Trance2MoveU

Artist: Various Title: Trance Experience - The Second Coming Label: Discobole Records Date: 1997 1 Sheyba -Trance Africa Express (9:07) 2 Millenium - Skywalk (9:03) 3 Elysium - Trancelestial Psychobabas (9:11) 4 Psychonauts - Cosmonaut (6:34) 5 Orion - Liquid (8:36) 6 State Of Trance - Alien Prophecy (8:18) 7 Dimension 5 - Purple Om (8:01) 8 Growling Mad Scientists - Commental (10:00) Much better than the first one! Which is crazy cause sequels usually get people fired. Exhibit A...Caddyshack 2. Not here though with strong efforts up and down the track list. Someone mentioned a tribal slant and I fully agree with that statement. Also the tracks aren't stagnant or locked into a pre-determined spiral. Lots of evolution to keep things freshy fresh. Sure GMS had too much guitar cheese for me, but tracks like Liquid, Cosmonaut, and Alien Prophesy really put their psychedelic imprint on things. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Transient Six - Theory of Evolution Label: Transient Date: 1998 01. 07'49" Psychaos : Chaos To Order 02. 07'12" Lumen : Flooob 03. 09'12" Tim Schuldt : Mummy Machine 04. 06'35" Process And Slide : Creepy Crawly 05. 07'22" Spies : Ceremoniak 06. 07'04" Radiation : Barbequed Mind 07. 06'51" Tristan And Manmademan : Julz 08. 09'09" EON : Megabyte 09. 07'42" Coma : Eight Hole What really happened to Steve Jobs. "At this moment...you should be with us. Feeling like we do." Sinister, futuristic goa trance that has its feet planted in the ground with deep, dark techno roots. This is growing up with androids as part of your everyday life and then one day they decide to turn on you. A discernible shift away from melodic goa can be heard, but fear not...it's not totally abandoned. There are distorted leads and a heavy science fiction presence with tracks that you don't hear very often. Hell I've never heard of most of these tracks. Details solidify the atmosphere and make this true psychedelic goa. Couple this with the Kiss The Future compilation and you've got quite the potent punch. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: 71 Degrees North Label: DVSM Records Date: May, 2014 1. Phobium - Calyx 2. Bloomen - Echodroplets 3. Time For Slime - Apparater 4. Zoon - Dreamer 5. Scope - ElecTroll 6. Silent Horror - Itami 7. Terratech - Crystal Cascade 8. Paranoiac - Peace From Other Space (Part II) 9. Sundance Kid - Tesla 10. Yggdrasil - Ratatosk 11. Phobium - Bulb "Today we talked about turning your daydreams into reality. Tonight I want each one of you to go home and do just that!" c'mon, c'mon, c'mon.... 71 degrees north? The parallel? Like the Arctic and sh*t? Sounds desolate. I can already hear the f bombs an alien would drop if that's where he crash landed. "Mother...f*cker! Why the f*ck did you drop us here? There's nothing! Zero! F*cking nobody! I swear if you weren't my sister's kid I would've vaporized you!" If aliens were so advanced they'd stop landing in the middle of nowhere and start prepping for splashdown in Bermuda. Let's see what countries inhabit that area...Norway, Canada, USA (Alaska of course why wouldn't is be?) Greenland (ain't no green there) and Russia. What could these countries possibly have in common? That's once you get into the parking garage. I mean really? This is a place where hard on's go to die and shrinkage is a perpetual state. A place that is denied the sun for 3 months straight, cut off from the outside world due to storms like arctic hurricanes. I mean what the f*ck those two words aren't even supposed to go together! But just when you'd think that all is lost and the vampires would rule the eternal darkness, the sun comes back and the people celebrate with hot chocolate. DVSM is back with their latest compilation and what a varied effort it is. You've got everything in here. Darkpsy, forest, ambient...and the artwork is a perfect partner to the music inside. Calyx- Cold and vast the tundra sprawls before me. I force myself to move a little faster as the sun slowly attempts to reach the horizon. Superbly descriptive opener. As I begin to hunker down for the night I notice a penguin remains close. Echodroplets- This track sounds like the artists name. Cool slow downs and synths that are in kind of goa motion. Apparater- Time for slime? Don't mind if I do. Over 13 minutes of delicious forest psychedelia. Not in a dark way either. Outstandingly done with sounds that tumble over each other as if they