Tatsu

Interesting to see how taste differs. For me this was the music I first heard (well, older stuff too of course since I also love the old real goa stuff) when I got into the psy scene. We just didn't call it full-on but israelitrance. I was really thrilled but soon after the progressive and minimal stuff came and parties were no longer interesting for me. I still went obviously but I was disappointed most of the times. One or two years later the fluffy sound made a return and until now for me personaly the scene is more alive than ever. Mainly because there is so much different stuff being released. From SA hard full-on to progressive that is actually psychedelic (I have to admit I never got into the old prog stuff, not even now and not even on psychedelid drugs. but that's a problem of my own perception I think) to commercial full-on (fluffy you say ) to neo-goa, there is forrest trance, ambient... Obviously there is also a lot of rubbish (for my taste that means) is being released but if I do take the time to dig through the new releases I am able to find stuff that I consider as must haves. And same for the parties. You can find nearly any style here and you can choose from small gatherings that are so underground only few people know about it and the real big thing with the commercialy known names. And everything inbetween. So psytrance is dead? Here and for me it's definitely not and I'm damn happy about it. I take it you can guess that, coming back to the original topic, for me the best music was NOT released before 2000. There are some classics and stuff like Hallucinogen is still among my favourites. But since new stuff is not Goa but psy/prog/full-on/whatever I can't even compare the old stuff to the new one. But a track like 1987 is for me on the same level as LSD for example. Music evolves and for me this is a good thing.

Have you tried the album from Chronos & J.C. Catalyzer (hope I got the name right...) on Anjuna Records? The label releases great melodic ambient music, not only the album above. It's not exactly Carbon Based Lifeforms style but it is nice imho.

I just got the new Ticon album today and I'm listening to it right now. One track really stands out so far Loops Of Infinity. It's exactly that type of psychedelic music I love. Can anybody recommend me similar tracks? It does not have to be labeled as psy or proggy or minimal but just has to sound like that. Any ideas?

I got two new albums lately: Lish - Miles Away http://www.discogs.com/Lish-Miles-Away/release/2757950 Audiomatic - Weekend Society not on discogs yet?!

For me psynews is not what it used to be because the Off-Topic section turned from a friendly and familiar place to a place where trolls started to kill their time and causing fights. Maybe just nobody wants to play the kindergarten-nanny in the off topic? You know, some people crying for moderation, other complaining about moderation and yadda, yadda, yadda... I can't talk about artists, only about the party people around my area. It really depends on what kind of parties you go. If you go to a club playing psy, coke and speed are a major issue. Outdoor parties or alternative indoor-locations are still attracting the LSD users. MDMA is used everywhere. Well, imho it is impossible to tell if the artists deliver what the people want to hear (drug praising) or if people get more into drugs because of the music. I personaly think both sides influence each other simultanously. I haven't bought any commercial trance releases lately but when I think about my collection at home, drug references are not that rare with commercial trance. Yacooza - Cocaine comes to my mind immediately. I'm planning to go through my records as soon as I'll have enough time since it's been years since I last heard most of them. I bet I will find more examples. Maybe not that explicit but there are references. I also used to go to a lot trance parties and imho drugs are equaly common as in the psy-scene (I'm talking about Switzerland, I don't have a clue about how it is in other countries obviously). People are not as open about their intoxication as they are in the psy scene but a lot, well most, were high too. Imho drugs are an item in any electronical scene, not only the psy scene. Here people are just more open about it. Well, there is also a difference between taking acid or mdma once in a while and getting pissed every weekend. To me it doesn't matter what somebody takes but how he uses it and how he handels the outcome. Well, maybe they just like it? I also like full-on a lot so if I could produce music there is a high chance I would also do some full-on. Imho it is not possible to detect one single reason why every artist does what he does, people are individuals you know... Basilisk's list of reasons are well thought to get an overview of some possibilities. Well, after psy nearly every other electonical style is more mainstream, at least to the (most? some?) psy-people. So no matter if you switch to minimal, trance, prog-house, dubstep or whatever it will be more commercial. Or we psy-people will not even notice it because it is so underground nobody hears it...

Well, a pretty limited evolution if you ask me. I mean if you are bored with the style you are making why should it be more interesting to you to switch to a style that is that close to the old thing (new-school and old-school)? I doubt this would give you a lot of inspiration for new tracks in that situation. A total switch of style imho could. Talking about Cosmosis, I like his music and imho he is still very interested in the psy thing. No wonder he does not switch thato something completely different. But expecting every artist to do the same is a bit strange imho. And setting rules what styles are appropriate follow-ups for psy even more imho.

Maybe because the psy people (well, some...) more or less automatically regard any non-psy style as shallow and more mainstream?

Word!

I think you don't really understand what I want to say (I'm not saying it is not because of me failling to explain it btw). Yes, I do believe everything I say. And no I don't doubt that because of commercialism more bad music gets released. My point is the following: if you dismiss a whole style because it is commercialised (something that imho will happen sooner or later anyway to any style, at least to a certain degree) then imho you don't care that much for the music but more for a certain image. I think that because if you would care for the music in the first place you would look for those releases that are still good instead of crying about how uncool the style has become. You love the music but it is not worth it to you to look for the good releases? Or you don't want to listen to it because everybody and their pets does? Way to go... Dubstep is not cool anymore? Who fucking cares if you only care for the music? You don't have to go to commercial parties and you don't have to listen to the commercial releases longer than a few seconds because your searching for the good music. If you still do it, it's your own fault.

