Scandinasia

Thank you for the link ! What a beautiful presentation ! It reminds me of myself when I really started exploring Psytrance, 2 years ago. I knew Psytrance by 1 year and a half, but I was disturbed by its variety of subgenres, and I proceeded, as you did, by doing a list of the genres. That's passion ! This presentation has 3 good points : 1_ You've understood it all. You're into it. You know what is what genre. 2_ The visuals are really beautiful. It's appealing, it's clear, it's a nice reading. 3_ It's synthetic. And the biographies are very well made. Now, there are many little details that could be corrected. First, this presentation is clear, but more from an inside point of view. The descriptions are not clear IMO if the reader doesn't know yet what is Psytrance (though the discographies make it more clear a posteriori). Second point, there are many details that ought to be corrected IMO. I'll explain them to you in a minute. Three, some genres are lacking. Minimal Psytrance. Morning Psytrance. Tech Trance. You should include them. About the details that I want to discuss, there are quite a few of them. What I wrote may give you the impression that your presentation is flawed, but no, it's not. It's just that some concepts are still a bit fresh to you, and that you inspired too much to the Wikipedia article dedicated to Goa and Psytrance (it's not a good article !). Now, let me detail a few points to improve your presentation. Regarding the introduction, it is very well done. However, it seems incomplete to me, as the music is only described through a few technical points. From the point of view of someone that doesn't know what psytrance is, my idea of psytrance such as described by you is that every track between 110 and 200 bpm, with acidic modulations and 4/4 rhythms, etc., is a psytrance track. You should write, for instance, that psytrance is a music aiming to induce altered states of mind through many repetitions that recall ancient tribal music, that most tracks are between 6 and 12 minutes long, and that psytrance is not only a music, but also a culture with a rich legacy. IMO, you should explain, in a few words, why this music exists, and what effects the DJ's want to produce when playing psytrance. Regarding the proto-Goa section, an important reference is lacking : Electronic Body Music. Goa Trance is almost an offshoot of EBM. (EBM>Proto-Goa>Goa Trance). Bands such as Front Line Assembly have contributed a lot to the scene. I think you shall also precise that there were inspirations from Psychedelic Rock (Ozric Tentacles for instance). Also, you say that proto-Goa was aimed to be a psychedelic trend within trance music. I will be more precise by saying that proto-Goa was actually a trend that focused on the psychedelicness of trance music. Because in fact, all trance before 1993 was psychedelic. There are also theories saying that Goa Trance and Trance were born apart from each other, but that doesn't matter. Regarding Goa Trance, you begin by saying that the distinction between Goa and Psy-Trance is mostly a matter of opinion. Well, not that much. 95% of the Goa Trance tracks can be easily identified as such. I really think that this claim is wrong. Your distinction between New and Old-School is pretty interesting, because you describe them as trends rather than periods, and also because of the terms you use. (Personnally, I consider Newschool to be an offshoot of psytrance rather than a mere continuation of Oldschool Goa). Overall, what you say is right, but it's a bit synhetic IMO, and it shouldn't focus only on technical points, but also on what effects it produces compared to other genres (Goa has more spirals, it's warmer, and it's also the purest form of the genre, etc.) Also, an important point IMO is that contrary to other subgenres, Goa is much more elastic. Goa can take all shapes. Some Goa sounds like acid techno, but it can sounds like Trance, like Psyprog, like Forest, like Eurobeat, etc. You can make Goa Trance at 120 bpm, but also at 160+ bmp. You can can make dark Goa, bright Goa, uplifting Goa, etc. Goa as a subgenre is not as limited as the other genres, and I think that's it's important to precise it. Also, you haven't mentionned that Goa was inspired by oriental patterns. Regarding Nitzhonot. A detail : you say that Nitzhonot pushes further the Eastern aspect of Goa, but in the Goa section you haven't precised that Goa had Eastern patterns. Also, you're a bit quick when dealing with Uplifting Trance. You should rather put it in these words : In the same way that Goa Trance beget Nitzhonot, Nitzhnoto beget Uplifting Trance, who focuses so much on euhphoria that it loses its psychedelicness. On