pedro

Wanted to really like this CD, but I find it not interestingly enough. It is not bad (Cosmosis does strike a decent balance between old-style and new full-on) - but the release is really not that special and is not worth me buying it. The music will probably sound better in a party and I look forward to seeing Cosmosis at the Glade Festival in a few weeks' time. Pedro

I am also eager for Atmos's next.

Has a couple of decent tracks but it is indeed devoid of ideas at times. Not recommended. Pedro

Its not bad, but there are better Kompakt releases.

This album is not so special in my opinion. Was not moved to buy it from the samples and would not encourage somebody to do so. But what a great DJ he is! Looking forward to hearing him at Glade Festival. Not recommended. Pedro

Good album from Sound Field. Tracks 1 and 3 are indeed great fun although the rest of the album never quite reaches those lofty heights. I also like the closing track. Several of the remaining tracks are competent (like 4) without being special. The dub track, however, is pretty blah. On balance, I do like this CD and am glad I purchased it. But I get the feeling that these chaps (particularly Prosect) can put in more winners on the next album. Recommended. Pedro

Very nice album. This is proof that in the midst of much mediocrity in ambient psy trance there are a few people who can put out an album which is consistently good. It can be a bit samey as you listen through all the tracks, but overall I would give this album a strong recommendation. Pedro

I liked the two Gi'iwa compilations (well, I like Schizm quite better), but I think this album is too uneven to warrant a positive recommendation. Most of the tracks are busy without actually being interesting in terms of ideas. Some decent tracks like 6 and 7. Pedro

To my ears, this album is a definite step up from his previous effort. I enjoyed the album more than I thought I would. It does have a few weak tracks, e.g. 2 and 8, but on average this is a strong release and does garner a positive recommendation from myself. This is better than the other Twisted stuff (such as the latest Koxbox) being released. Pedro

Your amp has 500 Watts into 8 ohm. Usually the wattage that is quoted is the one into 8 ohms with two channels. Most amps increase their wattage as they meet stronger resistance. I am not an expert at all on pro systems (I listen to hi-fi). But it sounds to me that your amp might be the problem - it seems like it is probably having trouble supplying stable, constant current. Have it checked out. Pedro

People often have amazing misconceptions about speakers. First of all, speakers do not have WATTS. WATT is a measure of power - amplifiers do WATTs. Speakers do not. One can talk about how many WATTs a speaker can handle, but even then it is not always a good indicator. Secondly, the most common (by far) reason why speakers blow up is not because the amp is too strong for the speakers and pushed it to the edge. Rather the opposite is true. The amp is not strong enough to drive the speaker beyond a certain decibel level and as you push it the amp starts giving up and starts spiking. It is these spikes which then destroy the speakers. Often you can hear these clipping noises - if you do, this is not a good sign. Turn down the amp. So what are the ideal speakers? It does depend on lots of variables but if you want speakers to go loud without blowing up you should check their impedence and their sensitivity. These give you an idea of how difficult a pair of speakers are to drive. In fact, you can calculate (roughly) how loud a speaker can play in decibels if you know the speaker's sensitivity and the amp's wattage. For simplicity purposes I will skip the question of impedence (usually the higher the better, 8ohm being quite nice, but there are other aspects to consider as well since it is a matter of an impedence curve and not a single number) and just focus on sensitivity (or efficiency). Speakers are usually rated at how many decibels sound pressure level (SPL) of sound they will make one metre away if 1 watt of power is applied. You then need to apply roughly twice the wattage to add another 3db of sound. So if a speaker says it is 85db efficient it will take you 128 watts to make it go 106db (fairly loud). This is calculated as follows : 106-85=21 db increase. That is seven steps of 3db, seven times you double . 1 -> 2,4,8,16,32,64,128 watts. If your speaker was rated as 100 db (which is equite efficient) you would only need 4 watts. 106-100= 6db. 2 steps of 3db 1-> ,2,4. Therefore, the second speaker sounds 32x louder than the first one. You would need an amp 32x (!!) stronger for the first speaker than the second speaker to get to the same loudness. If you had a 50 watt amp on the first speaker you could probably destroy the speaker if you went too loud. A 50 watt amp on the second speaker would drive it comfortably to ear deafening levels without any damage to the speaker or amp. There is also the question of how many db a speaker can go before it starts to misbehave. But the point I am trying to make (in a simplified manner) is (1) to make sure you get an efficient speaker (2) it is measured in db per 1 WATT and not WATTs (3)and make sure your amp can handle the speaker to the noise levels you want. Usually within the same speaker range of the same company, a larger speaker will go louder because it is easier to drive. Think of the energy that you use to bang on a small drum and on a large drum. With the same energy (i.e. WATTs), you make a larger noise with the large (or more efficient drum). Hope this helps. Pedro

