abasio

Various Artists Ease Division Spiral Trax Sep 2008 Downbeat Tracklist 1 James Murray - Last Man In The World (Instrumental) (6:01) 2 Amos - Street Lights (6:50) 3 I Awake - Life Cipher (6:14) 4 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Endospore (5:13) 5 Solar Fields - Feelings (8:00) 6 Vibrasphere Feat. Irina Mikhailova - Meander (8:19) 7 Xerxes - Early Morning Crystals (8:15) 8 Illuminus - Dem Cowboys (7:02) 9 Chromosome - Evens Heaven (8:59) 10 Blue Planet Corporation - A Foret(e)st Of Paradise (6:27) 11 Kritical Audio - Yellow Blend (5:13) Great cover, great tracklist, compiled by one of my favourite artists of all time Solar Fields. Of course my expectations were very high, which is always a dangerous thing and while many times in 2008 my expectations were met or even surpassed this compilation shows the flip side. Yes, expectations were not met for me here but still a worthwhile CD with some great tracks, the average tracks grew on me over time but I am afraid that the weak tracks have stayed poor and continued to be skipped when listening to this. There are some good tracks though, Amos - Street Lights has a vocal wail that initially bugged me but after some time undisturbed managed to sneak through my defenses and under my skin. I Awake - Life Cipher is better than anything on the I Awake album with a much more spine tingling atmosphere. Carbon Based Lifeforms & Solar Fields add tracks that are worthy of such great artists although CBL’s track is a little too short. Xerxes - Early Morning Crystals is a great track, the most minimal here but very entrancing and engaging. Finishing off the compilation is Kritical Audio – Yellow Blend half of which is Robert Elster from Vibrasphere is a real standout to finish with. The tracks I am disappointed in are the Vibrashpere offering which is a little too cheesy for me with Irina Mikhailova’s vocals and James Murray’s opener is solid but not so engaging. His album on Ultimae though was a treat I am very happy to own. The tracks I don’t like are Blue Planet Corporation - A Foret(e)st Of Paradise which is awful right through from boring melodies to a cringe worthy sample. Worse still though is Illuminus - Dem Cowboys which gets progressively worse throughout culminating in Native American Indian war cries. Overall I have to say I am a little disappointed with this release. With Solar Fields compiling it and what looked like such a strong tracklist built my expectations very high indeed. There are some great tracks here, some pleasant tracks but also some overly cheesy and even a couple of tracks I have to skip when playing. I get the feeling that this wasn't compiled as a journey but as a showcase for returning and upcoming artists. In this way it only half succeeds for me as there is too much I don't like. Definitely worth the money as the great tracks are great but it could have been a lot better. Track By Track Analysis 1. James Murray - Last Man In The World (Instrumental) A solid start to the compilation, a soft urban feel to the music created by melancholic tones and high pitch noises. I can picture a city passed its heyday, boarded up buildings and empty streets. The beats are nice and give an element of youthful hope. A good opening track. Will look forward to his album coming soon on Ultimae. 2. Amos - Street Lights I was very impressed with Amos' track on Oxycanta - Winter Blooms. It was one of the best tracks for me in 2007. Street Lights does not quite reach the height's of Fläktsystem as its style is very different. While the former was coldly beautiful with its melody, this track focuses on a female vocal wail which doesn't sit too well with me. It's used a little too much and starts to annoy me. Which is a shame as the rest of the track is really good. Nice random IDM beats. Trippy clicks and sharp stabs of light acid. But I just don't like the vocal. Still, this guy shows a lot of talent and I'm still looking forward to more work from him. 3. I Awake - Life Cipher I Awake's album released earlier this year took some getting into but turned out to be a great piece of work. This track, I got into more quickly. The atmosphere from the start tickles my spine and the vocal sample here is cut up and twisted in such an other worldly way that it never grates on my nerves no matter how many times I listen to it. The beats are cool, sounding heavy and soft at the same time while the slight melody chimes very pleasantly. All in all a solid track from I Awake. 4. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Endospore Carbon Based Lifeforms have been one of my favourite projects over the last few years. Just about everything I have heard from them, I've loved. This track is good, a little shorter than I'd have liked and it never really goes anywhere but it's a nice quick journey non the less. The beatless rhythm is relaxingly enjoyable and the slight melody is just ear candy but I would have liked to have seen it progress. Unfulfilled potential leaves such an unusual feeling. I enjoyed it but wanted more. 5. Solar Fields - Feelings For me this is the stand out on the compilation and alone made the money I spent on this money well spent. Big spacey atmospheres with quite a majestic feeling. Slow steady beats and big rushes of synth drone with little sharp and squelchy noises running down them. The beats coming off the break down seem to be building to something but just as you think they are leading nowhere the mood changes with much more glitch than I've heard from Solar Fields before. Blending the glitch into the lush melodies and spacey atmosphere works surprisingly well. Again I am left very impressed by Solar Fields' versatility as an artist. 6. Vibrasphere ft. Irian Mikhailova - Meander Sounds very much like the later tracks on Exploring The Tributaries but a little more pop accessible. The female vocal wailing is not unpleasant, it reminds me of Ibiza chill albums. It has that Island feel that goes very well with the cover but not so much with the rest of the music here. Without the vocal this would be quite a nice if forgettable track. The piano melody is nice, the water sounds add a nice relaxing feel and the beats are chilled but funky. I could do without the vocal though. It's a little to cheesy for my liking. 7. Xerxes - Early Morning Crystals Another stand out track for me. This has got me very excited about Xerxes and has me really looking forward to future releases. The beat is the strongest so far. Driving in a relaxed way, like a Sunday afternoon drive through the country. The atmosphere is only slightly dark like a cloudy day and the melody is subtle yet engrossing. More minimal than the other tracks and in ways this makes it better than most of the others. It's more entrancing and allows the mind to wander through the soundscape it creates. As mine does I experience rolling hills, cool breezes and the threat of a storm in the distance. Towards the end the beats kick up a gear, sealing the mind back into my car and driving down an empty road. Little melodic sounds rush passed me on each side as I go. Excellent track. 8. Illuminus - Dem Cowboys Another female vocal doesn't exactly fill me with hope for this track and the guitar sounds add to Ibiza island chill out feel. The bad flutes, weak reggae vocals and music hall sounds, the weird ethnic vocals and twangy strings add up to a track I find verges on excruciating. Too much has been crammed in and the thought of blending doesn't seem apparent. The icing on the cheese cake is the Native American Indian war cries. I really do not like this track. 9. Chromosome - Evens Heaven A better track by Chromosome, there are still vocals I'd rather not hear but they are within my acceptable limits. They sound like they want to be ethereal and mysterious but fail somewhat. I've heard it before. The rest of the track is better, brief Shpongle-esque vocals followed by a rather enjoyable bassline and a bright melody. High pitched vocals sound pleasantly trippy and slightly irritating at the same time. The beats, the trippy little noises both sharp and round are good but as with the last track there seems to have been too much put in. Unlike the last track, the single elements are quite good and there has been a good attempt at arranging them and blending them. It's a decent track that gets better towards the end. The melodies, synths, beats, bass and vocals blend much better in the final third. 10. Blue Planet Corporation - A Foret(e)st Of Paradise I have liked so much of Blue Planet Corporation's music from the lush trance on Blue Planet to the great downbeat tracks released on Dakini and Chill Tribe so it pains me to say that this track is not good. Or at least not to my liking. Pedestrian rhythms, boring melodies and a horrible Jazzy saxophone. A cringe worthy sample and unwelcome random percussive clicks don't help but the Jazzy saxophone makes me want to skip to the last track. I hope this is a one off failed experiment. 11. Kritical Audio - Yellow Blend A nice mellow track to end on. It has a nice warm summer feel without sounding like it's Ibiza. The beats are great, the cut up twisted melodies work well and the sharp stop and starts to the beat is something I really like. Definitely one of the best tracks on the album and Kritical Audio is on my watch list for the future.

