Lemmiwinks

just how the HELL does anyone find electro influences in their latest album??? I listened to it over and over again and can't find any hint of it!!! Maybe someone give me a track name and the minutes where they consider it to be "electro"?

such an informative review!! I can imagine how every track sounds just by reading it!! yes, I was being sarcastic...

I also liked this album a LOT when it was released (which by some odd coincidence of life was also when I got a massive sub... you guessed it, like all Russian psy you'll appreciate it a LOT more if you have a powerful sub). Still, I found it to get boring fast (well, like all dark trance stuff to be honest). I already said this before: there is only so much you can do by adding wierd noises on top of a continuous droning bassline... Still, russian psy is my no. 1 pick when I want some REALLY powerfull bass. The thing is that since ALL the dark russian psy acts follow the same formula, they're quite interchangeable and well frankly, I find Kindzadza to be the least creative of the "big three" (Parasense, Penta and him) so this one gets a 6/10 from me...

hehe ensign now that you mention it, I see a resemblance too

100% agree with Ormion. How can such a good artist produce such boring tracks these days??? Luckily he has some more interesting side projects... Also I actually found Lepton Head to get old REALLY fast. It's one of those tracks which grab you by the balls the first time you hear it but gets lamer and lamer as you listen to it again... IMO the Deedrah remix is 100 times better

I think that they had it right with ONE album: Cyclotron... With Cybermancy they had good ideas but you could feel that they were capable of more... but after Cyclotron it all went to shit. And their last album on Spun records... don't even get me started on that one

Well I rember an interview with Sub6 in Mushroom Magazine and they said that people loved singing in psy because it reminds them of stuff they were into BEFORE psy (mostly pop music). I guess he has a point but if those people chose to move on to psy from pop it was for a reason, no?

well it depends on which genre you read... sometimes what he says is true, other times it's a tongue-in-cheek representation and other times it's just hilarious... try this one: or this:

ah come on AmithabaBuddha you have to expect a little humor from someone who makes such a huge project... it's not like the dude classifies Plutonium or something...

Happy to see that Ishkur FINALLY added chill-out to his list, it was about time there was some Shpongle in there in case you're wondering what the hell is an "Ishkur" then click here and find out for yourself

I have high-placed friends at the CIA and they let me use their spy sattelites on week-ends, when the super-bowl is on. In exchange I give them a few baloons of laughing gas

I don't think it's very accurate... it's not that all of a sudden a hoard of talented artists started releasing stuff... it's more like a succession of artists who released stuff starting from 2000... Also the earlier ones (Dimension 5 and Ra) seem to have dissapeared from the face of the Earth and I don't think we'll ever hear from them again, so I find it a bit odd for someone to metion a "dead" artist as something brand spanking new...

Good God that must be the WORST Shpongle track ever... it was made for one purpose only: follow up on the commercial success of Dorset Perception... except Dorset Perception was a commercial success "by chance" (Simon and Raja just did their thing in the studio and commercial trance DJs stumbled on it, liked it and played it to the masses) whereas Beija was specifically composed to be enjoyed by the masses... it represents everything that's WRONG with Shpongle... I sure hope that it won't be on their next album.

Well yeah like I said, all those pop remixes put together aren't half as bad as some IM tracks... God how I hate I Wish... worst part is that whenever a DJ plays that one, everyone cheers like it's the best track in the set... WTF?!?!?!

ah yes Pathfinder is indeed a unique track... there isn't really anything out there that sounds like it... including from Chi-Ad himself! Very hypnotic, very tribal However, the "trance melody" sounds a bit childish, reminds me of the early trance hit Atlanic Ocean - Waterfall . BTW it's not really the same but I find that Miranda - Subtropical Forest 2004 has a similar progression (rather linear and tribal), maybe try that one? It's currently my fave track

ah but I HAVE!! And frankly I don't see anything to get excited about... Out of the artists you mentioned, only Penta did it for me and that was more than a year ago! I find his new releases on comps crappy as hell...

hehehe that's my opinion too... even though I ended up getting tired of the uptempo tracks, the opening and closing downtempo tracks sare simply AMAZING!!! 2 of the best chill-out tracks EVER made!!!