a more personnal view, I wonder if this distinction between Goa Trance and Nitzhonot is still relevant. From an historic point of view it's acurate. But technically speaking, most of Nitzhonot is part of Goa trance, in the same way that Dark Goa is part of Goa Trance. Overall, you get the point, but the words sound clumsy. You could have made shorter sentences by saying that Nitzhnot is basically like Goa Trance insisting on euphoria, using a lot of Middle-Eastern patterns, and having a faster beat. Regarding Psytrance, I love the way you described it. Because Psytrance is both a family of subgenres distinct from Goa Trance, and a subgenre in itself, that we call « psyché » in France, but that I personnaly call « post-Goa-Trance ». Now, the description is once again a bit too synthetic. You could have said that Psytrance is less melodic and more tech-ish in reaction with the baroque esthetic of Goa Trance, and that it appeared in 1998 with a milestone album : X-Dream – Radio (that you should mention IMO). Regarding Full-On, my main criticism is that the section is missing in the French pdf. I call that to your attention : the diapo is here, but there's no text. Globally, Full-On is Psytrance that broadcasts a perpetual blasting energy, and that insists on acoustic waves overwhelming the dancer/listener (in that matter, it's the most extravert genre of psytrance). Regarding Darkspy. You say that songs are rare in Darkpsy. Well, songs are rare in Psytrance in general. Also, I think that your words are not the best chosen to describe the genre. Maybe that you should say that Darkspy is meant to be more agressive, and that it opened a new perspective withing the scene, as it opened the way to a more chaotic approach of psytrance (more horrific). Regarding Forest. Nothing to say, very good. Same goes for Twilight. But you shall just write when this latter appeared. Regarding Hi-Tech. I think that there is a problem of organization between your sections. Indeed, you shouldn't evoke Psycore in the Darkpsy section, in order to describe it here. Because Hi-Tech and Psycore are twin genres. Hi-Tech is born out of Psycore, but contrary to Psycore, it has lost its chaotic dimension. By the way, Hi-Tech is also called « Full Power Psytrance ». Regarding Psyprog, you should precise that it's the most repetitive and trancey genre of Psytrance. Actually, your description of it looks inacurate to me. Psyprog is not about « more complex sounds » but about a more precise work over textures and layers. Also, it's too bad that you do not state that there are various different trends within Psyprog. There are two main trends : a minimalistic one, inherited from Sweden (Scandosaund, Vibrasphere, etc. and that projects such as Protonica and Mindwave are closer), and a full-on oriented one (Tesseract). Regarding Zenonesque. You miss a very big point by not saying that it's a form of minimal psytrance. Minimal. Say it. It's important. Regarding Natural Trance. The only criticism I'll made is about the title. Natural Trance as a term is far less used than Tribal Trance or Ethnic Trance. The Wikipedia article says Natural, but I've never heard anyone use it. It's Tribal. Regarding Suomi. Precise that it's born from Goa Trance specifically (some Suomi tracks are still very close to Goa). Regarding Psybient. Goa Ambient stands for Goa downtempo (example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUVZFWTHl64 ). It's like Goa Trance, without the Trance rhythm. Psybient is an umbrella genre (un fourre-tout) where one can put many many things. You say that Psybient is « 2 or 3 times slower than Psytrance ». Not exactly. It's everything that goes from 110-115 bpm to 0 bpm (beatless psybient exists). There are various trends : _original psybient, that sounds experimental (Shpongle, Zero Cult) _the dreamy stuff (Astropilot, Suduaya, E-Mantra, Carbon Based Lifeforms) _Psydub _Goa and Psy Downtempo _Chillgressive (Alwoods, Aes Dana, Lemonchill, etc.) _Swamp _Bass music When you say Code Eternity is Goa downtempo, well, not exactly. It's something different. (By the way, to my ears, some tracks are pure Goa Trance, ambient style). There are many releases with ambient tones and progressive aspects. That's Chillgressive. Check Alwoods for instance. Know that there was a genre once called Ambient Trance. Well, it's between that and Chill-Out. Also, there is Psychill, but this word is not clear. You can use it as a synonymous for Psybient. OVERALL, a very good presentation, that ought to be improved. Anyway, thanks for sharing it. Because I know that the next time I want to explain Psytrance to someone, I will use it. Thank you EDIT : added Swamp and Bass music

