Quite refreshing after the extremely complex, diverse Damage and Shift tracks, but somehow also a little anonymous… But for sure a nice track… #08: Xatrik – The Spice “The spice must flow…” Greg Hamber from South Africa released his excellent and extremely psychedelic debut album Project A on Digital Psionics last summer… An album I still get much enjoyment from when I want to challenge my senses… This track is a little less complex than the album tracks - actually it’s pretty stripped down for the first three minutes until the break… Greg plays around with filters and layers and manages to create a paranoia-like atmosphere… I’m not sure whether I like this track or not… For sure it has its moments, but somehow I find it to be a little too introvert and not very living room friendly… A decent track! #09: Kluster – Walker “You do understand that our time is limited don’t you?” Michael Petterson from Sweden released his debut album Bug Fix on Digital Psionics in 2002 – and has had quite a few tracks on darkish compilations… And sure enough, this is a darkish track too… With the trademark synthetic Kluster melody… Reminds me of Derango, Procs or old Hux Flux at certain places - meaning this is very, very trippy Swedish forest trance – shroomy and psychedelic! … Just the way I like it… Very nice track! #10: Dark Nebula & Scatterbrain – Crash And Burn “That’s weird… I’m loosing my mind. I must be imagining things… Hey don’t forget! This weekend – all weekend long, it’s a crash and burn weekend!” Just like on the last two DP compilations, here’s a collaboration track between two of Australia’s finest producers (Luna Orbit & Adam Walters)… Just like the last collaborations, this is a very, very sweet track… It’s just like you’d expect from these guys – weird! The intro is super-trippy and kinda old-school … The melodic lead is very Scatterbrain’ish – twisted and psychedelic… A dark, yet uplifting track – with a distinct drive and tons and tons of funny bits and pieces… I mean – check out the break – and the Gregorian chanting monks… It works! One of the best tracks here! Digital Psionics is indeed one of my favourite labels and they have yet to put out a disappointing release. This is a very tasty compilation – well, I don’t like the lousy Tube track and there are a couple of not so good tracks here… But the rest is very nice, and the good/bad ratio is high enough to validate a purchase… Digital Psionics fans will not be disappointed, and I’m sure people who liked the last Ketuh compilation In Crypto will also find something of interest here… High quality, in-your-face modern hyper-trance… Enjoy! Favourites: 1, 2, 5(!), 6, 9, 10(!!) DeathPosture External links: Digital Psionics: http://www.digitalpsionics.com Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/a74c3 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9mqlm Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/a4d36 Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/clc9e Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/8qkpl Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/e3nyr Juno: http://tinyurl.com/bhtml

Damn, why didn't I dig harder? Found the explanation on Isratrance: Oh well - it's all Skazi spin-off anyway... DP

The act Damage has confused me in my reviews lately... http://www.discogs.com/artist/Damage+(2) Is it James Copeland from South Africa - or Deon Baard from Japan? Or is it in fact two different acts? /DP

Cool man... An honest trader! Thx! ;o) /DP

I bought a CD from Cinos - it arrived today in promised condition... Again it was a pleasure doing business with him... ;o) /DP

* V/A - Apsara (Suntrip Records 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/466996 * V/A - The Mind Of Goa (Jumpin' & Pumpin' 1996) http://www.discogs.com/release/234463 * X-Dream - The Frog (Blue Room Released 1996) http://www.discogs.com/release/75752 /DP

Track name corrected... Oops!