I am glad Emmanuhell did edit his response. His previous one did made him look even more like a twat than his current response. At any rate, Emmanuhell obviously has problems expressing himself. As far as the best of 2006 voting is concerned, I welcome it. The actual ranking is less interesting to me than the CDs being mentioned. And like most people, I will not take the fact that one CD is ranked 6th, it means that it is more appreciated or better than one ranked 9th. In my view, what is interesting in doing this exercise is seeing what CDs other people enjoyed the most in 2006 - giving me a few pointers on other CDs to explore. The rankings themselves I believe are of secondary importance - but they are a good way of organising people's opinions and preferences. If you have the info - why not rank them. As long as you don't take it too seriously. Perhaps some people really do attach huge significance to the rankings themselves - but they are a minority. If it was up to me, however, I would just collect people's unranked top 5 CDs, assigning 1 point each, and then only rank them in the final group collected list. Pedro

Choosing 5 of the best releases is an interesting exercise. I personally find it pointless then to rank them 1 to 5. Perhaps because that is not how my thought process tends to work - of course I like my CDs in varying levels, but to do a 1 to 5 or a 1 to 10 ranking seems a bit artificial to me. It would be better, in my view, to just collect the top five CDs from everybody, assign equal points and then do the ranking. At any rate, here are five of my favourite CDs from this year. I have ordered them alphabetically - you may assign 1 to 5 points or you may give each of them 3 points (my preferred choice). Downbeat Liquid vol. 1 Igneous - Skip Insect Perfect Stranger - Learning = Change Tegma - Around the World Various - Gear I also do not know why some of you add non-Psy releases to your lists. Here are some of my favourite non-psy stuff from this year (in no particular order). This is what this old man has been grooving to this year. Donnacha Costello - 6*6=36 Various - min2max (Minus) Kode 9 + Spaceape - Memories of the Future MadLib - The Beat Konducta vol. 1 & 2 The Nova Dream Sequence - <interpretations> Bodycode - Conservation of electric charge Various - Offbeats 3.0 (Subversiv) Various - Elektronishe Musik Interkontinental 5 Post Industrial Boys - Trauma Pedro

Nowhere as astonishing as "After 10 years...", Far East Technology is still a fun release. Several tracks are on the borderline as far as the clubby and cheese factors are concerned (e.g. the first four tracks are on the wrong side), but there also some stuff that will put a smile on your face, like tracks 6 and 8. Tracks 5 and 11 are also enjoyable. There is a definite feel-good vibe throughout the CD. I give this CD a moderate recommendation. I bought it and am not sorry. Pedro

It is good to see a regular-speed psy-trance artist choosing not to making typical ambient trance when it is time to slow down. And Electrypnose almost pulls it off completely. There are some great tracks in this album - particularly 2, 6 and 10. But there are several mediocre ones such as 3, 4, 5 and 8. All in all, I would recommend this album and am encouraged by its attempt to be somewhat different. Pedro

This compilation is very different from the very tasty JP Noir. Nevertheless, I also very much enjoyed this CD and would recommend people give it a listen. It may not be particularly psychedelic, but it is bloody good fun well done. I hope to hear more from bpf records. My favourite tracks - 1,2,3,4,6,7 Pedro

Not all the Toytronic stuff is brilliant, but it is a worthy label. Martin Haidinger, however, is quite special. I actually rate the Abfahrt Hinwil (Links Berge Rechts Seen) CD much higher than the Gimmik releases. I would recommend the Abfahrt album without hesitation. That is the HIGHLIGHT of the Toytronic label. I do not think the Toytronic label is active anymore - either that or they are doing a good impersonation of being dead. Pedro