where water molecules in slow motion. Dreamer- Very BOTFB hallucinogenic goa trance. Scando-goa if you will. And that's all right by me. Pretty intense and dripping like a Salvador Dali painting. Dali-goa I guess. Electroll- This is what happens when you don't make it back to base camp before sundown. Stuck in a thick forest with only the northern lights for illumination. Every sound makes me jump as the sound of tortured souls break the silence. Well layered bubbly stuff of horror movies. I can't find my penguin friend at all. Itami- I just need a window in, something to make the darkpsy more accessible and the lush detail here provides it. Echoing tones and eerie melodies make this my absolute favorite track from Mr. Shah. It's otherworldly and bursting at the seams with effects. Crystal Cascade- Another rapid and pummeling darkpsy track where tones sound like tumbling crystals as the bass rumbles and hammers away at your sanity. This is darkness incarnate. The wind is still blowing and you begin to question your decision to outlast the arctic hurricane. Those two words together are still frightening. Peace From Other Space (Part II)- After the last track has flayed the sinew from your body the aliens with a poor sense of direction arrive and well, I guess it's time for the probing. This is not as mind numbing with a little more melody work. Harsh sounds of machinery screech above the deep bass and yeah that big pointy thing is about to enter your business end. But it's definitely on the lighter side. Tesla- We are in the much softer portion of the album with glacial pads. I survived the hurricane and looking forward to the hot chocolate. Light and airy, but ultimately not that interesting to me. Tatatosk- Dubby beats to let you drift away. Staring at the horizon sipping my hot chocolate I can't help but wonder if my penguin friend made it out ok. Bulb- A wary closing bit of ambient reminding you to not underestimate nature's power and the 71st parallel. I'm not a darkpsy guy, but I appreciate the talent and skill it takes to put the mass of sounds and detail together into a cohesive structure. And this was some of the most enjoyable dark stuff I've listened to. The Phobium tracks are also some of his best work for me; as lush and moving as I've heard from him. The flow of the album really stands out and it's very fluid. Even though I may not have liked every track,without being partially mixed this was smooth. As I mentioned you get a little bit of everything and it's the closest you can come to being in this fascinating ecosystem without strapping on the cold weather gear and snowshoes. Well done guys, it's not perfect, but I believe this to be your best release yet. Hey what's that? *sees penguin with one wing tucked into Kate Upton's bikini bottom* You sonofa... DVSM Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Alienn Title: Follow Your Bliss Label: Mechanik Records Date: January, 2014 1. Follow Your Bliss 2. Everything Is Energy What he said. I'm talking to you mister! This is so far beneath you. Did you get tired of seeing your friends party with all the hot chicks that commercial brainless music provides? Did you make a deal with the devil? Madonna did that and it ain't workin' out so well for her. "Like a virgin..." Is this what you want? Tiresome buildups and all those f*cking stops and starts? What's that? Oh, all your friends are doing it. If your friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge does that mean you'd do it too? This is subpar pablum and hopefully just a phase you're going through. Prom Queen? Prom Queen of the damned maybe. Are you on drugs? Look at me when I'm talking to you! Are you doing the crack! Or the tweeds? No? WELL GET THE F*CK BACK ON THEM SO YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING CREATIVE! I sincerely hope we don't have to have this conversation again. No get up to your room and make something productive. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Carbon Title: Dream EP Label: UAF Date: February, 2014 01 - Shangri-La (142 BPM) 02 - Bergamot (143 BPM) 03 - Jupiter (Green Elf Mix) (149 BPM) 04 - Dream (100 BPM) Longtime Psynews memberand festival leggings wearer Imba is back with a release on his Underground Alien Factory label. Carbon is from Slovakia (a psytrance/goa artist from the Balkans? Stop me if you've heard that one.) and he delivers something pretty nice. Shangri La has lots of evolution with some bubbling and intense fury. The layers are nice and this sounds very raw. Bergamot is old school gritty with popping 303 sounds. Another track that makes a sharp directional turn. Well put together. Jupiter was very spacey, but not my favorite. He closes things out with the downtempo Dream. Homie put a bluesy saxaphone in there! Not afraid to travel the untrod path I see. I think I like the variation and changes in direction the most. The tracks are fast and bring the power with very nice layering. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Orichalcum & The Deviant Title: Orichalcum & The Deviant Label: TIP Records Date: March, 1997 01. Wicked Mille 02. 3 FM 03. Mururoa My Love (10 Million Dead Fish Mix) 04. STC 05. The Curse Of Uqbhar (Nasty Mix) 06. Where Are You? 07. Alien Homes 08. Dawn Of Epsilon Hmmm...a release such as this deserves a proper thinking hat. Lessee...where's that hat? *sits on knees and rifles through boxes in the closet.* iPhone...check. Starbucks...check. Stupid hat that you know is f*cking stupid, but think you can get away with it because you may be famous (I don't know who you are)...check. Douchebag transformation complete! "No, no,no man. It doesn't make you look gay." *looks away* "Your pouty face and unshaven chest do." Bingo. To be a dick you must think like a dick. Or, 14 dicks. You just counted them didn't you? Ah there it is! Yep to properly review this album I needed some old school haberdashery. A hat say like the kind you would wear to a Zion604 or Anjuna event. Although this was made in 97 it's not like the stuff you're used to from that year. Nosir, this is like two lesbian strippers with dildos showing up to Princess Kate's baby shower as...the entertainment. "I had a strange wang right in my palm." Bonus points if you recognize that movie reference. Chunky and sometimes abrasive this can be a tough nut to crack. It's not the easiest goa trance to get into unless you're of the need something really different mindset. Loud? Sometimes. But always different. Alien Homes is a distorted goa track in the Artifakt mode. The tracks are long so sometimes with the lack of evolution it can get tedious. I believe the latter half of the album to be superior, but it maintains its dark vibe throughout. Interesting, but far from a classic. Mdk

Must...commence...kickstarter campaign to finance trip...from...USA. Mdk

10 years with Channing Tatum. Well there it is...in print on the internet. My shame now lasts forever. Mdk

Artist: Morphem Title: Out of Focus Label: Tunnel Records Date: 1996 01. Montage 02. Nothing Left 03. My Plan 04. Love Is An Ocean 05. Something Liquid 06. Magma 07. How Can U Be So Sure 08. Brigers Of The Dawn 09. Closed Sector "My plan is to stay here until I die." Where are you, DMV? I don't think this album is underrated, but rather sits where it should in the greats of goa conversation. First off it is crystal clear with different moods. Dark, floaty, powerful...it has all of that. It's a good album with a couple very strong tracks that range from blasters to downtempo moody goa. Sometimes however I believe it to be a little sparse in places, requiring a little more depth. It's close to being great, but just needing to take that next step. While not IFO or Live in Athens 1996 it's still good in its own right. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Limitless Label: Koyote Records Date: 1997 1. Menis - Fluff Killer 2. Virtuart - Time Cruncher 3. Encens - Venus Zen 4. Semsis - Mind Games 5. Miranda - Timeless Worlds of Space 6. Xenomorph - Nevrotoxin 7. Underhead - Unify Feeling 8. Miranda - Concorde (Transportation Mix) 9. Encens - Spirit It Transgression 10. Ominus - Sunimo Signs of the coming apocalypse couldn't be any clearer. Of course you have your plagues, famines, and earthquakes. Those are easy to see. I mean they were written down. It's in print. But I invite you to dig a little deeper. Clearly 8 full seasons of Full House angered the powers that be. Ugh. Normally I wouldn't want to punch a toddler because they sh*t their pants and that's enough punishment, but... I believe Snoop's introduction of izzle to our lexicon and every white pre-teen's adoption of it thereafter is cause for concern. *Thumbs thru bible* Where's that in the back somewhere? The Hilton-Kardashian-Lohan triumvirate, also known as the 3 stooges principle has wreaked more than its fair share of havoc on our innocent planet. By the way can we all agree that the video camera has become the lighted movie theater floor to our downfall? Now that it is readily available mothers of three and sleeveless git-r-done hillbilly's are unleashing torrents of sex tapes in hopes of becoming the next trio of idiocy. Sorry Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama...didn't mean to rain on your GDP. But most importantly it's how this compilation never got reviewed. It's comprised of some of the biggest names in the goa trance genre with blistering tracks laden with acid and melody. 