abasio

Well it was cool anyway

What's with the sepultura video?

Thanks for the warning. Dodged a bullet there. I almost bought this comp on the strength of the cover alone. But if it's a cheese fest I think I'll steer clear

Merrow - Born Underwater

I don't know why I assumed it was. I stopped receiving copies of it when Saiko Sounds when out of business.

Celestial Intelligence - Perpetual Energy Received this as a birthday present from the wife (randomly selected from my wish list) Liking it a lot so far. Very energetic. Full speed trance right from the start.

Celestial Intelligence - Perpetual Energy Perpetual energy indeed Full on throttle from beginning to end

Pleiadians I.F.O. DAT Records CD 1 - Pleiadians I.F.O. Live 1. Intro 2. Merope 3. Alcyone 4. Asterope 5. Maia 6. Electra 7. Taygeta Bonus Track: 8. Etnica - Vimana (Pleiadians Live Mix) CD 2 - Pleiadians I.F.O. Re-Mastered 1. Maia 2. Taygeta 3. Merope 4. Alcyone 5. Electra 6. Asterope 7. Celaeno Bonus Track 8. Time Dilation (Original Mix) CD 3 - Pleiadians Unreleased / Vinyl Tracks 1. The Pleiadians 2. Boarding Pass To Balangan 3. Cyberland 4. Sonic System 5. Analogue Step 6. Jungle Track 7. Zeta Reticuli (Full Mix) 8. Deep Frequencies Pleiadians I.F.O. was a seminal release back in 1997 on Dragonfly Records. It was almost universally praised and gained a cult status when it became rare, one of those records you just have to have. I had it, and to be fair I preferred Pleiadians second album, Family of Light, as I.F.Ound it more psychedelic, the tracks individually went deeper and it had Moon In Your Window. Although I love I.F.O. I dont think it deserved the amount of praise that it received when Family of Light didnt. Roll on 2015 and DAT records have re-released I.F.O. I am not one to buy re-releases when I own the original but DAT records always do something special. In this case there are 3 CDs: the original album remastered, a collection of tracks only released on vinyl and I.F.O. live, which is apparently a recording they found of a pre-recorded set. On buying this I was more interested in the vinyl releases CD as I wasnt expecting the live version to be much different to the original album. While the vinyl CD was decent, I was blown away by the live version however. To me it sounds like I.F.O. played through a filter of Family of Light. It has that extra something I felt was missing from the original album and has overtaken Family of Light now as my favourite Pleiadians CD, its up there with Eat Statics prepare your spirit in my all time favourite space opera music. I love it, its fantastic and I would like to thank Draeke at DAT records for making sure that this came to my stereo. CD1 I.F.O. Live 1. Merope We start off with a sample that sounds like a radio warning of a UFO landing which gives the track a sci-fi atmosphere from the very beginning. Its quite ambitious at 12+ minutes but the evolution of the main melody is fantastic: changing sounds and little sub melodies coming in and out. The inspiration sample near the end is a little cheesy but it grew on me. 2. Alcyone The melody starts off quite subtle if still acidic but it really grows in to a full on acid growler. The bassline bounces around nicely and the screeching sounds in the background sound quite alien. I picture myself in an alien jungle surrounded by god knows what, not visible but definitely there and very alien. 3. Asterope It starts with a really nice fantasy/sci-fi-esque sample. The background ambience sets a nice spacey mood again. The beat and melody comes in softly then builds into an absolute stormer that goes on and on but never loses its intensity, never gets old and keeps you wanting more. 4. Maia That melody! The warm bassline, the acid synths, that time around 7:00 when the melody seems to shift so that its coming out of a different dimension briefly. Its fantastic. It might seem improbable to improve Maia but this is the best version of it Ive heard. 5. Electra Is there a moon in your window? Is madness laughing? Can you still run down the beach, rocks, death below without. This sample from Family of Light was always a favourite of mine. I am not sure about the latter words and the last part is completely beyond my comprehension. It feels like madness is laughing at me. This is the sort of thing that has elevated I.F.O. live above Family of Light for me, and they used Family of Light to do The sample fits here very well too. Its a bouncy track through and through: the beats are light, the melody goes up and down and the synths do the same. Its incredibly infectious; it gets me bouncing along every time. 6. Taygeta This track is like a whirlpool: everything spins around my head so fast and it continues to spiral up and up in an energy vortex, building and building towhat? For me it misses a climax. 7. Etnica - Vimana (Pleiadians live mix) Thumping beat, acid melodies, synths that build and build, twisting and turning it is a truly wonderful way to finish the journey. The crescendo of sound coming at me takes me back to my club days when the set would peak. Ah how I miss it. This music though makes me feel almost like I am there again. Magic. CD2 I.F.O. Remastered 1. Maia I always loved the start of this album. Maia is a really spacey track with great melodies, beats, screaming synths and these little wet squelchy sounds that remind me of tiny aliens swarming round my feet. 2. Taygeta This always reminds me of Headspin (I actually heard Family of Light first) and I keep expecting the sample to come but it never does which gives me an ever so slight disappointment. That aside its a great track, the twisted bubbly sounds make me imagine I am sat next to an frothing alien lake. 3. Merope Merope is trancey: its steady, its flowing and it can pass you by if distracted but sends me in to a hypnotic trance when I listen closely. 4. Alcyone This is one of those mental tracks that just seems to shift about from side to side asking for you to catch it, but its elusive and I never quite can. Its brilliant and it doesnt stick in my head so it feels fresh each time I listen, even nearly 2 decades later. 5. Electra This is full of energy, its perfect for the dance floor but I like it for home listening to as it takes me back to the dance floor and makes me want to get up and groove along with it. Its got more for the discerning listener too though with a lot of acidic psychedelica trickling through the whole track 6. Asterope Another really spacey track, but this one is hyperspace. I get the feeling of rushing forwards when listening and it brings the future seconds closer so I experience the feeling of déjà vu, it hypnotises me. Definitely my favourite on the album! 7. Celaeno A slow(er) end to the album and I do love a downbeat Goa ending. This is one long winding track, it feels like I am floating down a far off river watching alien landscapes drift by. 8. Time Dilation (Bonus Track) In tempo it starts somewhere between the main album and the last track, yet it builds and builds and before I know it its really kicking off and I love it. It must be hard to put a bonus track on such a seminal release but they did it and did it well. Fantastic stuff. CD3 Unreleased/Rare Vinyl 1. Pleiadians Their first release and a track named after the band. Its a good job it is the epitome of their style perfectly. Fast, melodic, acidic, trippy spacey Goa. A really wonderful track. 2. Boarding Pass to Balangan The B-side to their first release, its upbeat but it seems to have a downbeat feel to it. It is so smooth! The beats and the melodies intermingle with the bassline and the synths make me feel like I am floating through hyperspace at a leisurely pace. 3. Cyberland This sounds metallic, the melodies are sharp the beats are crisp, the synths have an acid touch like clean rust inside a machine. Its bursting with energy and glossed with chrome. 4. Sonic System At the start this track feels like its going to be generic. The boom tsk and slack synths just feel like they are not going to go anywhere. The acid melody kicks in though and changes everything. It ends up as a very nice detailed track. Not one of Pleiadians best but still a decent offering. 5. Analogue Step Here is a track that sounds dated, I usually think of tracks that sound like the era they were produced in as a positive thing, most of the music on this 3CD is timeless like that but this one is so 90s. Thats not to say that it is without its charm, that was a golden time for Goa trance. It has nice sharp melodies and a slicing sounds that keeps sweeping through but it also feels like its not going anywhere. 6. Jungle Track An alien jungle? Well, its not particularly well stocked with sound. This is another track that doesnt reach the heights of the rest of this album. Its pleasant enough but it doesnt go anywhere until nearly 6 minutes in when it gets better and the melodies move around a lot it. It becomes nice if not great. 7. Zeta Reticuli After the last two tracks this feels instantly deeper and I understand that those two were on the shallow side. Here it is acid drenched and full of energy. As it goes on it build in intensity and while it plateaus rather than climaxes its still a very nice track. 8. Deep Frequencies A slower number to round off our journey. It starts off quite minimal and empty sounding but at 3 minutes a soft melody comes in to the background and instantly adds a lot more meat to it. A light but acidic melody comes in prominently along with more powerful beats and nice drippy psychedelica in the background. The melody evolves nicely for its almost 15 minute length and its good value for the duration. Overall this is extremely good value for money. 3CDs packed with classic Pleiadians material that you have and have not (probably) heard before. Again, big big thanks to Federico Draeke for making this a possibility. As with all DAT records releases, the presentation is visually stunning as well. Nice artwork throughout the digipack, good looking CDs and a booklet with details of how it all arose. Buy it and get the physical release, it's well worth it.

