DeathPosture

* V/A - Albedo (Ultimae 2005) http://www.discogs.com/release/482735 * V/A - Hocus Peakus (Peak Records 2005) retail copy http://www.discogs.com/release/478252

Astrix? I'm afraid it looks like I'm not going anyway... Although I really, really want to... But there's a number of issues at play here... And I really can't go alone - an event of this kind requires at least one 'close' friend for a number of obvious reasons... But hey guys - have LOADS of fun... Keep the psynews freak flag flying high - and make sure to take loads of pix and share it with us... ;o) /DP

I maybe, MAYBE talked my buddy into going down there next weekend... I'll find out for sure within the next few days... How do I hook up with all you guys? /DP

Ganja Beats – Paradise & Tranquillity Hi-res: front + back Artist: Ganja Beats (UK) Title: Paradise & Tranquillity Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Organic Records (UK) Cat. #: ORGCD0101 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 27 June 2005 Track listing: 01. 06’15” Mystical Experience 02. 06’04” Herbalised 03. 06’25” Space Is High 04. 05’52” The Sacred Dub Vibe 05. 06’45” Utopia 06. 06’02” Roots Of The Ganges 07. 05’16” Herb Is Good 08. 06’07” Rhythm Of Dub 09. 05’11” Internal Energy 10. 06’35” The Gift 11. 06’35” The Lost Forest 12. 05’53” Sister Bliss 13. 07’16” Deep Tranquillity (Bonus Track) .m3u-playlist: http://tinyurl.com/8te8y (all tracks) Review: Requiem for Jake. UK-based Organic Records are out with their 10th CD-release… After the Tsunami Benefit compilation and the brilliant Invasion From Hyperspace compilation, it’s time to chill out for a bit… Time for some peace and tranquillity… Ganja Beats is Jake Stephenson who sadly passed away recently at the age of 42 after suffering an epilepsy attack. Jake was a very dedicated and productive producer – among the most productive ever! He was the man behind the Kinetix Recordings label and his production aliases included Shamanic Tribes On Acid, 3rd Eye, Alien Mutation, Bass Meditation and countless others… He was also a member of the groups Optica, Optic Eye and Crystal Moon with Matt Hillier of Ishq… This album was completed short before he died… (R.I.P.) Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Mystical Experience “Rastaman dub vibration! Heavy dub sensation…” Jake Stephenson is collaborating with Jon Sharp here. And the vocals are by rastaman Micheal Neganah… This is laidback, spliffy dub… Puff, puff giiiiiiiive! It’s kinda boring though – not really my style and the samples annoy me… #02: Herbalised Things pick up here… It’s still very laidback dub, but we get some floating melodies now, to spice things up a little… Oh, and the breakdown is nice and chilled… But yeah – focus is still on da herb as the title suggests… Decent track! #03: Space Is High Right, now we’re getting somewhere… This is much more my cuppa java… We start out with floating, beatless spacy ambient… An icy-cold sensation at first, but soon the ice is melted by the warmth of the subtle dubby vibes… And gone are the annoying rasta-samples… I totally dig this… I wish it was longer.. ;o) #04: The Sacred Dub Vibe As the title suggests we’re back in dub territory now… It starts off chilled and organic – dripping water and digital birds… And soon a lazy dub vibe is introduced carrying us towards some sacred location… A very dreamy, pensive, soothing track here… Nice! #05: Utopia Let’s dig deeper… The dubby vibes are practically gone here, and we’re left with a deep, cold ambient piece with just a few beats left to keep you awake… The intro is very cool: Synth experimentation mixed with – silence! Later on we get a little more action, but we’re still in ambient territory… A very different track, but I like it! #06: Roots Of The Ganges Yeah – we’re in India now… As the title suggests! Think a stripped down, lo-fi version of East Of The River Ganges – and you’ve pretty much got it… This is ethno-dub with oddly misplaced melodies… Weird to say the least! I’m