Trance2MoveU

Almost playa. Almost. Oh what coulda been. Had some good goa parts, parts I really liked, but it seemed to be tarnished by the clumsy guitar leads in some tracks. Also it wasn't very deep and lacked complexity, sounding rather simple and repetitive. And what's with the animal noises? This is like taking brownies out of the oven before they're ready. Looks great on the outside, but the inside is an unfinished mess. This puppy needed more oven time. Still if I was stranded on a desert island it would be essential because the back side of the disc could be used to flag down an air rescue. Mdk

To appreciate Boris's debut album as Galaxy I believe it necessary to slay the preconceived demons of what it isn't. Not goa? Ok, cool. His goa wasn't that great most of the time anyway. Not psy? Well all right. No big deal especially if you had the misfortune to suffer through Higher Modes. The album is a free flowing mixed homage to the techno and electro sounds of the early 90's. Sometimes upbeat and loaded with cool percussion it's always clear. It further cements the notion that he is more creative when the bpm's are low. Some of the beats are so old school (track 4) you might want to lay the cardboard on the corner and dust off that backspin. Some might not like it pointing to it's simplicity, but isn't the idea of a side project the freedom to explore different avenues on which you might not normally tread? I take shots at Boris for lots of things, but I cannot do so because he moves in different directions. Believe me, he's made several albums that leave one scratching his head. Someone called this house? House? I'm sorry have you ever f*cking heard house? Consider this a nice change of pace from Boris. An escape from what you expect him to deliver. Hardly essential and not even his best downtempo stuff, but a fairly nice shot across the bow of the electronic genre. BTW, hated the last two tracks. It's like he just said ah, f*ck it. 20 minutes, really? Mdk

Maybe. But the morass of green surrounding seems like the perfect hiding place for aliens with tentacles and very sharp teeth. Hell you can see a vortex opening. Don't know if I'd risk it. Besides it doesn't appear to have the necessary hand and footholds to keep one on the mountain. The album on the other hand is super solid and only it's track similarities keep it from being an outright classic. Highly recommended. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Anairam Label: Replicant Records Date: December, 2013 1. Armagetlam - D_Maniac 2. Psykodeliak - Rabdom L 3. Exploding - Shuumat 4. Criminal Phenomenon - A-Mush 5. Bedtime Story (Iliuchina Remix) - Orca Hey baby, how you doin'? Guapa Lee you say? That's a nice maxi ep you compiled there. I'd offer you some assistance, but you seem more than capable of some heavy lifting. This is an outstanding ep that began horribly. Imagine picking up a ridiculously hot chick (or, dude I suppose...whatever you're into...I don't judge.) and right when she gets in the car she rips a lengthy, wet, and obnoxious fart. Roll down your windows nasty. Awkward. But don't get hung up on that smelly turd from d_maniac because you'll be richly rewarded. The rest is thumping nighttime psy with huge amounts of apsi. Acid per square inch. Some of the tracks have too much stopping and starting, but they're good enough to let it slide. A-mush rarely disappoints, but the Iliuchina remix steals the show. Dark and eerie with danceability set to maximum. Great job by most involved and here's hoping for a second date and an attempt at second base. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Battlestar Label: TesseracT Studio Date: July, 2013 1. Atmospheric (The Riddler rmx) L-XIR 2. Voyager One COPYCAT 3. Gypsy Magic MOLOK, SUBLIMINAL CODES 4. Unravel FLEGMA 5. Highly Addictive LYCTUM 6. Rabbit Hole AQUALIZE 7. Flux (Lyctum rmx) ZEN MECHANICS, FLEGMA AND NERSO 8. Full Moon MIDDLE MODE, NERSO VS ZYCE 9. Unimation (Micky Noise rmx) ZYCE AND NERSO 10. Tune In SIDEFORM "I don't know who I am. I don't know who I am...becoming." You're Phil. And you work in accounting. Tesseract...my Serbian homies. Always ready to deliver some quality progressive trance. I would call this a solid release. Not my favorite, but it's peppered with good tracks and a few great ones. Nothing was bad and I was pleasantly surprised by the Mickey Noise remix which also happened to be my favorite track. Floating and melodic with a pinch of groove. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Sundial Aeon Title: Apotheosis Label: Flow Records Date: July, 2007 1. Sacred Plants 2. Iced-Melancholy Spectacle 3. Pleasure Impact 4. Hybrydisy 5. Mysanthia (Chaser Remix) 6. Snail's Home 7. Love Shelter 8. Freestar's Trip In Aerospace 9. Together, We Are... (Remix) 10. Dark Breaker 11. Hydroponics Easily one of my favorite chill releases of all time. It's ancient and futuristic. Cosmic yet grounded. This album is partially mixed so it produces a steady and continuous flow. And that flow is comprised of melodies, various effects, and plenty of breakbeats. It sounds hopeful and mysterious with lush electronics and vocal tacets that give it an epic feel. It works on every level. Mdk

