Scandinasia

I think that the forum lacks some variety. We'll always need redundant topics about Trance music, but maybe that new concepts (more Non-music areas) would refresh our beloved foruù.

Crossing Mind's trip hop.

Artist : Mindwave (Anton Maiko) Title : Aura Label : Echoes Records Date : April 2014 Genre : Progressive Psy-trance Hi, dear Goa heads ! This is my first review ever, so please, be gentle with me. I had the desire to introduce you to Mindwave's last release. But before having a serious discussion about this fine product, here is the menu : Introduction : Mindwave is the beloved psyprog project of Anton Maiko, from Israel. After I converted as a 100% Goa fan, he was one of the very few projects able to make me like progressive, alongside with Egorythmia (Boban Lazovski) and Suduaya (Louis-David Roquefere). In the progressive scene, the overflow of projects and songs that sound exactly alike disgusted me from this genre I once loved. Even the massive sound of Hector Stuardo and Lyctum couldn't reconcile me with it. But Mindwave is special. With simple techniques and formulaic melodies, he can cook some deep trance that feels actually like a complex and heartful music. And contrary to many progressive songs that sound cool at the first listening, but whose taste fade at each replay, Mindwave's babies get more and more addictive once you've been caught in the flow. He knows not only how to make this special vibration, he's also super good to build hi-tech climaxes with a lot of feelings. These are the reasons why I subscribed to Mindwave. However, I didn't like his previous album, Insight, released last December by Iono Music. Except the epic psybient opening of this album, I found that the songs failed to mix correctly the several components that constitute a piece of Mindwave, and it was as if the songs couldn't really sustain. It was an attempt to reach a new level, but somehow I got bored when listening. But with Aura, Mindwave surpassed my expectations, and made me really happy. Mindwave's Aura got me happy like that : Review : 1 - Aura This might remain as one of the finest piece of progressive trance of our generation. It opens with a natural soundscape, that brings an organic and oniric feeling to the song. The first ambient sounds seem to describe a night prairy full of fairies, and fireflies. Then, at 00:29, waterly sounds appear, echoing like drops in a stary pond. At 00:27 comes the beat, elegant and simple. It gives a technologic feeling that transcend the song. The natural texture and the hi-tech beat work together very well, suggesting a tribal attitude. The song gains power little by little. But suddenly, at 03:19, it stops. And a few second later, here it comes. One of the most epic moment of nowadays progressive trance. A sudden burst of squelching and melting acid that drives LSD energy straight into your spinal plug. The rest of the song is what you need to get back on Earth. A 2 - Erosion The intro is deliacte, aerial and psychedelic. The beat appears at 00:28, just followed by a subtle chorus obtained with the software. Without realizing, you quickly are hypnotized, and sent into a multilayered soundcape where various skilfully designed sound effects coexist in harmony. The global feeling of the song is a journey into the clouds, a bit like the artwork of Insight. The song lasts almost 8 minutes, but when it's over, you can hear yoursel saying : Already ?! A- 3 - Birth of a New Soul I enjoyed less this song. Maybe that it sounded a little too cliché to my ears. However, it's a good song as well. It is overall well-balanced, it makes you want to dance and at the same it's lounge. The central element of this song is the feminine voice appearing at 03:05. With the uplifting tone that begins at 04:00, you can have the impression to listen to a crossover between a Fantasy movie OST and a psytrance track. It is sophisticated and pretty brilliant, but I think this part doesn't last enough (less than a minute), especially since it's quickly replaced by more banal textures. B+ Global feeling : This is exactly how I would have wanted Insight to be like. Mindwave, in these three pieces of psyprog, offers us a great moment of Electronic Dance Music. He is able to create many emotional tones and atmospheres with almost minimal sounds, and can take you in a journey to another world. Mindwave must keep progressing. This guy have A LOT of potential, and he can go way further. You can buy it here.

Amazing Thx !

Beautiful artwork ! Can't wait for this. Too bad that Bioluminescent Bay is not part of the tracklist. I really enjoy CoaGoa's sound.

OMG !! Armin playing Goa ??? WTF ? This guy has ruined uplifting trance scene by promoting pop/trouse, and now he plays some Goa ? I'm confused as hell. + it's a pretty good track. is Goa renewing with success worldwide ?

Epic !