not sure what to make of this… Parts of it are really good, others are too naïve for my taste… Decent track! #07: Herb Is Good “Herb is a plant. I mean, herb is good for everything!” Jake Stephenson is joined by Jon Sharp again and we back to the reggae-rasta samples… This is hard-core dub with annoying voice-samples and an even more annoying organ-melody… An unfortunate combo to say the least… Sorry, I don’t like it at all… #08: Rhythm Of Dub We continue down the same path here, though this time with vocals by Micheal Neganah – and they are less annoying… This is still hard-core dub with rich reggae influences – with nifty little melodies to balance things out… The experimental bridge is very cool… Very well executed fusion music here… I like it! #09: Internal Energy More rastaman lyrics here – alongside a deeeeeeeeep dubby beat… We also get some synth experimentation and a few melodies… Unfortunately it doesn’t mix too well… I tend to skip this track! #10: The Gift Ahh – much better now… The dubby bass and the floating soundscapes are now accompanied by a pretty sweet rhythm section + dreamy female moaning… It may sound cheesy, but it’s not. It’s all very nicely done and this is a very likeable track… #11: The Lost Forest More floating ambient here… Some bird action in the intro… Later on we get some lazy percussion… I especially like the tribal part… Yeah, this is very forest-like… Jungle-downbeat… Sweet track – but too damn short! #12: Sister Bliss This is, hands down, the best track on this album… Beautifully crafted ambient music that will send you straight to dreamland… The soothing vocals here are by Jayne Stephenson, and I’m guessing its Jake’s sister (hence the title…)!?… High quality, floating ambient here… With a flute line nothing short of perfection… Very well done! Only gripe is that this track is too short… #13: Deep Tranquillity (Bonus Track) This last bonus track here is also floating ambient – thankfully! Virtually beatless, this is one of the deepest, most dreamy tracks here… Running water, high-pitched xylophones, soft filters and atmospheric soundscapes… Designed to put you to sleep… And it works… What a great bonus track… Zzzzzzzzzz…. Well, I’m not sure what to think of this album… I know that dub, reggae and ambient are closely related, but to be honest I really don’t like the reggae tracks here… They seem to get somewhat in the way of the much better ambient/chill-out tracks… I know that this was Jake’s style, and I hope he doesn’t turn in his grave when I write this… But to conclude, I don’t really like half of this album… But the other half is extremely nice! What a complex! So you could say that beautiful ambient tracks make up for the less good tracks here… And I’ll even admit that the reggae tracks might even serve their purpose when under the influence… But for me right now, I’ll skip ‘em… I’m sorry to see Jake leave this Earth so early – I hope he’s at a better place right now hanging out with Bob Marley & Curt Cobain… He’s made some great stuff in the past, and at least half of this album is very sweet… Obviously I’ll recommend this to fans of both ambient/chill-out and dub – and if you’re also into reggae you will not want to miss this album… I’m putting this up on my shelf next to Kukan-Dub-Lagan’s Life Is Nice released on Candyflip in 2004… If you liked that, you’ll love this… Enjoy! Favourites: 3, 4, 5, 8, 10(!), 11, 12(!!), 13(!) DeathPosture External links: Organic Records: http://www.organicrecords.net Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/bm4sr TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/bx8nz Amboworld: http://tinyurl.com/7qg92 Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/e3cq5 Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/c7cm7 Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/7btrz Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/9mgdx Wakyo: http://tinyurl.com/9p7lu Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/cwu6c Juno: http://tinyurl.com/dlqbl