303 sounds are the rule here and it is old school all the way. Every track is stellar with absolutely zero filler. Is it because these tracks are readily available on other compilations? I will concede that it is not essential for that reason, but to not have it's rightful place on the review board is unacceptable. So if the world is gonna end and I still have electricity in my bunker underground, this one is coming with me. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: The Encroachment Label: Timecode Records Date: November, 2003 1. Artifakt - Drugged and Base 2. Phyx - Cro-Magnon 3. Stralia - Airlock 4. Shift Vs. The Slug - Apocalypse Cow 5. Twisted System - Vile Substance 6. Rabdom L - The Decoy 7. Tickets - Terminal Personalities 8. Rastaliens - Troll 9. Ghreg On Earth - Output Device "Fantasies...have to be unrealistic. Because the moment, the second that you get what you seek...you don't, you can't want it anymore." This one. This was the one that saw Timecode begin to emerge from solely being just a label of screeching leads and dark overtones to something that forced people to take notice. Their sound was blossoming, becoming more substantial. The melodies began to appear and they were far from cheesy. The big beat and deep throbbing bass line remained as they found their calling. A new subgenre of psytrance began to scream from the dark and this label perfected it. From the classic Apocalypse Cow and impending explosion of Vile Substance Timecode became a force to be reckoned with. They weren't at the pinnacle of their success yet...but it was coming. Timecode Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Future Cuts Label: Timecode Date: October, 2007 1. Twisted System - Psychopath 2. Concept & Scorb - Dissident Factions 3. Phyx - Kansas City Shuffle 4. Multistate - HQ Part 2 5. Mantis - Blood Red 6. Xatrik Vs. Kid X - Wild Card 7. Lost & Found - ScannerV2.0 8. Outer Signal Vs. B-55 - Unstoppable 9. Hydraglyph - Cigarettes & Silver Bullets (Multistate Remix) 10. Artifakt - The Pole To say that Timecode was the king of South African psytrance during the last decade is like taking swim lessons in Mississippi. 26 people drowned last year which is down from 45 the year before the sign was posted. Timecode delivered the whole package with dark melodies and booming power. But it was more than the king. King doesn't adequately describe them here. Let's see... Ah, got it. Timecode was like the Godzilla of South African psytrance. Brutal force and acidic fire he doesn't care about your city your house whatever this thing is and well... Your car is a bucket anyway. It's one of their best and captures the label at the height of their game. I highly recommend it. Timecode Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Hardfloor Title: The Art of Acid Label: Hardfloor.de Date: April, 2014 1. Tweakend 2. Necessary Roughness 3. The Art of Acid 4. Dark Shadow 5. Rwndrb 6. P.E.L.F. 7. Analogue Bubbletea 8. Bubble & Sqeak 9. Swag My Glitch Up 10. TB Continued I like art That sh*t's funny. Whether it's sculpture, painting, musical, Or whatever the f*ck this is, it will always be subjective. Some will love it and some are gonna despise it. Having discovered Solar Quest and their album Acidophilez I've been digging some acid trance. Goa fans will no doubt be drawn to the use of the 303. I sure was. Hadrfloor is a German duo that seem to be the gods of the genre. My lord knoweth how to get down! Their style is a heaping helping of 303's followed up by more 303's in repetitive phrases that can be funky as hell. Each track delivers bouncy beats along with that hallowed sound that can go from bubbly to dangerously acidic. This is their latest album and tracks like Necessary Roughness will get you all twisted up like a pretzel. The break beat on Rwndrb and Analogue Bubbletea are so head noddingly delicious I never wanted them to