Lemmiwinks

OK I know that the man makes an overuse of suspense and intrigue and that the endings are generally disapointing but still, there's something about his writing that is pretty addictive. Just finished The Lost Symbol the other day. At first I was like "hm yeah he's using the exact same tricks as in the Da Vinci Code", but about halfway through I was completely hooked anyway. That part when Langdon drowns, brilliant stuff, I actually had to put down the book for a few minutes cause I found it too overwhelming. So anyone else tried it? what are your thoughts?

hehehe you have a point there Although they didn't all die and go to heaven, it was more of an imaginary space where the living could meet the dead, and the people still on the island could meet the ones that went back (at least that's how I understood it). And yeah, the dinosaur ending would've been cool I mean after all, we already had mutant polar bears

hehehehe well I guess it's all a matter of seeing the glass half empty or half full. For me, the ending made me apreciate my friends and family more, it made me want to show them I love them now cause you never know what might happen tomorrow. In the end I feel that much more important than giving some pseudo-scientific explanations to a chain of events that can't really be explained anyway.

So it's finally here... I think I've come across some unreleased Artha already round 2005 (possibly even earlier) and it totally blew me away. First of all, his sound, the melodies and synth presets are truly unique, whenever a DJ played an Artha track at a party I'd just know it was his, even if I didn't know it, and that in itself is quite a performance in today's generic trance world. When the first newschool releases arrived I just couldn't understand how the hell this guy could not get a record deal since I found his stuff was light years ahead of other newschool that was released. I remember having personally posted stuff on psynews pleading the Suntrip crew to give him a try but I've never got any replies Anyway, fast-forward a few years later and we're finally here Of course, the main worry with such long-awated albums is that by the time they're finally here, people's expectations are so high that they end up being dissapointed, so I admit I was a bit skeptic of actually putting this in my cd-player. But I'm glad I did in the end The opener is Dubber Nubber which is a nice midtempo intro track with some nice djembés and arpegiated voice samples, but doesn't really have the caracteristics of the Artha sound. A nice melody builds up near the end, but still, nothing quite spectacular. Then comes Controlled ah now that's more like it. From the very first minutes you could hear those trademark synth presets, noone quite does it like Artha. Nice warmer but you can feel that there's still room to do more. Chaos up next which is... chaosy... it sounds too random to my ears, don't really like it. Saikol is the one that has the most full-on elements, the beginning doesn't sound great but there's a nice buildup to a good melody in the end, a pretty rockish pad in there (I suppose this is what the other reviewers think of when saying that there's a bit of an old IM sound in there) Mystic Change gives us a more laid-back and melodic feeling, not quite what I was used to from the artist... but it's also the best track here IMO! And that last part with the 303 melody is just superb! One of the best tracks I've heard all year! Vocal Distortion sounds a LOT like Hallucinogen's old stuff I mean if I didn't know The Lone Deranger by heart already I would've thought this was taken from there. That said, I don't really like it when an artists tries too hard to sound like someone else so I don't really like this one. Bali gives us again a more laid-back and melodic feeling, and a nice trademark Artha melody in the end around 8:00, in the beginning it sounds wierd but then the more you listen to it it really starts making sense, it's very nice. Tranfusion is like THE definition of morning goa IMO, that breakdown around 4:15 and the subsequent buildup mmm that's what goatrance is all about to me. Then comes the closer (already ) Insidelamp which is on the downtempo side of things. Again, this isn't really the kind of thing I'd expect from Artha but it works out pretty well in the end. The melody around 3:00 OMG, and the progression afterwards, even more OMG!! THE GOOD: Unique style, unique synth presets and unique melodies (and what melodies!!). In a trance world where it seems to be the norm to sound like everyone else this is a VERY welcome change. THE BAD: Having been used to Artha's old unreleased tracks I must say that I'm a bit dissapointed by the relative lack of energy compared with his older stuff. How come DNA isn't on this album? That was his absolute best IMO. CONCLUSION The second-best trance album I've heard so far this year (Alienapia being the first). Not all the tracks are great but there are definately some gems in there. I can only hope other newschool artists will abandon their preset FL Studio melodies and plugins and search for more originality the same way Artha does 5/5

Well, that seemed pretty self-explanatory to me: it was a place where an important source of energy was hidden. Jacob's role was to protect the source from being used by humans in a destructive manner and he was also searching someone worthy to be his replacement which is why he constantly brang people on the island to test them. OK, I know that when you REALLY think of it there are a million untied side stories and plot holes but still, if you just look at the big picture it's pretty convincing IMO.