Artist: Ovnimoon Title: Camanchaca Label: Synergetic Records Date: March, 2006 1. Arcoirs 2. Viaje l sur 3. La India 4. Shamanic Dance on Ayahuaska 5. El arbol arauacano 6. Todos (ovnimoon vs Trancemission vs Mandulk) 7. I love you 8. High nrg (Divinidad rmx) 9. Camanchaca (Reike Pacha mama rmx) Hector's debut album is about as far as you could get from where he is now. His latest Trancemutation of the Mind is melodic and ever changing, but this effort is average at best in my opinion. It's a mixture of downtempo and minimalistic progressive that isn't very memorable. He maintains an air of mystery as well as a tribal feel, but with the exception of the last track it sounds as though he's trying to find a direction for his music. Mdk

Artist: Elysium Title: Various Works 1994 - 2005 Label: Self Released Date: March, 2011 Discogs I'm too lazy to list them...there's over twenty. F*cking hell, is everyone named Andersen in Denmark? Denmark's own Kristian Thinning Andersen is a polarizing figure that was the subject of several lively threads here on the forum. Like him or not he's responsible for a big part of our scene's music and was quite prolific. This was released by the artist a few years ago on Ektoplazm, but has since been removed. It's a collection of his work over 10 or so years with music that is tough to box in. Is it goa? Tribal? Downtempo? Yes, all of the above. A digital only release there is a 21 track edition from 2011 and a remastered (what the hell?) 15 track version that came out a year later. One was in wav form and the other in mp3, but most were found on his previous albums. Personally I've never been a huge fan of his style as I think it goes on far too long without sufficient evolution. There are great parts on most of his tracks that unfortunately don't fulfill their potential. But that's just me. If you're a fan than you probably already have a lot of this. If you don't then this is certainly a treat. Even though I didn't like all of it he didn't have to give sh*t away so I would just thank him and stop being an ungrateful b*tch. By the way, I'm super keen on hearing his newest album that is on the way. Mdk

"I don't have to prove anything to you!" Well, maybe you have to prove the water is drinkable. And that you can make a decent halfpipe. I mean what the f*ck didn't anybody track the weather in this Sochi place to see if it gets cold? Pretty sure that one of the criterion of the Winter Olympics is that it at least resembles winter. In honor of the Olympics being hosted by Russia, let's talk about this release from a past incarnation of the Russian duo Synsun. When this first hit the net, it was like Christmas. First it was the Zelur Project, then Full Power of Goa, and lastly this beast. I didn't care for their brand of full-on. Sounded like a lot of other stuff around. But their goa...that's a different story. First I like the old cover better. Yeah that one. Second, ptn's assessment of the album is quite accurate. There is a lack of dynamism in the sounds where it does sound lumped together. Maybe if they had Tim Schuldt or Colin Oood in charge of mastering it would be different, but as is it certainly isn't a deal breaker. There are some ripping tracks here that sound great on the headphones. It's loud and screaming with layers of melody. Gagarinz Trip and Quazar lead the way, but I don't believe there to be any filler to be found. Good stuff. Mdk

Thank you Jason for stating the obvious ;-). I have MR 2 (haven't listened yet)and can understand the arguments for a repress or no. Perhaps do it like Avatar does with classics? Mdk

I haz sad. Sure I could find it on the net, but I really,really try never to do that. Classics that are long out of print I'm a little more lenient. Here's to hoping there will be a reprint. Mdk

For starters I'm happy to see you back making music. Your presence was sorely missed. The track is pretty good and sounded completely different from the original. Therefore, win. Mdk