I just received three CDs I had bought from Lumpi/Enzo... And everything went smooth - he made sure to keep good contact all the way through and the CD arrived in promised condition.... A pro seller and I'd shop with him again... Recommended! /DP

* Faith No More - A Small Victory (Remixed by Youth) (Slash/London 1992) CD5" http://www.discogs.com/release/49405 I love Faith No More! I'm currently trying to complete my FNM collection - and here's a link to the psy-world with Martin Glover (Youth => Member of Celtic Cross, Dub Trees, Zodiac Youth, The Kumba Mela Experiment, etc...) * Scorb - Scorb (Ambivalent Records 2003) CD http://www.discogs.com/release/198830 * Moksha - Thee Psychochemickal Experience (Live At Goa Gajah) (POF Music 1998) CD http://www.discogs.com/release/229932 * Nerve - No Foco EP (Pinwheel Records 2002) CD5" http://www.psydb.net/labels/tracks/labels_tracks_3726.html Last three bought from lumpi... Thanks brother! /DP

* Seinfeld: Season 4 DVD boxset

V/A – Aerocruz Hi-res: cover Artist: Various Title: Aerocruz Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Groove Zone Records (Japan) Cat. #: GZCD-004 Distribution: File Records Date: July 2005 Track listing: 01. 08’16” Side-A – Hybrid Rise 02. 07’35” Natural Flow – Flying Toaster 03. 08’26” Son Kite – Let Us Be (Vibrasphere Rmx) 04. 09’03” Counter Tech - Aerocruz 05. 09’00” Soul Surfer – Bonzai Beach Of Magic 06. 07’28” Visua – Stage Of Evolution 07. 06’21” Triptych – Two Ears And One Mouth 08. 06’27” Sync - Cursor 09. 08’14” S>Range feat. Z-Man - Wonderful Review: Afternoon sushi… This is the fourth release by the very productive Japanese label Groove Zone Records… I really liked the previous compilations: The smoothness of Back To The Future and the darkish night-time tool Magnetic Storm. Again Taku Yoshihaya has carefully selected these tracks which in his own words are ‘perfect for the morning and afternoon dancefloors under the sun’… So yeah, this looks like a pleasant, uplifting experience… Let’s find out! Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Side-A – Hybrid Rise [133 BPM] Side-A is Olivier Cambier from Paris, France and his track on previous Groove Zone compilation Back To The Future was pretty decent… This is very mellow, well-polished progressive trance… Melodic in nature and very uplifting… The epic female vocals really top it off and send this right into crossover land… Like a lo-fi version of Antix really… It’s all very fine and dandy, but I prefer my progressive trance to be edgier… #02: Natural Flow – Flying Toaster [140 BPM] Natural Flow is the combined forces of Swiss producers Rumble Pack & Blue Vortex. To be honest I don’t know much of their work, but I do know that Blue Vortex released the debut album Mirage on YSE in 2004… Again this is melodic progressive trance – and this time with a little more bite! Yeah I really like the retarded main melodic lead – it’s funny really – it’s usually one of those things that piss me off, but it seems very well-placed here… That lead literally makes this track… Refreshing! The tribal break-down with the synth-stabs is also very well executed… Yeah, my head is definitely bobbing along to this track… #03: Son Kite – Let Us Be (Vibrasphere Rmx) [140 BPM] Vibrasphere remixing Son Kite – that sentence alone is enough for me to cream my pants… We’re dealing with progressive royalty here – two of the very best and most talented progressive outfits Sweden has spawned… Anyway, this remix was already released on last years Colours Remixes EP – and it still rules! The vocals from Son Kite’s original track are still here, and so are the melodies – though they’ve been cleaned up a little… Vibrasphere has rebuilt this track into a rich, groovy progressive gem of Balearic descent… Omnipotent crossover material… Very nice track! #04: Counter Tech – Aerocruz [140 BPM] Counter Tech is the alias of Japanese producer Daisuke Inoue and this is his debut release… We’re on the less-melodic, more experimental side of progressive trance… To be honest I wasn’t too impressed with the first part of the track here… Weird cuts and off-beats – sounds a little too experimental for me… Also, the melody line doesn’t sound very original… Things pick up after the breakdown though… It even gets interesting for the last couple of minutes – too bad it’s not all like that… #05: Soul Surfer – Bonzai