It's always been like this in the trance scene: you have an album that is absolutely stunning and defines a new sound... then you have a million copycats stepping in, using the same formula over and over again until you wonder just why the hell are you still in the scene in the first place. And then it happens: out of nowhere a new artist comes and totally blows off all boundaries and sets a new set of rules, making you feel exactly the same way you did when first discovering the scene. This only happens a few times in a decade but IMO when it happens, you feel like all the years you've spent waiting for it to come were totally worth it. Why am I saying this, because THIS album is one of those new rule-setters, the ground breaking release that makes you feel like a teen just discovering the scene. So just who are these guys? A quick check on discogs tells us they're 2 producers from Kiev (Ukraine), already active since 2004 although personally I've never heard about them until last year. Don't know if it's the Chernobyl radiations or something but their style is really out of this world The opener is a downtempo breakbeat track called Distinctive Perceptionwhich already makes you feel that this album won't be like other stuff out there, but it only lasts 1:24 WTF?? I don't understand why he didn't make a full track out of it, it would've definately been worth it. Then their style unleashes with full force in Dharmakaya, giving us a fast in-your-face agressive rolling bassline and hoards and hoards of melodies on top, which appears to be the distinctive carachteristic of their sound. It all comes to quite an abrubt ending but there's more to come Estimate Of Standing Crop starts off with some wierd chanting and some very mysterious pads, then the oldschoolish melodies on top of the fast-paced rolling bassline take over, although personally I like this one a bit less. High Visual Philosophy is probably the one everyone knows best since it was featured on a comp last year. This is the track that made me want to learn more about these guys although I must say that compared to the other tracks on this comps this is actually the weakest one (which is to say how great the other ones are!!) Inner Poison was featured on the comp Goatronika, so again I suppose that you already know that one. If you don't, well you shoudl cause it's one of the best trance tracks released this year Magic Magnification up next with a very in-your-face acid lead, not unlike Tufaan - Probe (in case anyone remembers that one). This one will surely make a LOT of people go crazy on the dancefloors all around the World There's a breakdown around 4:00 and then the style becomes very morningish, almost cheezy. It might come as awkward at first but the more you listen to it the more it makes sense. Fear and Anger up next, again with that excellent mix of powerful agressive rolling bassline and loads and loads of swirling melodies. And that twisted acid melody coming around 5:40 OMG!!! It really made me want to stand up from my chair and dance. Reign of Madness starts with a very familiar melody, then you realize that this is a remix of Ra's R.O.M. (BTW thanks for FINALLY letting the masses know what R.O.M. stands for lol for all these years I though it stood for Read Only Memory, I guess I really look stupid now lol). Anyway, R.O.M. was like my absolute favorite last "proper" oldschool track for years and years until the new team of newschool producers started taking over so it means a lot to me to see this name again. But, believe it or not, this is one of the ultra-rare instances where the remix is actually BETTER than the original! Misterika Island up next which is a collaboration with Agneton and... well, it shows... you get the generic newschool sound that you hear a LOT these days. But stay with it cause around 6:00 starts one of the best melodies I've ever heard. Time for some more dancing while pulling out your hair folks! The closer is another downtempo track Remnant which only lasts a minute, as if these guys were afraid of showing their softer side, I sure hope these guys will give us a full-lenght downtempo track sometime in the future THE GOOD: The force of dark trance basslines, combined with the agressiveness of forest trance, combined with the craziness of newschool. These guys surely know how to take the best out of every subgenre and make a truly unique and groundbreaking sound. THE BAD: OK, if there was one negative thing I'd like to point out in this release is that it's too much on the agressive side of things. One or 2 more chilled tracks would've been a welcome change to my ears. CONCLUSION: TRANCE OF THE FUTURE!!! This is definately my no. 1 trance release of 2010 and THE reference album against which I shall compare all new future releases. Really, if you don't listen to this one then you're missing out on something BIG!! 5/5

