DeathPosture

Jim - you might wanna read the review guidelines before posting in the review section... /DP

P.O.T.S. – Creating Social Success Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Prisoners Of The Sun (Germany) Title: Creating Social Success Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Tribal Vision Records (Czech Republic) Cat. #: TVRCD005 Distribution: Psyshop.com Date: November 2005 Track listing: 01. 08’45” Crystal Cream 02. 09’45” Hello Kitty 03. 08’33” Trance Popper 04. 08’13” Bravo 05. 08’40” Botox Party 06. 07’47” Groove Garden 07. 08’19” Eifelgold 08. 09’40“ Dandy Division 09. 09’42“ Tussy De Luxe .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/94shj (all tracks!) Review: Music for dancing, trancing and romancing! Prisoners Of The Sun are German producers Thomas Wilhelmy & Joachim Lüthje – and they’ve been in the game since 2000… 2001 saw the release of their debut album Are You Scientific Enough?… An album I purchased back then, but to be honest I got rid of it again as it kinda drowned in the minimal release craze… But now my taste buds have matured, and I’m ready to digest their second album released on visionary Czech label Tribal Vision… Take no prisoners! Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Crystal Cream [130 BPM] Two sugars and plenty of cream! Oh yeah, this is indeed a nice cup of java… It starts out kinda minimal and reminiscent of their old loopy sound, but soon the track is embraced by some sweet-sweet-sweet melodic pads which are tied up in some extremely pleasant grooves… This is one sexy opening track… Smooth as a motherfucker! Music for dancing, trancing and romancing! A brilliant opener! #02: Hello Kitty [132 BPM] Hello crossover Kitty! The second track sees the Prisoners showcase their diverse production talents…On this track we get everything from dirty house music, over uplifting morning trance to rich progressive trance… And everything in between! Whereas the first couple of minutes might suffer a little from stand-still syndrome, the latter half easily compensates for that with its rich, bubbling playfulness… A text book example on how to create an evolving track… Maybe it’s a little too stretched out though – but as such, it’s perfect for opening a progressive DJ set… Nice, but not among the best tracks here… #03: Trance Popper [128 BPM] Despite the lower BPM count here, this track seems more in-ya-face and dirty – and the title is a dead give away… This track takes you by the hand, shakes you up and leaves you in a tranced-up state… Especially the last half of the track is something else – a deep, crawling, lazy groove makes up 90% of the sound spectre and just leaves you panting… Trancy indeed – and very hypnotizing! A very nice, unique track! #04: Bravo [132 BPM] The pace has quickened and we’re somewhere outdoors now… Nature sounds are mixed perfectly with the smooth percussion creating a very unique sounding rhythm section here… The uplifting, well-placed melodies alongside the phat reverb-groove are soooooo nicely done, and really make this track reach higher levels… I’m impressed – this is fine music! Progressive trance at it’s best! #05: Botox Party [128 BPM] Botox sees the return of the big, shiny synth leads from older POTS tunes – and despite its deeper, murkier nature this track has evident epic, even clubby, passages… I like the drive here – it’s like the Imperial March in a progressive trance version… A nice track for sure, but it lacks some of the jaw-drop qualities of some of the previous tracks… #06: Groove Garden [134 BPM] Whereas the previous track had epic qualities, this track goes down the tech-trance path… The bassline is meaner than ever and the electro-stabs are dominant. This is uplifting tech-trance mind you - we’re getting some solid melodic synth-action here too… A hybrid really, which crosses back and forth between melodic and techy trance… Hard-hitting at times and uplifting at others = a match made in prog-heaven! Sweet! #07: Eifelgold [140 BPM] The track with the weird title is also the fastest here… And I’m sorry to say so, but most parts of this are too fast… I mean, for progressive trance we’re in borderline territory now… Put pitched down a little, I’m sure this track will work wonders… My CD-player won’t let me adjust the pitch though… This is the ‘worst’ track on the CD – and that’s saying a lot, since this is still a pretty decent tune… It just seems oddly out of place here… What a shame! #08: Dandy Division [138 BPM] Do not despise – DD is here to save the day! Well, almost… This is still a little too fast for my progressive taste, but still better balanced than the previous track… The old trance-meter has been cranked up on this one, and we’re getting some serious synth excursions here… Luckily they are mixed well into a fast-paced, tightly-knit rhythm-section – creating a pumping dancefloor track… Nothing groundbreaking, but a nice ‘transition track’ nevertheless… #09: Tussy De Luxe [134 BPM] The closing track takes us back to a more familiar pace... Epic in structure, this is indeed uplifting progressive trance which reminds me of the work of some of the Swedish masters… Instantly groovy and lush as hell! I cannot think of a better, sexier way to end this magnificent album! Lush, plush and sexy… Smooth, groovy and funky… Epic, uplifting and immensely danceable! Need I go on? Thought not… This is indeed a very fine and diverse album… A big old melting pot ranging from fast-paced progressive dancefloor stompers – to laid-back beach groovers… The faster tracks were maybe a little too… Ehrm… Fast! But I still admire the diversity here – something that I often find lacking in progressive albums (Antix anyone? Gaudium?). I’m happy say, that that is NOT the case here… On the contrary! This is a rich, mature album – and the production quality is among the best I’ve heard this year! As always with Tribal Vision we get a very informative, high-quality booklet with DJ case insert… The cover-art could use some spark, but who the hell cares when the music speaks for itself like this does!? A sweet album and a no-brainer purchase for any fan of diverse progressive trance. Enjoy! Favourites: 1(!), 3, 4(!!), 6, 9 DeathPosture External links: Tribal Vision Records: http://www.tribalvision.cz Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/570070 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/8jko6 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/7w3nc Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/85y9m Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/c6bjm Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/72urb Juno: http://tinyurl.com/8cbxe