Beach Of Magic [140 BPM] Anders Nilssen from Sweden is the personification of Yellow Sunshine Explosion Recordings… He has released three albums on this label under his monikers: Soul Surfer, Andromeda and Chromosome – and to be honest none of them has impressed me too much… It’s all fine and well-polished, but that’s it… Not enough edge for me! But on this type of compilation it fits in perfectly… Epic, floating, well-polished progressive trance – with enough uplifting melodies to be played @ Ministry Of Sound… The breakdown is the attraction here – I like how tension is build through both digital and organic FX… Pretty sweet… Also the melodic lead in the last three minutes rules! It helps lift this track from the bottomless pit of cheese despair… Nice one! #06: Visua – Stage Of Evolution [140 BPM] “We are now seeing the beginnings of another stage of human evolution…” Mexican producer Rodrigo Roggi Montiel is all over the place now… He debuted on the Soulseeker 3 compilation released by Midijum earlier this year and has a track on the new Cosmic Conspiracy compilation Contact Lens… And now here! Ahh yes – this is more like it… Though still epic and uplifting, this track is much more down my alley… A very impressive rhythm section, reverb-FX and a tribal-slash-industrial-slash-electro approach toward progressive trance – with a splash of melodies thrown in just to please the ladies… Sweet! A very, very fine track here! #07: Triptych – Two Ears And One Mouth [142 BPM] “Activate dance mode countdown. Five… Four…Three… Two… One! … We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak!” Charles Michaud from France is one of the veterans on this compilation… He’s released two albums, two EPs and a number of compilation tracks and remixes… This is one of the fastest tracks here – and also one of the most experimental… We get a funky hybrid of EDM/electro/progressive trance here… As always Michaud is quite the risk taker, but he pulls it off here… I dunno about the dancefloor potential, but it’s definitely a very original track… #08: Sync – Cursor [142 BPM] Sync is Hasse Klitta – one half German outfit Vaishiyas… We’re in the deeper end of uplifting progressive morning trance now… There melodies are still here, but this is less cheesy than some of the previous tracks… I like how this track has sort of a raw edge – without venturing too far away from the melodic, progressive trance theme framework of this CD… A pretty nice track – but way too short! #09: S>Range feat. Z-Man – Wonderful [134 BPM] “It’s necessary for us now to go beyond…!” Sweden representz! S>Range is Anthony Sillfors who has released two albums and a number of EPs and compilation tracks… His third album Another Theory is in the pipes… Z-Man is Jonas Bergvall (one half of Logic Bomb and is closely associated with Hux Flux)… These guys go hand in hand… On the Liquid Records compilation Build Your Own Reactor they hard two very similar tracks – and now they working together… As the BPM count indicates, this is a very subtle, laidback morning tune… Very smooth and very groovy – and a great way to end this compilation… Nice one! I actually have a hard time grading this compilation… I mean, it’s all high-quality progressive trance with melodies en mas – but somehow parts of this seems a little too dull for my taste… Whereas Magnetic Storm focussed on the darker side of progressive trance, this focuses on the lighter sides… And as I’ve mentioned several times, I prefer to take my progressive trance a little edgier than this… However there are also some very fine tracks here… I just wish all of them were fine… It’s hard for me to explain. Luckily we get a bunch of stand-out tracks… And they rock in their own way! I like the previous Groove Zone compilations over this one though, and I don’t consider this an essential release… The cross-over potential however is huge here – and as such this compilation already has a higher fan-base than anything released within the psychedelic trance scene… So yeah – fans of epic, uplifting progressive trance sprinkled with melodies will dig this… Enjoy! Favourites: 2, 3(!), 5, 6(!!), 8, 9 DeathPosture External links: Groove Zone Records: http://www.groove-zone.com Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/b93qb Tower JP: http://tinyurl.com/cg7px Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/85wno