well first of, I find the album cover butt-ugly but hey, who cares about the cover if the music inside is good. Now for the tracks: Radical Distortion is up first with a nice midtempo warmer track. Nothing exceptional but a very nice starting track, making you really want to find out what's up next. Space Elves come with a VERY nice oldschool vibe. I mean, REALLY oldschool, stuff that remind me of the good ol' days, not the modern newschool interpetations that we have gotten used to expecting to hear when someone mentions "newschool". Definately one of the best tracks I've heard this year. Keep up the good work lads Alienapia up next with a great blend of forest trance and newschool, my absolute favorite track on this comp. As far as I'm concerned, THIS is the way of the future for goatrance! No let the name fool you,Sky Technology's Next Steps to the Stars has nothing to do with Miranda's classic, it just shares a similar name. A nice track but personally I find that it lacks focus, it's as if the artist doesn't really know where he's going with this, just trying out different ideas. Amithaba Buddha up next with some nice oldschool 303 lines on top of some nice swirling melodies, although I always find that there's something missing in his work... can't tell what, cause all the elements are there, but they don't quite fit my definition of a great track. Hypnotic Signal up next with trance straight from Siberia (nice to see that the goa spirit has spread so far BTW ). Some nice ideas tried in there and a pretty good melody, although this isn't quite top notch material IMO. Psynews' own Blackstarrfinale gives us his debut track which is a great first effort but a bit too generic to my ears. Vox up next trying out some interesting stuff, mmmmm this is definately my cup of tea... the melody that kicks in around 3:00 is absolutely SUPERB and makes my heart melt... although it is VERY similar to a certain Shiva Shidapu - Virtual Voyage... but hey, I guess that most people into the scene today don't even know of the original so bringing back such a great melody can't be a crime, let's just call it a tribute Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, copyright issues aside, this is one great track NK47 starts off pretty generic but if you're patient enough and stay with it you'll get a nice rewarding melody in the end (around 6:30), reminding me some nice oldschool israeli trance from the good ol days. My only complaint is that the "good part" only lasts for about a minute The closer is from Arronax. You might think he's a newbe to the scene but it turns out he's been releasing stuff already since 2004. Personally I've never heard of the guy but I guess it's better late than never He gives us a track that's a bit more on the dark and fast side of things. Again, some nice ideas explored in there but somehow I find the track as a whole is lacking something. Conclusion A nice add-on to an ever-growing newschool collection. Of course, just like other comps this isn't perfect and still suffers from that generic plasticky sound that the first generation of newschool productions had, although this is definately another step in the right direction 3,5/5 Favorites: 2, 3(!!), 8(!!)

sorry but I disagree... sure, a LOT of mysteries were left unanswered but the final answer - what is the island and why did the Oceanic flight crash there was pretty convincing to me. But of course I guess that in the end it's all subjective, if you prefer to see an ending where the main carchter smashes his face in a mirror and says "How's Annie?" repeatedly (like WTF what THAT supposed to explain? lol) then fine by me

LOOOOL actually that makes a LOT more sense than most of the official Lost "explanations" I remember when I was seeing the 2nd series I was toying with the idea that the whole island stuff was just Hugo's demented dilusions and that in the end he'd wake up back in the mental institution and realize that none of it was real look mate just look at it this way: was this the best series EVER or not? And if not, then what would it be? It's as simple as that...

what are you kidding? Coming Home is in my top 50 all-time classics

This is a nice comp, showing us that the circle of newschool producers is growing bigger and bigger, and also more mature, they seem more concerned with finding their own sound rather than trying hard to copy one or other oldschool artists style. Nice intro downtempo melody from Mindsphere, although nothing really special My biggest disspointement was Astrance, since I was expecting a LOT after Ashram (best track of 2009 IMO!). Compared to that, this one is pretty weak Then comes E-Mantra's remix of Khetzal, although personally I'm not a big fan of remixes, I always tend to prefer the originals. Somnesia vs PharaOm on the other hand is GREAT, the last 2 minutes are incredibly intense, the kind of melody that makes you want to pull your hair out of your head while dancing I really enjoyed this one. Liquid Flow is up next with what I consider to be the best track on this comp. My biggest issue with newschool in general is that the melodies aren't catchy enough, you just don't end up humming the melodies for days like you did with most oldschool classics. However that's NOT the case here, the last minutes bring a VERY memorable melody, proof that it's still possible to find great and original melodies in 2010 Astrancer up next again, but once again, after the brilliant Ashram this just doesn't do it for me Antares brings us a bit of newschool of the first generation, which means a bit too generic for my ears, I mean it's good but not great. Ra brings a nice remix, one of the best tracks on this comp IMO Then comes the closer from Space Elves which I love, and don't quite understand why most people don't. Ah well, I guess taste is taste... Conclusion: The more I grow older, the more picky I become about my music so not liking everything on a comp has become normal for me. However there are some quite nice tracks on here, and it brings proof that there is definately room for improvement in a substyle that was considered too tiny to interest mainstream lables only a few years ago. I can only applaud Suntrip's efforts to show the crowd that there are other alternatives between mindless full-on and screechy dark trance 3,5/5