The banner made for this is too funny, not to post here:

Yeah... That is a cool banner indeed:

Right here dude... I'm not selling though!

Haven't heard it... Yet! But I would love to read a full review by you... *Nudge, nudge* /DP

Yesterday I received: * Bluetech - Sines And Singularities (Aleph Zero 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/576739 + today some DVDs: * Garden State + a Danish comedy DVD... /DP

Hey Pedro, please reserve me these: A mail is on it's way... /DP

The contest is "on ice" currently... But letting people listen to your stuff, is the way to go... There are endless sites that offer free hosting of tracks... www.rapidshare.de www.yousendit.com Or look in the other "check out my tracks" threads for more upload sites dedicated to music... /DP

V/A – Seismic Mood Hi-res cover: front + back Artist: Various (US) Title: Seismic Mood Format: CD (jewel case) Label: AuraQuake Records (US) Cat. #: AQCD002 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 12 December 2005 Track listing: 01. 08’19” Parus – Star Pass 02. 08’03” Penta – Dangerous Game 03. 07’30” Sector 7G - Exploit 04. 07’55” Penta – Half Dimensional 05. 06’42” Ocelot – Trumpeter Swan Rmx 06. 06’39” Parus - Leshiy 07. 09’07” Penta – Always Noon 08. 06’45” Sector 7G – X-mas 09. 07’08” Parus - Volna .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/dg8x8 (all tracks!) Review: Earthshaking: an issue of seismic proportions and ramifications! With the release of Penta’s second album Funraiser in September 2005, Bay Area-based label AuraQuake Records immediately entered the big psytrance league… That was, and still is, a gargantuan album packed to the rim with funny, murky, twisted and downright oddball darkpsy tracks… One of the best albums from 2005 within the genre… So, naturally I was excited when this compilation was announced… To be honest, I only know about Penta and Ocelot off the tracklist, but I’m guessing the AuraQuake quality inspectors are competent people… Let’s find out… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Parus – Star Pass Parus is the trance-outfit of Latvian-born, American-based twin brothers Mark and Valentin Tarasov… They open this compilation with a slow, technoid afternoon groover… Minimal in structure, but with enough progressive stamina and melodic touches to keep me entertained… The perfect soundtrack to a lazy, sunny afternoon… Stripped down, electro-ridden morning tech-trance meets melodic psytrance… Nice opening track! #02: Penta – Dangerous Game Russian-born, American-based producer Nikita Tselovalnikov shouldn’t need further introduction… I’ve already talked about his second album Funraiser, which was just as good as his first output Pentafiles… Anyway, this track is more uplifting than the previous one… The infamous ‘retarded melodies’ from the newest album are back on this track… And that’s a shame – coz I still don’t like them…Luckily they don’t pollute the track completely, and there are some extremely wicked passages in this track… Pretty nice – despite the dreadful melodies! #03: Sector 7G – Exploit Besides from being Homer Simpson’s work place, Sector 7G is the moniker for the combined forces of Russian-born Alex Becker and American Scott McDonald… Allegedly their music is the closest thing to punk rock within the trance scene… I dunno about that, but what I do know is that this is indeed a powerful track… The long, murky intro builds tension, but doesn’t reveal the splendour of the actual track which follows… We’re still in pretty minimal, electro-driven morning trance territory – and this track has an impressive NRG level… Best track so far! #04: Penta – Half Dimensional Second Penta track – which I’m happy to say, I find much better than the first one… This one has deranged melodies and Penta-twirls too, but somehow they sound much better here… Anyway, this is hard-core night-trance… Which I guess can be played at ‘evil mornings’ too… Pure zombie fodder… Instantly trippy, easily complex in all its multilayered glory - and ever so scary! I mean – holy fudge! A trademark Penta track – amazing! #05: Ocelot – Trumpeter Swan Rmx Bay Area thrasher oCeLoT (Aaron Peacock) really impressed me with his second album vectorSelector released in June 2005 by Dropout Productions… Just like the style of the album, this is experimental, borderline