Hello ! As I can't access the download links, is there another way to get the presentation files ? Thanks !

I'd love to hear a fine progressive or a furious darkspy remix of this ! xD Or an Uplifting Trance remix, oldschool style !

I don't get it. Did you subscribe to this forum and write this topic in order to promote this product ? Because if yes, why don't you promote in a proper way this release that belongs to your label ??? I am always astonished by how lazy so many label people are when they come in this forum to post something in this section. They basically come up and say, without presenting themselves : Hey ! Someone made music. Download please. Seriously, that doesn't take long to write a few more lines to sell your releases. The guys at Ektoplazm, who work for free, aren't that lazy. Why don't you do something like this ? : Hear ye, hear ye, people of Goa ! We are Euroforix, a young European label that release psychedelic music. We are proud to present to you our lastest release, Organic Formula by Cosmic Rain, a talented Greek producer who aims to pioneer melodic morning trance, by modernizing the well-known Greek tradition of Uplifting Trance. LINKS This EP, which style is Goa and Psytrance with Trance and Progressive sub tones, will take you to an experience of cosmic euphoria and adventure. It contains six tracks which all are inspired by the universal mind of trance, all from the far out space elements to deep core organic and psychedelic roots. Organic Formula aims to create a bright mood with delicate atmospheres to create a joyful spirit of dance music. Will you let the Universe be your friend ? Please, enjoy this release, and thank you for your support ! LINK TO LABEL LINK TO ARTIST (FB/SOUNDCLOUD/ETC.) + ADD SOMEWHERE ARTWORK OF THE EP

Many of these artists are beginners. This label is very amateur as well. And actually, that is a good point. I see all these people, together, who unite to share the same passion for Goa trance, and to keep up that flame alive. This label is amateur, but it has allowed to a bunch of Goa nerds stucked in their rooms, behind their computer screens, to build something together, to create, to ambition, and to convince themselves that it was possible. And trully, that is a beautiful perspective. Goalogique makes me think in a collection of children's drawings. They are raw, unperfect, but they feel somehow fresh and poetic. Now, Goalogique must give to his managers and artists the proper means to let everyone evolve in a good sense, so that they find the way to become a respectable label. Even if I don't like their sounds yet, I do believe that they have some potential. They must keep it up. And throughout a lot of hard work, they will be able to provide to our scene beautiful tracks and professional artworks and masterings. Come on guys. Embetter yourselves. Show us what kind of guts you have. And let the Goa force be with you. And I will conclude by saying that among their crew, there are a few gems with much potential...

Wait ? Managers do exist in the psy scene ?

It happens to me all the time, but not as a problem. It's actually something that gives me strength throughout the day, and when I'm falling asleep, it echoes in my head as lullabies. However That's my big problem. I've been completely addicted for more than a year. Little by little, it's taking all the room in my mind. I spend most of my free time listening to psytrance (without doing anything else). When I try to do fun things (watch animes, play minecraft), the addiction is so intense that I have to quit doing them a few minutes later and go back listening to psy. In the beginning, psytrance was a support providing me help to meditate. Trance music has helped me a lot in my life, including facing health problems. But now, it has become a self-sufficent mean of entertainment, that occupies most of my mind, and I can't get it out of my head. It is like a drug. It's very addictive. Especially when you have a thin social life. One day, I tried something. I've stopped listening to any trance music for 1 month. I was completely in lack. That was a bit painful. And when the month was over, I decided to explore oldschool. I listened to LSD by Simon. I almost cried of happiness. Then I listened to Hux Flux and Crossing Mind, and it was at if I was hearing music for the first time. I felt every beat of it with all my fibers, it was so deep. It's fun that you've updated that topic, because just a few hours ago, I was considering to quit listening to trance music again, but for much longer. A few months at least. It's driving my creativity away, it's alienating me in a way I do not like. I need to take a break. I need to find other grounds of pleasure and stimulation. This addictive/alienating aspect of psytrance is the worst thing about this music I think. As for the good aspects, I'm sure that psytrance : _stimulate the imagination _increase patience _delivers good energy (except darkpsy. I think that some hi-tech/dark tracks can be nasty for certain kinds of people).

Hello bru. Welcome and have fun. And yes this forum is nice. Interesting posts, nice gifs, strange people, good music, parties agenda : everything you need. And this how another man joined the Goa army.

5 Goa releases : Journey Through My Head (nitzhonic 604) Back to Space (melodic 604) Erta Alé (melodic 604) Ten Spins Around the Sun (melodic 604) Skies in Diamond (progressive 604) 2 Progressive/Psytrance releases : E7 Mind Penetration 1 Forest release Hutti Heita 1 Darkpsy release Polyphonia 1 Tech Trance release Acid box What an amazing competition. More interesting than loop 1 IMO. This one has a great diversity, and gathers the masters. And this time, it's more focused on the contemporary esthetic of underground psytrance. Textured atsmospheres, contemmporary basslines, experimental sounds with less storylines. Let the better win ! Also, that's 50% Goa, 50% Psy. What also excites me is that there are some releases sounding alike, but different enough to spice up the competition. Like Electrypnose vs Psysex, or Hutti Heita vs Cybered. Artifact303 shall also be a terrible competitor. What an adventure !