Artist: Dynamo (Eskimo + Dynamic) Title: The Acid Daze Label: Phantasm Records Date: May, 2005 1. Here they come 2. In the igloo 3. Wildstyle 4. Dyn-E-Motion 5. Into the magic 6. Maniac Saiko 7. Spun dry 8. The acid daze 9. Say you love me "When you dream there are no rules." After just a few years of full-on, 2005 appeared to be the tipping point. Full-on gets sh*t on a lot and rightly so. The genre has earned it with it's repetitive cut and paste style and cliche's. Think of a whirlpool where creativity goes to die. Dynamic, Perplex, DNA,...f*ck me the list of artists producing ass tacular releases is endless. But every once in a while a release comes along that is refreshing. 2005 saw us right smack dab in the middle of some sorry sh*t. Instead of saturating our lungs with oxygen we were forced to breathe stupid samples, inane build ups, and cheese that clogs arteries. That's why the team up (expected) of Eskimo and Dynamic was so unexpectedly...good. Sure the disc has samples that make you cringe (Wildstyle) and there are stops and starts that kill momentum. But there is also some pretty solid groove and melodies to be found here. Even tracks I didn't want to like had a sou con of goa that made them palatable (In The Igloo). Some tracks began with an eye roll and then developed into something likeable (Maniac Psycho, Say You Love Me). It's almost as if one artist began poorly and the then the other picked up the slack. I can't say (Dynamic) which artist was probably responsible (Dynamic) for the derivative crap that helped form the death vortex of full-on (Dynamic), but I have my suspicions. And I absolutely loved the creative borrow of the Astral Projection and Transwave melody in The Acid Daze. Lemmiwinks spotted the other classics they used so points to that guy. Bottom line this is a good full on album. It's melodic as hell without too much cheese and will get the feet tapping. Guilty pleasure? Maybe, but I'm not so proud that I care that I like listening to this. Mdk

"How much knowledge can the human mind stand...before it freaks out?" What comes after third grade? Seriously I can pinpoint the exact moment in time it happened to me. When the alphabet infiltrated mathematics. Cats and dogs, democrats and republicans, pluses and minuses...put these things together and you're just asking for a rip in the time space continuum. Which Olli "the wizard of Oz" Wisdom would no doubt have a sample for. This album is one of my favorites from him as it is that acidic high tech full-on with loads of samples on technology, spiritualism, and science. Power and melody go hand in hand as he leaves an acid trail on everything he touches. Sometimes it gets a little dull and samey, but for the most part it's a ripping good time. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Graham Label: Equinox Date: March, 1997 1. The Infinity Project - Intro 2. Mystery of the Yeti - Part 4 3. Woodski - Woodski 4. Excess Head - Hopscotch 5. The Infinity Project - Noises From The Darkness (Dub) 6. Excess Head - Strange Thing 7. The Infinity Project - Mystical Experiences 8. Excess Head - Subcurrents 9. The Flippidy Dippidy Project - The Outro "You're going to be able to meet these people, talk to them." Graham Wood (half of The Infinity Project) brought his TIP buddies together to make a very odd album. It's downtempo and ambient with a goa flair. Graham is featured on every track under various aliases. My favorite was Part 4 by Mystery of the Yeti as it was the most musically interesting and complex. Some weird sh*t going on here though. How high did you have to be to make Woodski? Hopscotch? Noises From the Darkness? When those three tracks ended did the stock price of Doritos tumble? The whole middle of this album is lost in a green haze of cannabis smoke. Very trippy. Strange Thing still sounds like I'm caught in a hippies disjointed dream, but at least I can follow it. Mystical Experiences is a great slice of ambient found on the Infinity Project album of the same name. Full of sounds that continue with the floating. Sub Currents churns with juicy bass for almost its entire length. Even the outro aims to conjure and shape your hallucinations. If you're searching for that album that you can zone out to look no further. Set hallucinogens to maximum wood. Mdk

