Jaza

Yeah that's me I got less this year but a few good ones: https://www.youtube.com/user/JazaSFC

Good choice of party For me it's the best party in the world <5k attendance. The fantastic mix of goa heads, people from the south of Spain, and travelers who took the entire summer off to travel festival-to-festival and are still chasing that summer vibe while the weather starts to turn in Northern Europe create a unique vibe. And of course the music is amaaaaazing, How weird that I found so few goa heads in all my years partying in Australia, yet they seem to find their way to Connection? I met one legendary Aussie there last year. I hope I can make it myself this year. I've just moved to London for work so getting the time off may be hard. I'm definitely going to try though,

Mark Day is his name He's a really nice guy too. I hung out with him for a bit at a recent Australian gig. Real down to earth, when you meet him you can understand why he just uses his name to DJ. Great tunes, as you say. The tough ones are close to the optimum spot of dark and heavy for mine, but there's good variety in the not quite as hectic ones too.

Booked last night. Was hesitant to do Ozora then Boom but it's for the best

They just decided to stop working together. Neither wanted to take a different name, so there's now S.U.N. Project and McCoy's S.U.N. Project. (Yes, daft, I know.)

It's really, really good. At the top of the genre for what it tries to do, for sure. For me it's an 8/10 album. The reason it drops points is the repetitiveness. For all that it sounds great, a lot the tracks are similar-sounding. It's a hell of a sound, and it's great that Morphic Resonance now has his own trademark vibe that's not just "the new Pleiadians", but over 7 solo tracks I'd have liked a bit more variety. The Space Dwarves remix sounds quite fresh by the time you get to it at the end, and even that still has the clear Morphic vibe. With that said, between this and his prior tracks Christian has definitely marked himself as possibly the standout young producer in the genre. I was lucky enough to be traveling through Osaka when he played there recently, and this stuff definitely does the job on the dancefloor. Definitely sounding more polished then when I last saw him in October 2014. Looking forward to revisiting it again at Lost Theory and Connection this euro summer. I think it will be even more powerful again in the hands of talented DJs who can showcase it against more varied music. The darker, more atmospheric edge will really stand out if placed well in DJ sets. Really looking forward to see where Morphic Resonance takes things in future.

