Trance2MoveU

Artist: Nervasystem Title: Time Travel Label: Anjuna Records Date: December, 2013 1. Rotating Rama 2. Non Terrestrial Intelligence 3. Interstellar Mutation 4. Juddervision 5. Dimension Expansion 6. Narcosynthesis 7. Cybermat 8. Karmenbozia I had a dream last night. Nah, cooler. I was at Pink's (yes that one) wedding trying to console her because her family didn't approve of who she was marrying. I wasn't trying to score (not my type) just trying to be nice. For some reason it was in India cause that's the type of sh*t rich white people do. And somehow I managed to hike there from the Appalachian Trail. In Virginia. I know, the trail doesn't even have India as a destination! So anyway, the wedding is over and we have to climb down sheer cliffs to board an elephant that will take us to the ground. My kids are there and just like real life they're fast so I don't see them get on the elephant but I'm on it and we begin to descend. My stomach drops like it would on a roller coaster and he slams into Earth and we disembark. Onto another elephant that will take us to the train home. And I'm sitting next to the mother of an acquaintance from high school who just so happens to be from Goa, India. She tells me that her son wished that we were better friends and that he could play the synthesizers like I could. And in her best New Dehli English said, "That boy always had a love of goa trance." No sh*t. No f*cking way. With that last statement I knew I had to review this album. I haven't had a drink or smoked weed in over a decade and I can only attribute the vivid presentation of this dream to one thing... Meatloaf. That's right, a loaf of meat. To answer your question I will be making the same meatloaf for dinner tonight, I simply must find out if Pink goes through with her nuptials not to mention getting another ride on that elephant. Go figure some people need weed or LSD to open the door to another dimension, mine is available at Wal-Mart for $1.79 a pound. These tunes were written by Mark Dressler & Darren Beale between 1994 and 1996, some of the first tracks they ever recorded. The material was rediscovered when going through some old DAT tapes. Like with the Lucid Flux release there was a regular copy and a limited edition available. They even did posters and T-shirts. Rotating Rama is a thumping bit of psychedelic goa trance right out of the gate. Thumping being the operative word. It's very repetitive (and you'll find this throughout the album), but in a hypnotic way. It gathers you up in an old school goa vortex for over 11 minutes. Non Terrestrial Intelligence is a tale of two halves. The first half was ok, but the 2nd is where the lead went nuts and things took off. Sufficiently warmed up? Because from here to the last track it's it's an old school paddling. The bass hums in Interstellar Mutation as the synths snap crackle and pop in a nasty groove. And Juddervision is...well, it's kinda... Whew! Like that. Dimension Expansion is another bass driven monster with an absolute squealing lead. Narcosynthesis has a funky wobble and had a darkness that reminded me of Syb Unity Nettwerk. So that's a huge thumbs up. Monster track. Cybermat continues the assault with perhaps the most layered and aggressive track. Forceful. The only track that didn't floor me was Karmenbozia, but not a whole lot can keep up with the last several tracks. I was singing the name of the track for a bit though. Without question this is the best release from Anjuna Records. What a treat to get these tracks. This project has always been on the periphery of goa trance for me, but these tracks are extremely good. It's a powerful trip through deep space with screeching leads, bubbly bass, and plenty of darkness. Highly recommended. All it needed was a little meatloaf. Anjuna Records Mdk

