Bill

Drumatik Sacred Places Sangoma Records Tracklist: 1. Unlocking Mysteries 2. Parvati Diamonds 3. Nebula's Quest 4. Side Chains 5. Sacred Places A rock-solid EP of rollicking peak-hour full-on. And extra points for that ridiculously good cover art. This is peak-hour in-the-forest full-on, the type of music that gives full-on a good name, as opposed to the generic in-the-club variety prevalent through today's psy scene. This is full-on designed for the discerning listener. "Unlocking Mysteries" is a superb opener, unveiling many layers of delicious energy, layers of great effects, truly inspired work. "Parvati Diamonds" is a continuation of all that is great with the EP opener, full of imagination, awesome taste in musical directions and thrilling dance-floor pleasing peaks. "Nebula's Quest" loses a bit of steam from the first two tracks but does no less than soldier on and the longer it plays out the more hypnotic is the spell it weaves. In the end, the track works some very fine magic. "Side Chains" makes little to no sense. Fashioned in the popular psygressive style, my thought is "why the hell is this here?" It is a dramatic direction change from the very tasteful full-on everywhere else on the EP, it is also a very tasteless track. Generic and heard way too often by way too many psy artists, not a good style for this talented producer. The natural concern going into the EP closer is that more psygressive blandness may be in store. Alas, Drumatik changes direction again, getting back into the rhythms and vibes built up by the first three tracks. "Sacred Places" is a bombastic finale, exactly the type of boiling, fiercely energetic curtain call that this great EP deserves. Great job on this EP by Drumatik. Four-out-of-five of these tracks turn out to be gems and that cover art, oh, that cover art. It is a sacred place unto itself. ()

He is formulaic as far as having his own sound, yes, but there are not others that sound like he does. Still, I figured that might be a deal-breaker for some since the album does not progress past anything he has already done. But since he has mastered this style it is still an excellent piece of work. I see your point completely, I'm on the other end of the spectrum, though. I'll be listening to this one quite a bit.

It's Ovnimoon, what more needs to be said? In the review section: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/70105-ovnimoon-holistic/

Ovnimoon Holistic Ovnimoon Records Tracklist: 1. The Spirit 2. Emotional Biodecodification 3. Fear 4. You Can Do This 5. The Power 6. Tesoro Interior 7. Dual Resonance - Passing Clouds (Ovnimoon Remix) 8. Trance Dance It always comes with a new release by a favorite artist. A whole bunch of excitement for something new and unheard, a little anxiety about the possibility of it being disappointing and altering your opinion about the artist. But, then, this is Hector Ovnimoon we are talking about and there is that little voice in the back of my head telling me he'll probably exceed all my expectations. I'm not sure if this is his masterpiece but there is definitely that possibility and only time can tell for sure. This is by all standards what Ovnimoon has set down for himself over the years, across several of his own great artist albums, across the several awesome albums of other artists and compilations he has released through his baby, Ovnimoon Records. This is an Ovnimoon album and it lives up to all the lofty standards associated with that name. There are no artistic surprises in "Holistic," nothing groundbreaking, nothing that Hector Ovnimoon has not already created on other tracks. There is a whole lot of spiritually uplifting psytrance with deliciously thick progressive flavors and lovely goa traces set to a deliriously good full-on pace. This is exactly who Ovnimoon is as an artist and he should not be faulted for offering up nothing new with "Holistic." Quite simply, you can never have too much of a very great thing. From the first moments of the ethereal vocals to the distant but oncoming rumbles of the bass to the addictive melodies on "Spirit," it is clear very quickly that this album will be something special. Certainly "Spirit" is one of the very best of this bunch but by no means does Ovnimoon use up his best ideas on the intro. "Emotional Biodecodification" is the remarkable follow-up. What follows beyond the initial serenity is nothing short of a cleansing, a spiritual reset button that liberates with lovely organic instruments creating catchy melodies that linger long after the track is over and a rollicking psytrance structure that seeks out higher planes of existence and attains them. Throughout "Holistic" rich, talky instructional speeches guiding one through various degrees of spiritual enrichment are provided with none of the moments ever becoming preachy or intrusive. The pleasing insight that loss of imagination is what causes "Fear" adds intelligence to a superb track. "You Can Do This" and "Tesoro Interior" are both solid tracks and since neither offer up anything of great note perhaps the most that can be said about them is that they are excellent filler. "The Power" changes the direction of "Holistic" from full-on bliss to lovely goa pastures for a few wonderful minutes. Ovnimoon's remix of Dual Resonance is a bit too far on the progressive side for my tastes. Though, I suspect that a pair of headphones and a lie-down in the grass to watch "Passing Clouds" may unlock levels of beauty not available to passive listeners. Nothing short of captivating occurs on "Trance Dance" where it seems the ongoing waves of awesome energy have to break at some point yet continues to build and build, constantly paying off stunning riches in sound. For an album as accomplished and near-perfect as "Holistic" it only makes sense that the conclusion should be so satisfying and comfortably intense. On first listen, I was impressed. On second listen, I was convinced of its greatness. On the third listen, I was smitten and knew it had exceeded all of my expectations, just as that little voice in the back of my head suspected it might. ()