My views on the matter are as follows: (1) First of all I think Trentmoller is vastly over-rated. Frankly, I do not understand what the fuss is all about. (2) Isan and Schnauss are not that great either (Isan better than Schnauss). Although I confess to having purchased their albums in the past and still consider Isan's Lucky Cat to be a very nice release. It is not a bad label, but a lot of the Morr Music releases can be a bit iffy (although there are some fine ones as well...). (3) I bloody hate the term "IDM". Particularly when it is used to describe stuff like the above artists. (4) I, too, think that a lot of the Psy chill stuff is glorified muzak. And, yes it is the Entheogenic, Schulman style generic stuff which really gets my goat. This is not to say that there are not plenty of interesting psy chill tracks - there are, and I will happily concede as much. However, a lot of tracks should simply not be released. Of course, I do appreciate that this is an accusation that can also be levelled at 'regular' psy trance as well (e.g. the full-on, or the dark psy). I do not believe that saying "psy-chill sucks" is necessarily being unconstructively negative. Rather, I feel it can also be taken as a pointed lamentation which perhaps some might treat as a exhortation to improve quality in the genre (ignoring the matter of how ill-defined the "genre" is), . Hopefully, it will also encourage us to seek out the better releases and share the information with others in wonderful sites such as this one. In its defense, it can be said that while a lot of the psy chill is clearly an unambitious and less challenging form of music, it nevertheless can still achieve its aim - to provide some relaxing music. In this context, much of psy chill does 'work'. Perhaps, this is destiny (in some cases, the overt aim) of much of the psy chill body of music. Finally, I do want to make it quite clear that I do buy psy-chill here and there. Pedro

Place was too crowded (at least for this old man) and the bar was semi-chaotic. On the whole I had a good time even though I had a rather strange trip. Musically, the highlights were the Process and Green Nuns sets. Two further points: (1) No guitars should be allowed on stage (2) Neither should Raja Ram. Pedro

Some decent tracks (such as 7, 8 and 9), but I think some of the praise in this thread is excessive. It is above average full-on, but not that special. In its genre, I have heard far worse. And yes, I am damning this release with faint praise. Pedro

There are no Psy-trance releases in SACD format. Nor will there be any. At any rate, SACD is pretty much a dying format. The closest you will find to psy-trance is Paul Van Dyk's Reflections. Given that the trend among psy-trance community is to rip-off music using awful sounding MP3, I seriously doubt there is a market for SACD. Pedro

Will listening to Psy-trance for decades make you go insane? Is it proof that you are insane? Or a social misantrope? Is Psy-trance even extreme? I won't comment on damage that can be done by drugs (or booze); nor the ennui that can sometimes result from listening music or hanging around a particular scene too long. But is psy-trance extreme? It certainly is underground to some degree in most places. And given the quality of much psy-trance - it probably should remain underground. But is it extreme? Sure you can consider Psy-trance 'extreme' if you like -- especially when compared to Cliff Richards, Coldplay or Richard Claydermann. But there are plenty of extreme examples in other types of music. And it does not have to really lead to insanity if you listen to it for decades. Bartok's 4th and 5th strong quartets are both extreme and intense - and at the same time probably the greatest quartets in the 20th century. The rape scene in Shostakovitch's Lady MacBeth of the Mtensk District is intense - the music sends shivers up my spine. Prokoviev's violin concerto is extreme. Even good old Beethoven could be extreme - his Grand Fugue for example. That was crazy for his age. So, was he insane? Or just hard of hearing... I remembered listening to Phuture's acid house track in the 1980's for the first time. That song went on and on and on...the strange squeeky sounds were absolutely insane. Still listen to that track. And I am old. Still go to parties, too. Maybe I am not as crazy as I used to be, but never felt that I am going insane. 'Extreme' music and 'extreme' (or 'alternative') lifestyles may sometimes be associated together. However, there are plenty of relatively straight (whatever that means) people listening to 'extreme' music. Furthermore, many people who I have known to be ostensibly 'alternative' (and who make a great show of it), have in the end been much more 'conventional' and 'boring' on subsequent prodding. Lastly, the problem with some of the more 'extreme' psy-trance is that it sounds just as stupid, shallow and juvenile as death metal, skate-board et al type of music that seem to co-exist in some foolish people's heads as prime example of cool, extreme music. This type of extremely dull music can never make you insane. Pedro

Hmmm

I do agree that the Psionic comps are now becoming more full-on than dark. At the same time, this is not a bad comp at all, although several tracks are a bit of a bore. The ones I do like are the first two (Safi, Damage) and the last three tracks (Nebula/Talpa, Kluster, Miraculix). Biggest positive surprise - Safi Connection's track. Biggest disappointment - Electrypnose. Pedro