Sweet track list! Mdk

Artist: Ovnimoon Title: Trancemutation of the Mind Label: Ovnimoon Records Date: July, 2013 1. A necessary tool 2. Quiet my mind 3. Hooponopono - Ovnimoon with Lupin & Edit Ballai 4. Superlight in the darkness - Ovnimoon with Via Axis 5. Transmutation - Ovnimoon with Pragmatix, E-Mantra and Nova Fractal 6. Sat Nam for me, Sat Nam for you 7. La Danza Espiritual - Ovnimoon with Spirit Architect 8. Learning 9. Power of positive mind - Ovnimoon with Lyctum I've got wood! What did you think I meant? Yeah I'm rebuilding the front porch so I had to hit the big box hardware store. And by rebuilding I mean watching my friend do it as I carry the tools and nails. Then I gotta clean up. But I can tell you this... I think I'm in love. You go through life listening to music hoping you'll meet that special album, that group of tracks that has melodies that go on for miles and more than enough groove in the trunk. And when she says I love you back (Hooponopono), well then, you know you've found the one. Ovnimoon is Hector Stuardo and he runs the Ovnimoon label which has given so much. I mean c'mon, they seem to throw a record out there like every three days. But we forget that he's also an accomplished artist who walks that fine line between psytrance and progressive. Walks it? He backflips across that motherf*cker. Floating and drifting melodies, thumping beats, thick layers of lush atmosphere, and a pair of goa tracks that he shoves right in your face. Yeah, get some! But it's not just two tracks, the goa imprint is all over this. If goa was mud he just tracked it all over you f*cking living room. This is how you do psytrance. Hell this is how you mix goa, psy and progressive to make a brilliant album. It is so utterly rich and detailed you can throw out the old playbook because this is next level. The old rules and cliches no longer apply. This is Tales of Heads awesome and easily one of the best releases of the year 2013. Cue mic drop cause this is a game changer. Psyshop Mdk

Hmmm.... *eyebrows raised* Mdk

Artist: Digital Talk Title: New Age Surf Label: Acidance Records Date: April, 2004 1. Abyss 2. Akara 3. La Bicicleta 4. Fix The Fx 5. Race Trouble 6. New Age Surf 7. Scruffy Connection 8. Mind Hunters 9. Party People This french duo deliver some early twilight sounds. Dark as hell without plunging into darkpsy, it is bass line driven stuff. As DP said you'll hear the same bass line in several tracks. Melodies are infrequent and while they go heavy on the effects (love the goat) I am one of those who find it boring. I used to like it more, but time has passed this by. Fear not though, their sound and depth of production got better over the years. Mdk

Artist: Phobium Title: Oort Cloud Label: Omnitropic Date: September, 2013 1 - The Cloud At A Distance 2 - Drifting Past Comets (105 BPM) 3 - Crossing The Heliopause (145 BPM) 4 - Into The Interstellar Medium (99 BPM) 5 - Towards Proxima Centauri (101 BPM) 6 - Distant Sol Gimme a minute, I'll get there. I'm not smart enough to get into the details of what an Oort cloud is, but think space, chunks of icy matter, and comets. Got that? Then you are now floating untethered through the cold blackness of deep space. Slow drifting ambient somewhat reminiscent of Kitaro if he joined NASA. Phobium is Henning Ottesen from Norway and he presents the story of the first manned mission to travel through this massive cloud surrounding our solar system. The ambient sounds like what you would expect the soundtrack to the far reaches of space would sound like. Take an arpeggio, surround with pads, repeat. At 17 minutes it felt like it took forever to cross the Heliopause. My mind wandered. What am I going to make for dinner? Is John Travolta really gay? How come cows don't tip over when they're on a steep hill? Can I just microwave 3 day old coffee or should I stop being a lazy f*ck and just brew another pot? I poke fun, but he's got talent no question. Into the Interstellar medium is a vivid cross section of a slow motion tumble amongst the stars where you should be freaking out, but it's so calm and serene relaxation is the only response. Towards Proxima Centauri speeds things up as he rediscovers his software has a beat function. This is deep trance where time is rendered meaningless as I try to take it all in. This could be what the outcome would sound like if you locked Tangerine Dream and Vangelis and they spent all their time comparing dick sizes. Distant Sol is an isolating drone that will help you appreciate just how vast space is. So vivid and simple it moves unbelievably slowly like an old lady in the left lane. So yeah slow as f*ck but deliciously ominous. The crew of the Event Horizon has been slaughtered and the freighter is left to drift into deep space for eternity. Alone, so alone. Three tracks over 13 minutes of a very repetitive style is a lot to take. F*ck you Phobium for making me think about gay John Travolta drinking 3 day old coffee. But thank you Phobium for presenting that scary as hell last track. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Menis rhymes with penis. That is all. Ok, that's not all. The reviews above pretty much nailed it as a dark and menacing goa/psy album. While not on the same level as something from Syb Unity Nettwerk or Cydonia the similarities are there. Menacing, brooding, whatever you want to call it. The fourth track wasn't terrible, but it was severely misplaced IMO. Put that sh*t at the en or the beginning not right in the middle of the storm. That's like opening a lemonade stand during a hurricane. Good album, just not great. Mdk