The launch of the Ace Ventura project almost a decade ago, after his departure from Psysex, was really where 'prog psy' took off. He and Liquid soul released debut albums within a year of each other and the genre grew stronger by the year from 2007. Fusing some of the vibe of modern psytrance with the sensibilities of the traditional prog trance sound typically epitomised by the Scandinavians, the genre added a new variation to psytrance parties where full-on had started to jade people, and also had a hand in bringing many new people in to the psy scene by acting as a 'gateway drug' as a more accessible form of psy. This album was promised for years as a follow-up to 2007's 'Rebirth' which itself contains a number of tracks that were rinsed, repeated and remixed so many times throughout the last decade and really serve as a blueprint for the genre. The success of that album and subsequent singles saw Ace travel constantly, he's been here in Australia every year and seems to headline every single big party and many other small-medium parties across Europe, Brazil, etc, including two 4hr+ headline sets at Boom 2012 and 14. It's worth noting that he often chooses to DJ over playing 'live' when many producers are often the opposite. Ace's productions released as singles in recent years showed a different approach, away from the deepness from his early days and more geared towards the dancefloor, so I was interested in what he might do with a full album to work with. #1) Going back The opening vocal about happiness drags on for a bit, asian or middle eastern plucked melody is nice enough, and two minutes in the standard prog psy bassline kicks in. It's meant to ease us in to the album, which it does, and there are hints of Atmos in the way it ever-so-slowly builds, but I gotta admit I'm mostly bored. A bit of acid at 4:20 teases us before we're back to the norm. It's follows the prog trance formula of uncovering layers over time, it's smooth, but I guess the problem is that none of these layers excite me. A weak opening if I'm honest. #2) Come with us (feat Zen Mechanics) The opening melody hints at something more than track 1, and the bassline has a bit more oomph and variation behind it while still keeping us very much in afternoon prog mode. The Zen Mechanics influence really shines through in the details and sounds as the track unfolds. Whilst there's more to keep me interested here, it's sadly only a little more. The tempo picking up halfway restores interest momentarily, but I have to admit I'm not too fond of the Jim Morrison sample nor taken by where the track goes after what must be a >60 second breakdown. Ace + ZM can do some cool stuff together but this is not their best. #3) Ingonyama (feat Juno Reactor) I found myself very curious about this combination. You can seldom guess what Juno will bring to the table, but combining it with Ace's sound doesn't strike me as a natural fit. But I really enjoy this. The background sounds are very JR, jungle drum sounds an all, but it somehow works with some of the prog psy zap sounds that are surely Ace's input. The atmosphere grows over time, and even when the oft-derided off-beat bassline kicks in, the way it unfolds after with the sheer variety of sounds is great. Overall it's a nice, very unique journey. #4) Pranava (feat Astrix) It's hard to come back to this after the last track. There's some subtlety to the melodies that I quite like, but the bassline, the track build, and so many of the supporting sounds are things I've heard before. The bouncy bassline variant, reminiscent of older Astrix, at 3:30 adds some fun (although I know some will hate it) but the Indian voice sample is neither here not there. The track proceeds with little really happening IMO. #5) Stomping Ground (edit) The eerie atmosphere and the solid thud of the bassline get my attention immediately. I quite like the crackling sounds that populate the intro, and the way it grows before taking us back to basics just before 3mins with a bassline very much for stomping. The acid sequence really marks this track as unique, I don't mind the vocal sample, and whilst the last breakdown drags out a bit I've still very much enjoyed this. The only downside? This was released the year prior as a single and I think was written some years ago. I'm fairly sure this was his opening track at Boom 2012. This album version has a few changes in the middle of the track, I think it may be a bit faster (?) and if I'm honest I marginally prefer the original. #6) The World That You Know (feat Symbolic) At first I was worried another generic prog psy track awaited, but as it unfolds there's some stuff in there I like. The pace has picked up, there's a groove to it the other tracks have missed, and I am taken by the chopped up vocals throughout from the main vocal, which itself is twisted in a few fun ways. It's not the most original track in the world, and it does peter out over time, but it's of more interest than many of the others here. #7) Neurochemistry (feat Liquid Soul) Liquid Soul is another who rose with Ace as prog psy soared but has fallen in to some questionable habits at times. There's nothing wrong with this track, but it also exhibits the rut that defines them both and the genre at this point in time. It's not quite as pumping as the last two, the production is sharp, the melody nice enough but not really evoking any emotion, and it's a flat 'standard' journey were hear too often. I can't help but feel this is a great example of innovators gone stagnant. #8) Our Moment (feat Loud) Loud are very hit-and-miss for me, but when they are good they can be great, so I have some hope here. Delicate melody, early off-beat breakdown with the "this is our moment" sample is surely designed for a big response from PLUR'd up dance floors, and it sorts of floats along dreamily. But by the time we're past 6 minutes it's really evolved. We've had several different sections including some acid, and then a big buzzing breakdown leads in to some very Loud-esque morning sounds before floating back down. I can't say this is all great, I can see why some would love it despite it not really taking me, but it's kind of like getting four songs in 10 minutes. #9) Brave New World Tempo drops right back as we go deep. A few interesting organic sounds and natural drums, and a totally different vibe on this one that shares some similarities with the way bass music makes people groove. I like the quirky Indian (?) voice that dominates, and how this track is really different, so much that I struggle to describe it. Once again though I feel like it goes stagnant and doesn't take us that far in the second half, which has been a theme here. Track 5 would have been my pick but that's watered down so track 3 is the winner here. But the real story is this long-awaited album failing to live up to its billing. Much like his recent singles, the focus is on big basslines, thumps, and out-of-the-box zap sounds rather than deep moments and journeys that marked his early work. In the years after 2008 and particularly since 2011 so many people have copied and dumbed down this sound as the genre grew. It's sad to see his latest iteration closer to theirs, too often generic and void of soul. The production quality is great, but I'm left mostly empty. It remains to be seen if he can one day bring us something fresh, or fade right back in to the crowd.

Lovers of Vibrasphere will be happy to know that Robert Elster, half of the group, is releasing a solo album on J00F Recordings in the coming months.

I'll take Ace Ventura.

ATMOS is the king of this sound. If you love Vibrasphere, as I do, then surely you love Atmos. Slightly more rolling bassline, but stunningly beautiful song: Old school classic: The deepness: And the uplifting: His catalogue is so huge, there is so much more. I also dearly love Ticon. They went through an experimental phase, which some liked and others didn't. But they have come right back to beautiful prog trance in a huuuuge way recently. This one is an absolute classic: This is a newer one: They have their Ozora 2015 and Boom 2014 sets on soundcloud too.