Kino Oko - Alphabetically Divided Highway

Ultimae should be getting it soon. Or so Aes Dana & Cell said at Isra

It died for me when they made it really annoying to view my collection. Instead of having it how they used to, full screen & easy to browse. Now it's relegated into the side of the screen in a thin strip & unbrowsable. Maybe there is a setting I can unset like the email alerts but it's just not convenient anymore

Is this a review or promo talk? Sounds more like promotion.

Genetic - Trancemission

Kick Bong - Pure Love

Tamlin - Spectrogram

Tamlin Spectrogram Faerie Dragon Records, Gi'iwa Productions 31st May 2008 Crazy Psychedelic Trance Tracklist 1 Perspective (8:42) 2 Release (6:14) 3 Switch (7:22) 4 Catalysk (8:03) 5 Contrastion (6:00) 6 Playtime Adventure (9:33) 7 Psychedelic Exp (8:52) 8 Nowhere Fast (4:20) 9 Somewhirl (7:06) 10 Pax Nostra (6:25) 11 (Secret Silence) (2:10) 12 (Secret Traps) (3:45) I didn't really know what I was getting why I bought this album. The cover is great and hints at great psychedelic wonders on the inside. I have been fooled by these types of covers though a few times in recent years but I shouldn't have worried as I was treated to one of the trippiest albums this year. 1. Perspective Perspective starts us off with an energetic thumping beat, slick synths and lots of psychedelic goodness. A great representation of the cover art, it feels like being inside a fractal with rising and falling scales, those synths driving the energy forward and a well placed, unobtrusive sample that manages to worm its way into the back of my head. Very trippy. 2. Release A slightly more melodious track is up next which starts with ambient background noise and a light rhythm that builds and builds and threatens to explode. 3 and a half minutes it kicks in with a stooping beat. The small melodies are even smaller but the scratchy synths are absolutely mental. Great stuff, very fitting of the title. It builds up the pressure for the first half then releases it in the second. 3. Switch No slow build up here, it's right in there with the beat. Great wet little melodic bleeps ooze into the mind and massage it gently before the synths kick in and stab at your brain like little hot sticks. 4 minutes in it totally switches direction. I love when a track does that. The beats move sideways, go a little slower and are shot at by a multitude of lasers. Great stuff, melodic and fun but not even a little bit cheesy. 4. Catalysk Melodic rhythm, 4-4 beats and a shuffling sub beat lead into some really chaotic, spacey sounds. I feel like I'm in the middle of some multicoloured storm. I'm in the eye, chaos swarms around me dangerously close but never doing any harm. Great sounds, rough and ready mixed with smooth floating yet quick moving ones. It ends even more chaotically with hard sounds pushing down and down like it's trying to break apart. 5. Contrastion Nice high pitch melody twangs as an almost relaxed break beat kicks away the dust under my feet ready for the steady beat to come in surrounded by quick tasty synths. They sound moist and acidic at first then sharp and acidic as they slice through the skull into my pink fleshy brain. Once my brain has been but open, the madness starts. All manner of crazy sounds stab, slice and kick the shit out of the inside of my head. Everything is right here for a perfect madness inducing psy track. Love it. 6. Playtime Adventure This is the track I think most old Goa lovers will initially love the most. It's a wonderful example of emotional melody driven psychedelic trance. It's energetic, it's bouncy, it has soft pads and sharp acidic noises. It has well placed samples, changes of pace and direction and of course melody. Around 4 minutes the main melody kicks in. Slightly a first then really in your face. It's really good melody as well. Emotional but not likely to get stuck in your head allowing it to stay fresh. There is of course more than just a great melody, the whole track is build expertly with breaks at the right time, build ups at the right time and each little noise perfectly positioned to make one great piece of music. 