Artist: Electric Universe Title: Unify Label: Spirit Zone Recordings Date: April, 2002 1. 06'49" Solylun 2. 06'56" Activate 3. 07'21" Fire Wire 4. 08'41" Lumiere 5. 07'23" Impulse 6. 08'54" Exciter 7. 07'38" Embrace It 8. 06'39" Transmission 9. 05'27" Jetzt 10. 08'01" Gayatri *sigh* Boris Blenn has managed to unify boredom and terrible tracks in an unholy union not seen since the adding of peanut butter to mayonnaise. I realize that 2002 were the dark times, a time that gave psytrance the middle finger, but this was the best an "icon" could do? No, no...you don't get to pout. I got started so I'm going to finish. If you are afforded the cherished icon status then much is expected of you. Has there been anyone other than Astral that has been living off what they did in the past more than this guy? This music goes nowhere, caught in a nexus of sadness between goa and minimal. At some point those who care about Boris need to hold an intervention and take away his beat makers. The downtempo stuff is where he's at his best and even those weren't up to the bar he himself set as Galaxy. Paradise Connection? That sh*t seems like three lifetimes ago. Looking at his catalog it's just one terrible Electric Universe album after another in a trail of sadness and disappointment. He's had portholes of greatness (One Love, Cosmic Experience) in a Titanic sized hull that have so far culminated in the pinnacle of his trail of tears (Higher Modes). *shudder* Just because you put a lot of albums out there doesn't make you an icon. Insane Clown Posse did that and all they left behind was face paint and empty Faygo bottles. Damn I hated writing this as I'm a fan, but this sh*t is getting ridiculous. Think I don't see you Olli, I see you laughing over there. You want me to take aim at the sh*t you threw out there for a decade? Mdk

Artist: Deviant Electronics Title: Brainwashing Is Child's Play Label: Helix Records Date: March, 1997 1 Brainwashing Is Childs Play (8:24) 2 Viral Spiral (7:55) 3 First Machine (9:11) 4 Catharsis (7:47) 5 Automatum (9:34) 6 Elastic Bang (7:36) 7 When Then Is Now (7:33) 8 Oystadub (7:09) 9 Phenomenon Anon. (8:19) "We are not what you think we are." I have to say that this is interesting, but ultimately a disappointment if you're looking for something similar to D5's Transdimensional. When an album is released in 1997 the bar is quite high and while not as forceful or complex as the more well knowns from this year, there is a smooth floating atmosphere on this album. Deviant Electronics is British producer Ciaran Walsh and his debut begins with two ripping psychedelic goa tracks yet is unable to maintain that ferocious momentum. As you get deeper into the tracklist, the music becomes less aggressive and intense until it ends in a downtempo vibe. Elastic Bang and When Then Is Now appealed to me however with their undulating progressive type goa atmosphere. Old School label Zion 604 has recently released an album of rarities and unreleaseds from this artist called Green Room and on first listen there are some absolute crackers to be heard. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: First Flight Label: Flying Rhino Records Date: May, 1996 1. 08'14" Slinky Wizard : Lunar Juice (Hallucinogen Moon Strudel Rmx) 2. 11'18" Pleiadians : Zeta Reticuli (Lazy Spiral Rmx) 3. 07'51" Slinky Nuns : Shitty Stick (Better Than A Poke In The eye With A) 4. 09'07" Hallucinogen : Trancespotter 5. 09'26" Sheyba : Trance Africa Express 6. 08'41" Slinky Wizard : Funkus Munkus 7. 08'59" Technossomy : Indiginus 8. 09'19" X-Dream : Create Your Own Happiness This is a classic. No discussion needed. I'm sorry? What was that? I can't hear your argument because the awesome is so f*cking loud. Even the artwork drowns out your meager and febrile protestations. Proper goa trance as it was meant to be. I even like the track with the jungle sounds. And to end with We Created Our Own Happiness? Ladies and Gentlemen that is what we in the business call a closer "Thank you Cleveland!" Mdk

