pedro

Chronika Chapter III was much awaited by myself. It is a good compilation, but it is not quite as impressive as Chronika Chapter II - the best Boshke Beats release in my opinion. There are some fine tracks; my favourites are 4,5,6,9 and 10. Extrawelt remix (track 9) is a significant improvement on the original. But the best track is indeed the X-Dream one (no. 4). Recommended. Pedro

I do agree that travbrad1001 deserves our collective thanks. Moni, on the other hand, I think deserves a kick up her backside. She is not the only busy person nor the only one with a convoluted life. If she commits to something, then she has the responsibility to do it. Favour or no favour. Or if it is indeed an impossible task for whatever reason - then she should have at least the humility and honesty to come clean with us and inform us that she is unable/unwilling to do it. Pedro

I have looked at the Ozora festival and it seems quite good as well, but does not match the boom in terms of line-up (and there are more things to a festival than just line-up in my opinion). The only acts on the main stage in Ozora that would interest me (I am excluding the chill out chaps) would be: Live Acts Atmos Allaby Andromeda Gaudium (sort of) Logic Bomb Prometheus DJs Shane Gobi (he does both festivals, as does Tristan and Star Sounds) There are lots of acts which have not done anything interesting for quite a while. I am not interested unless they have something new - these include Hallucinogen, Pleadians, Neuromoter, Jaia, Blue Planet Corporation, Talamasca etc. Plenty of old dinosaurs there that I have already seen....including at Boom of past years! Pedro

I am quite happy with the line-up so far. One always wishes (of course) that it could better. Plus I go there for the excellent vibe as well (and I have been going since its early days...so it is almost routine for me). I think my older ears is perhaps more forgiving than some of yours. But I do find plenty of acts that I shall enjoy. Here goes my list (for now): PSY-TRANCE (i) DJs Bedouin & Hamish Shane Gobi (ii) Live Acts Behind Blue Eyes N.A.S.A. Neelix Ocelot Procs Rastaliens Shadow Fx Tetrameth Texas Faggot GROOVY BEACH (this looks very YUMMY to me, will spend plenty of time here) Dub-step, breakbeats, funk, dub, woo-hoo! I rather have variety than all-trance festivals... Here are my highlights: (i) DJ Alex Tolstei Scuba (ii) Live Acts Billy d’Allessandro Boxcutter Extrawelt Far Too Loud Loopus in Fabula Portable Plus all the ambient and other stuff yet to be announced. I wish they would have added two or three UK breakbeat acts! Perhaps they will - we shall see. Recommended. Pedro

This is a fine release by Tegma. Different from their previous efforts, as has already been pointed out. I don't mind if it is less 'psychedelic'; the full-on aficionados would do best to give this one a miss. Often cross-over efforts can fall a bit flat, but I think this one is good fun. I agree with the comment about the Ticon comparison. I loathed Ticon's last effort. This one is a lot more interesting. There are one or two weaker tracks (like Crank it up), but on the whole there is plenty to smile about. One of the better release so far this year. Recommended. Pedro

Not going to get into a discussion with piracy with you, Nemo, and escape the agro for now. Internet is usually cheaper than in stores - particularly if you buy more than one CD at a time. On the question of prices in London - £15 is high, and you can find cheaper. Prices have noticeably fallen with the advent of the internet. And at the Sisterray store that I mentioned in Soho, you can get brand new Psy-trance CDs mostly at a price of £10. It is the only store in London which I know that carries a decent selection of new psy-trance titles (although their selection is rapidly shrinking). I suspect in a year's time, they will barely carry it. This leaves the internet as the only real option in London. Pedro

Piracy is a contributing factor. But the key reason was of course prices and that is why I mentioned it first. It was simply under-priced by Saikosounds and Psy-shop. Not suggesting anything evil about that. Just a fact. Pedro

Ambient Soho doesn't exist any more. Most of the Soho shops have closed, or scaled down.