Artist: Sienis Title: Personal Space Invaders Label: None Date: October, 2013 01 - Move Accordingly (145 BPM) 02 - Creation & Destruction (145 BPM) 03 - I Of The Storm (147 BPM) 04 - Party Groove (145 BPM) 05 - Solitaire (145 BPM) 06 - Human De-Evolution (145 BPM) 07 - iRock (145 BPM) 08 - Cosmic Comedy (145 BPM) "Sometimes a man decides that life is just too much...and all he wants is peace and quiet." This artist is one of those that is difficult to put in a box. Eki is from Sweden, but his crazy style borrows from his penis shaped neighbors from Finland. I'm not saying that people from Finland look like dicks, but their country sure does. Had a friend from Lahti and I couldn't understand a thing he said. Eki combines the symphonic with the eerie and delivers a healthy dose of samples and full-on. And a lot of that full-on is of the eye rolling and nauseating guitar variety (i of the storm). But in that same track is an amazing and dreamy break. What a paradox! Highlight? The funky and deliciously K-Pax ridden Human De-evolution. But in the end the cheese and annoying repetitive slicing of samples make this a subpar effort. Too full-on and corny. What I would love is if he would attempt a dark and serious sci-fi ambient album with horror movie samples. Something tells me he'd be really good at it. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Music From Heaven - The Remixes Label: Blue Tunes Recordings Date: November, 2010 1. Music From Heaven (original mix) 2-8. Sh*tty copycat progressive mixes Blood...f*cking boiling... Why in the hell does this continue to occur? A remix album with multiple versions of the same track. Although that is misleading because versions implies that there is something different. It's the same. F*cking. Track. Let's start with the original which sucked in its own right, but that's ok. It's better that way because a talented artist can turn water into wine. Worked out well for Jesus. But I guess all these people are happy drinking from the toilet because it's nothing but boring clones, using the same tricks that have been beaten to death. This isn't a remix album... It's a professional low point. At least I hope it is. I left the room whilst this was in full swing just to see if I missed anything. I did not. Ritmo is Dubi Dagan, a gentleman who has shown he has awesome ability in the progressive trance genre, but unless he's a total Nazi demanding all the remixes sound just like the original, the artists who participated should be ashamed of themselves. I'm no lawyer, but I think with the word remixes in the title this may be a test case for fraud. The awesome sauce was clearly left off this sh*t sandwich. Seven almost identical mixes plus the original or explosive diarrhea? What a choice, it's like a f*cking Chinese finger trap. Do yourself a favor and avoid this limp dicked effort at all costs. Music from Heaven? Think you're going the wrong way pal. Beatport Mdk

Man I miss this project. There's plenty of great progressive trance these days, but this duo created some of the most emotionally stirring music around. Tierra Azul is a superb downtempo track that is like surveying the world and it's beauty from a mile high. Sweet September constantly evolves with the addition of delicate synth textures. The simplistic Resevoir though slightly minimal dances along the line between progressive trance and progressive house showing how big a track can be without overloading it. Landmark showcases a slight goa element (one of the guys was in Subcouds after all) and the warm melodies break through the frigid cold of Seven Days. Morning Breath sounds so simple, but comes across as lush. The production on this album is fabulous. Hearing each sound echoing across the frozen tundra envelops the listener. The progressive trance is smooth and is more concerned with holding you aloft than packing the eardrums. It's hypnotic and a perfect vehicle for that mental getaway. Mdk

Artist: Guy Sebbag & Gal Carmy Title: In Trance Label: Papaya Records Date: 1995 01. 12'21" The Golden Way 02. 08'17" Over Seas 03. 06'50" Sorceress Fete 04. 06'50" Kashmir 05. 07'50" Velvet Button 06. 07'50" Winner Riff 07. 07'28" Vacuum Planet 08. 13'48" Guadloop (Golden Way Ambient Mix) "Like so many things it's not what is outside, but what is inside that counts." Is that your way of telling me not to judge your album art too harshly? Don't worry I won't. Most of the the time the above sample rings true and is a maxim to live by. There are some exceptions however... "So...you want to be the face of our company? *Strokes chin and thinks intently* That could work. As a plastic surgeon I'm constantly on the lookout for before models." This is an album that is almost 20 years old, but that's the cool thing about classics...age ain't nothin but a number. To put it in perspective, this came out when people (me) were still rockin flannel as high fashion. This album is not lush layers of melody or bruising power, but just twirling potential set on repeat. Smooth and mellow trance with a goa sound palette. The melodies used here created a jumping off point for a lot of later artists. You might call it simplistic especially compared to the complexity in goa production today where every release attempts to out epic each other. While not the first, second, or third disc I would reach for it does have its charm. Mdk

