Basilisk

Totally valid, but why not just avoid those characters, work with friends, and share music you wish to share with people? I do hear of many tales involving dodgy promoters, and plenty of label guys match the profile you speak of, but it strikes me as fairly easy to not continue working with these sorts. If you wonder about the force that seems to bring up such patterns of behavior in a scene that was supposed to be about peace and respect, I think a large part of this is natural selection... the people that care give up and do other things... I think there are ways to reach an audience, and to be fulfilled as an artist (in the pure sense, not job title sense) without going through any of the common business channels... I had brought up money because "means of living" is a concern commonly cited by some of the disheartened artists I speak with... which seems to be the main source of resistance to my concept of a professionally presented free online release. Money can be understood as a form of respect - especially when you are dealing with some label A&R in some other country who you have never actually met. Getting paid is a form of appreciation for your work. The artist who doesn't consider getting paid the only valid form of compensation has an incredible potential in today's marketplace. It isn't as if the audience doesn't want to hear your work... it is the bullshit thrown up by the young trance industry that is the main source of problems experienced by you and many other fed-up artists. As always I put forth the suggestion to work with good people you know, explore online distribution options, and keep a positive spirit where possible...

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That's too bad... how true are your generalizations though? Is it every label, organizer, and audience member who are guilty of these things? Do you have the option to work with people that work the way you want? The other question is - do you expect to make a living from making music you want to make? Or do you simply wish for a reasonable return on your investment of time? i.e. do you have a second job? The reason I ask this is simply because anyone who doesn't fit the industry mold should seriously consider a DIY approach. If label will not release the music you wish to share with people, why not package it professionally and do your own digital release online? If you aren't being promoted well, why not do it yourself, at least in an online context? If I recall right, you are a graphic designer and webmaster, after all. This all boils down to two things: time, and money. Most artists have this feeling that they do not want to give away their best music, even if no label will ever pay them for it so the public can hear it. Is this true for you? These are questions - you have a right to any damn opinion you want to hold - just don't interpret it as an attack

The old thread was getting lame, so here's a new one... To begin with, a few Israeli staples (not much needs to be said here)... From the Deparment of Are They Even Trying? Even these are a bit weak... Nothing really damning this time around, except for Psytisfaction 5... tune in next week

Are you kidding? All eBay earnings go right back into buying music today I realized that an old Infected Mushroom vinyl is worth 10 new CDs at least. Hurrah!

No, fair would be half that, I think... I guess it could be rare, but it isn't that great... 30 GBP is a lot.

Wow, check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMESE%3AIT&rd=1 US$152 for Infected Mushroom - B.P.Empire. Wouldn't I love to be the guy selling that one off! Oh wait, I am! And 7 hours remain I truly had no idea this album was worth that bloody much!!

78 auctions ending today... get your bid on

Brainstorm is the same from EP to album... there are only the two versions - original and live.

Read my review of Hacking the Reality Myth: http://www.ektoplazm.com/reviews/hacking-the-reality-myth/ Ancient Suns is the track I would pick to answer the original Q...

I've probably thought about it a bit more than some of you... there's no real need to pin something down to one style or another. The words we use to describe music are simply that - descriptions. Full-on has a very well-defined nature: energetic music to dance to. In 1996 it was Etnica, in 2002 it was GMS, and from about 2004 onwards it became a catch-all for shit music in some people's minds. Er, mostly people that post on forums far more than they go to parties now think about Penta's music... which of the following is true: it is full-on, it is dark, it is psychedelic, it has a "horror" sound, it is Russian/American... well, I would say "all of the above!" Do we then say that Penta's music is Russian/American dark psychedelic full-on with a "horror" sound? Personally, I've got his stuff filed under "Psychedelic Trance (Dark)" in my own collection. Now think about this - I wouldn't usually discuss Penta and say his music is "full-on"... but I would totally disagree with anyone who says that Penta is NOT "full-on"... does this make some more sense? Hmm, not sure about that... in my mind, "darkpsy" is a musical movement with a shitty name. It actually encompasses a fairly wide range of stuff, from music considered to be "pure psychedelia" to trauma trance, horror sounds, hard stuff, fast-paced approaches, industrial, and - bizarrely - that fucked up undead rave stuff the LPS guys do... point being, there's a lot of darkpsy that isn't dark at all, and plenty that does without any kind of "fullon bassline", if you mean the kind that sounds like wobbly-wobbly-woo. Note: it's friday afternoon, and I'm being a bit absurd

Penta falls under the umbrella of full-on, which is simply a description used since day 1 to denote dance floor ripping potential... it's not the fluffy modern stuff, that's all.

Woo hoo! saikosounds usually has a bunch of good old school lying around... never-before-played as well! I keep stocking up on the oldies from them

Pigs in Space is THE superior Ofer Dikovski production... http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ease.asp?id=311

There are three or four other Karmic Energies tracks but they aren't as good... they sound much more like typical(ish) UK trance stuff... I think Equal & Surpass was the best one I heard. Not nearly as cool as the two on the Organic vinyl

Indeed http://www.ektoplazm.com/reviews/karmic-en...-no-compromise/

He's like the only reason to ever buy a Ketuh release it is about time for an album!

The original meaning of killer ^ I'm done with Black Hole - it's just all right - review here.

Listening to and reviewing V/A - Black Hole... Nada, Mono Substance, and Kopsfuss Resonator! An old school obscurity...

Have you tried the other big Sundance albums? Nystagmus & Planum for example... or dig into Torakka (see my review in the 2004 section) or Uni (a Japanese act with some great stuff on older albums)...

(!!!) WARNING (!!!) Psychedelic dreams 1 contains nothing from process! That's why its called "The Real Crawler" on part 2 - they botched the first one (I think it's actually Tim SChuldt - Mummy Machine) Good luck on your quest

OK Babas, time to return to eBay madness! Check it out - close to 100 auctions running now http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View...sort=3&since=-1

Some of you are monumentally pessimistic! I just throw people one of my my mixes any time a person shows an interest in trance. It comes up a lot in conversation with non-trancers, considering how much trance is a part of my life... luckily I've been very successful in getting people out to parties, and getting them into the scene. People like to go out and dance, and a lot of them figure the only options are top 40, rock shows, commercial clubs, etc - showing them around a psytrance party is doing them a favour as far as I'm concerned. Maybe you haters think this is elitist? Well I can think of few other forms of nightlife where women are respected, where people are as genuinely friendly, and where there is a focus on improving the environment with art and visuals to stimulate the senses. No, not everyone is going to like the music or be into the parties, but I think there are good reasons to introduce our counterculture to people from all walks of life. Maybe it's different where you are, but around here, I think trance is one of the most welcoming and accessible form of nightlife.

Much like "full-on" the term progressive has different meanings in different eras.

Eat Static will have a lot of this! Try out something new from them - Magic Carpet brains!