ion1zed

Just curious...which one did you choose?

I'm a big fan of Technodrome. Nice mix, thanks.

Ajja - Romance in Ab (Album: Psychogenica, Year: 2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DuT6yeln4Y Man, it's just so supergroovy.

For sure the tastiest cheese I ever ate. Jarre's sense for melodies on Oxygene is second to none and from what I could hear in this bad quality video, the remix sounded awesome, especially 2:50 - 5:20. I can't wait to listen to this on CD. Go, AP! Day f****** one buy.

Most of the times XLD gets the recommendation from Mac users. http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html Other than that, you could use Bootcamp or VMware and continue using EAC in a Windows environment on your Mac.

As far as I am concerned, I enjoyed video game music long before even consciously listening to music, well, as a kind of hobby. Back then, when we used to write in personality books, e.g. "Thinks I like" or "hobbies", I always wondered how the other children could possibly think of "listening to music" as some kind of hobby. I played games. Only afterwards I realised, that a huge part of the gaming experience was related to music. I didn't listen to bands, but enjoyed video game music, which was my first contact with electronic music, too. While I started with a Sinclair ZX81, the C64's SID really changed everything. Even today I listen to some of my old favorites from time to time, e.g. Matt Grey - Last Ninja 2: The Mansion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMJjqVB9JCM The whole Last Ninja series' soundtracks are awesome! There were so many great soundtracks and composers back then, the likes of Rob Hubbard, Chris Hülsbeck, Ben Daglish, Matt Grey, Jeroen Tel...far too many to mention. There is still an active SID community nowadays, producing new tracks or remixes of beloved ones. Since those C64 times, video game soundtracks have been an important part of my musical education and some of them have become so memorable, that a "soundtrack to my life"-list could never be written without them. Without any particular - except the first one - order, I'd like to make some recommendations: 1. Any Final Fantasy soundtrack composed by Nobuo Uematsu, but especially the Final Fantasy 6 OST. It's a masterpiece and one of a kind. I seriously think that this is the best music ever composed for a video game...and not just limited to that. I remember playing it like it was yesterday. Having seen (heard) it being played on stage by an orchestra, man that was awesome. It's not just the Opera Scene, it's also Celes' Theme, Terra's Theme, Zozo, every single track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NC45S948ss Other favorites are: Last Ninja series (C64), Thunderforce IV (Mega Drive), M.U.S.H.A. Aleste (Mega Drive)(TFIV and Aleste have the most badass soundtrack of all shmups out there!), Ys Book I&II (PC-Engine), Chrono Trigger (SNES), Shadow Of The Beast (Amiga), Silent Hill series (Playstation 1 and 2, Akira Yamaoka!), Gate Of Thunder & Lords Of Thunder (PC-Engine), Super Shinobi (Mega Drive), Tempest X3 (Playstation), Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PS2, killer soundtrack by Iranian singer Azam Ali)...I could continue this list for hours, not to mention the demoscene, cracktros and so on... Now, three special recommendations for the psychedelic / electronica community: 1. Tempest X3 (Playstation) It's the most psychedelic game I've ever played, has a killer electronic soundtrack of its own (Check out the video!), but you could also choose to play your own CDs with it. Play it with some psy and it will suck you in like a maelstrom. Nothing beats the stress you have when playing a level of over 100, desperately trying to get some power-ups, finally getting an AI Droid, the robotic voice announcing AI DROID, kicking the ass of those damn electrifying enemies, hearing the voice announcing "excellent", zapping all the enemies with your "smartbomb" while "EAT ELECTRIC DEATH" is written allover the screen, clearing the level as your ship accelerates to the next level and the female computer voice saying "YES! YES! YES!". It's that awesome and I'd love to see a HD remake of that one on the PS3 or XBOX360. hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2xqUDITL0 2. REZ (Dreamcast) Lots of things have been written about this game and usually, when there's a discussion held about whether games are ART, you can be sure that lots of people will shout "REZ! REZ!". I don't participate in that discussion, as it is pointless. While the game itself is "only" an on-rails-shooter, it was so far ahead of its time in terms of art design and music, that even today it cannot be overrated. Tetsuya Mizuguchi's masterpiece made the player influence the game's music by reacting to his playing style and timing in shooting down enemies. One could probably print out every single frame of this game, make a poster out of it, and display it publicly. hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6xet49XbJs 3. Child Of Eden (XBox360) It's the new game by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, creator of REZ. He presented it at this year's E3 and it will make use of the new Kinect motion controller for the XBox360. Check out Mizuguchi playing it live on stage, only by using his body's movements to play it. hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY1r9DXZCZU Unbelievable. So yes, video games and their music had and still have an important influence. I won't go as far as to say that only people who play games can appreciate electronic music, though.