Artist: Planet B.E.N. Title: Trippy Future Garden Label: Polytox Records Date: September, 1996 1 Welcome To The Future (10:31) 2 Screwdriver (7:25) 3 Questionmark (9:30) 4 Scotty's Name (9:01) 5 Ant Invasion (12:24) 6 Trippy Future Garden (21:57) Universally hailed as one of the greatest releases of psychedelic goa trance ever it still doesn't get the attention it deserves. It's not sexy and floating like Pleiadians or Transwave. Spiraling melodies found in Dimension 5 and Etnica are noticeably absent here. This is chunky goa trance with nooks and crannies. Psychedelic to its core and the depth is amazing. Picture Artifakt and X-Dream spending a three day music bender in an abandoned asylum and not resurfacing until they finished the epic Welcome to the Future. It's dark and bad ass. Listen to the attitude on Questionmark as it growls. Heavy handed this one is ready to play the knockout game and you're the victim. The balls on this thing are enormous. Ant Invasion takes a few minutes to amass its swarming horde, but when it does prepare to be overrun with layers of bus sized alien ants. You can definitely hear the techno influence on this one. Which brings us to the final track on this opus. A 22 minute foray into acre of mechanized future gardens where machines are harvested for the upcoming Earth invasion. The ambient middle is there to underscore how vast the killing fields have become. This is easily the crown jewel of Planet B.E.N. production. He has never equaled this blisteringly great album. It is mindblowing psychedelic goa trance that I would easily punch your grandma for. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Virtual Jungle Label: Phonokol Date: 1997 1. 08'23" Tango Electro 2. 07'08" Etheogenic Spiral 3. 07'20" Under The Witch 4. 07'58" Solid Bubbles 5. 07'05" The Second Moon 6. 06'25" Dust 7. 07'37" Virtual Jungle 8. 07'50" Awake 9. 08'08" Nuclear Fissionchips They might as well have called this Space Cat and friends cause that's what it is. DNA productions is short for Dino & Avi, but it's much more than that. Joti Sidhu (Psychaos) is well represented, as track with a member of Etnica, one with Semsis, the Tandu guys...you get the picture. Partially mixed Israeli goa trance from the magical year of 1997 with recognizable names. Some of the tracks are really good (The Second Moon, Dust), but most are like players that come off the bench. Quality, but you wouldn't want to go into the playoffs with them as your starting side. The tracks aren't bad, but they seem lees full than what you typically see today. It's not full of goa stormers nor is it intensely psychedelic aside from the two I mentioned. So file this under the good not great category. Mdk

Artist: Electric Universe Title: Blue Planet Label: Spirit Zone Recordings Date: 1999 1. 07'21" Fly 2. 07'26" Compressor 3. 05'48" Renania 4. 06'54" Meteor 5. 05'14" Rock Da House 6. 05'32" The Tribal Session 7. 08'30" Magnetic Field 8. 07'26" The Space Dimension 9. 09'13" Lovescience 10. 06'12" Journey Into Outer Space Boris has had an interesting career hasn't he? A man capable of magic goa trance like Online Information and beautiful downtempo as Paradise Connection also made some wicked night time full-on during the first half of the new millennium. But these days... I'm of the opinion that once he had nothing left to communicate he left his Earthly skin suit to return to whatever planet he was from. This was his fourth album and I believe it encapsulates his career perfectly. A mixed bag of goa trance, his insistence on using cheesy guitar riffs, and several moments of wondering how high he must've been to leave some of this sh*t on the album. It's a grab bag of experimentation full of tracks that short and sound unfinished. Audio sketches if you will that show flashes of creativity only to be lost in a cloudy haze of catatonic stares and crumpled up bags of Doritos. Far from essential, I've come to the understanding that he does his best work when the bpm's are low. Mdk