Kashyyyk

Had yet another rotation on my ipod at the gym today. I keep coming back to this one.

Heh, this is a very good point. When the full-on craze started and the overall quality in psy then dropped over time GMS were at the forefront. But their stuff wasn't bad, it was actually the GMS clones that came after them that really started to drag it down over time. They got a bad wrap as they were the face of it but they were just being themselves while others copied (poorly). Funny how as the circle closes they then took it a few notches even lower. Truly odd.

Whilst some of it is related to age and proper psy-heads not getting in to that stuff, more so I think this is just that in the psy scene the good people are genunely good people who aren't inclined to spread hate. When I saw GMS in 2013 they cleared half the dancefloor. Half stayed and absolutely loved it, half went to bed. There were a few particular moments where several people actually left in disgust (i.e. the Fat Boy slim remix). A browse of the festival's facebook page the following week had post after post talking about how much they loved GMS. Or similarly "who was that guy at 4:30am on the main stage? That was awesome!" ... But over the last two days of that festival I spoke to many people who couldn't stand what they heard. I had a similar experience at a small party in Portugal last year. I spent the summer going mostly from big party to big party and in late September saw a small party in Portugal with a varied lineup so I thought I'd experience a more authentic Portugese vibe than say, Boom or Freedom Festival while en route to Spain for Connection. A party with Scorb, Antispin, Dickster extended set, Kindzadza, Cosmo, Rocky, Ace Ventura, Sensient and a few others seemed hard to get wrong. But the vibe was all wrong. A jaded crowd standing around rather than dancing, almost no decor, repeatedly letting the generator run out of fuel, and close to no food options. A real arrogant coca crowd, the total wrong vibe. It never really got going like it should have, the same party in many places would be dancefloor chaos. A number of Portugese people were almost apologising to me, saying that they have much better small parties than that and it wasn't representative of their true local scene. Lots of people left early. ... But again, a trawl through their facebook page after the event showed nothing but happy people. The many disappointed people didn't invest energy venting online.

March 2013, Maitreya Festival. One of Australia's best parties. ~4am, having witnessed an outstanding Young Kim set preceded by Chromatone, Terrafractyl, Headroom and others, the night was going very nicely. Hypnocoustics were coming up next for the sunrise session. Up steps Riktam to play a GMS set that emptied half the dancefloor and nearly ruined my whole vibe. All the pop songs above and more. When the 1200 Micrograms medley was the least cheesy part of the set, you're in trouble.

What do you think of... Hypnocoustics Dickster Earthling Burn In Noise

Eh? Vinyl is near non-existent in the psy scene in Austalia in my experience here as a local over many years. There are techno parties devoted to vinyl, and it's strong in DnB circles, but psy is very much a modern genre in terms of DJing. I'm surprised USB / SD cards aren't being mentioned more. CDJ2000s or 900s are so often the norm now, I see this as often as I see people playing off laptops. These days it's almost always one or the other, CDs are becoming rare. You still get the tactile feeling of working with a CDJ, it's the same as mixing off CD if you choose not to use the sync function, but you get the benefit of gigabytes of storage at a time. I prefer this to using a full-size laptop. The biggest downside is the screen on the decks is small so it can take a while to cycle through folders to find the track you want or just surf and get an idea of what could be next. You can get around this using a full-size laptop with RecordBox to load the tracks (but you still play everything off the decks + mixer) which is cool, but that then begs the question if you are better off using Traktor or similar. It depends what style you are after.

I absolutely rate him, and particularly enjoyed his live set at Connection Festival (where he was almost as good as Filteria before him - a huge compliment) but this is a bit too much right now. His music is amazing, but I fear may be one dimensional? I am keen to hear more to test the variety. I read someone (maybe even Christian himself?) say recently he's going for a darker approach? I would appreciate this rather than just replicating the Pleidians vibe. One to watch, absolutely, but one of several.

Surprised to see no mention of Boris Brejcha here. He is comfortably my favorite techno of recent years. His dancefloor stuff is fanstastic, powerful yet thoughtful. His more minimalistic side is melodic, almost melancholic, and still very interesting (rare for me with minimal-esque techno). ^^^ this one has a lovely build ^^ a bit heavier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv1yWbA_0QQ ^^^ a nice journey, more mellow ^^^ unique, twisted, really goes places. Nothing quite like it.

The first track is a sample from Rick & Morty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty I can't think of anythine like this off hand.