I'm trying to convert some IRL friends, but I'm alone in my goa-titude (except online friends).

Thank you Cybernetika

Toï Doï + Crossing Mind united. A duo of French acousticians with esoteric sounds.

That super track from Cybernetika quoted hereabove could be easily considered as Goa Trance. If this is not considered as a piece of 604, then our scene suffers from rigidity. But as Penzoline said, there are some psychedelic products that truly are a continuation of Goa Trance, with just sharper sounds. The most eloquent artist who embodies this trend must be Electrypnose. His first album, Brain Stretching, contains pieces of what can be called post-Goa trance. Goa sonorities, with psy-trance engineering. He continued Goa Trance in the straight line of the 90's with contemporary sounds. But to me it's not actually Goa Trance. The difference between Goa Trance and Psytrance songs that incorporates Goa sounds dwells, according to me, in the way the music reacts with the uncounscious mind. Psytrance doesn't put in the same mood as Goa Trance, and this criterium makes me distinguish both styles. Here, I have this Goa mood with Cybernetika and Re-Horakthy. Not with Electrypnose, Hypnoxock (or just a little bit) and Fragletrollet, that make me think in Post-Goa Trance.

If you allow me to disagree with you, I will discuss about your idea that the definition of Goa Trance is getting narrower. This was obviously true during the last decade. Because when Nuskool producers emerged, they couldn't make it otherwise. Their purpose was to re-affirm the traditionnal psychedelic sound, and getting too innovative would have betrayed their goal, which was to sound Goa compared to modern psy-producers. But within the last few years, now that the basis of Neo Goa scene has been firmly settled, their is room enough for innovation, and IMO the definition of Goa Trance is getting larger again. With releases like Mind Rewind or Tribal Encore, a little of the glory past have been restored, because we were recalled that one could make Goa Trance with the distorted industrial sounds inherited from EBM, techno, etc. Several styles of Goa trance, like Dark Goa, are being restored, wich diversifies Neo Goa. And what is interesting with Dark Goa is that there is actually two kinds of dark neo goa : _old school-like dark goa (inspired by UX, Darshan, etc.) _dark Goa inspired by modern psy-trance An example of innovation within Goa Trance is the developpement, this very year, of a very particular style : the Darkpsy basslined Goa Trance, with tracks such as : Laboratory X and RDM - Kenaz E-Mantra - Liquid Frequencies Fractal Vivisection - Molecular Instability A few months ago, I wouldn't have recognized this as Goa Trance. Today I do. There are also fusions of Goa Trance with progressive psy, Forest, etc. It's getting more creative out there.

Evolution is a blessing. This topic is interesting, because in my case, I wouldn't have Fallen in love with Goa 604 without the Newschool trend. I started to get interested in trance music 3 or 4 years ago ( I was 18 yo ), and I enjoyed a few oldschool goa songs by the time, but it is the newschool that really got me into it, and even today I have difficulties to listening to pieces of the Golden Era. Why is that ? According to me, the major difference between Old and Newschool is that there have been an oniric shift between the two periods. Let me explain. Oldschool is much more psychedelic, and have a lot to do with Science-Fiction. Moreover, it's a music that was really made for the dancefloor, since people used to make a lot more of parties by the time (they were bigger, ans it is a big social phenomenon of the 90's). But Newschool is actually much more dreamy, deals more with Fantasy than Science-Fiction, and is really better for home-listening. As a young person, I like it more, because my generation is more used to be entertained at home while alone or in small groups. And the mental images conveyed by Newschool fits more to my culture than the Oldschool ones. Oldschool is more funky, more fun. But what I like is a music that allows me to build a story upon it, a story about vast landscapes and epic characters (like nuskool). Oldschool feels too urban, while Newschool is much more aerial as well. I am then an example of how my generation can get into Goa through Newchool. I think by the way that the first album who illustrâtes that oniric shift is Code Eternity by Asura (released in 2001). Between Nuskool and Oldschool, it's the same vibration, but not the same energy. Or the same energy but not the same vibration. Whatever, it just fits more the contemporary world, and I praise this evolution.

Kick.S is a japanese underground techno artist who uses only analog instruments to make music. He also makes very pioneering Goa 604 with this technique. You can find some of his "live experiences" on his Youtube channel. If you like modulations, you'll love this. Give it a try ! (sorry I don't know how to embed videos ><) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huYRnfnMZaY&feature=youtube_gdata_player https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6U3Ez1k1SU [edit] I notice that the Ukrainian projet Katedra Project is a bit in the same vein, when he makes tracks with a deep rhythm and much modulations.

