d.leerium

Here's a new track - the first one in ages and quite different from the ones before: Comments are welcome, of course! Also, please spread the word if you enjoy it. My own resources in promoting it are quite limited.

Thanks, will do!

Never heard of S-Range... Seems worth checking out! Where should I start?

Thanks for the suggestions, and sorry for not replying sooner... My spare time for posting on forums is somewhat limited these days, and I need to be in the right mindset to be able to respond properly to the more 'serious' topics. Currently I'm in the same dilemma again, which reminded me of this thread. There's an annual event on Saturday which I attended last year, and back then I swore to myself not to go there on my own again. But the only alternative is not to go there at all. It's hard enough to even find the motivation to go on my own, I mean, most people probably know that problem from experience - it's easier to get your shit together when you're in good company. Besides, I find it increasingly difficult to even keep myself awake until the event begins; guess I've passed the age of staying up all night, and this, too, is easier when you're in good company and can make some conversation. The main problem is really that I don't have the social skills and abilities to be able to socialise with new people even on the most basic level once I'm there, and trust me when I say it's not a matter of experience. That's why I'd necessarily need some way to get to know people outside of, and prior to, the events in a calm and less chaotic environment. It occasionally happened to me that someone said something to me at the party and tried to make conversation, but thsi simply doesn't work out of the blue. For one thing, I usually don't even understand what they're saying with all the background noise going on (due to impaired sensory filtering), and for someone who doesn't know you yet, it can be very irritating if you have to ask them several times to repeat what they said. For another thing, there's the matter of smalltalk as such: even if I understand what they say, I usually don't have much of an idea how to respond, and the chaotic surroundings don't allow for the necessary concentration to maintain a conversation, so it soon fizzles out. Talking in the chill-out area would work better indeed, but most events around here don't even have one, and then, again, I wouldn't know how to start or maintain a conversation if I don't know the person at all. The fact that I don't drink certainly doesn't help, either (since several of you suggested clinking bottles/glasses). But I guess that, as always in life, there simply is no silver bullet to solve the problem. It's as they say: 'wrong-planet-syndrome'; I simply don't belong here... My way of thinking, living and communicating is too fundamentally different from that of most other people.

I've made the same experience, even though - unfortunately - I wasn't there back in the day to witness the golden years of either Goa or Psy, so I guess I missed it all. Still, on rare occasions, there may be a DJ who plays some of the more atmospheric and melodic Progressive tunes (usually, those DJs play early in the evening when nobody's there except myself ) - it still has little to do with Goa or Psy, but at least it's Trance and I can dance to it for a while. Actually I started a similar thread last year: http://www.psynews.org/forums/index.php/topic/66474-present-day-psygoa-parties-puzzle-me/

Yep, I want one, too!

Haha, yes, that's a good idea. And let's not forget that insufferable 'Hi-Tech'/Psycore stuff which is even worse...

I'm loving this - thanks for sharing! It's really energetic, creative and full of great melodies and atmospheres throughout. Does any of this stuff exist on CD? It's interesting that you've posted this in the "Other Electronica" forum, which would suggest you don't find it to be within the Psytrance spectrum. I'd say it is, though...

Hey, I never said I liked that track, I only posted it because of the sample. It's featured on a rather patchy Darkpsy/Forest compilation available on Ektoplazm, and this isn't exactly its best moment.

Very un-Trance, but still: Tina Dickow's new album "Whispers" arrived today. I finished listening to it about an hour ago and really don't know what to think. The production is pristine, but musically, it all seemed pretty half-baked to me, sometimes even cheesy... Maybe it'll take a couple of spins, but right now I doubt it'll end up in my best-of list for this year. Shame - I loved almost all of her previous work.

Thanks. Well yes, it's good that there are such events here at all, although the music they play actually has little to do with either Goa or Psy, in all honesty... But it's as good as it gets. What I forgot to mention in my initial post: I'd like even more to attend an open air festival with a really interesting line-up someday, but to do that, I'd definitely need someone to accompany me. That's the sort of situation I really wouldn't be able to tackle on my own, not to mention getting there in the first place... :/

As I said above, that sort of thing (i.e. socialising on the spot) doesn't work for me. A few times someone even came up to me and said something, but it already starts with not being able to filter out all the background noise properly and hence having significant trouble understanding what it is they're saying. This makes for a difficult start. Then there's making conversation on a pontaneous 'smalltalk' basis as such, which doesn't come easily for me. Both these problems come with being autistic, unfortunately, and that sort of impairment lasts a lifetime. It'd be much easier for me if I already knew someone a bit closer. To be perfectly honest, being talked to once I'm there even makes it all the more difficult for me. Some people are really persistent and, if you don't have the necessary social skills, can become intrusive. I believe that you're less 'vulnerable' when you're there in a group of at least two people. I'll never forget that Trance festival I went to last October. At some point, a girl tried to involve me in some strange (though perfectly normal and maybe even enjoyable for most people, I guess) dancing-mating-whatnot-ritual. I was completely at a loss. A few minutes later I left... That's the first and only time this sort of thing ever happened to me, though. 'Regular' people usually have the social intuition needed to react to such situations in a spontaneous and natural way, but I don't - it means a lot of stress, and also frustration for being confronted with my fairly narrow limitations and not being able to connect in the way I'd like to. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not like I can't (or don't want to) socialise at all - on the contrary, it's just that it doesn't work in the usual way of going somewhere and getting to know people.

Activa - To the Point. Trying to decide whether or not to order the CD.

Great thread! Thanks to everyone who contributed to it so far - most of what has been posted is very much to my liking. There are a number of artists and releases I'll have to check out more closely when I get a minute. Here's an absolutely gorgeous mixture of D'n'B and non-psychedelic Trance with wonderful vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw (of Opus III fame); I can't get enough of that track: For those who mentioned Rawthang it might be interesting to know that the vocals in those tracks haven't been recorded specifically for Rawthang (thus the 'feat.' isn't correct, strictly speaking): rather, Rawthang sampled those vocals from Kari Rueslåtten's album "Pilot". She's a great artist, and apart from "Mesmerized", all of her albums are highly recommended. If you like intelligent singer-songwriter music with electronic flourishes, be sure to check her out. I was positively surprised by this year's comeback album, "Time to Tell", too: she has dropped the electronic influences completely, instead focusing on a highly aesthetic, fragile acoustic sound. Her work with The 3rd and the Mortal back in the nineties is timeless, too.

It seems like there's some cool stuff out there after all, only most of it is probably long OOP. I'd like to have a shirt or two from Trance acts I like, particularly classics like Astral Projection, Cosmosis etc... Do such shirts exist at all and if so, are there any sources to order them from these days? Is there any webshop that sells 'band shirts' in this field? Those TIP shirts look great, too, but I suspect they're not available anymore unless you pay a tremendous amount of money... That Suntrip shirt doesn't look too bad, either - perhaps an option if I can't find anything else.