Good, raw and old-school. Congrats dude!

Don't sleep on this one, guys! In the review section: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/70097-ocean-star-empire-dots-on-maps/

On a side note, a few months ago, I saw a piss-and-vinegar FaceBook post from a clearly frustrated Faxi Nadu regarding acceptance in the trance scene. Luckily, it seems, Faxi did not make good on his decision to leave the trance scene behind. That's our gain as two great albums from this artist have come out since then. Keep rocking, Faxi, you are doing a helluva job!

Ocean Star Empire Dots On Maps Tracklist: 1. Embarking The Phantom Convoy 2. A Nebula Portside (Original Mix) 3. Bacchanalian Bass - Astroidal Artifacts (Ocean Star Empire Remix) 4. Where Is Nuno 5. Rebellion In Module Seven 6. Defiant Friction 7. Dancing With The Stars 8. Three Dots On A Map (Faxi Nadu Remix) 9. Beckoning Glimmers Of Antiquity feat. Manny Zagri 10. A Nebula Portside (Live Version) 11. From The Top Of The Map There's a lot to like about "Dots On Maps," it is smart, well-crafted, very melodic, warm goa. Teaming up Israel's Faxi Nadu, Portugal's Nomad Moon and Bachanalian Bass from the US, it would be very easy for too many cooks to be in the kitchen. Even on first listen walls of sound are encountered on quite a few of these productions and it is easy to spot the disparate styles of each artist. On repeat listens, though, gorgeous goa is a-plenty and the walls become fairly easy to break down. "Embarking The Phantom Convoy" is a moody down tempo intro, a bold and successful start-off to this space odyssey. "From The Top Of The Map" is a deeply interesting chill conclusion, an explanation of the fantasy galaxy where this journey takes place. In between, rollicking but beautiful tracks such as "Where Is Nuno," "Rebellion in Module Seven," "Defiant Friction" and "Dancing With The Stars" hit on some good ideas and rhythms, composing a pleasing middle half of the album. "Beckoning Glimmers Of Antiquity" is a decent tune, tastefully balancing the guitar work of Manny Zagri to the electronic work of these three producers. Of the greats, there are four that will be moved to the permanent collection where I store my favorites (where six tracks from Faxi Nadu's excellent "The Dangling Thread" album already live). I would be hard-pressed to pick the better of the two versions for "A Nebula Portside." The original mix jumps right in to the energy vortex, wasting little time in sweeping up a listener into its delightful star-dust, introducing each great musical element and building up the energy for the big wall-of-sound pay-off later in the track. By contrast, the live version is 3-minutes longer and takes its sweet, lovely time getting to the end of its journey. The 3-minute intro is patient and intriguing, the elements are a bit more raw, the pay-off a lot easier to handle and comprehend. However, the original mix contains some fascinating studio wizardry that just does not shine through on the live version. Either of them, though, have personality and charisma aplenty. A remix of Bacchanalian Bass' "Astroidal Artifacts" is superb where the bells (oh, those lovely bells) are ethereal and captivating from the first moment they are heard. It is almost the main highlight of this collection. Instead, Faxi Nadu's remix of OSE's "Three Dots A Map" (Israel, Portugal, US - get it?) takes top honor here. The style of goa Faxi has developed, so very evident on "The Dangling Thread" release, has become next-level greatness, a step above many contemporaries and results, here, with a track that is instantly superb. Tasteful volume levels are used for the deliciousness being spread out over a tantalizing palette of imagination in sound so there are no walls to break, no extra work or extra listens required to crack the mystery of the track. But listening to the track just once will not do, it is too good to not listen to repeatedly. Ocean Star Empire are three producers from different parts of the world, bringing together different musical styles, the results should be a lot messier just based on common reasoning alone. The results are far from that. "Dots On Maps" is damn good, an album not to be slept on. ()