Don't listen to the dark stuff to the end, I couldn't listen it to the end. It was just to make an example. Just listen to the real tracks from Elements CD 2 (-dark stuff) that "are being" remixed. The other tracks quoted also are examples, chosen in order that you have an idea of what it would sound like. And don't forget JIS track in the end, it's awesome.

Hello Goa-Heads ! A few days after the release of Ten Spins Around the Sun by Suntrip Records, which contains pretty daring experiences (i'm thinking in : E-Mantra remixing Crossing Mind, and Filteria remixing Khetzal), I got in the mood to talk about our secret fantaisies, our hopes, our phantasms concerning Trance, Pychedelic and Ambient music in general. Then, I asked myself : If I was an all-mighty psy/trance/ambient label owner with (almost) infinite powers, what album/compilation would I like to create ? To make it shortly, what would be the CD of my dreams ? The purpose of this topic is to let you create in imagination this magical object, that doesn't exist, and surely never will, but if it did, it would be so incredibly amazing for you. If a magical genie was telling me to make a wish in this sense, I would formulate one of these two following options (my favorite is the second one). Everything that follows is mere fiction !!! First option A Double Goa Trance CD made with psytrance artists I really would like to know how psytrance acts would sound if they had to made Goa 604 Trance. That is why I imagined this : In 2015, the newborn psychedelic label Starfact Records, willing to open new perspectives in the world of newschool goa, released an amazing double CD (called Elements) whose goal is to shake the actual scene. The first CD contains exclusive Goa Trance tracks written by some of the most accomplished psychedelic acts out there. These projects were asked to describe their own vision of the mother-genre of every modern electronic psychedelic music, using the traditionnal organic rhythm, acid loops and oriental patterns, in the spirit of the old days, but adding to it their own touch. Those projects represents the many aspects of the psychedelic scene, with songs illustrating four essential Elements of this scene : Ambient 01. Carbon Based Lifeforms -- Panorama 02. Astropilot -- Through the Rift Morning 03. Suduaya -- Night View 04. Mindwave -- Magnetic Hi-tech 05. Furious -- Nevermind 06. KinDzaDza -- They Took my Sanity Underground 07. Electrypnose -- Le Grand Combat 08. Merkaba -- Above Meridians Bonus track 09. Cybernetika feat. Morphic Resonance -- Planetary Movement Tracks 01 and 02 are gentle midtempo Goa Trance with minimal melodies and heavy atmospheric layers. Tracks 03 and 04 consists of more full-onic Goa songs, with efficient sunny melodies. Tracks 05 and 06 are fast Goa songs, with raw, gargling experimental sounds. Tracks 07 and 08 include exotic sounds, recalling some of the most original early Goa projects. Track 09 is just a crazy dark-toned sci-fi delirium with a pure Goa vibe. The second CD of Elements is no less original. It contains eight Goa Trance remixes of songs from the projects aboveseen. Those remixes are made by some recognized Newschool Goa producers. Imaginary tracklist : 01. Carbon Based Lifeforms -- Supersede (Khetzal Remix) 02. Astropilot -- Svar-Ga (Ra Remix) 03. Suduaya -- Divine Healing (JIS vs CoaGoa Remix) 04. Mindwave -- Rhythm (Artifact303 Remix) 05. Furious -- Somnambulo (Sky Technology Multidimensional Remix) 06. KinDzaDza -- Intergalactic boom (Aurax Remix) 07. Electrypnose -- Leo Zitrone (Antares Remix) 08. Merkaba -- Galactic Ohm (Siam vs Lectro Spektral Daze Remix) Second option (favorite) A Goa Trance album made in Altar Records Here I imagined that three stars from Altar Records ---- E-Mantra (Emmanuel Carpus), Astropilot (Dmitriy Redko) and Suduaya (Louis-David Roquefere) ---- joined their forces into one unique Goatrance/psybient band, that would be called Artemis. Their first release as a trio, called Dance to the Stars, would revolutionize the world of melodic trance and ambient, being a contemporary equivalent of Pleiadians - I.F.O. It would contain very rich songs, full of colors, with a strong emphasis on textures, atmospheres. Their would be joyous melodies stressed by a precise bassline. It would be essentially a (goa ?)Trance album, with two long psybient tracks in the end. It would tell the story of a planet gone astray into a shapeless nebula. Here is the imaginary tracklist : 01. Intro <01:27> 70 bpm 02. Artemis -- Arcturus <07:22> 144 bpm 03. Artemis -- Cosmic Foutain <08:34> 135 bpm 04. JIS -- The Illusions of Reality (Artemis Remix) <08:03> 145 bpm 05. Artemis -- Another Dream <06:57> 145 bpm 06. Artemis -- Perfumes <09:07> 150 bpm 07. Artemis -- Vacuum <07:48> 138 bpm 08. Artemis -- Fade Away <11:51> 87 bpm 09. Artemis -- Dance to the Stars <13:48> 87 bpm That's it. This would be the album of my dreams. Nothing else to add.