night-trance with a melodic touch… So yeah, this is more morning-orientated than the Penta track… It’s still immensely trippy though – like only Mr. Peacock does it… Long driving pads and twirling psychedelia all over the place… My only gripe is a couple of ‘repetitive’ passages – but all in all, this is still a solid track… #06: Parus – Leshiy The twins are back with another track. This time, the music is a little more extrovert, but we’re still very far from say the Ocelot or the previous Penta tracks – which kinda throws of the flow a little… Anyway, this is minimal tech-trance with hints of uplifting, melodic morning trance… I kinda like the industrial-slash-technoid approach to trance, but I’m also slightly thrown off by the seemingly bland, infertile atmosphere… So yeah, this track isn’t as easily accessible as some of the others, and will take several listens to fully dissolve… I’m not quite there yet I’m afraid! #07: Penta – Always Noon “Come, we don’t have much time. We’ll make it – it’s still noon! It’s always noon here! What – what do you mean? Back home it’s already after midnight! What?” The third and final Penta track on this compilation is a murky, haunting affaire… And though Nikita claims it’s always noon, I beg to differ… This track is what you want to hear in dark, abandoned warehouses with smoke all over the place and the smell of brimstone in the air… Über-dark and somewhat repetitive, this is easily one of the darkest Penta-tracks I’ve heard in a while… Like Xenomorph on PCP…And that’s about the best description I can give. A ripe, mature track – which once again shows just how talented this guy is… Impressive track! #08: Sector 7G – X-mas …‘Tis the season to be jolly, so here’s the Becker / McDonald take on a psychedelic Christmas carol… And by golly, this is a hard-core x-mas tune! Stiff syncopated acid-stabs revolve around the bassline from hell – and the pixies and elves are dancing around tripping on shrooms… Check out the cool breakdown after which the track rebuilds itself into an even stronger party choon… This is a very interesting and very unique tune… If only it wasn’t so short… Ho ho ho! #09: Parus – Volna Final track by the twins is another odd one... But whereas the others were kinda low-key, this one is more four-to-the-floor and accessible… Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very much Parus, but with an acid-spin put on things… So yeah, we get flaring melodies here alongside the bland, industrial-like soundscapes… Sadly I’m not a big fan of those melodies... Actually I find them kinda annoying… What a shame – this track had potential! Well, let’s take the negative stuff first… I really didn’t connect to the last two Parus tracks – style wise they seem oddly out of place on this compilation, which leads me to talk about the evident flow-problems… I know that flow is maybe not as important on a compilation compared to an album, but still… I would have much preferred to have all the Parus tracks first – and then move on to more accessible stuff… Also, I can’t seem to get past those demented, high-pitched melodies in the first Penta-track… But enough with the negativity now – thankfully there are heaps of stuff to be positive about here! Yeah – this is a wicked compilation! There are a handful of really excellent tracks – and I’ll never get tired of the Bay Area experimental psytrance… I really, really like it and we get some real hits here… The cover-art was made by Penta himself, and I dig it… It stands out from the crowd and fits both the overall seismic activity theme – but also the music… Especially the Parus tracks! Fans of Penta/SF psytrance will definitely take well to this compilation – and I’m sure the Parus tracks will find its fans within tech-trance circles… To conclude, this is a solid piece of plastic… Easily worth a purchase… Enjoy! Favourites: 3, 4(!!), 5, 7(!), 8, DeathPosture External links: AuraQuake Records: http://www.auraquake.com Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/582918 Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/ajo2m Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/akdld Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/crbrw Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/acebu Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/7vtxa Juno: http://tinyurl.com/b2x2u

