travbrad1001

Well obviously this is very subjective but Escape Into are on another level in modern psytrance IMO. I just haven't heard anything else so energetic, original, unpredictable, melodic, and fun. They aren't really mixing in other styles to a huge extent, but it just has such a unique sound within the psytrance genre that no one else has made.

Post any examples you have of stuff that has a goa/psy vibe even though it's not technically part of the scene. This guy mostly made IDM but this is a pure goa track for me:

Nice review as always and......NOOO MY EYYYEES! I love everything Sky Technology does and this one is no exception. I think I might even like this more than his other stuff just because I am a really big fan of this sort of "downtempo/relaxed goa" style that seems to be very rare. I think there is a lot of potential territory to be explored in that middle ground between mind bendingly fast goa and slooooww chillout/ambient. I like them all but I would like to hear more of this kind of stuff being made.

I was kinda of thinking that might be true about drum pads for producing (not live) psytrance. It seems like a lot of the "beats" in psytrance are really fast and tight which would probably be hard to replicate in real time on those drum pads. I want to start making music with FLStudio or Ableton and have been looking at midi keyboards since software Piano control is very unintuitive/slow and feels like it totally blocks what little creativity I may have. There are just so many choices, and it seems like quality and quantity of pads plays a big role in the price of them.

I think I still like the first 3 the best, but part of that might just be Nostalgia and the fact it was a new sound at the time. I wouldn't really say his new stuff has gone "downhill" though since it's still quite good IMO. I agree with johnb though, nothing will ever top The Lone Deranger.

From a purely musical theory and rhythmic standpoint most of it isn't very complex, but psy isn't just about the melodies/harmonies. As others have mentioned it's also about all the little ways they tweak the sound itself using synths/effects/computers. We are capable of producing sounds these days which would have been unimaginable decades ago. That can be said of all electronic music genres (and even electric guitars/instruments with all sorts of pedals/effects) to some degree but a lot of psytrance takes it to a different level. Complexity doesn't necessarily make music better either. I like lots of jazz and classical music which most people consider to be "complex" but I also enjoy some simple rock/blues riffs belted out on a guitar, a simple melody being warped in a psytrance track, etc. It's all about how the music touches your brain/soul/whatever. Even if you go back to classical probably the most famous and well known little riff/melody is the beginning of Beethoven's 5th Symphony which is about as simple as music can get.

I just don't understand why they turn stuff up so loud in the first place? It tends to just sound completely shit and distorted when your eardrums basically can't handle it anyway, so worse sound + potential damage to hearing. What is the benefit or are the sound people at those places just half deaf already so they don't notice? It's not just a problem in psy/trance scene either. The same thing happens with rock music at a lot of clubs/concert venues too.

Yep Escape Into is my favorite psytrance to come along in recent years. They are amazing, fun, and unpredictable. I don't even have a problem with psytrance that takes itself "seriously" but taking yourself seriously seems to often lead to creative stagnation and lazy formulaic music, whereas just having fun can create some unique new ideas. I want new sounds in goa/psytrance not 90s goa copycats.

Everything AP has ever done. I used to think a couple of their tracks were okay but they got old fast and sound very cheesy and dated now to me. *hides IMO way too much "newschool" goa is sort of similar to them too.

I have one folder where I keep all the full albums, then another where I just keep my favorite stuff. The full album one is 3726 hours. The favorites one is "only" 591 hours. Only about 15% of it is Psytrance though, and only 40% is electronic music of any kind (ambient, psychill, IDM, etc)

It's hard to describe really. It sounds somehow distant or detached, but at the same time feels like the sound is surrounding you. It also feels like I can more fully experience every layer of a psytrance/goa track when under the influence of MXE. You're right though there is definitely a middle ground on MXE that is best for music appreciation. I can take a few tries to figure out what the right dose is for you to reach that place.

I've listened psytrance on a lot of different drugs, but the vast majority of my listening now is done when sober. Ironically I don't really enjoy psytrance on tryptamines (like shrooms or LSD). It's just too loud and intense, and I feel the same way about Metal or Punk music when tripping on them. Some psychill or ambient is great on tryptamines though, as well as a lot of psychedelic rock. I absolutely love psytrance when under the influence of dissociatives (Ketamine, MXE, DXM) though. When i first got into psytrance I was using a lot of dissociatives and for me they are perfect for each other. Weed increases my appreciation of just about any kind of music, and psytrance is no exception. I've never enjoyed alcohol at all really, so it's hard for me to get past not enjoying the experience. On 5-meo-DMT music is basically completely alien to me I can barely even recognize it as music I am so out of it. The average 5-meo-DMT trip is shorter than a typical psytrance track too so it wouldn't be the greatest drug for music listening anyway.

I had the same feelings about Juno Reactor, but their newest album is pretty good and really returns more to their old style.

I'd have to say LSD, even if I like just about every other Hallucinogen track more. It's probably the most recognizable psytrance track, and was the first one I ever heard. I never thought AP was that great, so I'm probably biased against them being the "national anthem", although I know they were very popular and influential. Their music sounds VERY dated now compared to Hallucinogen though IMO.

That's not too surprising. Every time I check psyshop I see a ton of progressive releases (most of which are utterly boring and generic), a few darkpsy and ambient, but not much else. I honestly think the quality of free releases (on sites like ektoplazm) is actually better than full CD releases overall now. At least there is some variety there.