Albums too... But compilations can be equally good...

According to the official statement, it could take as long as until the end of July....

They all rule in their own way... But force me with a gun, and I'll pick Dragon Tales - and that's what I voted... I saw them live in 1997 here in my hometown... It was nothing short of perfection!

V/A – Build Your Own Reactor Artist: Various Title: Build Your Own Reactor Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Liquid Records (UK) Cat. #: LRCD001TNCD Distribution: Arabesque Date: 18 July 2005 Track listing: 01. 8’07” Scorb vs. ODT – Green Eggs And Ham 02. 9’07” Tron – Spirit’d Away (Diesel Campaign Mix) 03. 7’40” Morphogenetic – Everything Is 04. 8’55” Voice Of Cod – Heart Of Gold 05. 7’36” Bio-Tonic – Shamanic Mathematic 06. 9’00” Z Man – Banana Gigalo 07. 6’58” S>Range – Welcome To Paradise 08. 8’07” Ecliptic – Not Human 09. 9’10” Fromem Ory - Chameleon Review: Reactor Building 303! Liquid Records is a new psychedelic trance label based in London … This is compiled by Liquid Ross who’s been organizing the Liquid Connective parties for years – and this CD is the celebration of five successful years of UK parties… The tracklist is a mix of new and well-established artists and after a couple of delays this compilation is finally ready to hit the stores… Let’s dig a little deeper into the world of Liquid…. Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Scorb vs. ODT – Green Eggs And Ham [140 BPM] Scorb (Yod Onsen) released his highly acclaimed debut album Scorb on Ambivalent Records in 2003 and has since then been featured on a number of compilations… ODT is biscuit-head Jamez_23 & his mate Iain – debuting on this collaboration track… And what a track! This is an absolute corker – stomping, uplifting, psychedelic trance – crusing at a comfortable 140 beats per minute – with conveniently placed breaks and floating build-ups… Very groovy! One of the best tracks here! #02: Tron – Spirit’d Away (Diesel Campaign Mix) [142 BPM] “Where is everybody?” Patricio Tron is a new producer from Mexico that has had tracks on AP Records, Magma and Maia Records… The original of this track is out on AP Records’ next compilation… Anyway, this is also very well-produced neo-full on – without too much cheddar… I especially like the heavily filtered/vocoded voice-samples here – somehow it goes down very well with the madness here… The bassline can be a little blunt at times – and about halfway thru, the cheddar-alarm goes off… But besides from that this is a pretty sweet tune – very uplifting, and very dancefloor friendly! #03: Morphogenetic – Everything Is [145 BPM] “Everything in this universe is the smell of burned arms!” Arms… WTF? This is the full-on outfit of chill-master Slack Baba… We’re steering away from the obvious full-on pitfalls now – digging deeper into the underground on this incredibly funky number… Yeah – this is forest music… Night music without the pretentious evilness… The filtering here is very impressive – and the output is 100% pure psychedelia… I mean – just listen to the climax – nothing short of perfection! A brilliant, twisted track! #04: Voice Of Cod – Heart Of Gold [144 BPM] “Konichowa!” Andrew Humphries & Colin Bennun have always impressed me with their collected talent mass and kick-ass tunes… Their track on the Organic Records compilation Invasion From Hyperspace really impressed me and I’m looking forward to the upcoming debut album… On the surface this is a melodic morning trance – but there are enough spacey synths and twirling acid-lines to satisfy the night crawlers too… A damn tasty choon! #05: Bio-Tonic – Shamanic Mathematic [145 BPM] Bio-Tonic are Julien Lecoq, Jerome Lecoq & Julien Brizard – all from France…This dynamic trio from Paris has released three albums and countless compilation tracks – and now they’re doing shamanic mathematics… Whatever that might be!? Again we’re somewhere between lighter night-trance and harder morning trance… This track is riddled with electronic guitar riffs – not quite Skazi but its borderline stuff really… Generally I like it – but it’s like it gets a little bit out of hand for brief period of time… Not the best Bio-Tonic track I’ve heard… The climaxes are cool though – and all in all this is a pretty decent track… #06: Z Man – Banana Gigalo [142 BPM] “Push the tempo!” Swedish producer Jonaz Bergvall is one half of Logic Bomb and is closely associated with Hux Flux – two names that speak for themselves… Its morning now, and the style here is similar to the melodic side of 12 Moons: Uplifting, epic morning trance – soaked in synths… Very sexy and very beach-friendly… Definitely cross-over material here… It’s good, but it’s a little too well-polished for my taste… And what’s with the sample? #07: S>Range – Welcome To Paradise [142 BPM] “Turn up the rhythm!... Rrrrrasta!” Right – try looking beyond the 1993 euro-dance reggae sample, and listen to this… Another Swedish heavyweight here: Anthony Sillfors has released two albums and a number of EPs and compilation tracks… His third album Another Theory is in the pipes and I guess this is what we can expect from him… We’re still in cross-over country here. This is a fast-paced, melodic tune… With enough twists and turns to keep my head bouncing…Good, but lacks that little extra touch to be very good… #08: Ecliptic – Not Human [142 BPM] “Reflecting no light!” This Mexican duo consists of Raul Mejia & Juan Carlos Navarro who are AP Records stars with an upcoming debut album... This is a very focussed, driving tune… A hybrid between edgy full-on and futuristic morning trance… I really like how this track is constructed – constantly building, never loosing that all-important dancefloor appeal… This is the Zombie Nation of psytrance! Sweet! #09: Fromem Ory – Chameleon [145 BPM] Canadian born and UK based producer Alex Story is a rising new star on the scene… This is fast-paced, hard-hitting full-on – on the verge of hypertrance…Highly energetic and very melodic… And it doubles as a great tune both for sofa-trancing and for the trancefloor… A nice debut for sure, and I can’t think of a better way to end this compilation… In the wake of the many UK labels closing down, it’s comforting to know that things are still in motion on the other side of the pond from where I’m sitting… This is a brilliant debut for Liquid Records and I like the broad, diverse taste of Liquid Ross who compiled this baby. We really get all sorts here – from uplifting morning trance, to deep trippy forest trance… And everything in between! Besides a few not-so-great tracks, I like the majority of the stuff here – and I’m dead certain many of these tracks will be played a lot on all the summer festivals… The artwork by Rich Purple Project is pretty cool and futuristic – and has both BPM listings + lists the musical key of each track… Very DJ friendly! Well done Liquid Records. The schedule for upcoming releases looks very promising and I’m looking forward to getting liquefied again soon… Recommended to all fans of UK trance as well as fans of intelligent, cross-over dance music… Enjoy! Favourites: 1(!), 3(!!), 4, 8, 9 DeathPosture External links: Liquid Records: http://www.liquid-records.com (under construction) Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/8y6bz Beatspace: http://tinyurl.com/9bvm3 Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/eyvvv Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/db8ko