VA - Sun Department Vol. 1 Sun Department Records Tracklist: 01 - Mental Broadcast vs Spinal Fusion - Access Knobs 02 - McCOY's S.U.N. Project - Cosmic Porn 03 - Psyfonic - Bahad 04 - Chrizzlix - Head Blow 05 - Psycobold - Chasing Squirrels 06 - Psynetic - Mikrokosmos 07 - Wootz - Sun Grows Up 08 - Dynamic Range - Earthdance 09 - Subverso - Around The World What an awesome collection! Great full-on, beautiful goa touches, shiny and gorgeous morning progressive, "Sun Department Vol. 1" might just be the best Ovnimoon compilation not released by that awesome label. Beginning with Mental Broadcast vs Spinal Fusion taking the perfect Ovnimoon (take your pick, the artist or the label,) blueprint for finely balancing sweet progressive with invigorating full-on and continuing on through many fine and divinely creative productions, this one should be an essential listen for 2015. One major misfire comes early on in the proceedings, though, when McCOY's S.U.N. Project injects annoying metal into their full-on cacophony. Luckily, this is the most bombastic of the bunch and it works getting the bad apple out of the way before rolling up the sleeves and getting serious about the musical matter at hand. From Psyfonic's fascinating creativity on "Bahad," Chrizzlix' deep rumbling but never overwhelming "Head Blow," Psynetic's enthralling "Mikrokosmos" and Wootz' beautiful sunshine on "Sun Grows Up," nothing gets too peak-hour in this one as the focus is on creativity rather than filling the dance floor. Let that not give the wrong impression, though, there are some gorgeous grooves and delicious rhythms in all of the tracks listed above. Without question, the finest of "Vol. 1" is Psycobold's incomparable "Chasing Squirrels," a production rich in creativity and vision where the style is half-full-on and half-goa. Simply, this one gets richer with every listen and it is fascinating how well the mashing of these two styles is pulled off. Too, the wisps of goa that appear in the pretty morning progressive of Dynamic Range's "Earthdance" are pulled off very well, a very pretty listen even if the samples tend to get overused. To end this excellent collection with psytrance as common as Subverso's "Around The World," where the samples are again overused, seems a bit criminal but, still, it may be common but is not a bad track. High marks for the wicked good creativity demonstrated by most of the artists here but serious kudos for the mastering. This one sounds sterling and all the gorgeous details contained in these vibrant and excellent tracks shine. I'm guessing that many of these gems will hold up extremely well over the course of time. Available for free play or download at: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/sun-department-vol-1

Very interested in this one. Good review, great gif.

Not to get off-topic but I found this one to be pretty interesting: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/goch-terrapin

Ahh, was not aware it was released elsewhere before Ektoplazm. Right on, agreed about Catawompus. Really enjoyed Sonic Visions, too, especially the remix of Grouch.