7. Psychedelic Exp Oscillating synths back and forth back and forth allow the beat to creep in quietly so by the time you notice it's in full swing and seems like it always has been. The way the synths move makes me feel quite dizzy and this whole track seems designed to mess with your head. Not in the crazy rip your head apart kind of way like Contrastion but in a more steady methodical kind of way. There's not as much going on as in previous tracks but it seems all the more hypnotising for it. This is probably not going to be the track you remember after listening to this album but it's highly psychedelic and lifts the mind up into vast open spacey realms. 8. Nowhere Fast. And bloody hell it is fast. Coming off the steady psychelica of the previous track even the build up here sounds out of control. The beats are fast, the synths whir around speedlessly yet have incredible energy. All the sounds are chaotic and noisy. Even the breakdown seems fast as all the noises are flying around all over the place. Quite a feat to get a track sounding that fast even when the beat goes out. 9. Somewhirl Nowhere fast's ending acts as a build up and this track drops right in with the beat. Fast and steady surrounded by quick melodies and sharp sidelong synths. I can see this working wonders on the dancefloor like many of the tracks here. It's got bags of energy to keep the body moving long after it has begged to stop and enough going on to please the brain. The first half is a little boring for the home listener but in the second half the melodies become more complex and it's more pleasing on the ear. Still I guess this is one geared for the dancefloor. 10. Pax Nostra We finish the titled tracks with a more downbeat number. Nice cool beats like semi-breakbeat and lush melodies create a nice warm atmosphere perfect for summer nights out on the porch looking out over the garden and beyond to the mountains in the distance as the light fades but the warmth stays. Like a lot of the tracks here it stays interesting by adding elements as it goes and allowing the music to change directions. A very nice piece of downbeat psy. 11. (Secret Silence) Silence and a blip. 12. (Secret Traps) (Turican Theme) When Tea Chairz did I thought it was great but this is even better. Longer and more nostalgic. I loved the game and played it for hours a day and so had this theme engraved on my mind. The breakbeat and the bassline are good but insignificant next to the awesomeness of the Turican theme. The melody is played a few different ways, on a few different scales and with the synths. This is what hidden tracks should be, a real treat and then something totally apart from the album. This usually gets a couple of rewinds from me. Well, Tamlin has produced a damn fine album here. Really psychedelic, varied and is going to be battling it out with Jikkenteki - Flights of Infinity at the end of the year for my number one upbeat album of 2008 it just oozes class, psychedelica and craziness. I love it and I think many other people will too. There is something for everyone here. For the oldschool lovers there is melody, psychedelic touches and some spacey atmospheres. For the lovers of crazy madness, well there is lots of that. There is pumping energy for the dancefloors and so much head stuff for the home listener.