The commercial purpose isn't the only reason explaining this "hijacking" of the Goa word. It can also be a matter of ignorance, a mere cultural fact (> switzerland), or just the need to use an umbrella word to name at once all the psychedelic family refering to its first expression (a matter of legacy then).

This is why I prefer to call the genre "604". When one say 604, you can't split it between oldschool and newschool. It's beyond any datation. Saying "604" is also convenient, because this secret spelling of Goa prevents any confusion between real Goa Trance and the psychedelic subgenres (since they are psy-heads who use the Goa appellation for nearly everything, from psycore to progressive, and because there are some places - like Switzerland - where "Goa Trance" means as well psychedelia as a whole.)

For Goa dustep, try Frost Raven's album, After the Fall Tracks like Dragoon and Monsters are interesting.

Awesome alien vibration ! Perfect for Sci-Fi deliriums ! Would it be a good idea to count all the night-side Goa projects of these past few years ? It would give us a more precise idea of the dark potential of neo goa scene. I count : Toï Doï Ka-Sol Javi Baron Samdi, an alias of PharaOm who just left the scene K.O.B. Ufomatka maybe Morphic Resonance Portamento, Alienapia and New Born also seem to be twilght oriented.

Well, in my case, the melodies are more superficial and more often heard, but the beat appears only in a half-conscious state of mind (like when getting asleep). It seems to me that the beat requires more energy.

This phenomenon works well with music genres whose songs have a lot of short and precise melodic patterns (songs with relief, not plain) : jazz, metal, Goa... I'm not sure that it's working with progressive EDM, techno, minimal, etc. At the beginning, some of those short musical patterns enter your uncousciousness mind, where they stimulate your imagination and memory. Then, they come back to your conscious mind when you're in a state of mind close to thinking, focusing or dreaming. At this step, it's like a song stuck in your head. But unlike a child song, it doesn't repeat itself as lyrics ordered by tones, but it focus on texture, energy, feeling. For exemple, on a goa song, it can restore the amplitude, the frequency of a 303, or some other synthetisor. And when you listen of lot of the appropriate music, like Goa trance, your subconscious mind can be stimulated enough to spontaneously recombine dozens of sounds to re-create new melodies, especially when you're into a introverted mood. At this point, newly created songs can interweave with real songs returning to the surface of cousciousness. This inner music is like a warm liquid that fulfills your mind, allowing you to be more relaxed, or more creative, or more energetic. Indeed, these musics from the outside world are progressively absorbed and adapted to your own mind, becoming eventually a part of you. It works cery well with Goa Trance for several reasons : the continuous and dense rhythm, the numerous textures, the alignement of simple melodies, the pyschedelic effects, etc. This is the reason why I am convinced that Goa 604 is good for the mind, since it enters deeply the mind to stimulate imagination and creativity. Do you agree with this analysis mr Radi ? Edit : A good question to ask then is : what kind of sounds and melodies adhere more to the mind ? some sounds come back easily, some other never do.

I'm waiting for this.

K.U.R.O. - Morning Star @ 3:10 and 5:22

Songs of full-onic goa interweaving with songs of goa-ish full-on. This upcoming album seems to be more relevant than Starseed EP. There are a few promising songs : the first one, and the one quoted at 22mn +. They seem to have turned a little more Goa. Is this the beginning of a return to the 604 roots ? But still a lot of songs with nothing but full'on energy.