In short, it's really good museum music, probably perfect for watching the four artists draw up their live painting, probably quite good while looking at other displays in the Geiger. It is not a bad release but on its own it is not a great one, either. Incidentally, Plastikman released a similar, but techno-based, recording that he did at the Guggenheim in 2013. Same result, nice background music but not meant to be the main exhibit.

VA - Blackliters - Compiled by Nukleall Blacklite Records Tracklist: 01. M-Theory - Into The Light 02. Earthspace - Turn Inside Your Mind 03. Kim Vs Nukleall - Blackliters 04. Tron Vs Kachok - UFO 05. Audioform - Magic Mojo 06. Paratech - Higher Connection 07. Nukleall Vs Contineum - Mushroom Trackers 08. Inlakech Vs Makar - Hierophant 09. Martian Arts & Retroflex - Unitygain As you can tell by the vibrant cover art, this one is for the UV-reactive club kids. "Blackliters" is stacked with some notable names, many of whom offer up some very un-noteworthy tracks, due to this collection's focus on today's preference for energetic, but unimaginative, full-on. Quite a few of these tracks introduce energy and been-there, done-that full-on effects for the first half of their offerings before revving up their engines for the big finish. Too little, too late for many of these guys, though. M-Theory's lead-off track has some encouraging tempo but little in the way of depth or dimension so it becomes almost white noise by the time it is over. Earthspace, a great full-on producer when he takes the brakes off, toys around with too many cliched psygressive effects and each time he just goes for it, in grand Earthspace fashion, he pulls the track back, refusing to let the energy boil over into something fantastic. Nukleall's first contribution (co-produced with Kim) on the title track is ho-hum and fares nowhere near as well as his tag-team with Contineum later in the collection. "Mushroom Trackers," one of the main highlights here, is a blistering, high-energy, fucking-go-for-it full-on track, the type where the build-ups and pay-offs will have a crowd screaming their approval. The notable names of Tron (co-producing with Kachok) and Martian Arts (co-producing with Retroflex) offer up generic and at-least-they-tried results, respectively. The tracks that almost attain greatness come from Audioform and Paratech, both of whom offer up beastly productions that lead in awesomely to the Nukleall vs Contineum highlight. Unfortunately, again, both of those tracks are stuck in the ascribed blueprint of what today's full-on club tracks are supposed to sound like. They are good noise and almost, almost, almost offer up something of substance. Ultimately, it is painfully obvious that Inlakech vs Makar have no business being on this compilation. "Hierophant" is imaginative, creative, smart and strikes its own path in defining what full-on is all about. No matter what angle you look at it, the track is stellar, working out well as a full-bodied dance-floor killer or as a very solid piece of art that can be admired in detail. On "Blackliters," there are several great producers but not too many great productions.