Kettel - Myam James Part 1 :clapping:

I think it was this word. People read still sit which would sound really negative like before it was bearable but now is unbearable. But he wrote sit still as in have to move your body I find it very hard to sit still when listening to this album as well with heliopolis :posford:

:posford: :clapping:

EvsY - Lords of the Liverdance

It would be nice if they were going to get access to Dragonfly's back catalogue. There are a few releases I wouldn't mind having remastered and all that delicious music from the Golden age of Dragonfly could be available to the new Goa Freaks edit: but no info sorry

Kino Oko - Alphabetically Driven Highway :clapping:

Tamlin - Spectrogram

Emanuele Errante Humus Somnia April 2008 Ambient Tracklist 1. Fecunda (6:31) 2. Lucus (8:55) 3. Ros (3:56) 4. Humi (9:59) 5. Radio Hopes (6:40) 6. Leaves (1:45) 7. Aquatic (7:48) 8. Primo Tema (3:23) 9. Ant's Trail (4:29) 10. Magic Wood (5:32) 11. Ultimo Tema (3:14) Another release on Evan Bartholomew's ambient label Somnia is the first not by himself. One Emanuele Errante offers us up some sleep inducing ambient and I'll admit that at first this album bored me a little. It took time for its eloquence to unfold and for it to successfully insert images into my head. It did help me sleep though and in the times I was really listening to it, I started to understand it more and more. 1. Fecunda A nice classical feel to the opening track here, with soft strings and an olde worlde feel to it. I can picture foggy European countryside in the mornings as I listen to this, the drones feel surprisingly musical as if they are themselves a new type of string instrument and the brief smatterings of melody sound like flutes or bells and sometimes I can hear both at once. Very nice modern classical ambient. 2. Lucus The deep bass sound rumbling downwards right from the start instantly sets a darker atmosphere. The feeling is still that of the olde worlde but we've gone from romantic mornings in unspoiled countryside to gray castle towns with the hustle and bustle of a non busy market and the looming presence of a dark keep overlooking everything. Deep dark drones, frantic flute and a myriad of little noises give this a sense of accustomed unease. 3. Ros A short track that feels like the build up of psychic energy. The drone is high pitched like the air might explode should its intensity increase. The sharper synths sound like ritual slicing through the air and it all gives me a sense of sorcery. 4. Humi Humi paints a picture in my head of aftermath. Like the aftermath of a great battle. There is no action, no commotion just peace and a certain sense of emptiness in a crowded place. The long fluctuating drones combined with little lightly pitched sounds make me imagine souls rising up into the sky whereas the dark but gentle bass that comes in midway feels like the same thing but descending to who knows where. Imagine a field on which was fought a battle of titanic proportions but which is over, the victors having moved on leaving the dead and the dying to litter the ground. Listening more closely I can hear flies and carrion feasting on what remains and listening intently I can see the souls of those now departed on the next step of their journey. 5. Radio Hopes Dark and scratchy is how this starts out as if the radio is acting up again. Slowly there comes more sounds. The lone piano note struck loudly, the sweep of a synth short and sharp. Still the scratchy static continues. More sounds come if you really listen but they are extremely subtle and easily missed. With this I picture a soldier in the trenches trying to get his radio to work, struggling but gaining ground little by little as he eeks out the sounds. Finally he gets the music to play and there are beats for a time just briefly though before it cruelly cuts out. 6. Leaves A very short track with just smatterings of clicky sounds, deep keyboard melody and mystical ambience. All in all a short but quite spacey track. Would have liked it to continue. 7. Aquatic Water sounds at the start as if something is wading through calm waves. A strong melody and prominent high pitched notes wailing in the top side. It feels all the way through like it's going to kick of with some percussion with a slow bass note plodding along and the slight fluttering of mechanical wings with what could be beats many miles distant. The beat never materialises though however the mechanical sounds take over like there is an alien craft hovering over our Aquatic seascape. All manner of glittering sea life comes for a look at the craft but it fades away with all the attention leaving us once again with just the sea. 8. Primo Tema A short glitchy track with static like synth mixed with piano played almost into a melody. The atmosphere created is one like a small vortex looking like it should disrupt the world around it but somehow leaving everything unscathed. 9. Ant's Trail A crazy melody seems to have no plan but just plays randomly what comes to mind which is generally hitting a few keys at once repetitively and sliding up and down the scale. The other constant is little clicks like sporadic movement of a beast just learning to walk. There are drones here and there starting sharp and fading away like voices lost on the wind. By the time these voices become more stable there is another half melody vying for attention. Interesting track if not the best for a headache. 10. Magic Wood More percussion here with a just about steady beat. Dark twisted drones cover the slight piano and hide it under a blanket of buzzing insects. But it is there, put you ear to the ground and concentrate and you can hear it as if it's far away but as all the noise and percussion stop so does the piano and I realise it is not a sound covered by the rest but more a sound made by the rest, soft and subtle and fitting in perfectly. 11. Ultimo Tema Single notes on the piano played over slight glitchy mist and sparkles of light, the briefest of drones floating up and out and vague percussion may not sound like much but it's incredibly engrossing and as the piano slowly becomes a few notes the drones become longer only for the album to sadly end. Well this turned out to be a very nice ambient album. Easily dismissable as boring if you don't give it a chance. Distraction free and with a clear focussed mind. Each track has its own little story and although the album kind of feels like a story it also feels like it jumps from scene to scene with no explanation of what happened in between. That though just adds a chaotic feeling to such a relaxed album. I like that, chaotic chilled out music. The opening track remains my favourite on the album and one of the nicest tracks this year.

Opium - Watercolors

Pan Electric - Conscious Pilot :posford:

Ra 9th Suntrip Records 16 May 2008 Goa Trance Tracklist 1 Intro (1:21) 2 Octagon (7:48) 3 Predator (7:58) 4 Other Self (8:54) 5 Ultima Energica (7:41) 6 Time Current (8:13) 7 Spirit Complex (9:04) 8 Transcendent (9:13) 9 Expand Consciousness (7:04) 10 Light Receiver (8:20) 11 Untitled (Bonus Track) (3:10) Everything Suntrip releases seems to touch my Psy appreciation buttons and with the long awaited Ra album 9th they have taken a much loved artist still winning praise for the debut To Sirius. The risk is always too fold with situations like this. One, it could not be as good as the debut and people would be disappointed or Two, it would be too much like the first album and people would complain that it's stale and unoriginal. So how did Ra manage the difficult second album? 1. Intro A soft goambient intro with light melodies and a deep dark vocal sample sets the mood straight away of spacey Goa. 2. Octagon Now we really get going. A nice energetic party track with strong beats, light trippy synths and subtle melodies rising and falling. For some reason I get the feeling that I am in Total Recall. There's no sample like from the 1st album but I keep expecting one. A nice old Goa feeling with a slicker more polished edge. 3. Predator Predator picks up the energy level in that it really gives me the impression of a chase. With small trippy sub beats under the main kick very audible, a quick bassline melody pushing along and synths always on the rise the feeling of rapid horizontal movement like a race is very apparent. The slight touches of melody always put in mind of police sirens in a very different world. Different sound, same feeling. I picture a car chase through a city of gleaming gold stretching far above yet the sun still illuminates everything very brightly. 4. Other Self Lots of Energy again but with an altogether different feeling. A very old school feel for me in this track. The beat really takes me back as does the melody which although seems quite simple and repetitive at first, has enough movement in it to hold the mood and my attention. A very spacey atmosphere reminds me of my early love affair with Dragonfly Records, images of parties in long forgotten temples, forests and alien worlds spring to mind. 5. Ultima Energica Long drawn out synths creating a floating atmosphere before the beat kicks in creating an overdrive atmosphere helped on by little stabs of melody, faster synths and squelchy sounds. A common enough hyperspace feeling but somehow this track gives me the feeling that I am still but the universe is a maelstrom rushing all around me. Personally I could do without the sample but it's not in there for long and the rest of the music is so good. 6. Time Current This is another one of those tracks in that I am always expecting a sample to jump out at me. The music is very reminiscent of older Goa while still holding Ra's modern style. The production on this track is great and everything seems to have been put together perfectly. The progression of the track, the introduction of simple melodies intertwined with more acidic synth stabs. The melodies all sound at once the same and different and as they twirl together I'm left almost breathless. When the sample does come it's nothing like I was expecting adding to my pleasurable feeling of listening to fresh new music mixed with nostalgia. Great atmosphere, great energy, great track. 7. Spirit Complex With Spirit Complex we start to calm down a bit. There is less pulsating energy and more a steady movement. The beat remains quite quick but the other aspects, synths, melodies and random sounds seem to have streamlined into a smoother ride. In the second half the melody that comes in is high pitched and adds a little more energy to the atmosphere but the breakdowns pulling it back make me feel like we've reached the apex and are on our way down. 8. Transcendent Another track that seems to have lessened the kinetic energy. It's still pretty fast though like the last one and I have this feeling of going down hill. The music has time to breathe and take in the scenery. Lush melodies, nice synth work and lots of little noises make it a very enjoyable track. A slightly too long break down for my taste kind of breaks up the smooth flow I was enjoying and it never really gets back on track afterwards. 9. Expand Consciousness Another notch off the accelerator. If it wasn't so deliciously Goa in its feel I could almost be tempted to call it prog. The sounds are much too Goa for me to ever really think that though. Eastern sounding melodies, sharp synths, bubbling melodic scales rising and shuffling sub beats all create one of those lush goa tracks half way between the really stomping stuff and the goambient. 10. Light Receiver This is a really great track. It makes me crave a full downbeat album from Ra. Soft beats just trip along while the melodies glide effortlessly through the soundscape. The chanted voices fit in nicely giving an almost mystical feel accentuated by the Eastern melodies and foggy atmosphere. A very nice track. 11. Untitled This little ambient number tagged on at the end is really nice. Almost beatless with a nice warm sample assuring me I'm not alone. I'm sure I'm not alone enjoying this album. The slight beats are so soft and the atmosphere created is so nice that I am actually sad it's so short. So with this album I think Ra has managed to craft out a sound that is nostalgic in that it really has great old school atmospheres but also fresh with nice clear production and original ideas on how to make a record psychedelic. I don't think this is the best Suntrip release, I liked this year's Opus Iridium more but it is still a very good album that I think any Goa lover would enjoy and it is another example of why I am happy with today's scene.

Jealous? What is there to be jealous of from a thieving pikey scumbag?

Enterprise - Eniac

Enterprise - Eniac The best track on Chiller Vol. 1 IMO