Took the words right out of my mouth... there's a BIG difference between psytrance scene and the goa spirit. You can make a million kilaaaar releases but none of them with the Goa spirit. You can also have a huge rave playing oldschool tracks that doesn't have the Goa spirit... So yes, in terms of numbers you'll say that the scene has never been better yet in terms of QUALITY and SPIRIT you can say that we're at an all-time low (which doesn't necesarily mean that it's dead... if it didn't die after the 70s and resurfaced today I'm certain it will still resurface in some other form) On the other hand, I can't really blame artists that have been in the scene from day 1 that they're looking for new directions... I mean, imagine listening to oldschool basically EVERY day of the week for 10 years... you're bound to get bored someday... And for everyone praising dark trance... WAKE UP ALREADY!!!! Dark trance is JUST as formulaic as full-on, simply adding some screams in your track and giving it a morbid name (ie. Mega Jesus of Evil) doesn't necesarily make it dark...

I think this discussion is going the wrong way here... I totally agree with what you say... Actually I even thought about this psy remixes phenomena and I guess that these tracks actually do have a value in a well-made set: imagine taking a bunch of ignorant tourists in Puhket, playing them Britney Spears and Nirvana remixes at first and then slowly dragging them to unknown territory throughout the night... (maybe slip a little acid in their drinks while your at it hehehe). HOWEVER what I'm against is psy artists remixing stuff just to sell more. That's where I have a problem... When a psy artist starts making stuff hoping that his stuff will pass around in normal clubs then that's when it goes to shit IMO. This music was good because artists didn't give a damn about following trends and making money, they just did what sounded right to them. I hope it will stay that way

well let's pray to God that it won't That said, I must admit that all those poppy remixes put together aren't half as bad as IM - I Wish .... so those pedophile tendencies have resurfaced, sherlock? you better go back to church and be a good boy