Nemo, You have me confused with someone else. I never sell any of my collection. I might give it away for free to friends. But sell? Never. And by the way - please go easy on the language. Pedro

Psychedelic Dream Temple is no more. They could not compete with the Saikosounds or Psyshop prices. Nor with all of you naughty boys and girls who download the music for free, enjoy it and choose not to respect the artists with a purchase. The Sisterray shop on 34-35 Berwick street in Soho does carry some psy-trance (plus lots of other good electronic music as well). Worth a visit. And if you are in the area, please go visit the great Sounds of the Universe store (AKA Soul Jazz records or Universal Sounds) on 7 Broadrick St - just around the corner from Berwick St. Now that is a great little store with always good stuff in the listening booths. No psy-trance - but plenty of quality stuff, ranging from proper "black" music to ethnic stuff. Always a delight for me. Pedro

Decent release by Texas Faggott for those who enjoy their style. I would rate Pilluminati Cunt Roll as a better release, however. Recommended. Pedro

A negative vote from me. Wanted to like this one. But I can't. It tries hard to be clever but ultimately it just isn't interesting. Not recommended. Pedro

The chill psy-trance albums that impressed me the most (factoring in when they were released), in no order: - Shpongle - Are you shpongled? - Safi Brothers - Mystic Cigarettes (but has aged very badly) - Tripswitch - Circuit Breaker - Abakus - That Much Closer to the Sun The one which disappointed me the most: Shpongle - Tales Of The Inexpressible Pedro

Okay, I can't resist adding to this already long thread. The following 10 albums are the guiltiest pleasures that I can think of at the moment. Choosing "guilty" songs is boring - albums are a more challenging proposal. The key idea behind these albums is that they are usually considered to be subpar (and they probably are) but I do like to listen to them. It is my idea of under-rated releases. I have resisted the urge of adding obscure stuff to this list. Here is the list (in no particuar order, as always with my lists). 1. Neil Diamond - Beautiful Noise. By far his best album, with a great variety of songs, all of them well crafted and with the right amount of inevitable cheese. It does not have any of his greatest hits, but this is a wonderful listen from start to finish with no weak songs. It is a great shame that Neil never repeated the greatness. Most critics, however, gave it poor marks and obviously disagree with me. 2. Neil Young - Silver and Gold. Generally considered as a pretty weak and even insipid album, but I love for its unassuming, laid-back beauty. Not every song is a winner (e.g. Daddy Went Walkin' is horrible), but it doesn't matter. 3. Kinks - Soap Opera. I love the Kinks, and they are indeed a well respected band. But this is generally considered to be a poor album during a part of the 70's when the Kinks were looking for focus. I find it an uplifting concept (in the true meaning of the word 'concept') album with some cracking uncomplicated and sometimes amiably cheesy songs touched with the Ray Davies magic. Try the Kink's Schoolboys in Disgrace if you can put up with Soap Opera. 4. Clash - Sandinista. Most people think this originally 3 LP release as being too long and just a big mess of half-done songs. I must confess that I listen to it a lot, much more than London Calling. 5. Rolling Stone - Tattoo You. God I hate stadium rock! And I hate 80s rock as well. Don't know why I listen to this more than any other Stone's album. Especially the second side of the LP, which is flawless. 6. La Dusseldorf - Individuellos. Their pedigree, as the successor band to Neu!, was impressive and faultless. But La Dusseldorf was never quite as well regarded as Neu! And this album(their third) is generally considered to be their worst. But I listen to it more than the others. Furthermore, my favorite track is a bonus track not even originally on the 70's release. 7. Pink Floyd - Final Cut. Better than the Wall, Dark Side and Wish You Were Here (despite whatever anyone else may tell me). Roger Waters was here at the peak of his creativity, never matched again in his solo career. 8. Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. Loads of fun. Even though the key hit song (Tainted Love) was a cover. 9. Imagination (Very Best of). Reminds me of my youthful days on the dancefloor. Impossible to listen to it without tapping my feet. Yes, I know, the group sounds very gay... 10. Mussorgsky - Khovanshina. Left uncompleted by the alcoholic composer, it is my favourite Russian opera and one of my favourite classical pieces. Critics are usually lukewarm about it, and Boris Gudonov is a much more famous work. But this is a real work with balls despite being a bit uneven at times. This music makes Tchaikovsky seem like the prancing faggott that he was... Pedro

Hallucinogen - LSD.