Maybe someone should get on that

No, I'm still there rotting away. But most of my money is going on baby stuff 👶 Work actually provides me with the most opportunities to listen to music as I spend so much time on the train or walking. I'm trying to get more home listening in but that's the challenge. Not had a chance to check out Toi Doi, it's not super high on my list I'm afraid. Is it good?

Yeah, not going to get things I've already got in a format I never play.

And not having as much disposal income as before doesn't help either. But some of these I just need

Well, that's not overly exciting

Ah, I don't use Facebook anymore. Hopefully some kind soul will update here if there's any news

So there is a new album coming? Or is it just the remixes and unreleased thing?

Glad you liked it Next up Tripswitch - Circuit Breaker Can't wait for Deer Park (Nb I both can and will wait, it sounds so much better at the end of the album than heard as a stand alone track.

Having missed these, are they available anywhere now?

Did this ever get released?

This all looks pretty nice. Will add it to my list of things to get. Anyone else heard this yet?

CBL are off Ultimae? Well I never. Those new covers are beautiful. Any news for a new album any time soon?

This is the best Eat Static release since Prepare Your Spirit. Have it on heavy rotation over here

Added to my ever growing wish list. This site is bad for my wallet.

Looks interesting. I will look into this one Interuterion was epic https://www.discogs.com/Pete-Ardron-and-Samantha-Ray-Interuterion/release/4116050 Anyone heard this yet?

Any news on this one? Dance For The Celestial Beings was brilliant so I'm eagerly anticipating this

Pleiadians - IFO Live Where has this version been all my life? I've always preferred Family of Light over IFO, it always felt more psychedelic to me, but this live version of IFO just adds wonderful new dimensions to the music. Now it's IFO Live > FoL > IFO