Artist: S.U.N. Project Title: Macrophage Label: Spirit Zone Recordings Date: February, 1998 1. Space Dwarfs 2. Spaceships and Space People 3. Dance of the Witches 4. I Feel 5. The Saw 6. Sex, Drugs, & Acidtrance II 7. Frisco Machines 8. Erergia Magica 9. From Dusk Till Dawn This German duo (not a duo since 2011) is one of the also rans from the golden age of goa. Like an extra in Pulp Fiction...yeah you were in a really cool movie but don't ask me where. After listening their album Zwork I was ready to write them off, but this album changed all of that. Space Dwarfs is a killer bit of goa even with that annoying and utterly flow killing melody in the middle. You'll notice pretty quickly that guitar use in this album is pretty heavy. It's kinda their thing, but not in a cheesy Electric Universe way. Tracks like Spaceships and Space People as well as Dance of the Witches actually rock. I Feel is another underrated track that brings the heat. The middle of the album is interesting and entertaining, but doesn't leave a mark like the first four tracks. The last two are of the downtempo variety with Energia Magica being the more goa "ey" of the two. So all in all a good album taht won't scare me away from listening to their other stuff. I'll let you know if they're in one hit wonder territory.

Artist: Various Title: Goa Overdose 3 Label: UAF Date: November, 2013 1 - Nolax - The Broken Bubble (145 BPM) 2 - Dragon Twins - Fire And Earth (141 BPM) 3 - Ruby Plexus - Tantric Tarantism (147 BPM) 4 - JIS - Journey In My Head (145 BPM) 5 - Tomac - Polar Exploration (134 BPM) 6 - Dreamweaver - Tabula Rasa (142 BPM) 7 - Space Elves - Drop Zone (145 BPM) 8 - Omnivox - Spectral Mutant (142 BPM) 9 - Laughing Skull - Alek Wonderland (145 BPM) 10 - Crossing Mind - Clinic Reality (148 BPM) "They haven't come outta that laboratory for the last three days!" That's cause dey f*cking. You say overdose like it's a bad thing. Ok that's ridiculous. I don't care how much they pay you there is no need to sacrifice your health for some preconceived idea of what you should... Holy sh*t. Is there no middle ground? All you can eat is a marketing ploy nor a double dare. Jeez...as least she doing...something resembling sit ups... Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick. If you can sing lower than the guy from Boyz to Men lay off the roids Queenzilla. Ugh, for the first time in my life I'm staring at tits and I'm disgusted. Ok you win...overdose is bad no matter how you slice it. Except this one. Imba and UAF are back with part three of the highly successful Goa Overdose series. As usual it's free and full of melodic goa trance by artists you might not be familiar with and a few making their return. The Broken Bubble- Christoph of the Persistence and Turning Point albums seems to have a good relationship with Imba as he has landed guest shots on all the overdoses. His track is a bubbly way to begin things. Fire and Earth is a squirelly motherf*cker with an old school undercurrent that grows in intensity. Tantric Tarantism- Ruby Plexus is ok you got me I have no idea who this is. It's an ok track. Journey In My Head- JIS recently dropped the fantastic Illusions of Reality so after reading that review you need to pay that man! This is mellow in style with those subtle old school flares. Good pumping track that could've even been great with more evolution. Polar Exploration- Sound old school? Should, it's from 2001. This is some undulating goodness that gets in a nice steady rhythm. Kind of like last night when I was with your mom. Yeah she made me blueberry pancakes after we were done. I know! I thought the same thing, they're not in season, how did you do this? Tabula Rasa- Another track from the past (2006) and if this don't get you twerking may I interest you in some drone? Welcome back you glorious mother f*cker. Drop Zone- I really enjoyed Terrestrial Planet Finder...840 hours? That's like a month, what kind of deadline is that? What can't you get done in a month? Even if you spent most of that time staring at porn or gravy wrestling that's still a bizarre deadline. Acidic licks make this enjoyable. Spectral Mutant- There's some buzz floating around about this project (heard it from my toaster) and I can see why. Bouncy and multi-layered this is great for dancing. Alek Wonderland- Another track from 2001? Are you kidding me? This thing