I basically got this one because of the Pleiadians and Etnica tracks... Pleiadians was a HUGE dissapointment, after a promising intro it just turns into 100% generic full-on, I don't know where the hell did WJPorter hear any oldschool influences in there. Etnica's Lunar Contact on the other hand DOES have a nice oldschoolish melody going on through the song, but it gets a bit repetitive in the end, there is the exact same loop played over and over again, I would've expected more variation, although this is one of the better psytrance tracks I've heard so far this year. Other than that, Tristan's Bombscare deserves an honorable mention for making a nice funky tune using 303s, it's pretty good. The other tracks are just pure generic fodder that I wouldn't even bother describing... 2/5

ask him when he's gonna make a new album

So after a few years of not being able to find a record label who'd release their oldschool stuff, CS finally decided to call it a day (like many other oldschool artists still in the business today) and just go on with making full-on. I know many purists will be like NOOOOO, NOT CS!!!!, you know kind of like in zombie movies where the main carachter just realized that his gf turned into a zombie too. Also the amount of old tracknames with "2010" attached to them is a clear giveway that Miko is running out of ideas. I mean, there are only so many times that someone can make an updated version of Alala... Now the part that caught me by surprise even more than the rolling bassline was the overuse of guitars, which makes it sound more like 1200 Mics than CS. Some guitars mixed in with psy work well, but when there are too many it kindof gets tiresome. Oh yeah and don't let the name fool you, Sound of Goa isn't THAT goaish and not that great either. Still, for what it's worth this album is not bad either, just average, and definately NOT what you'd expect from CS. But who knows maybe it will end up growing on me after a while. Anyway, I'd conclude my review with one phrase: anotherone bites the dust...

LOOOOL I guess I'm lucky I didn't watch reruns of the older series so I like forgot half of all those unanswered questions But yeah in the end you must realize that most of the wierd stuff in there was just made as mindfucks, stuff that make you go hmmm rather than actually have some meaning that would be revieled. And do you imagine what mastermind (or rather team of masterminds) it would take to make a coherent story ending explaining ALL those elements? I mean, the plot was full of patches already

lol yeah but like everyone agreed at the time that Starwars I and II (but especially the 1st) was crap so I don't really see why this "review" is such a revelation? Now if I saw a similar review on, say, Lord of the Rings now THAT would be impressive

I love you too man!!! Really, didn't that ending just make you want to hug everyone who's ever counted in your life? It's absolutely insane, I feel like I've just took an E

well Penzoline pretty much said it all... I mean, sure I could write pages complaining about the answers that Lindelof promised to reveal in the end and never came (THEY NEVER EXPLAINED THE LOTTERY NUMBERS!!!!!). And then there are the parts of the plot that are so unplausible that they border stupidity (they fixed a crashed jet with a screwdriver and some duct tape... WTF???). Still, in the end, the emotions were so strong that they simply make you forget all the other imperfections. And when all is said and done this still is the BEST series I've ever come across, period! I can only hope that someday something else will surpass it. PS I also cried on that final scene... Vincent forever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CczxI_AlmO0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqEjyWc2P5g&feature=related

After a while I tend to believe that I've listened to everything important in trance "history", but then I stumble on a gem that I've never heard before and totally blows my mind (and leaves me wondering how the hell haven't I found it before??). Anyway, since I know I'm not the only one around here sharing this passion for old gems I've decided to put up a topic, maybe if we ALL share our gems somehow we'll come to the bottom of this So my new finds of the week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYgApdXoHVw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfFXzVUwbec

ah yeah they also made this monster in 2003, quite nice IMO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOmH5c1I_g&feature=related

well as far as I know, the Plama/ Vostok 5 EP was their ONLY real goatrance release, the rest was some sort of vocal trance full of crappy russian singing... BTW, I prefer Plasma to Vostok 5, it was that Green Nuns of the Revoltution feeling However, half of Radiotrance, DJ Cosmonaut (or Космонавт if you prefer ), is still aparently alive and kicking today, making progressive (not really my cup of tea though...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cpgYd_hd3o

JUST A FEW HOURS LEFT!!!!!!!

oh great, I thought it was gonna air next tuesday but thanks to your remark I see it will air this sunday. Just 2 more days to go yiiihaaaa!!!!

motherfuckers... only the series finale to go and still like a million unanswered questions...