end. Bubble and Squeak is so wobbly Thailand better put up new tsunami warnings. Look it's not rocket science. Percussion and a bass synthesizer. Well, maybe six of them. With such a limited sound palette you'd think it would get old very quickly, but no. Either they come out with guns a blazing or they build up that tension until you're caught up in the euphoria. By that time it's too late. They got you bro. The beats are designed to shake what yo momma gave you and each track is meant to be blasted at a party. They must be armpit deep in slutty groupie tail. Magnificent bastards. Got a few lb's to lose? Know some hot chicks? Make a run to the liquor store and let's get this party started. Bad. Ass. Beatport Mdk

Artist: 2Minds Title: Wave Shell Label: Geomagnetic.TV Date: October, 2013 1. Vintage 2. Blue Magic 3. Mission to Mars 4. Goa Land 5. Wave Shell 6. Hindu 7. Deep and Warm 8. Viber 9. Eclipse 10. Blood Connection 11. Evil Echo 12. Ethnic Demonstration 13. Half Moon 14. Magic Carpet 15. The Last Travel I try not to make assumptions or jump to conclusions. I said I try. But I think we can all agree sometimes you're just stupid. In that vein I suppose I owe this project an apology. Two Israeli brothers making psytrance? Stop me if you've heard that one before. Paid them zero attention. Why do I wanna waste my time with cheesy full on? That horse has been beaten to death. I haven't been this wrong since, well... F*ck I just turned my kids room into a gay disco! And it's still too damn hot in here! Now I haven't heard the first album from these guys, but their second one is something you should be paying more attention to. It was a gift from the label Zion604 when I ordered their latest release. No cover, no case, just the music burned to a disc. Normally that would find itself buried amidst all the other music that I would probably never get around to. But something told me to give it a go. Good call. The first disc is psytrance oriented with midtempo rhythms and an eye for detail. Changes of direction are abundant as are the hopscotching of between genres. And I believe that to be their strength. The similarities to old Infected Mushroom are many and while none of these tracks are blasters they are fun to dive into with lots of evolution. Their brand of psytrance is nothing special (aside from a few tracks the first disc is rather weak), but throw in their penchant for variety and things get more interesting. Disc two is the prize for me, full of downtempo grooves that combine vastly varied rhythms in a detailed menagerie of sounds. The layers are thick with slow, cinematic thumping beats that don't flirt with goa, but engage in a full blown dry humping session on the new family couch. You're doing it wrong. Hump first then eat. Thick with changes in direction , it's like getting lost in a maze where treasure is around every corner. The who shebang is produced very well with all sounds being crystal clear. They seem to love long tracks and while that can be involving sometimes it feels as if they're lost in the woods and every tree looks the same. "No you go on ahead. I'm gonna...take a look at...something." *sound of fly unzipping* So the psytrance yeah it's all right, but the downtempo disc is really good. Thanks for the gift! Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Acidlab Title: 303 Label: Adodisc Date: 1998 1. Aelectric 2. Jelly Babes (101) 3. Sonic Juice 4. Ugly 5. Jelly Babes 6. Loco 7. Happily Damaged 8. Champagne 9. Neuroanarchy Who the hell paid $50 for this on Discogs. Who was it? Stand up for your public shaming. And on to my next question...What's the record for the fastest listen then delete ratio? I think I am the world record holder now thanks to this mess. From the guys who brought you the underwhelming Cwithe project comes another entry in the disappointment hall of fame. How you gonna call yourself Acidlab and title your one and only album 303...and then sh*t all over the rug and try and blame the dog? Where's the f*cking acid Waldo? Where's the power? Where's anything that makes someone want to hear this again? Maybe the 303 itself decided not to appear on this generic bore fest. A protest if you will. Joseph wrote a good take on this album on Discogs and it's a lot nicer than I was. Mdk