That is a nice post, Mr. Vranken. I'm not a hippie, and never met IRL any of them. But from what I read here, I can conclude that this "way of life" seem to be corrupted by two factors : 1_By the poisons of our society. Capitalism. Materialism. Consumerism. These past decades, we, as humans and citizens, have been mentally conditionned to submit to some kind of an order. People were educated not to revolt, not to ask some questions, and accustomed to perform habits that have become social standards, before becoming the very core of their lives : having a house, watching shows, eat pleasurable food. Many movements that oppose that suffocating views have been annexed : the Christians, the Communists, the Hippies, the Fascists, the Farmers, the Ravers, and now the Muslims. Every parallel form of thinking and life habit is being annexed to a mainstream culture controlled by Money. 2_By ego. People have strong moral principles, but they never apply it. Because in the world of today, 'acting good' is less important than 'thinking good'. This is due to an obvious lack of spiritual education and maturity. People know what is good, but they don't want to act by themselves, and become hypocrites. They haven't understood that the most driving force of change is themselves, and that in order to change this world, they have to change their heart. That can be explained by the fact that it is hard in our society to find persons who stand as models of spirituality, or as educators. But nonetheless, that is not an excuse. Either you claim those ecological/loving values and apply them, either you don't claim to be a hippie, but if one does both, he is but a hypocrite. What do you think ?

Well then, taste that : Electrypnose - E7

Hello. Can the people who posted in the first round play again, my good Sir ? xD

Khetzal - Anamatha. I't's been edited. Well, thank you. I'm trying my best you know

Dude, that state of mind is not right. There are some people out there who were once brilliant and then who completely fucked up. But that doesn't make their art as ugly as them. Here in France, we once had a guy like that. He was called Rimbaud. He was a gun dealer in Africa. A pitiful person just interested in money, and who contributed to colonization. Do you know why we love Rimbaud ? Because a few years before going to Africa, he was just the greatest French poet of the XIXth century, no less than that. He screwed up hard. But we love his poems, because they are so rich and wonderful. As for Filipe Santos, the first time that I listened to his sound (Myself in the Mirror, one of my first Goa song) I felt that this song was one of the most solar ever made. It was dazing with sunlight, that was so intense. Now, I understand that this music was a scream toward light, expressing an inner state of confusion. That only makes it more beautiful. Now, I don't think that it was necessary to unearth this topic and its share of torments just for the sake of a mere remark. Anyway, Filipe will always remain "a part of this forum" (*cough* submoonrecord *cough*).

Oh my, you do have it, dont' you. Sugoi sugoi, Ormion-sama ! =3

I know this thread already. But tell me, you're a real synesthete ?

Hello, people of Goa. It's been a long time since I began wondering about the possible effects of Goa trance onto the mind, and how it did influence our perceptions. In order to measure these effects, I've been thinking in a series of experiments I could make to determine if, as I feel, Trance music, and Goa in particular, affect our mind in a special way. And I proceeded to a first experiment, and I share here the results with you. But first of all, if they are reading this, I would like to thank once again the two kind persons who participated in it. I. Some context There is in this world a very weird symptom that is called synesthesia. If you don't already know it (Goa-Heads should be knowing), this symptom mixes up various areas of perception within the consciousness of a human individual. There are quite a few people affected permanently, since the day of their birth (and even before), with it. There are various kinds of synesthesia. The most common is when people see letters and numbers in colour. Everything that has the shape of a letter will, to their eyes, be coloured in a certain way.Some other people can see the sounds in shapes or in colour, or both (some even feel the sounds as textures). Now, we know that Goa trance is different from most of mainstream music by the fact that it is utterly complex. Numerous layers of sounds pile up to create a musical nebula. So my guess was that some people with synesthesia, who see plenty of colours when listening to mainstream music, could perceive this unusual nebula of sounds that is Goa trance with a special feeling. Henceforth, I went to a forum dedicated to synesthesia, and proposed to these people who feel music an experiment. 2. The experiment My goal was to submit various Goa tracks with different styles and different levels of complexity to see if there was a notable difference. The people had to make a drawing of what they see for each of the 6 tracks submitted, and to write down their impressions, if possible. Only 2 people participated. Subject n°1 The subject number one, who feels sounds as shapes, delivered these drawings. Now, let's play a little game. There were 6 tracks. There is 1 drawing for each tracks, all indicated by a number. The drawing number #5 corresponds to Pleiadians - Electra, and the spiral that appears in the middle refers to this part of the track, from 06:30 to 07:10. (It is I who highlighted this part of the track for this subject). Now, will you be able to guess which of the 5 remaining tracks correspond to which number ? A. Space Elves - Trance India Express (Goamystica mix) B. Crossing Mind - Optronic Circles (The Inner Shift mix) C. Symbiote - Phantasmagoria D. DJ Zen - Anamatha (Khetzal remix) E. Spiritual - Ride the Snake (Elysium remix) I will make an edit when you have found xD Also, when I asked this person if he felt something special about this music, he said no. Subject number 2 A person seeing music as colours and shapes. This second person told me that the track from Khetzal was "quite surprising, I'm not used to see those shapes with these colors together. It was relaxing but energetic at the same time, really a good experience.". He also told about Pleiadians (track number #5) that it "was hard to explain because there is a lot of colors and they move very fast. It's like a logical multicolor mess." Conclusion : Not enough people to make clear statements. The masterpieces of Goa trance (Khetzal and Pleiadians) seem to have weird effects, but nothing trully abnormal.