Artist: Shivax Title: State of Mind Label: Sita Records Date: July, 2013 1. Golden Xstasy 2. Space Dancing 3. Dimethyal Trip 4. Gayatri 5. Om Namah 6. Age Of Enlightenment 7. State Of Mind 8. Power Absorber (feat. Agneton) 9. Hava 10. Genesis "And if you don't believe drugs have done anything good for us do me a favor. Go home tonight and take all of your albums, all of your tapes, all of your CDs and burn them. Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your life throughout the years were real high on f*cking drugs." No sir, didn't like it. The music, not the sample. The sample is f*cking awesome. Like Jim Carrey nitzhonot is an acquired taste. I can't stand Jim Carrey no matter what role he plays. He is a buffoon pure and simple. Some people love his low brow brand of comedy, it's just not for me. And nitzhonot is the same thing. I love Agneton's music because he straddles the line between goa and nitzho keeping it pumping, dark, and cheese free. Not so here. You'll find plenty of stops and starts, frenetic riffs rising and falling, and enough of an ethnic feeling you'll be asking for a side of baba ganoush. To me nitzho is like goa's full-on where purists and old schoolers look to the heavens at the cheesy leads and melodies, but tolerate it because it brings the chicks to the party. Face it hippies, hot chicks don't wanna be bogged down with your heavy goa spiritualism. They wanna dance and shake what dey momma gave 'em. Nitzho is a less serious take and is more interested in a good time than pondering the universe. Take my review with a grain of salt because I'm not a fan of this subgenre. Hell I've had a forum member tell me to go back to my Wizzy Noise CD's when I commented unfavorably on some impossibly mundane darkpsy release. If you're into the nitzho then there's a great chance you'll love this. You can hear his technical skill and the sound production is superb. But you gotta blend my Jim Carrey with something else cause stand alone Jim Carrey ain't good for nobody. Sita Records Beatspace Psyshop Mdk

"I have a feeling...that we may encounter life...as we don't know it." We are 18 years removed from when this was produced, but thanks to labels like Anjuna, Zion604, and DAT Records what's old is new again. These days we as a forum eagerly await the next icon of the genre to re-discover lost DAT tapes in grandma's attic so we can look at ourselves and wonder how these classic tracks were never released. Well guess what this was released. I can say that thanks to the above labels I have a new appreciation for the different facets of goa trance then and now. Where I used to walk through goa trance with Dimension 5 / Pleiadians / Transwave blinders on I now look for something deeper and intensely psychedelic, attempting to find gems where I previously thought none existed. Heartbeat and Tantra Mantra are those psychedelic blasters that wouldn't have made an impression on me a few years ago. As mentioned this album is melodic in a very metallic and screechy way with a thumping kick throughout. The leads on The Great Spirit churn like eternal waves that just keep coming. If there was one minus to this album I would say that some of the tracks tend to go on a little too long, but that's some minor nitpicking. I wouldn't call it a classic though as that should remain an honor for the best of the best. Still, if you're looking for some sharp old school that isn't the usual stuff this is pretty good. Mdk

Not that it's a big deal (it isn't is it?) but did anyone else's copy come unsealed? Probably just mine. Cause you hate America. Mdk

Say what you want about the guy, but man his early stuff was magical. Mdk

Artist: Elysium Title: Monzoon Label: YoYo Records Date: 1996 01. 11'28" Master Of The Rainforest 02. 11'10" Monzoon 03. 09'32" Illusive World 04. 10'53" Elysium 05. 08'55" Subconsciousness 06. 09'07" Interpretation Of Dreams 07. 10'25" Aliens "It's human nature to fear...the unusual." Elysium is Dane Kristian Thinning and he is the go to guy for tribal goa trance. Dance for the Celestial Beings was his debut and one of the classic albums that should be owned. His second was a mini album entitled Master of the Rainforest which included the monster track of the same name. This was released the next year and took tracks from both and made it into a compilation. Good to have if you weren't fortunate to get a hold of the first two (like me). Then in 2005 Avatar Records gave it the re-release treatment with a special 2nd disc of unreleased tracks. If that wasn't enough, a few years ago he gave away a lot of his old tunes on Ektoplazm under the album title Works. Did I mention he also gave away wav remasters of the biggest tracks from one of his other projects Sheyba? Dude is a giver. This tribal goa trance is delicious. I don't know if he'll see any of the cash from it, but I'm buying the Avatar reissue. Least I can do. Mdk

Ummm....no. No I am not. Mdk