VA - The Underground Never Dies Forest Spirit Records Tracklist: 01 - Shiibashunsuke - Both 02 - Fafazz - Liquid Consciousness 03 - Metaphyz & Shiibashunsuke - Abstract Frequencies 04 - Shadow Noises - Gone Forever 05 - Hagenith vs Zaiklophobia - Neurogenic Shock 06 - Froog & Polybius - Plastik Elephant 07 - DigitalX - Trapped 08 - Spagettibrain - If There Is There Is 09 - Meerkut - Ride The Snail 10 - Madianbrainns & Windowpain - Experimental Illusions 11 - Hanuman - Mother Ship On The Moon 12 - Zaiklophobia - Extreme Voyage I picked up this year's "Forest Thunder" compilation and then dropped it pretty quickly. Dark psy can be menacing, emotionally intense music and if horror movie samples about torture and revenge drip from the ink-black music it becomes a little too much, like it is a subliminal message to do harm to the neighborhood animals. No, thanks, but if the music is black and intense and wrought with the dark forces of life I would rather my imagination fill in the blanks and what my mind will conjure will be a lot more pleasant than samples about malice. "The Underground Never Dies" does not preach anything of the sort, quite thankfully, it is a 12-track dark music odyssey that explores experimentation, intense dance-floor catharsis and the monsters that live in the shadows of life itself. Of course, that last part comes from my own imagination and that's the point, no where in any of these good-to-great tracks do any samples dictate action or direction of thought on the listener. You are completely free to go wherever the music takes you. A couple of feedback replies on Ektoplazm are pretty strong in their support for Shiibashunsuke's "Both" which opens up the collection. I can see their point - distorted but beautiful piano melodies and some ethereal chanting truly reach levels of dark profundity but the 10-minute track is also laden with heaps of emotionally riveting experimentation and I found that as the track progresses it gets overwhelmingly messier. A mind-fuck, to be sure, but a messy one. Fafazz' "Liquid Consciousness" is a breath-stealer, deliriously intense with earth-rumbling bass lines, delightfully growling effects and a hard-to-resist funk to its sound that holds appeal even for a casual listener. If one needed a good introduction to dark psy one need not look farther than this track, abound with enticing mental games, smart-sounding quantum physics samples, all wrapped up in an easy-to-understand full-on-type package. Zaiklophobia's "Extreme Voyage" is a mind-erasing highlight, wrought with blissfully overwhelming twilight vibes, an exhausting experience even if sitting still while listening because the energy just keeps coming and coming and coming. The type of peak-hour catharsis that is so well delivered and controlled throughout that it makes the waves upon waves of energy more encouraging for movement. Grab a towel for this one, it is a beast, it is a blast, it is pure awesome power and you may not be able to stop yourself from dancing around in crazed recklessness. Zaiklophobia makes a second appearance, teaming with Hagenith, on the pure forest vibes of "Neurogenic Shock," a perky and persistent winner, the wolves howl and the pace rollicks on DigitalX's "Trapped," a track abound with mystery and adventure, Spaghettibrain's "If There Is There Is" is alternately amusing and intense ("Oh, we'll get you off that smack, oh yes we will!") and Meerkut's "Ride The Snail" is an explosion of dark dance floor wizardry, nothing at all sluggish or slow-moving as suggested by its title. This one is a wicked good collection for dark music lovers - imaginative, intense and fantastically rhythmic. As an added bonus, I don't feel like committing crimes against the neighbor's dog when it is all over. Available for free play or download at: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/the-underground-never-dies

In the review section: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/70070-va-rolling-stoners/