is a no holds barred blow the door off the hinges Nagasaki explosion of goa trance. Who's gonna put the paint back on my walls? Clinic Reality- Crossing Mind has recently summited the mountain of goa trance with two brilliant albums in a short time. He closes things out with a track from 2003 that is kinda off tempo. Once it settle in his sound becomes readily apparent. There is something chunky about it. Not your normal four on the floor goa. This is another master stroke by Imba who has really come into his own over the last few years. He's put together a cracker of a compilation that has only one flaw. You guessed it, the mastering. Homie don't got no monies and Tim Schuldt don't do freebies so this is what free mastering sounds like. Still it's not bad and in no way ruins an otherwise brilliant album. Sounds fine on my headphones. Definitely worthy of your time. Hopefully when Imba gets rich fleecing, ahem I mean touring Israel he can pay for some professional mastering because it deserves it. You the man Imba. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Lyctum Title: Vibrations of Life Label: TesseracT Studio Date: July, 2013 1. Cosmic Web 2. Gravity Loss 3. Atmospheric Probe 4. Voice of the Earth 5. Planet Birth 6. Subatomic 7. Quantum Field 8. Eleven (Lyctum Remix) - The Riddler Haven't been listening to much progressive lately, but this release might change that. Nope, it definitely will. Lyctum is Dejan Jovanovic from Serbia (surprise) and his sophomore album is a melodic tour de force. From the opening track he weaves layers of uplifting melodies soaked in delicious reverb. It's a lush wound that completely captivates the listener, sometimes aggressive sometimes ethereal. Breaks are well placed and bursting with emotion punctuated frequently with chopped up chants and choirs. There is a clear nod to a higher power while at the same time stretching the boundaries of the universe as we know it. The whole thing is less like and album and more akin to an atmospheric tale unfolding in 4/4 time. The entire album is fantastic, but special kudos for out eerie-ing Goran with his remix of Eleven. Highly recommended and brilliant stuff I haven't heard since Shuma by E-Clip. Beatspace Psyshop Mdk

Artist: Trinodia Title: Astral Clouds Label: Ovnimoon Records Date: December, 2013 1. Astral Clouds 2. Enlightened Moon - Trinodia Vs. Judaika 3. Qind Mind 4. Alien Language - Trinodia Vs. Judaika 5. A11 (2013 Mix) 6. Out of orbit 7. Rusty Rites 8. Moon Mission - Voxel9 Simply beautiful? Or beautifully simple? "Mensa called again...they said don't ever, ever call them back again. Ever." Both actually. Trinodia is Daniel Eldström and unless you've been living under a rock (or Alabama, Mississippi, or Lousiana, know collectively as the place education goes to die) you've heard his music. This savvy Swede is a veteran of the goa trance scene. The digital release Human History from 2011 and his last album Stargazing are sparkling examples of stellar melodies and driving power. Like Filteria and E-mantra he's got..."it". What began as a regular doctor's visit soon descended into a whirlwind of glossy pamphlets, antibiotics, and painful urination. The Midas touch. He's got the Midas touch. Jeez, dial it down. Melodies are plentiful with rising and falling arpeggios willfully sacrificing themselves to the filter cutoff knob. There are samples of exotic shamans that are more enlightened than you after a bag of weed and ass wiggling grooves (Qind Mind) which keep me twirling. He stacks new school melodies on top of old school bite and growl resulting in an enveloping atmosphere. However it's not without a blemish. Like a man going to see the Notebook in the theater something was out of place. A11 wasn't bad, but it was too polished and shiny. Too...full-on. The feel of the track didn't match the overall vibe of the album. But by the time Rusty Rites came on... The final track is a downtempo one from his ambient project Voxel9 that couldn't get you closer to viewing the Earth from space than if Nasa sent you there to fix that f*cking cooling duct on the space station. Where was that thing made, China? So cold, so bright, so desolate with only the sounds of mission control in your headphones to keep you from floating away. It should go without saying, but get on this. It's worth every penny. Nice work Mr. Eldstrom. Psyshop Mdk