Congratulations. You've just attained life. Not only the games are good (though extremely hard), but the doujin circles of Touhou produce some of the best (electronic) music that has ever existed (they even do Goa remixes), and the fanbase is responsible for some of the best artworks and doujins of the internet. For these music, you can praise the grand ZUN. It is this glorious man who invented this all.

As soon as I finish The Green Ray by Jules Verne, I start the Silmarillion. I'm also reading the Bayan, the sacred book of an obscure esoteric Persian religion.

CoaGoa - Algae Forest [Goa morning] E-Mantra - Liquid Frequencies (2008 mix) [Full-on Goa morning] John 00 Fleming - Healing (Simon Templar Remix) [Melodic progressive] Rigel - The One [Progressive morning] Astropilot - Midgard Earth (Ambient Version) [Angelic psybient] Suduaya - Light through the abyss [Angelic psybient] Fergie and Sadrian - Soplo (Champa Remix) [Melodic full-on] I love this kind of stuff, between morning, goa and full-on, with a lot of melodic effects and dreamy atmospheric backgrounds.

It's not too late ^^

Maybe that you should post in "News and Label Announcements", where you'll get more readings. This sounds is most refreshing, you should totally do that. It would be a shame that no one listens to it I'll be digging further into this, thank you.

Hello, Goa people ! How is it going ? Tell me, are you getting tired of hearing again and again Goa music that repeats the same exact patterns and storylines ? It has come to become a major object of complaint on this forum, that Goa music, though recent efforts brought by acts like Ufomatka or Psysutra, hasn't much diversity to offer. Which is why, every time that I come accross some peculiar stuff (Kick.S, Katedra...), I feel super happy. So, the other day, my Youtube brower (over-filled with links to psy-music), proposed me to listen to "6 hours of the best gaming music trance goa ambiant electronic". "Ha ha !" said I, for when I read the word Goa within this catchy title, I thought of these crooks who use the word Goa for serving the listener with the worst progressive, full-on or darkpsy stuff. But, as a fool that I am, I clicked on it. And so will you. Because this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz1R19zLcY0 is some of the most creative Goa stuff I've ever came accross. Because it uses references to many various styles of music. I have chosen 2 tracks excerpted from this megamic, to introduce you to this guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALrl0Zfy4uY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_scj_HAb3Dw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6zwe956jdg Liked it ? Wonder who this guy is ? I don't know much myself. The links provided in the description can take you either to the facebook page of this Swedish person, fan of E-Mantra, and who uses many projects names, or to a bandcamp page filled with various stuff. So, tell me what you think of it, because I'm pretty cheered up. Cheers.

I globally agree with you. This compil missed the point. That has nothing to do with the first volume. But the track from Doruk was actually pretty nice to my ears. It's one of my favourite in the list. But this song from Trinodia... biggest disappointment of the year. The preview of it sounded extremely epic. But when it was released, you realize that the epic melodies are not the build-up of the track, but a short climax, and that the actual build-up is boring and bland. Actually, I shall request Trinodia to re-work this piece. I want the Re-Mote from the preview, not this one ! Besides, many uninteresting songs abide this compil.