Lemmiwinks

hmm... good point there Rain. Also one can argue that the cheeziest music of them all is progressive because it sounds EXACTLY like music you'd hear in clubs (what could sell better than music played in mainstream clubs?) whereas Yahel and Lani even if they have catchy melodies would never be played in "normal" clubs. Yet progressive doesn't have a hint of melodies in it... Anyway to go back to what you said, I guess it's all a matter of perspective. For me it has become a habit of calling catchy melodies "cheeze" even if I like them and they touch me in a special way. I guess that the problem is once artists take those elements and use JUST those elements (like the transition of "normal trance" to eurotrance or the early 90s eurodance to the crappy kiddie-like pop like Aqua or the transition of happy hardcore to kiddie music). Well, basically once it's music for kids it ain't good anymore...

hmmm... well I disagree... for me a great artist is one who knows when to stop. That's what makes him mythical: release killer stuff after killer stuff and when you feel your new stuff isn't as top-notch as the old then you just stop. That way people have a good image of you... As for Tsuyoshi... yes he did experiment a few years back but it seems that lately (and I mean a few months ago to today) he's mainly into "Killlaaar full-on"... Not sure as I didn't hear him play myself but that's what people say... and for Miranda, well... a good artist is one thing and a good sound engineer is another... anyone can learn sound engineering provding they dedicate enough time and energy (ie. just look at all the shitty psy that's being released these days)... but you a BORN an artist. See the difference?

ah yes, there, I merged the threads... didn't realize someone asked for the review already.

what new style??? the dude's been doing basically the exact same thing since 95...

Amen brother!!!! But then again, look around you: former great film directors make crap (George Lucas, Wes Craven,...); former great writers wrote complete crap afterwards (Nietsche, anyone?); great painters went totally downhill... so I don't think that the oldschool trend should be any better or worse. It's just the way it happens: brilliant minds have an outburst of creativity that lasts for a few years and then it's gone. And that's that... insted of hanging to the past we'd better look into the future for fresh talent. Anyway, back on topic, I guess the one that dissapoints me THE most has to be Tsuyoshi Suzuki ... I think it was last year that he made a remix of Taiyo (which was for me one of THE tracks that defined the goatrance sound)... it was a horrible house mix with the sample "Get get down get down" all over it... ARRGHH!! And now I've heard people say that he spins Skazi and other trendy full-on artists in his sets... Maaaan how can such a great artist sink so low? The one who still has some punch left IMO is Miranda She managed to create a new style that isn't a copy of her older stuff (à la EU and Space Tribe) and isn't a poor attempt to do trendy stuff either (AP, Cosmosis, Shakta, well... just about everyone ) BTW I hardly consider Dark Soho to be oldschool... they started making stuff in 2000 when oldschool was already dead and burried... And in the beginning they were 3, now they are only 2, I guess that explains a lot about the change in sound. But I like their new downtepo stuff though

Lord of the Dance all the way!!! Man how can a human mind make such a perfect track? Too bad the production isn't top notch but then again, with such great melodies, who cares? Also I'm VERY dissapointed that there never was another BotFB track in the same vein