The AuraQuake compilation SeismicMood /DP

The soft hairn on your arms become punkies? That's the Psynews way of saying it! I'm listening to Rammstein - Rosenrot album

Yeah, the Iridium track off the The Next Millennium compilation... Good bid! Haven't listened to that track in AGES...

I received these yesterday: * Juno Reactor - God Is God (Blue Room Released 1997) http://www.discogs.com/release/39962 * Man With No Name - The First Day (Horizon) (Perfecto 1998) http://www.discogs.com/release/200466 * V/A - Seismic Mood (AuraQuake 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/582918 /DP

I concur! Made a trade with Mike, and the CD was in excellent condition... Great communication and an altogether friendly guy... I bought him a CD boxset from an online store, which promised promt delivery to Australia... But it still hasn't been delivered - which is so not cool... Mike on the other hand, is being totally cool with the situation - which is another big fat plus in my cool-book! ;o)

Good job Mars + MadeInRealTime...

Well, that's good news! Hehe... I was referring to Moni though, as it was her post I quoted...

So subsequently you hate me?

I'm not gonna reproduce the whole thing, but just direct your attention to this thread @ Isratrance... Read the whole thing - it's both funny and entertaining! I know what I think about the whole thing, but I'm not gonna pass judgement... Just thought I'd share the interesting link with you all, in case you hadn't seen it... /DP

Guy Cohen info...

* GMS - Chaos Laboratory (Hadshot Haheizar 1997) http://www.discogs.com/release/161303 * V/A - Assassi:Nations (Tip.World 2001) http://www.discogs.com/release/40369 /DP

There are as many feelings within psytrance as there are feelings "IRL"... For me it's a big, fat kaleidoscope of emotions... From icy-cold ambient to burning hot, sexy progressive beach house trance... And everything in between!

^ Great read! I bought that in the US earlier this year... Highly recommended!

Well, when I click the link I get a 137,8MB file....

* Chakra & Edi Mis - The Promised Land (Krembo 1996) http://www.discogs.com/release/44912 + some DVDs this week: * Seinfeld Season 5 boxset * Seinfeld Season 6 boxset * Blazing Saddles 30th Anniversary Special Edition /DP