OMG it sounds awesome! *hype levels reach new heights*

Me neither

Good to see some love for Error Corrective. Recommendations: well, everything else on Wildthings Records? Archaic, E.V.P, RealityGrid. Apart from them, I highly recommend Ajja, you should love his "Psychogenica" album. Other artists in the same vein are Shotu, Rev, Samadhi, Fungus Funk (Samadhi & Fungus Funk, "Vostok"), Neutral Motion, Entropy, Module, Trold, Ianuaria, Penta's 2007 releases (both).

Going all the way back to 1996: Ushuaia - Ushuaia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DuaSMe_fZo

Yes, Goapocalipsis is a stellar release. I'd like to make a full-on recommendation, as good full-on is a rare thing to come by these days. Be sure to check out Raz's new album, "Recorded Dreams", which can be listened to in full duration at his bandcamp site. http://razkfir.bandcamp.com/album/recorded-dreams It's a free download in high-quality mp3s or FLAC, but I think a donation won't be a bad thing. I might add that you shouldn't start with the first track, as it is the weakest off that album. The other tracks are very good, with fresh sounds and surprises. Sometimes they remind me of SA producer Tickets, at least the songs share the same mood imo, somehow/sometimes melancholic, very melodic, different. Really good. Ah, one thing. THE full-on track, the one that I always recommend from the past years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u23YFu8VWXc I mentioned South African producer Tickets before, so I'll recommend one of his tracks, which is pretty unique imo, due to the 8-bit sound influences. The track is called "Tinnitus", but nearly every track on the album "Timelapse" (2006) is very good. Check it out.

After listening to the whole CD, I can confirm that

Really awesome stuff. I just recently discovered this masterpiece and I am still in awe, despite the rather bad sound quality. Give me this one together with the second album and it's a clear day f****** one.

Mindsphere - Painful Stories http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbDCTYp_5SQ I still have no clue how this album went unnoticed by me...it's such an awesome release and I pray that there will be newly mastered release someday, maybe the dual CD with Mindsphere's second album. I really wonder if he can improve on "Inner Cyclone", as that one really was a masterpiece. Man, I won't even start to imagine that beast with crystal clear sound...

Microsoft won't approve

Yes, a lot of it plays in my CD player

Very good review and I agree with everything you said. Absolute favorite is Merr0w's outstanding track. It's Merr0w's "Eyeless Observatory". Awesome, awesome. Another brilliant release. A-

Wondered why the delivery took so long, but the mailman made a mistake. Anyway, I seriously can't believe how good Merr0ws "Citrus Circus" is.

The only good track from that compilation, but I really like it. Psychotic Micro - Take Over http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CLFhcHRNrU

Some of the samples are pretty badass! "Dreamcatcher", "Xunami" and "Singular Nagar" sound absolutely awesome.

Woah, I listened to the samples and they all sounded pretty badass! Merrow's track is especially mindblowing...talk about an acid thunderstorm! Order placed

Of all the possible superlative threads, that's the only easy one to answer Astral Projection - Kabalah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROI1W3Lgqbs Imo, it's the very definition of a classic tune and probably the one I've listened to most out of any Psy/Goa. Maybe it's even the most psychedelic song of them all. The part starting at 6:00, when I first thought that the song was over, and then kicks off again...it's just out of this world. Runner-up: Electric Universe - One Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stkD-Pk94no

APs Oxygene remix version was easily the best on that album. It clearly showed that they haven't lost their talent and unique sense for awesome effects, melodies and layers.

Yes, and people who are looking for that kind of entertainment, will enjoy it to the fullest, although "The Lost Symbol" fell behind other works, including "Meteor".

Well put, Lemmiwinks. It's almost impossible to overrate this fantastic album. Btw., you mentioned the downtempo tracks...they already have a downtempo project, a pretty good one, that is. It's called Zymosis and you should definitely check it out. http://www.myspace.com/zymosispsy