1. New Sensations 2. See The Music 3. Chaos To Order Remix 4. Punktuator 5. Long Long Arms 6. Twinight 7. Live Fast Die Young Remix 8. Situation 9. Signals You all will want this album for one reason: track no. 5 Long Long Arms is a collaboration with "master" Simon Posford . And I know that there are a LOT of people out there who will buy an album with closed eyes just because that magical name appears on the credits... even if the track itself is nothing special! So anyway, how does the rest sound? Well, to be honest, as much as I like Joti as a DJ I never really found his own stuff to be particularly good. Just the kind of trance that is fashionabe at the moment... so you can imagine that this is yet another full-on clone. Sure, there are good moments in it, like the mystical melody that kicks in around 1:50 in the first track. But there's a difference between good parts in some tracks and a good album.. See the Music is VERY average, the kind that you wouldn't mind hearing in a set but with 0 value for home listening. Chaos to Order is less "typical" and goes into dark trance territory. It's the standout track here for me, but again, it's a very good track, not a great one. Punktuator reminds me a bit of Tim Schuldt's style (rather dark feeling and the presence of a guitar, giving it a bit of an industrial feeling). Still, let's just say that Tim Schudlt does it much better... But together with the previous track, this is one of the better tracks here. and then it comes, the one you've been all waiting for... actually if you had the album, chances are high you would've skipped already to this track by now You can tell that Simon P has been involved in this one since the very beginning of the track. It starts with one of those trademark distroted voices saying something really wierd "Green and blue patterns were pulling over me like a deck of cards..." and "Long long arms covered with beautifull feathers" and so on (can't make out what he says all the time since the voice is so distorted). Not 100% sure but I suppose it's Terence McKenna speaking of one his DMT experiences yet again. Well, it's fun but you'd think that Simon P would pull out other tricks out of his bag by now... Then the track itself starts: basically full-on with some typical Simon P random sounds as well as a very airy nice atmosphere in the background. It sounds a LOT like the stuff released on the Unusual Suspects comp and rumours have it that this will be featured on the upcoming Unusual Suspecs 2. Well basically I don't find this has anything special in it. It's just full-on with some typical Hallucinogen elements in it. Twinlight goes a bit darker again. And yet again, this is the kind of track that would work well on a dancefloor but isn't very enjoyable at home... Live Fast Die Young is a remix of Dino Psaras' track, yet another psytrance icon. Well, let's just say that I didn't think much of the original to begin with... And interestingly enough almost the EXACT same sound that was in the Hallucinogen collaboration is in this one too!! Situation is a more "goofy" track, kindof jazzy. Don't like this one at all... And last track is a remix of full-on icon Eskimo . Haven't heard the original of this one so I can't compare but overall there's a very catchy melody that kicks in around 2:50. Don't know if this was Eskimo's or Joti's contribution to the song, but it's the best part IMO. However, yet again, a good part in a song and a good track altogether are 2 different things... Conclusion First of all, if you're one of those people who has to have every track with Simon P's name in the credits then don't bother reading this, run to the store and get this now! For the others... well... it's a nice album for the dancefloor but I can't shake the feeling that this is one of those "now" releases that will be outplayed for one month or 2 on the dancefloor and after that everyone will forget about it. It simply isn't intricate enough to get you interested for a long time (but then again, how many release ourdays are?). And no, the Hallucinogen collaboration isn't particularly good either... unless you want to hear Simon's pick at full-on. 6/10 for me

yep, I agree... after about 2 months I never listened to that CD again either... guess that confirms that it's just fashionable full-on whereas all other AP albums are classics for me (meaning that I still have pleasure in listening to them years later)

IAMbenjy: First you post something complaining about the kick then you say that the kick is perfect... Are you some kind of schizo?

well her older stuff no, but have you listened to her latest album Rerecorded? She completely changed style on that one...

more recent tribal trance: Etnoscope Miranda - Rerecorded

yes... but does that mean it's good music???

only ONE track here worth mentioning: Al Hybrids . The rest are mediocre tracks IMO. But is one killer track worth buying a whole album? me thinks not... 4/10

yes but... it ain't no psytrance, is it?

well that's arguable... And yes, personally I have also prefered Marcus' side-projects to X-Dream... and no I DON'T consider Radio to be such a masterpiece... for me their best work were their first 2 albums, although I didn't consider them to be particularly outstanding either. However Irritant and especially We Interface are even worse... so for me it's 2 good albums - 1 average - 2 bad. What do you make out of that pattern?

1. 2012 Tepoz Trippers 2. Out of reality 3. Osaka Blues 4. Spheres 5. Irrational substance 6. The good man 7. Living memories 8. Secret vision 9. Resolution of duality I got this album after hearing their track Micro Tunes which I found to be one of the rare full-on tracks that brought me emotions. However sadly that track is a one-off, you won't find anything in the likes over here Basically there is ONE very good track here: Irrational Substance which has a structure that resembles goatrance VERY much. One of the rare full-on tracks that sound deep and mystical. 2012 Tepoz Trippers is also a nice track, not great but a good one. And the last track Resolution of Duality starts pretty dull but ends with a very nice catchy melody. I suppose that in the right context, this can sound really good. And that's about it... the others sound like fillers to me. The usual israeli full-on sound with a "sunshine" feeling to it, nothing paricularly bad but nothing particularly good either... 6/10 My advice is to keep away from this album and buy some comp featuring one of the 3 tracks I mentioned instead.