I'm talking about pure MDMA of course... I know that E pills often contain MDMA, but that's really a gamble... Know your dopefiend! I forget to mention music which is also one of my fav'e highs...

I like most kinds of highs... Love: Nothing beats being in love - and having the feeling returned... Alcohol: Obviously this is one of the best highs - the slight buzz you get in the back of your head, that increases your wit, your outlook and your social gene... Classic! Weed: Cracking up, relaxing all your muscles, your friends are the funniest people on the face of the planet Mushrooms: Hallucinations - funny shit! Coke: I'm on fucking fire! Speed: The way I feel right now, I don't expect to go to sleep for a year! Great high - very talkative and op top of everything. The comedown sucks major donkey balls though... E: One of my fav'e highs. Depends on the merchandise obviously, but I've had some of my best experiences ever on E... Ranging from colorful hallucionations to out-of-body experiences + all kinds of other effects I haven't done Salvia, LSD, MDMA, Meskaline and peyote enough times to gather a general consensus... But acid was dooooooooooope - can't wait to try it again... /DeathPosture

Reserve these for me: Nerve – No foco (Pinwheel rec) (Sideproject of MOS) Scorb – Scorb (Ambivalent rec) Moksha – Thee psychochemical experience / Live at Goa Gajah (POF) PM sent!

Woooooohooooooooow! This is good news - the tracklist looks very, very promising... Let the freak flag fly! /DP