VA - Rolling Stoners Label: Digital Om Tracklist: 01. Groove Addict Vs Treavor Moontribe - Shiva's Melt 02. Ital - Fresh Vibes 03. Spinal Fusion Vs Mad Monkey - Nirvana Sky 04. Space Vision - Dank 05. Eclipse Echoes Vs Woodstech - Freak Revolution 06. Mental Broadcast Vs Technology - 2 Worlds 07. Earthspace - Modulated Pathway 08. Mental Control Vs Nevermind - The Green Spell 09. Beyond Repair - Trichome Army 10. Samadhi - Rolling Stoned 11. Ajja Vs Jovis - Dopaque 12. Gaspard - Sacrilicious 13. Dust - Mantra 14. Whiptongue Vs Smokeship - Back To 50's 15. Headworks - Doodlebug 16. Drumatik Vs Airi - Scary Doors 17. Electric Mirror - The Human Form 18. Bubbleguns - Earth Kid 19. Entropy - My Pink Salad 20. Babagoon - 420 Not sure I'm a fan of the album title - likely a drug reference or maybe a play on the old adage of "a rolling stone gathers no moss". Not so sure I'm a fan of the album art, either. But where it matters I happen to be quite happy with the results. Beginning with some pleasant early evening psytrance and working its way later in the collection to some peak-hour full-on and igniting brightly with some twilight sounds, this lengthy 20-track compilation offers up quite a few sturdy tunes, a couple of genuine gems and only a minimal number of duds. Of the sturdy tracks, of which there are many, Ital offers up his typical brand of above-average full-on, Eclipse Echoes vs Woodstech offer up a rowdy rumbler, Beyond Repair is blissfully beyond funky and Electric Mirror is, well, electric. Mental Broadcast vs Technology offer up a great one, Mental Control vs Nevermind are spellbinding and Headworks is rock-solid. Of the duds, Samadhi samples The Doors in ways that are overused and cliched at this point in psytrance history, the usually great Ajja is quite underwhelming and, in a complete travesty, the best sounding track on the album, from Whiptongue vs Smokeship, is annoyingly undone by cheesy Jerry Lee Lewis samples. With the gems, "Rolling Stoners" (still don't like that title) starts off on the excellent work of Groove Addict vs Treavor Moontribe who fascinate with catchy tribal vocals and delicious early evening psytrance on "Shiva's Melt," a track layered with just the correct levels of progressive. Great track! Space Vision's "Dank" is beautiful and trance-inducing, like a gorgeous lightning storm stretched out on the horizon. Dust is his usual, excellent, super-well-produced full-on self on "Mantra." Earthspace makes a triumphant return to full-on, rediscovering every great element that made his Ovnimoon Records EPs so damn good, leaving behind him, perhaps only for now, the misguided psygressive style he has until recently been focusing on. With "Modulated Pathway" this very gifted producer celebrates and delivers every characteristic that makes full-on great - wicked good tempo, slick and invigorating effects, hard and funky melodies. This one crackles! My vote for top-dog in this solid collection goes to Drumatik Vs Airi for their twilight brilliance on "Scary Doors," a track that moves with frenetic energy and fascinates with delicious atmosphere. Of several great tracks, this is the one that deserves to be heard above all else. Sure, I dislike the title (if a "rolling stone gathers no moss" where does that leave the forest freaks? Or, if it's a drug reference... really? Rolling stoners? That's the best you could come up with?) and I'm still waiting for the album cover to grow on me but I'm afraid it may not. But to use a different adage, it's best not to judge this book by its cover. There's a lot of exciting tunes to be missed by doing that. Props to Jafar for compiling this massively good compilation.

Artist: Bogtrotter Album: Jamais Vu Label: Shanti Planti Tracklist: 1. Prysmic March 2. Jamais Vu 3. Parallel Universe 4. Bionic Dusk 5.6's and 7's Following up on the grimy awesomeness of the "Sonic Visions" and "Catawompus" EPs, the Minnesota producer takes his glitchy, wompy down tempo, hoses off all the mud and swampiness and presents something polished and sophisticated - down tempo bass music for the art gallery crowd. Of these five tracks nothing stands out as a show-stopper, each track being as equally good as the last, none of them falling below a grade of pretty good to slightly-above-average. That said, "Jamais Vu" is an EP that, for all its glitch, all its womp, all its bass, slips into the background pretty easily while its playing. That's not a bad thing but it is not a great thing, either. "Prysmic March" comes closest to greatness with its bizarre trippiness and distorted, intelligent-sounding samples. Too, much on the title track, "Parallel Universe," "Bionic Dusk" and "6's and 7's" alternates between dirty-minded down tempo and the lithe, uplifting beauty of its melodies. One day soon Bogtrotter will probably come up with a masterpiece. While "Jamais Vu" is quite good, it is not a seminal work and not the best that Bogtrotter has to offer. I have a feeling that day will come very soon though. Available for free play or download at: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/bogtrotter-jamais-vu