Can we see the artwork yet? I need to add it to my ever growing list of you taking my money. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Close Encounters - Psychedelic Trance From Worlds Unknown Label: Hypnotic Date: 1997 "Tell me something my friend. Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" Oh Hypnotic. Only you could make a 2 CD compilation of two artists. Sure there are multiple artist names, but it's still just two guys. Martin Nielsen and Michael Kjeldgaard. Apologies Martin I've never heard of you. But Michael...ah, Psygone by any other name is still Psygone. This is a compilation with acid trance, techno, dream trance...basically Hypnotic took all the sh*t in their pantry and made a f*cking casserole. And let me tell you there's a lot of generic sh*t (most of it from Martin) to be found here as if they got their hands on a Roland MC-505 and recorded the preset sounds and patterns. Believe me when I say my finger was constantly hovering like a Japanese tiger mom over the skip button as a lot of this is really terrible. Even Michael recycles sounds on his tracks, but by Hans Christian Andersen he still shows why he's Psygone. That snap crackle pop of his 303 is the real deal on tracks like Tasmania and Stripped. But if you're looking for Optimystique then get your sad face on because you will be disappointed. Even the goa nature is tempered by house or dream trance. Flow? You better take that cohesive idea somewhere else. But for those of us on the hunt for the elusive white whale of storming goa that hasn't been fished out of the ocean of mediocrity this is a boot at the end of your fishing line. Mdk

Artist: Lost Buddha Title: Untold Stories Label: Phototropic Records Date: March, 2011 1. Transfiguration (Anti-Gravity mix) 2. Lost in a crystal sphere 3. Psyramid (Live mix) 4. Tabernacle 5. When the universe was created 6. Southern Oracle 7. Ataraxia 8. Lost in paradise 9. Mysteries of the women "If you want a job done right I have to do it..." All right, f*ck it I'll do it... Lost Buddha is Filipe Santos as well as a truckload of other aliases. Some would add asshole. Perhaps crazy motherf*cker. But I'll throw another one at you. Genius. F*cking genius. Yep, he's alienated a boatload of people with his destructive attitude and erratic behavior., but he also made some of the best goa and acid trance around. It seemed like it was effortless for him. And you wanna talk prolific? He was everywhere. And he gave away the vast majority of his work. Just gave it to us. Like this release. Well the first iteration of this collection of tunes released as 320 mp3's on Metaphysic Records back in 2007. The one I'm reviewing is the most recent in which you had to throw down some coin. The one where only the first three tracks hadn't been released. Concerning Filipe, I don't know if he was on drugs, an alcoholic, or just a raging douche pickle. I had nothing to do with him so his actions never affected me in the slightest. People that knew him and worked with him will probably tell a different story. If they want to speak of him at all. There is no excuse for being a dick or acting hurtful and if he did that (pretty sure he did) then he deserves his pariah status. You cannot rub everyone the wrong way especially when they are trying to help you. But in the end every artist will ultimately be judged by his work and when it comes down to the music the guy was just brilliant. Layers upon layers with a powerful boost. His compositions were forever evolving and imminently danceable. His sound was full of lush atmospheres that seemed to always be in attack mode. This entire album while not the most varied goa trance is straight ahead spectacular. This comes with my highest recommendations. Beethoven was beaten and exploited by his father which led him to self medicate with drugs and alcohol. Famous playwright Tennessee Williams who wrote A Streetcar Named Desire and the Glass Menagerie was also an alcoholic and a drug user who just happened to have a sister with schizophrenia that underwent a lobotomy. Hemingway was another raging alcoholic depressive who committed suicide. Like his father. And sister. And brother. And granddaughter. Now I'm not equating what Filipe did in our little corner of the world with the colossal achievements of these gentlemen, but sometimes it is the demons, the mental illness with which the person does battle that can foster those periods of creativity. I hope Filipe was just young and immature and hadn't figured out how the world worked. But if he does have a mental illness let's hope he gets the help he needs so as to not follow the path of these unfortunate gentlemen. I don't know you enough to miss you Filipe. But I certainly miss your music. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Siesta Label: Phonokol Date: October, 2002 1. Earthling - Chill or Be Chilled 2. Water Spirits - Jah Feedback 3. Earthling - Helix 4. Spacedrifters - Reverse (Vocal Version) 5. Orion Vs. Alien Project - Cryptic Aliens 6. Earthling - Kilamanjaro 7. Earthling Vs. Alien Project - Fantasy Island 8. Etnica - Trip Tonite (Playa Mix) 9. Alien Project Vs. Astrix - Crystal Skulls (Long Version) 10. Logic Bomb - Normalised I'm gonna go on record here and say this was one of the best things Ari Linker (Alien Project) was involved with. Smooth downtempo tracks with laid back grooves. Earthling or Alien Project are on most of the tracks which are full of deep bass. Some of the beats are grimy, but they all have a floaty feeling. The samples speak of alien landings and government coverups. Unlike other downtempo comps this one ends with two upbeat numbers heavy on the psychedelia. To be honest it's kind of dark with melodies that can make you think about past decisions. The only one I didn't care for was Kilimanjaro which broke the flow of the album. Otherwise this is really good stuff. Mdk

Artist: Space Tribe Title: 2000 O.D. Label: Spirit Zone Recordings Date: 1999 01. 08'57" Out There In The Universe 02. 09'01" So Deep 03. 08'05" 2000 OD 04. 08'21" The First Trip 05. 08'07" Loopy Loo 06. 07'54" Turn Of Your Mind ... Relax ... Float Downstream 07. 08'51" Genetically Modified Human 08. 07'13" Telepathic Contact "Whether you experience heaven or hell, remember...it's your mind which created them." Well this was a lo-fi chunky affair wasn't it? While most other artists were making layered melodic goa (not in 99 I suppose) Olli was making whatever the hell this is. Metallic distorted sounds are rivaled in number only by the twisting of samples. I will give him high marks for the track evolution as there are many changes which give it some good depth. But even with the high level of psychedelia and variation I think it's missing lots of power and melody to put it on the shelf with the big boys. SOme of the tracks sounded like jumbles of noise. And he uses that guitar scrape on several tracks that makes my skull hurt. Having said that I still like digging into some of it. Even the Electric Universe Meteor sound alike title track. And that cover. Imagine swallowing a palette of watercolors and then chugging three pints before you hit the local McDonalds and wolfed down 2 Double Quarter Pounder Meals with fries. Right before you run a 5k. Boom there's your cover. Planets, a deity, crystals, and an abundance of colors. Pretty much nailed the psychedelic cliche didn't he? Missed it? Head on over to his website and you can get a wardrobe to match to cover. Yeah it'll be great....wear it to your next job interview. Mdk

Artist: Sjellos Title: Transmission Lost Label: Cryo Chamber Date: April, 2013 1. Excavation 2. Chamber of Reflections 3. Awakening 4. Flesh Spirit 5. Past Recognition 6. Broken 7. Necrobiosis 8. Life Left 9. Struggling 10. Her Dark Shadow 11. All Hope Gone Simon Heath is the head of Cryo Chamber Records and is probably best known for his dark ambient project Atrium Carceri. This is the type of music the label wants. It's in their mission statement. Sjellos is German Tibor Knopf and he constructs 11 vignettes of dark beatless ambient about a deserted freighter traveling through deep space. If you like spooky movies that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up then here is your soundtrack. It's a tale of ghosts while slow eerie sounds echo off the metallic hull with booming reverberation. There is an evil, supra natural presence here; dark and forboding. Effects usher in chilling cold as ancient relics sit beside the hum of modern machinery. Very dark and scary. The album is more a collection of sounds and effects than musical instruments. The melodies that are present are twisted and distorted to further exacerbate your fear of the dark. It's slow and best listened all the way through to get wrapped up in the horror he creates. I think he does more with less. Like all dark ambient you have to be in the mood for it. Probably need, oh I dunno, some darkness to get the full effect. Listening to this on the beach with the sun blazing is missing the point. We love to be scared don't we? And those whispers in Her Dark Shadow scared the sh*t outta me. Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Timecode Anestetic Label: Timecode Records Date: December, 2013 1. Rinkadink - Elements of Water 2. Deeper In Zen Vs. Mad Maxx - Rainbow Body State (Mekkanikka Mix) 3. Android Spirit - Scarface 4. Iliuchina - No Turning Back 5. D_Maniac - (Es)Cape Town 6. Orca & Shameless - Step Back 7. D_Maniac & A-Mush - Music & Fire 8. Phyx & Tryambaka - Item 9 9. Tickets - Deep Blue Ocean 10 Sick Addiction - Masked Addiction 11. Deedrah - Reload (Tickets Remix) "All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break 'em for no one, you understand?" This explains a lot. I like visiting old friends. You get to see how they're doing, relive past experiences, and see what's going on in their lives in the now. Timecode is just such a friend to whom I've been listening for about a decade. This label burst onto the scene with what we now know as the South African sound. Darkly atmospheric, laden with acid and bursting at the seams with bruising power. Revolutionary psytrance that continues to be copied today. Their latest is a digital release and we see some old friends as well as some new ones. What you get is a mixed bag with equal parts fingernails on a chalkboard along with flashes of what made this label so iconic. Rinkadink combines a house gro ove with Artifakt techno t hat grew on me with repeated listens Mekkanikka continues to offer his brand of sanitized ultra shiny f ull-on, but this one wasn't bad and actually grew on me as well. Scarface of course samples the movie and is one of those flashes. No Turning Back is also a powerful standout along with the too short Deep Blue Ocean by Tickets. What was once the high school quarterback banging all the cheerleaders is now the balding middle aged guy selling insurance in the town he never left. There were some good tracks here that began to approach the label's heyday, , but they were offset by equally bad tracks that slammed that window shut. Some of the tracks were more of the commercial Nutek variety with incessant buildups and that whole increased bpm wind up thingy. The bombastic take no prisoners twilight insanity that they created is lacking on this compilation. Other labels seem to have surpassed them in delivering that night time craziness. Far from bad and being on life support, you might still want to look into some life insurance. I know a guy. Timecode Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: MFG Title: Magnetic Activity EP Label: Transient Records Date: 1996 1. Magnetic Activity (Remix) 2. Overlord (Remix) Silly black man. Plastic on couch means a bad ending for you. This is what I'm talking about. Old school goa trance that is in a continual state of flux. More ethereal than physical it is evolving, spiraling, and twisting. Overlord is I believe a typo, and should be Overload, the same track from their 1996 album The Prophecy. Both are bad ass. Mdk

Artist: Mindfield & Baraka Title: VD Massacre EP Label: Phantasm Records Date: 1999 1. VD Massacre 2. VD Massacre (ManMadeMan Remix) "According to my source the end of the world will be on February 14th in the year 2016." "Valentines Day. Bummer." Holy sh*t that's right around the corner. But other than that cool sample from Ghostbusters 2 not a lot to see here. The remix could be more annoying than the original. Like stepping in cow sh*t is worse than trodding through dog sh*t. You still f*cked up your Jordans. It's definitely louder and heavier with the samples. So it's got that going for it. Mdk

Artist: Morphem Title: Montage / Bringers of The Dawn / Loving Spirit EP Label: Tunnel Records Date: 1996 1.Montage 2. Bringers of the Dawn 3. Loving Spirit Who the hell is this guy? Short answer? Frederik Stehn. Long answer? Some guy that's pretty damn good. I was aware of his album Out of Focus, but I've never heard it. Saw the Ambrosia cover as someone's avatar, but never heard that either. After getting my first delicious taste if the Morphem sound with the Magma EP I'm eagerly searching for more. Montage has a strong goa melody and I like the little Jawa voices here and there. Bringers of the Dawn is fairly unremarkable with it's laid back almost progressive feel. Loving Spirit has some bubbling percusion and a percolating 303 that wobbles. The whole track has some bouncy appeal. While not as intense and captivating as Magma, there is some value here. Mdk