V/A – Hocus Peakus Artist: Various Title: Hocus Peakus Format: CD (jewel case) Label: Peak Records (Austria) Cat. #: PR005 Distribution: Arabesque Date: 4 July 2004 Track listing: 01. 02’44” The Peaking Goddess Collective feat. Alex Grey – The Human Experiment 02. 07’28” Yab-Yum - Immortal 03. 07’35” Electrypnose - Opto 04. 08’24” Naked Tourist – 3 Lines In A Row 05. 08’02” Sector D – Fucking Chorus 06. 08’00” Atriohm – Pagan Anaesthetic 07. 06’24” Seroxat - Victory 08. 07’26” Blisargon Demogorgon - Undead 09. 07’04” Mystic Instinct – Peak Dreams 10. 07’05” Yab-Yum vs. Drumatik – Tripmatik 11. 06’01” Dymons feat. Cintia & Flooting Grooves – Cosmic Waves Review: Peaking Pantastic! Peak Records from Switzerland has fast become one of my favourite labels - especially the Peaking In Tongues compilation was very good and one of the best released in 2004… This is their fifth release and looking at the tracklist reveals some familiar names + a couple of newbies… DJ Gaspard compiled it and I trust his judgement blindly… I can’t wait to pop this on… Let’s go! Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: The Peaking Goddess Collective feat. Alex Grey – The Human Experiment [70 BPM] “God said; the human experiment is a success! There indeed have been many beings who’ve come to know the source of creation and the cosmos. And who’ve become God-conscious. That was the purpose of putting this cosmos into evolutionary dominance. To enable the beings inhabiting this vast tapestry of existence. The opportunity to more fully know themselves… And ultimately to know their true identity as god... As the one... As spirited self! I’m pleased humanity is a success! Even with the suffering… That’s what it took!” As tradition has it, Peak releases start out with a trippy, hippy ambient piece… As on the Chilling Goddess compilation the collective is here joined by legendary visionary artist Alex Grey. .. Spiritual stuff indeed – very old school somehow… A fine way to start this compilation… #02: Yab-Yum – Immortal [146 BPM] “Do you remember anything of your life before you were on the planet? …No!” Peak Records Swiss label-bosses Gaspard & Ajja S.F.Leu kick things into dance-mode… These guys have yet to let me down and they easily steal the show on all compilations they are featured on… Last on was the Alien FM compilation released by Dropout Production earlier this year… This track is no exception – this is excellent trancefloor fodder… Digital tribal drums, stereo FX, organic pads, nifty melodies and the phattest bassline this side of the Alps… The break is also particularly well executed – retaining tension and building suspension… Aaargh – so well done! A very, very trippy and ultra-funky hypertrance tracks… Come on guys – release an album already! This rocks! #03: Electrypnose – Opto [147 BPM] “Alright, we went to hell and back again in this thing, so I wanna know now, where’s the door out of here?” As with the previous Peak releases this compilation is slightly mixed, so we drift seamless into the next track here… Vince Le Barde from Switzerland released his debut album Brain Stretching on ResonantEarth.com earlier in 2005 – and the Swiss wizard has also impressed me with his frequent compilation tracks – and sure enough this rocks too… Vince brings forth his very unique, trippy underground sound… Big fat, twirling acid-lines steal the show – along with tons and tons of funny samples and bits and pieces... All within a night-time trance framework… Style wise, this track could have easily been on one of the first Parvati Records compilations… Trippy, oddball night-time trance… Nice! #04: Naked Tourist – 3 Lines In A Row [146 BPM] Naked Tourist is Z-Neo and Iguana from Germany really, really impressed me with their track on Psychedelically Yours 3 released earlier this year on Parvati Records… As always with these guys the drug-link is evident – and yeah, why not just be honest about it… This does go down very well with three lines in a row – the haunting atmosphere here + the constant evolution and building towards a climax… That shit gets your synapses going – and I’m all about firing up those little bastards… Overall this is a darkish, haunting, spooky track… I like how this never really goes full-blown – but somehow it’s still super-funky and danceable like hell… Designed to mess with your brain! Sweet! #05: Sector D – Fucking Chorus [146 BPM] Sector D are J. Molinari & Luis M.C. Lopes from Portugal – N3XU5 & Darkpsy in cahoots! The first minute sounds anonymous to me, but later on the track picks up… Emphasis is definitely on the many acid-lines here… This is absolutely soaked in acid – and I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but it’s maybe even too much acid… Nah – it’s still pretty good! The cartoon-samples are also pretty cool – and will light an even bigger smile on all the dancers’ faces… This is a pretty solid track – not as good as the rest here, but still pretty good! #06: Atriohm – Pagan Anaesthetic [146 BPM] Atriohm are n00bs to the psytrance circuits… The duo consists of L. Golcev & A. Golcev from the Republic of Macedonia… This is another full-blown stomping party track – drenched in acid-lines and twirling melodies… With a deep, eerie atmosphere running in the background – the spooky singing really tops it off… This is haunting