Hujaboy featuring Avalon & Earthling Psy Collective Part 01 Tip Records Tracklist: 1. Rogue Star 2. Fuck Yeah! It's hard to believe that Nano Records once released the awesome Avalon album, "Distant Futures." Nowadays, the label is where great full-on artists go to get sterilized. Take this year's Nano-released Beatport single "Modern Age" - a collaboration between Avalon and Symbolic - and it is ho-hum, big-room psy party club noise designed to sound like the dozens of other generic full-on tracks that will be played before the evening is up. Take Avalon, though, and team him with the great Hujaboy and release that work on Raja Ram's legendary, we-give-a-shit-about-psytrance Tip Records and you will once again find everything great about the man behind the "Distant" masterpiece. "Rogue Star" is dance-til-your-face-falls-off full-on with loads of energy and excitement awaiting behind classy build-ups that you can barely see coming. This one is dynamite! The B-Side teams Hujaboy with Earthling and the result is quite good if significantly less enthralling. The Hujaboy/Avalon tag-team is a tough act to follow and "Fuck Yeah!" suffers a bit as a result. Still, the energy is prevalent and some of the effects are a lot of fun even if the "Fuck Yeah" sample of the title is a bit silly. I like this idea of a psy collective and wonder if it will be Hujaboy teaming with friends on Part 2 or if a different variation will be used. Trust in Tip, I will, though, for they have rarely let me down in the past. In here, unlike with their Nano counterparts, fuck yeah, there is some full-on gold inside.

VA - Mo:Dem Festival Vol. 3 MoDem Records Tracklist: 1 - Master Margherita - Mo.Dem Log (Hanfstengel Mix) 2 - Electrypnose - Vanille Et Chocolat (Florian MSK Remix) 3 - Paracozm - Cyber Nugget 4 - Kained & Able - Eyes And Ears 5 - HypoGeo - Anti-Muzak 6 - SourOne - Parasomnia 7 - Tijah - Balba Proggy 8 - Shaolin Shuffle - Midnight Sorcerer 9 - Liquid Level - Rollon The third installment, one for each of the past three years, of compilations for artists that have appeared at Croatian festival Momento Demento. Departing the twilight and full-on focus of the previous two collections the focus here is on dark progressive and Zenon styles. The results are not nearly as compelling. While definitely interesting, Paracozm and Kained & Able employ the Sensient blueprint for Zenon-style tracks, where the first half is a veritable wonderland of effects and sound flows and the push-forward is intensified beyond the halfway point. The results, though, are no where close to the Zenon master, the first half of each track is slow, sludgy, pessimistic and while the second half of each are good you have to muck through quite a bit of not-good to get the pay-offs. SourOne gets the same grade for his offering but his work is separated from the above by the anger expressed in his sound. Master Margherita offers up a good, albeit slow, opener dripping with dark progressive vibes and a steady, if somewhat boring, stream of techno beats. The follow-up fares better as Florian MSK tech-trances Electrypnose's "Vanille Et Chocolat" into something more compelling, where the energy flow is friendlier to dancers and the techno grooves quite nicely. Surprisingly, the album closer contains nary a trace of psychedelic music as Liquid Level offers a pure tech-house track on "Rollon." Gorgeous morning music, to be sure, as picturing early-day sunlight streaming through the treetops is easily evoked by these sounds. "Balba Proggy" is extremely talky and the music by Tijah is fairly uninteresting. I'm not sure where this speech is from as I stopped watching Sylvester Stallone movies when I was in high school. The great HypoGeo nails it on "Anti-Muzak" and, unlike SourOne, turns his anger into something compelling and fascinating. Every awesome HypoGeo-ism is utilized perfectly - his distinctive effects, invigorating bass growls, his ability to turn a mental wonderland of sound schemes into high-octane energy itself. Shaolin Shuffle gets top prize here, though. For 12 minutes progressive psytrance is turned into a masterful display of art and creativity. Despite its length the track avoids ever becoming dull. In fact, this long play gets more impressive the more times it is heard. At the halfway mark of the track listen for the organ interlude, it is yummy stuff! Kudos to the Momento Demento promoters for a comprehensive look at what they have to offer. For "Volume 3" they offer up Friday night-type sounds but it merely whets the appetite for all the compelling madness that one knows is coming with a Saturday night party. For those Saturday night sounds, look to Volume One, also on Ektoplazm, where the likes of Chris Rich, Southwild and Dust offer up some great twilight and full-on sounds. Available for free play or download at: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/modem-festival-vol-3

In the review section: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/70041-hutti-heita-hutti-heita/

Just downloaded this, looking forward to listening in!