V/A - Apsara Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Various Title: Apsara Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Suntrip Records (France/Belgium) Cat. #: SUNCD02 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 6 June 2005 Track listing: 01. 07’22” Aes Dana - Digitalys 02. 07’05” Yesod – On The Edge of Time 03. 09’14” KhetzaL & Chaï (Avigmati) - Babylone Beach 04. 08’57” Lost Buddha - Metamorphosis 05. 09’01” Filteria – Tiny Universe 06. 08’31” Ka-Sol - Skraqp 07. 10’04” Ypsilon5 - Titanium 08. 08’18” Goasia – I’m Ready 09. 07’51” Radical Distortion - Communication .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/b6mxt (all tracks) Review: Full-blown goa-trance anno 2005! The 26 celestial damsels of Indra's court are known as apsaras. Well versed in the art of music and dancing, they are said to be able to change their shapes at will and sometimes lured men to their deaths… Girl power! Suntrip Records is the brainchild of Mars & Anoebis from psynews.org… They revolutionized the scene in 2004 with the extremely melodic Filteria debut album Sky Input… An album that got rave reviews and IMHO still holds a position as one of the best albums released in 2004… Now they are back with their second release – a compilation dedicated to bringing us more old-school melodic goa-trance made with modern production techniques… A look at the tracklist reveals a mixture of well-known names and upcoming stars… Let’s get up-close and personal with the apsaras… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Aes Dana – Digitalys [120 BPM] We kick things into motion with a nice chilled tune by Aes Dana… Vincent Villuis from France is still the undisputed world chill champion - and the Ultimae label boss has yet to disappoint me… This tune is beautifully executed – somewhere in between arpeggio ambient and blissful downbeat… The subtle melodies are made up by floating synths and a smooth rhythm section… The heavily cut-up female voice samples are dreamy and add to the overall feel-good atmosphere created by Vince… This cracked a big old smile on my face… ;o) #02: Yesod – On The Edge of Time [142 BPM] This is the debut by Yesod (Fredrik Ekholm) from Sweden… As the BPM counter indicates, it’s time to dust of the dance-boots and move towards the floor… The intro is swamped with bells, flutes and floating pads…Within the first minute the track is in full effect with twirling razor-sharp flute-melodies in the foreground – and a steady bassline in the background… Very, very melodic and very, very old school… It’s an instant flashback to the extremely naïve and uplifting melodies of the early 1990s… The breakdown rules and not since The Infinity Project’s Mystical Experiences and the first Shpongle album have I heard such a wicked flute-line… Nice! #03: KhetzaL & Chaï (Avigmati) - Babylone Beach [145 BPM] Avigmati consists of KhetzaL (Matthieu Chamoux) and DJ Chaï from France… KhetzaL already released tracks on Ultimae, Agitato and Kagdila – but until now I haven’t heard any of his work… Anyway, this track has a very spiritual intro… Reminds me of ancient TIP ambient… A deep, pounding bassline is soon introduced alongside one of many melodies… Twirling synth melodies are interweaved between harmonic pads in the background, soothing flute lines and a discrete bassline… The lengthy break/build-up/take off is nothing less than amazing and sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it… I’m guessing this will cream a few pants the first time people listen to it… Damn, it’s good! This is what uplifting, melodic goa-trance is all about… Brilliant! #04: Lost Buddha – Metamorphosis [139 BPM] “Next we have another kind of un-composed music”… As far as I know, this is the first released track by Felipe Santos from Portugal… Ahh, just listen to those ripping acid sounds in the intro here… Mmm… Tension is building from the first second and you just know this is gonna be good… And sure enough, before you know it we’re in the middle of a multilayered frenzy of melodies… Works absolute wonders in my living room – and I’ll bet my life saving this track can pack any trancefloor around the world in a matter of seconds… It’s very intense, very uplifting, very joyous and very good! #05: Filteria – Tiny Universe [143 BPM] “That means that our whole solar system could be, like, one tiny atom in the fingernail of some other giant being... That means, that one tiny atom in my fingernail could be one little tiny universe!” Filteria has become synonymous with the resurrection of highly melodic, multilayered, modern goa trance with a torrent of climaxes… Jannis Tzikas from Sweden released his highly acclaimed debut album Sky Input on Suntrip Records in 2004 – and ever since I’ve been eagerly awaiting more brain fodder from his talented hands… And finally the wait is over… Jannis takes a new path here, with a very original dubby intro… Tension is building, layers of FX are added and soon the track is in full effect… Highly uplifting, thrilling melodies are dancing around between spacey synth lines and analogue thrusters… Again the Pleiadians