stuff for sure… What a debut! Sweet! #07: Seroxat – Victory [146 BPM] Offer Maoz released his debut album Brutal Beats on Crystal Matrix Records in 2004 and has had plenty of compilation tracks on such labels as Discovally, Deja Vu, Stoneage, Apocalypse, Timecode Records and Inpsyde Media… By looking at that list of labels you can pretty much tell what style this music is in – and yeah, you guessed it – this is fast-paced, darkish night-trance… Mr. Maoz shows us a track with an impressive amount of energy… Loads of trippy FX, build-ups, changes in pace and direction… Yes, this has immediate dancefloor potential and also does pretty damn well in my living room... Bounce motherfuckers! Stellar track! #08: Blisargon Demogorgon – Undead [146 BPM] Macedonian producer Valentino Trencev impressed me with his deep, dark, spooky, acid-driven hypertrance track on the Ketuh ALittle Lunacy compilation released earlier this year… This is very spooky too – the title is a dead give away (pun intended)… A very haunting intro here – brutally interrupted by a mean-ass bassline… Spookiness throughout the track is maintained by some eerie, atmospheric pads in the background… In the foreground we have twisting acid-lines, rapid percussion and all kinds of synth-action… Sadly there are a couple of minutes halfway thru when the track seems to lack a little energy and drive… But it really, really picks up for the last two minutes… Booo-fucking-hoo! Nice track! #09: Mystic Instinct – Peak Dreams [147 BPM] Mystic Instinct is Marco Daravelski - head of Glowing Flame and Xilium Records… I really like the floating intro here… The stereo-FX sounds very trippy in headphones… The rhythm section here is also pretty damn impressive – very trippy and almost hypnotizing… The stiff kicks are pretty original and overall the focus drive is impressive in this track … Works as home listening but definitely also on the dancefloor… Nice track! #10: Yab-Yum vs. Drumatik – Tripmatik [144 BPM] “Nobody makes me breathe my own blood… Nobody!” Peak regulars battle Peak regulars here… Combine the talents of Drumatik, Ajja S.F. Leu & DJ Gaspard – and you’ve got enough manpower to wipe out a couple of garrisons of imperial droids… This is ultra-trippy stuff – constantly evolving, changing and taking you in different directions without ever loosing the ever important trip-focus… This is what psytrance is all about – and this is a fucking excellent track! Nuff said! #11: Dymons feat. Cintia & Flooting Grooves – Cosmic Waves [72 BPM] As usual we end things with a collective, downbeat effort… And after all those dancefloor stompers it’s nice to rest your ears and legs… This is icy-cold ambient – virtually beatless in the first half with emphasis on organic, rich floating soundscapes… Nice way to finish things off for sure… This is one of the best compilations I’ve heard in a long time! I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but DAMN Peak Records knows their shit… If Peaking In Tongues and Chilling Goddess didn’t convince you, I’m sure this will… This is high quality dance music – conveniently placed in between a couple of downbeat tunes to ensure you a musical journey with a close to perfect flow… The quality level here is jaw dropping good… Seriously, there isn’t a single bad track here… Obviously some are better then others, but there are several very, very good tracks… The flow is very good and this will be both a handy DJ tool and valuable asset to any trance collection... The cover art is perhaps less colourful than some of the previous releases, but it’s still very trippy in all its simplicity… I will not hesitate to give this compilation my highest recommendations… It’s essential! Now go buy it… Enjoy! Favourites: 2(!!), 3, 4, 6, 7(!), 8, 10(!) DeathPosture External links: Peak Records: http://www.peaking-goddess.com Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/dqaqy TranceShop: http://tinyurl.com/9j925 Discobole: http://tinyurl.com/btskk Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/8apwy PsySale: http://tinyurl.com/c4kcs Ajuca: http://tinyurl.com/7e5yh Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/8y7xs

Review coming up shortly... R.I.P. Jake! /DP

I fucking HATE hackers... l33t bastards!

* V/A - Set:5 Summer Collection (Iboga Records 2005)

It wasn't a contest... It was just a page where you could vote for your fav'es... It was up for at least a year and received MANY votes...

That's not entirely true... There was a long voting-process on goatrance.free.fr to find everyone's fav'e tracks, albums and compilation... So the highlighted albums are not just Mars' + Children's personal taste... They are the result of a voting process a couple of years back... /DP

Peak Records' lastest compilation: Hocus Peakus

Don't forget about the live-album which is still rocking... ;o) Well, there was the Alienated CD released back in 2001... After that I don't really know what happened... Well, Michael Fernault Byzught is still active... Now under the Parvati Records wing: http://www.parvati-records.com/byzught.html Dunno what the rest of the guys are up to...? /DP

AWESOME track for sure - and the link posted contains the scary bit... 2.30 minute version here: http://ip23.dyn181.pacific.net.hk/7766.m3u Though this doens't really include the "scary" paranoia-part... /DP