This is certainly not psy-trance, which really would not matter if it was a worthy release. It isn't. Only in our semi-amateur world could something like this get out and avoid universal condemnation. Their previous CD was quite better - it had three tracks which I really did enjoy. In fact, I think one word from the title of their last CD ("Zero") cam be applied to 2 AM. Certainly not recommended. Pedro

Here are my votes (in no particular order) : Psy trance: (i) Ultrapop 2 (ii) Prometheus - Corridor of Mirrors (iii) Antix - Wanderers (iv) Solar Fields - Earthshrine (v) Set 7 Declivity Ambient: (i) Asura - Life2 (ii) Polyploid - Grow Your Own (iii) Oxycanta - Winter Bloom (iv) Chillers vol. 1 (v) Sync 24 - Source Non-trance (what really rocked this old man in 2007): (i) Pantha du Prince - This Bliss (ii) Stewart Walker - Concentricity (iii) Foog - One (iv) Efdemin - Efdemin (iv) Swayzak - Some Other Country (v) Uusitalo - Karhunainen (vi) High Contrast - Tough Guys Dont Dance (vii) Mia - Bittersuss (viii) Thomas Fehlman - Hunigspumpe (ix) Shackleton & Appleblim - Soundboy Punishments (Skull Disco) (x) Burial - Untrue Pedro

I loved Ultrapop. And this one is just as good. I find the opening track a bit too excessive (and I skip over it), but the rest of the album is pure enjoyment. Even the Ocelot track is good. This has to be one of the best releases of 2007. Recommended. Pedro

I can confidently recommend this CD as much as the first Oxycanta. In fact, it is perhaps better because it does not end with such a stupid track as the one from Omnimotion. I am also a fan of the Amos track, but the other stuff is also good. Recommended. Pedro

I am 154 years old. Some days are better than others. Can't complain. Pedro

I think this is the best Antix one so far. I thought track 6 was poor, but the rest of the CD was very enjoyable. Sure, it sounds different than their previous releases. But that is okay by me, I thought the last one had a bit too much cheese. I wouldnt call this CD minimalist, although it certainly is a bit technoish at times. But that is no bad thing. I recommend this one. Pedro

This last effort by Antix is quite enjoyable (although they have to be careful not to overdo the electro influences). I did not like Twin Coast Discovery at all, which I found too cheesy. Lull was class as well. Pedro

I am not sure what Apparat is doing in this section since it is has zero to do with trance. Perhaps it should be moved to the general section. Having said this, this is Apparat's best release, a worthy effort, and I heartily recommend a listen. I do hate the term IDM - I think "electronica" or "leftfield" are probably better terms. The "IDM" moniker is just so...90s in my opinion. I will resist giving recommendations in the genre, but just to say that of all the artists so far mentioned in this thread, if I would have to choose one I would choose Abfahrt Hinwil - theirs was a fantastic release and the best thing to come out of the now seemingly defunct (and somewhat over-rated) Toytronic label. Pedro PS This is not related musically - but am I the only one who thinks Pantha-du-Prince walks on water?

I also don't see such a great similarity between Vibrasphere and Sun Control Species. So far, I am enjoying the SCS release more than Vibrasphere's.... Pedro

Charlie, I could not help notice you have an Isotek (the Titans I think) for your mains. I am glad to see it works in your system. I have had terrible results with it - it seems to rob dynamics from my system. Apparently my Pass Labs amp already filters and adjusts for the dodgy mains current and the Titan is just overkill. However, on the other hand, quality mains cable make a positive difference in my system. Pedro