Yeah, things around here rarely change. Some people still think they are superior becuase of their exquisite taste. Taste is taste is taste, you know. Back to the original argument: redington says it all. Besides that: who cares if a style is cool or not, especially if the same person claims it's only about the music anyway?

Hehe, now that's funny!! The same colors that remind you on commercialism remind me on LSD. I like stuff like that.

The picture reminds me on my sight on nature while tripping on acid. It's not a *poof in your face* cover but the colors have a certain shining or sparkling that hit me. And I like the music, it's like a mixture of progressive and full-on with nice melodies. But taste is taste in the end...

Just had the E-Clip album in my mailbox today. Stumbled over it in the good covers thread. I'm listening to it and it's for sure not just the cover that is cool.

How is the Fractal Energy 4 comp? I will attend one of Fractal Rekords' parties on Sathurday. I hope it will be good.

If those are the criteria then every single style is spoiled, besides the stuff we haven't heard about. As I said, who cares? there is lots of good music in the psy sector and its various subgenre and I'm not too lazly to dig for it. It's up to me if I want to attend underground parties or big commercial events, I have the freedom of choice.

I was just making an example.

Earsugar!! He (them?!) is a Swiss guy with some compilation tracks out but no full album. I heard a live gig of him at a party and I was totally blown away. He makes progressive trance but so psychedelic it is unbelievable what soundscapes he greates. Not just some simple noises but melodies and stuff that melts together to one big symphony. I have to say I wasn't sobber but he clearly stood out from all the other music (live gigs from Flowjob and Reefer Decree). I can also say the same about Time In Motion from Denmark. Also heard their live gig at a festival and they also don't just create music but soundscapes from another dimension. Btw. I heard tracks from both of them back home and I still have to say this music is divine.

Comparing an artist switching his style with let's say a friend of yours starting to shoot up heroin (taking a wrong turn in life) is imho pretty stupid because it is way out of proportion. And if it is all about the music then why do you care if it is rated as commercial or not or who is making it? Britney uses dubstep elements in one of her songs and the whole genre is uncool for you now? Does not sound like it's about the music. If it were then you would imho try to listen to it unbiased. Means it wouldn't matter to you if a psy artists switches to regular trance (bad) or a trance artist using psy elements (good) as long as you like the outcome (ok, that's about the other topics you posted but your attitude is kinda similar).

Lots of very nice stuff here! I'm not gonna quote all but those are my favourites: Reminds me how nature looks like when I'm tripping. I'm checking out the samples right now and it sounds nice actually. For me it's rather vice versa: if I like a cover I hope I want to like the music so I can buy the album. If the music is good and the cover not, I don't really care. Buying an album just because of a cover is not possible because of my budget. I like comics and this one is pretty funny.

Awesome, can't wait to hear it. Allready ordered it together with some other new albums.

I'm listening to pr0fane's DJ-mix for the Freeze Magazine. Awesome tunes!

Of course I remember that. And exactly because of that I think it's kinda strange it is still such an item for you. I still fail to see why people (well, you in that context) think that music that is liked and bought by a lot of people automaticaly it is just made to please and not because the artist himiself likes it that way. Same as I fail to see why people who make parties for a more underground style only make them for the fun. As far as I know you can still make a profit with less known stuff because people are happy for every event they can attend, ergo you can calculate what crowd you attract. Or you can organise a huge event with well-known names and still make it for the fun because you love that music. Sure, fun is one thing but if you can make a little money with it, you're not angry about it either I guess. At last that was how some organisers I knew handeld it back in the day (and then fighting about money because this or that person bought coke with it and what not...). And you can't tell me that there are no people at underground parties, dressing in a certain way (depending on the style of the scene) who are actually want to be regarded as cool. Same as you still have big commercial psy parties where people don't give a fuck if they fit in the dressing code of the scene. And so on... It is this categorised thinking that annoys me in the end. Why be so black & white only? I mean the change in the mentality of the people is there, but sometimes it is only assumed because all styles change over time and sometimes you don't like that change. Judging a whole style because one pop-star like B. Spears uses one element in a song (not even braging about dubstep or anything) seems kinda childisch to me. You will always have elements of a scene that want to make shitloads of money with it after a certain point, you just can't stop that. But if you care to look you will also always find more underground parties and music in the same style. So why not enjoy the good stuff instead of promoting tunes from Britney Spears? I mean on one hand you say underground is not about ego-flattering on the other hand you act like it's somethign personal if an artists switches to a style you don't like or if a genre gets more popular than you would want it. Oh, and hi Lemmi. Long time no see.

Not as old as some of the stuff posted here but still a bomb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGzi2B4VUBQ I stumbled over it when got through my old trance records. The beginning is a bit long but start from 4 minutes and then wait for the melody to kick in.

Now that's pretty cool. I vaguely remember that I read here that Schlab is no longer active since D-Dave and his crew are not interested in that style of music anymore. I'm glad this has changed (or was wrong in the fist place).

I'm desperately waiting for the new Lish and the new Ticon album. And Audiomatic is out soon too.