Artist: X-Side Title: Dominate EP Label: MMD Records Date: August, 2013 1. X-Side - Dominate 2. X-Side & Frozen Ghost - Tongue Out 3. Sinful Reactions & X-Side - Dark Skies 4. Mr. Jack - Alter Ego (X-Side Remix) "Have either of you experienced any blackouts...or stretches of time that you can't account for?" Maybe...but you better be careful man...the hulk is gonna come looking for his testicle and I don't wanna be anywhere near here. He's violent. Hey...hey, are you gonna finish those? South African digital label MMD has been very consistent in releasing quality music for night time mosh pitting. And make no mistake this is no different. If your idea of enjoying the music is wrecking sh*t and punching your fellow concert attendee, then this is something you should look into. I'm new to X-Side, but I know about the twilight shenanigans of Frozen Ghost and Sinful Reactions. It's high energy acidic mayhem that doesn't take its foot off the accelerator. Darkly melodic and supremely powerful, this is MMA soundtrack stuff. Get some. Beatport Mdk

Have you read this review? I mean really read it? It's f*cking poetry man. I wish I could write like this. All I got are gifs with boobs. Lots of boobs. Hats off to you brother, you should do more reviews as this was monumentally descriptive. And he (or she) is 100% correct with the account of this release. Floating ambient, churning downtempo, all of it extremely well done. Taking its time the melodies unfold at their own pace creating the perfect comfortable atmosphere with which to lose oneself. Warm and cold at the same time this forces ones gaze on the horizon without ever actually seeing it. Highly recommended. Cosmicleaf Mdk

Artist: Zonka Title: Remixes Part II Label: Uxmal Records Date: April, 2011 1. Sideform - Deeper Unity (Zonka Remix) 2. Sideform - Low Rider (Zonka Remix) Someone asked me to throw some bones towards the progressive crowd so here goes. Zonka is the co-founder of Mexican label Uxmal Records and while their progressive isn't on the same level as Iono Music or Tesseract's they do have some great tracks. The first EP of remixes is a perfect example of that. Which leads me to believe that Mr. Zonka should make more music. Or at least produce a few more remixes. He takes two Sideform tracks (neither of which I've heard) and it's magic. This is bubbly and dreamy melodic progressive. Replete with effects to just plunge you into the moment. Groovy and right in my strike zone with zero wasted space. Recommended for a quick progressive shot in the arm. Beatport Mdk

Man talk about varying opinions! Reading this thread there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. Hell Jon Coco replied at least 3 times in this one thread! Either you love it or you hate it. I love it. Now ten years old, this album is everything that has been written. Evil, hectic, loud, melodic, symphonic...it's psychedelic to the core. Borrowing from Simon and IM? Surely, but it's in a style all his own. It's an elaborate medieval ass kicking and doesn't conform to any regimented pattern. Barely restrained chaos that lends itself for tripping. One minute it's flying and the next you're deep in the dungeons of some musty castle. The whole album is like the soundtrack to a 3 day dungeon and dragons bender. Yeah I used to play....wanna fight about it? Goran IMO has certainly made a classic psychedelic trance album that is rife with twists and turns keeping the listener engaged. To prove how revolutionary an artist he is, while his later albums never matched the genius of his debut, he has reinvented himself (The Riddler) as a funky progressive trance producer carrying the same eerie melodies and effects over from his Talpa project. I'll tell you this, once you've heard the tracks you won't forget them. Some people just have it. Mdk