1. Le passage 2004 2. Phenomena 2004 3. Eyedentify 2004 4. Gnocchi 2004 5. Somewhere out there 2004 6. Subtropical forest 2004 7. Keep calm 2004 8. Spacebaby 2004 So the queen of trance is at it again I was REALLY curious about this one cause Miranda has been one of the pioneers of oldschool goa as well as one of the starters of the progressive/ minimal trend... so would she return to the trend of making more melodic tracks with some oldschool influences? Would she continue doing progressive? Would she make something more commercial-trance oriented? Well, neither actually... with this album she creates a very unique progressive/ tribal atmosphere, I don't think there is anything else out there that could compare to this style. Also I must say that I find the choice of album concept questionable because in spite of bringing already-known names, all the tracks sound COMPLETELY different to the originals (the best you can get is hearing a small little hint of the original track...). Actually I chose to wait much more than I'd usually do before reviewing this one. Why? Simply because it was so different to other releases that I simply couldn't make up my mind if I liked it or not... I guess that at first my expectation of seeing a "return to oldschool" album kindof ruined it for me... since there wasn't a hint of oldschool in it, I was actually pretty dissapointed with it. But then it just grew on me. Now I can say that this truly is one of my fave 04 albums! All the tracks have a very similar drive: inspired by progressive but somehow more dynamic, albeit rather linear... sound confusing? well it is, like I said I can't really compare it to other releases out there... Le Passage starts with the familiar "zulu chant" (which BTW was also used in the early 90s by another artist recording in Sweden: Dr. Alban...). The track brings us into the typical flow of the album: slowly progressing drift, not much melody yet pretty dynamic background... also the kick that you'll here here will be almost IDENTICAL all throughout the whole album! Still, it's a nice deep kick so I don't mind that much It's more of an intro track than an actual stand-alone track (and i must say that it does the job nicely for that) Phenomena brings some interesting arabic chants and a very mystical intro and DJEMBES!!! The track sounds really tribal, very much like Etnoscope - Sunrise which is one of my all-time favorite morning tracks so needless to say that I REALLY liked this one!! But there's a track that's even better than this later on... stay tuned Eyedentify is more into "typical" progressive territory, I must say that I found this one together with the intro track as the less inspired ones here... Gnocchi brings back the nature sounds (although no djembés in this one ) and.... 303s!!! the acid line kicks into around 3:30 and stays with you all through the track. A definate treat for the fans of the greatest electronic instrument ever made Still, don't think that because a 303 is used that it will sound anything remotley like oldschool... actually it reminded me more of old acid techno tracks. Still, the progression is in the typical style of the album, and the 303 itself has a pretty unique pitch. I like this track too (but I could've gone with some djembés though...) Somewhere out there brings a sound that's VERY imilar to the one in Eyedentify so it almost sounds like "Eyedentify 2004 Pt. II"... although this time around the background is much more dynamic (but still the rather linear overall progression). Generally this track creates a feeling of building up to something with even more layers... and it does cause after that comes... Subtropical Forest THEEEEE best track here!!! This is the track I said was even better than Phenomena . It starts out with the "karate flute" (because that flute was used over and over again in old karate movies, I'm sure you'll recognize it when you'll hear it), and a LOT of parots in the background, I'm sure that if you listen to this one while on acid, you'll look over your shoulder too see if some parots aren't there... freaky Then the parot noises are sampled and become part of the percussion. Then there's a general mystical and even a bit of a "scary" atmosphere... you can just feel that the track will build up to something good. Then a very dynamic line kicks in around 3:00 which just takes you up and up to the next line that's even more dynamic around 3:30... by then if you haven't jumped from your chair to dance (or at least start noding your head to the rythm) then there's something wrong with you . And then it kicks in at 4:15: a VERY nice melody (actually the ONLY one on the album that reminds a bit of the oldschool vibe and which is the used starting from 4:00 in the original Subtropical Forest). But it doesn't stop there, if it did then this would only get the rating of "good but not great"... around min 5:00 when you think Miranda's out of tricks there a break and some djembés come in. The tribal feeling contributes to the general feeling of being in a... subtropical forest And then it just starts building up again: the dynamic synth lines, the djembés and tha dreamy melody. Oh maaaaaan I really really like this one!! One of my absolute fave 2004 tracks!!! Tribal morning trance at it's best Keep Calm is great if you like psy with spanish influences... personally I'm not a big fan of flamenceo and psy crossovers... although I must say that the track is nice. Then comes Spacebaby which is kind of a let down (but then again it's the closing track so...). It's the most repetitive track here, sounds more like some speeded-up and dynamic techno (kindof like the 3D Vision stuff), still there are some djembés in this one too Conclusion proof that old artists can still do good stuff that aren't a mediocre repetition of their older stuff that made their glory and aren't a mediocre attempt to make "trendy" psytrance either!!! Actually now that I think of it, Miranda has been the ONLY oldschool artist that hasn't dissapointed me latley... keep it coming The general tribal feeling of the album is REALLY great. Also, cheers to an artist that still makes coherent albums: the meoldies in here are chosen to "build up" a story, it's not just a collection of 8 tracks that have no connection between them. And of course, I bow in front of someone who still believes in the use of 303s in the 21st century The only bad side is the choice of track names: why lead the audience to believe that this will bring back the "old Miranda sound" when the vibe is completely new? It may cause people to not like it at first simply because their expecations were not met (as it was the case for me, but continue listening to it, it WILL grow on you ) 9/10

I think you got it wrong Seraph, Anoebis said that there WAS a remix of The Prodigy (Voodoo People) and that he understood why one would do a psy remix of that track (because the original itself is pretty psychedellic too). BTW I found the name of the track: Britney Spears - Toxic ( Toxic rmx ) and believe it or not, it's actually qualified as DARK trance... well it didn't sound dark to me... it only confirms my thoughts that dark trance artists are going the exact same road as full-on (formulaic tracks, unispired artists...), except that for some reason, people still consider "dark trance" to be underground and uncommercial... BTW I'd really laugh my ass off if I saw "Britney Spears" on the tracklist of the next Parvati DARK trance comp... actually come to think of it I think it WOULD scare me shitless to see that

ah yes I agree Well to stay in all objectivity I guess such tracks are good for a laugh indeed

I can remember a time when people were joking saying that if the remix fad goes on, then one day someone will do a psy remix of Britney Spears... well, yesterday I was at a psy party and... there WAS a psy remix of Britney Spears -Toxic!!!!! I just couldn't believe this was happening... may God help us all!!!

30 years of what?!? I didn't know that psytrance was that old... or that acid was that young