oh yeah and cheers to someone who manages to bring us TWO live performances for just 9 euros!!! The way entry prices are going up these days, you'd think organizers are taking psytrancers for some sort of millionaires. Sometimes an entry at a spy party is even more expensive than at some trendy club! Ah to think that there was a time when the concept of FREE parties actually meant something keep the spirit alive

but on the other hand, no well-known acts will be there... personally I was amazed about how much intelligence the police gathered before that raid... I mean, where would you expect to have the most people than a live performance by Astral? But how the HELL did the police know about that??

hehehe nice, for once there's a party VERY near to where I live (5 mins by car!! ) BTW, don't mean to cause panic, but did you know that one of Brussels' main police stations is 2 streets away from the venue (Avenue Georges Rodenbach, 15 1030 Schaerbeek). Hmmm... hope there won't be any surprises

Funny I've always loved MFG but found Passenger to be average at best... maybe I should give it another listen?

BTW am I the only one here who doesn't really like Passenger?

well usually I have found that there is about a 2 - 3 year delay between when an artist presents new stuff in a set and the release of a new album. So according to my calculations, the new MFG album will come around 2006 - 2007

well if it's THAT loud to your ears, you can always turn down the bass on your EQ settings you know... personally I have a big subwoofer and I didn't find the kick to be particularly intrusive... but then again the main thing I've always regretted about oldschool was that it didn't have a strong enough bassline so

ain't that the truth Guess I'm not the only one suffering from nostalgia

When I popped this the first time in my CD player, the first track Celebrate came and I was in heaven!! This might sound odd but I had the mental image of the nazi dude who was staring over the opened arch in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arch saying "IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!!". No really, I actually had tears in my eyes when I heard those soul-touching melodies. But I should warn you that it might be considered by some (most?) to be incredibly cheezy. Actually some parts reminded me the instrumental part of Britney Spears - Lucky ... hmmm I suppose that's not a good reference but the track is one of the most beautiful psy trance I've listened to in years and years! Trust me El Ama Escondida is kindof a letdown afterwards, it's nice but nothing special IMO. But I'm sure that people who are allergic to cheese will appreciate this one more... Then comes Adam's Love . Ah, that's more like it. Balearic trance all the way, this one reminded me somewhat of some nice Balearic trance classics like Chicane - Saltwater and Nalin & Kane - Beachball . Ah yes, there was a time when "normal trance" was deep too So no, this isn't really psytrance but if you loved the tracks I mentioned, you'll probably love this too. The Fly of the Phoenix over nataraj seems to be the prefered one of most people. I like it too, but don't find it the best on the album. Anyway, this one sounds less "cheesy", I guess that's why a lot of people like it. But what's the Muses Rapt without catchy melodies? Question without an answer is VERY typical of Muses Rapt style. It's like Juan took elements from the downtempo tracks from the Spiritual Healing album and put them in an uptempo track. This is my second favorite after Celebrate . Kindof reminds me of Corazon De Fuego which was my favorite track on his first album. Needless to say that this has a more darker feeling to it. Sweet Planet reminds me of... California Sunshine !! If I heard this track without knowing who made it, I would've sworn it was some unreleased CS... the melodies and dynamics of the track is identical to their style. Maybe Har-Ell co-produced the track? That would explain a lot. Anyway, BIG thumbs up for this track! Made me realize that the new CS album is long overdue... Bes Dance is kindof Celebrate Pt. II . The same "glorious" atmosphere returns only this time around I like it less... but I still like it Human Oddity is the one that sounds most like the downtempo tracks on Spiritual Healing. Again, I have the impression that Juan took elements from his old album and put them in an uptempo track. It starts a little slow but then some guitars kick in and give me the mental image of being aspired in a swirl of energy taking me higher and higher until boom... it's over... Damn It really leaves you wishing for more. Conclusion VERY nice, dreamy trance. Some might argue that this has more in common with Balearic trance than with psytrance but I don't care... good music is good music, whatever the style. You will recognize Juan Verdera's typical elements although this time around there are absolutley no downtempo tracks! But remember that Spiritual Healing was alegedly composed by Juan when he had cancer and you could feel that dark, hopeless atmosphere in the tracks. Well, now he's well and kicking and I guess it shows in his music as well... why shouldn't it? I think that's what put most of the fans of his first album off this one. Anyway, I shall conclude this review with a phrase I made up especially for this album: 99% of psytrance is made for the dancefloor... this is made for the SOUL!!! The only thing that casts some doubts on the quality of this album is the time test: will those melodies just dig in deeper and deeper in your skin or will they just become boring and silly after a few months? Well, only time will tell... for now it's 9/10 from me