Artist: Perplex Title: Dynamic Label: MDMA Music Date: March, 2002 1. White Widow 2. Celebrytease 3. Flying V 4. Visual Perplex 5. Fast Moves 6. Dynamic 7. BBC 2002 8. When I'll Know 9. Last Call I'm perplexed because this isn't dynamic. Ronen Dahan at this time still had his feet stuck in the muck that was the minimal sounding boredom present at the beginning of the millennium. It's very boring without any surprises. Melodies are scarce, there is no power, and if you were driving with this in the deck you might be on the wrong side of a car accident. Imagine high speed drone. Hard to imagine that even in 2002 this was on the cutting edge, but there was a time and a place for everything I suppose. And now 12 years on, this has it's place in history like an extra has in Titanic. Mdk

Timecode Retrospective and the Midnight Storm series. Definite must haves. Mdk

Artist: Aphid Moon Title: High Diver Label: Dragonfly Date: 2003 01. A Lot Of Radio 02. Disco Biscuit 03. Boo 04. Spectra 05. Reactor 06. Dunno 07. High Diver 08. Zak Stardust "Quick put his hand in warm water!" "Nah, let's shave his eyebrows!" "Uh-uh he'll wake up. Just draw a dick on his face." Sh*t on a cracker this is boring. Makes Eye to Eye by Astrix sound like the f*cking London Symphony Orchestra. There are some sinister leads he works in there, but it's smothered by the crushing weight of monotony. He got better as the years went on (like all of us), but looking back at the debut it's almost unlistenable. Cover is pretty sweet though. Mdk

Artist: Astrix Title: Eye To Eye Label: HOM-mega Date: October, 2002 01. Life System 02. Crystal Sequenz 03. Wider (Rmx) 04. Massive Activity 05. Eye To Eye 06. Side Effect 07. Scientific Reality 08. FeeL.S.D 09. Valirus 10. Freestyle Cafe Women have it rough. They really do. From day one they're judged on their looks in a way that no man has to endure. It's not fair, but it's the way it is. You know where you really see it? Hollywood of course. Actresses, singers...the formula is blond, boobs, and boatload of autotune to manufacture the next penile stimulant. What does this have to do with Astrix? When this first came out, it was universally praised as a great full-on album. It seemed everyone loved it. I did and I bought it. But times change. Tastes change. Full-on is a four letter word and let's face it mostly due to the artists themselves. They took a formula and hit the repeat button which still hasn't stopped. My point? Know who this is? Of course you do. Lindsay Lohan was on the verge of becoming the hottest actress on the planet. Looks, down home appeal, and of course boobs. I would've hit it when Mean Girls came out and am pretty sure you would have also. But that was 10 years ago. Lots of things happen in a decade. The debut from Astrix is now 12 years old. How do you think that has held up? Yeah, not so well. Like someone else mentioned his breaks are where he shines the brightest and that hasn't changed. But listening to this now is almost nap inducing. Just one full-on eye rolling cliche after another. Not his fault, he made it before it became cliche. Before it was a sin to just let the full-on bass line roll for 32 measures. Before empty spaces bred boredom. This was really great at the time as we were starting to come out of the dark ages of minimal so any melody (even cheesy ones) were something to look forward to. But today this isn't something I want to listen to. It's tired and ran its course years ago. These days his productions are still full-on and shinier than 2002. I don't want to hear those either. Times change and so do tastes in music. I like to think I have evolved as a man and that my musical tastes have grown as well. So thanks to Astrix for this way back when, I appreciate it. But I've moved on. By the way...Lindsay says hi. Yikes. Mdk