link is evident, but when it’s this beautifully executed no-one is complaining… Get ready to soil yourself again for the climax halfway thru… Fucking hell Jannis – I’ve missed your sound so much! I can’t wait for the second album… Stellar track! #06: Ka-Sol – Skraqp [142 BPM] HOLY SHIT! Finally a new track by Ka-Sol… Christer Lundström has released some of the most mind-blowing tracks ever on Schlabbaduerst RekKords… And sure enough, this is very hard, extremely twisted psychedelic trance… Raw and gritty – dark and distorted – trippy and immensely psychedelic… And simply massive! I find it really hard to describe this – you have to listen to fully understand what I’m talking about… Trust me! Though darkish, there are still loads of melodies here – exported straight from the deepest, darkest Swedish forests… This is mushroom trance if there ever was mushroom trance… Those demented acid-lines will scare away any non-believer! Grrreat! Monumental track! #07: Ypsilon5 – Titanium [148 BPM] When David Lilja from Sweden released his debut album Binary Sky on Tranceform Records in the beginning of 2004 it was such a relief… Old school melodic goa trance was back with a vengeance. Unfortunately he didn’t release anything after that… Until now when the Suntrippers are treating us to this super-fast track… David’s style still reminds me a lot of old Astral Projection/Man With No Name – with his rapid happy-go-lucky uplifting goa melodies and pounding basslines… It’s a very good track, but it’s not as good as the previous tracks here… And also it’s maybe a couple of minutes too long… Funny thing is, this would have been the stand-out track on any other compilation released in 2005 - but hey, the competition is fierce here… ;o) Ok track! #08: Goasia – I’m Ready [144 BPM] This is my first encounter with Goasia dance music… Unfortunately I haven’t heard the tracks Balint Tihamer made for the Kagdila compilation Pure Planet… I did however hear his very nice chill track on the Cosmicleaf compilation Chill On Ice… That was a pretty nice track, and so is this… The intro is übercool with very crisp sounds – and a digital bird! And then Balint takes us on a long journey – constantly changing direction, but never losing the overall focus which is leading us to the much awaited climactic ear orgasm… Highly melodic, evolving, melodic psytrance with rich goa influences… Nicey nice! #09: Radical Distortion – Communication [136 BPM] The sun has set and the apsaras are dancing like there’s no tomorrow! John Spanos & Nick Polytaridis from Greece have been in the game for years, but somehow I’m not familiar with their music... Anyway, this is more in the same vein – melodic, multilayered morning trance… Though a little less organized at times – and dare I say, a little cheesier also? It’s definitely very uplifting and super-super melodic… It’s not a bad track, but I could’ve wished for a little more edge here… Decent track! What a nice, long, nostalgic trip down Melody Lane… Just like the Filteria album, this second Suntrip Records instalment is like a breath of fresh air… Nothing like it has been released for quite a while and such is brings something fresh into our scene… Diversity rules! As you can tell, I like the middle part of this album the best… A few of the tracks sounded a little flat somehow compared to the rest… As DJ tools all tracks will work wonders I’m sure, and for home listening most of them are outstanding…. But rest assured, there are no fillers here – it’s all good! Also the cover-art deserves a special mention – it looks absolutely wicked! Well done! To conclude, this is a brilliant compilation – and very, very different from anything else released recently… When listening to this, you are constantly reminded of the good old glorious days of goa-trance… The style that so many of first fell in love with – and a style that obviously still is very much alive, evolving and kicking in 2005… I hope it never dies - and with visionary people like the Suntrippers, I’m sure it never will… I give this compilation my highest recommendations – and urge everyone with a healthy interest in melodic goa trance to give it a listen… You will not be disappointed! Enjoy! Favourites: 3(!), 4(!), 5(!!), 6(!), 8 DeathPosture External links: Suntrip Records: http://www.suntriprecords.com Trance Shop: http://tinyurl.com/8b5ft Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/chp59 Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/9z9ez PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/be9zg Unicorn: http://tinyurl.com/9t7h6 Saiko: http://tinyurl.com/77mt3 Juno: http://tinyurl.com/dshfr

I don't! My credit-card is maxed out all the time...

Yesterday : (Ebay seller told me it was the Blue Room version - but it was Substance... Ah well, I got it cheap.. ;o)) V/A - Trip Through Sound (Substance 1996) http://www.discogs.com/release/333205 Today: V/A - Psionic Circus (Digital Psionics 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/469943 V/A - Alien FM (Dropout Productions 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/469961 DeathPosture