Artist: Hutti Heita Title: Hutti Heita Label: Yggdrasil Records Tracklist: 1. Travel Scrabble 2. Bom Bim Bam 3. Bongo People 4. Organisticks 5. Aurora Borealis 6. Fruitcake 7. Osaka Bells 8. Mushrooms And Moonshine 9. Whales In Space Morning time is for the light, grinding up a good cup of coffee, a time to make sure the inner mood is not bitter when it comes time to walk out the front door. It is not a time, usually, for forest music. Rarely, a great artist like DoHm or Schizoid Bears will put out a track that I can have going on the headphones in these important, soul-soothing hours of the day. Now I can add Hutti Heita to that list, as well. At no point would I call "Hutti Heita" normal because it is weird - very weird - but at no point does this full-length ever veer off into confounding or uncomfortable dark psy terrain. Hutti Heita are fun-loving forest producers who stay in the light for all nine of these tracks, always employing ground-rumbling and highly dance-able bass lines that the listener can latch on to for something normal if the effects or samples become a bit too strange and the way ahead begins to get fuzzy. The strength of the entire album is that this is dance-floor friendly forest music, not something that a peak-hour crowd might eat up, mind you, but for those who enjoy grooving to sounds a bit off the beaten path there is a lot to love in these numbers. The ground-rumbling bass keeps everything moving along quite nicely throughout but Hutti Heita are producers with a gift for rhythms, no small reason for the album's success. At one moment, some unpredictable direction change may leave you wondering where the hell you may be going, the next instance some awesome rhythm may just have you bouncing with glee. Of these tracks, the aforementioned rhythms make "Bongo People" excellent, where the drum circle-esque energy flow is superb to experience. Mysterious tribal chants, mentally tantalizing samples, stomping bass lines and exhilarating effects make "Bom Bim Bam" a liberating track on both physical and metaphysical levels. "Osaka Bells" takes the bells of its title and offers up sound altogether beautiful and peaceful, projecting forth a sense of relaxation more in tune with down tempo, so the juxtaposition with the mind-tripping effects and delightfully disjointed forest frequencies on this one are top-notch. "Mushrooms And Moonshine" comes forward like a full-on storm with wicked good bass beats, pretty little keyboard melodies and effects that are haunting and altogether psilocybian in nature. "Organisticks" is a big sound-system beast, music with so much power under the hood that it deserves be heard with proper sound (no headphones, please) so that the brakes are taken off. "Travel Scrabble" is a sturdy opener, perhaps not one of the marquee of this bunch, but the Hutti Heita characteristics of musical punch and fun, trippy samples is in abundance. "Aurora Borealis" is spooky fun, if listening to on a set of headphones the unexpected samples will have you glancing over your shoulder to see who else may be in the room. "Fruitcake" chirps with forest effects, as if it has little electronic birds hanging from its branches. The "Whales In Space" conclusion is every bit as weird and wildly compelling as its title suggests. This is forest music, through-and-through, and while more of these tracks have a very definitive time-and-place to when they should be played, there are four or five that are versatile enough, likeable enough, accessible enough, to get played while I'm enjoying my morning cup of coffee and preparing for the day. I'm not sure I can express how impressed I am with this work better than that.

Patience friend, it is coming! Thankful to all you guys for getting excited about this release and posting so many responses in this thread. This may have gotten buried in this section and slipped through the cracks, real happy it did not.

"Bom Bim Bam" and "Bongo People" are fucking stellar! Only through three tracks, cannot wait to hear the rest.