I've now had a good few listens to this after not having much time initially. It's gone through the two key tests of listening at home on good speakers, but also when out for a run with good headphones, immersed in sound outdoors. This is probably the best Suntrip compilation since Opus Iridium. It may even be better? The consistency here is immense. Between the overall quality and the journey through sounds that it takes you on over 9 tracks, this will be so hard to top for the release of 2015. 1. Skizologic - Retrospective A fantastic start. Proper acid trance, perfectly understated for the opening track but with plenty happening to keep you interested. The hints of melody on top of the constant 303 goodness give it a nice psychedelic vibe. I really hope for more in this style. 2. Nebula Meltdown - Deep Space Introspection Kristian really hits the sweet spot on this track, the right mix between his spacey, melodic sound with more of a dancefloor vibe and 303 goodness. I'm a big fan of his unique take on trance music, but have wanted a bit more oomph! from his tracks on occasion. This one certainly delivers in that regard. Killer acid attacks punctuated by floating moments, somehow managing to do both after the 4 minute mark. Something for everyone. I think it's quite special that I can envision half a dancefloor unleashing their stomp to this track, with the other half equally happy drifting along focused on the softer elements with tired morning legs. 3. Dragon Twins - The Third Wave A nice variation on the new school sound. A nice spacey opening picks up well from the last track, but the hypnotic vibes that kick on after 2:20 really define it as something different. The climaxes at 3m and 6m are a different kind of fun, and the squelchy, melodic journey that continues to unfold is impressive in how it stands out from much of the Suntrip catalogue. Again, I am left excited to here more fresh stuff like this. 4. Morphic Resonance - Altered Perception The best new name to watch IMO. After his EP on Neogoa last year and absolutely kick ass live set after Filteria at Connection Festival I'm glad to hear more. I love the dark undertones in much of this track, the fact he says there's more to come is exciting. The psychedelic, acid drenched vibes come thick and fast, with moments in transition reminding me a bit of forest psy in the atmosphere they create. In between is peaktime goa trance, the likes of which I hope we hear much more of in future. 5. Artifact303 - In Your Mind (E-Mantra Remix) It says a lot that this may the weakest track on the compilation, and it's by no means bad or anything close to that. E-Mantra continues the vibes from "Nemesis" here with an atmospheric vibe that slowly creeps up on you. A nice journey unfolds, including a comparatively mild climax where the A303 side shines through, but overall there's something missing that would take it from good to great. With that said, I can see this having great value as a transition track in DJ sets. 6. Crossing Mind - Xtatic Confusion I'm often torn on Crossing Mind. I appreciate his production skills and the way he structures quite complex tracks, but I don't always find him great to listen to. It's one of the weird paradoxes of trance music where I love melodies, psychedelia, and complex, layered music but have never quite connected with him. It was odd when everyone was blown away by him at Balkan Goa Fanatics last year while I felt a bit lost over 90mins. But he gets me here. A nice journey. So much happening but enough of a focus on the main melodies which string together well despite all the other stuff layered throughout the track. The chaos-but-not-chaos that builds after 4mins is a highlight. 7. Mindsphere - Fly High This track is awesome. There are some times where I find Mindsphere can be too heavy on melodies alone (without enough other unique, defining elements to his tracks) and thus a bit generic. But this is not like that. Is it just me or is the bassline a bit more prominent than much of his other work? It works well, with a great mix of melodies throughout. We're now definitely in morning dancefloor mode. This is fantastic melodic music, with melodies always at the forefront without falling too far towards formulaic boredom. I love the way the primary melody never sticks out too far from the layers, maintaining a nice subtlety throughout. One to rejuvenate the legs of tired dancers while still maintaining their interest. I'm left excited for the forthcoming album. 8. Celestial Intelligence - Inevitable Feelings I can understand people referencing Transwave here but I feel that does these guys a disservice. They're Celestial Intelligence and they're right at the top of new goa trance artists to watch. I loved the recent album, and particularly love the different vibe on this one. Cinematic vibes to the opening let you know you're in for something emotive, and the way it unfolds through each phase is fantastic. Somehow bringing every aspect of this compilation together as it nears a close, with the acid soon joining the melody in one great, engaging long trip. Words don't really do it justice. That last climax is something very special. It could only really be better if we could ask for a bit more? But this 10 minute epic is probably the peak of the whole compilation. I must spend the next year in hope that this is still on rotation when I return to European dancefloors in 2016. 9. Denshi-Danshi - World In Between (2K15 Remix) I like it. Goa purists may not, but I love almost all forms of trance and this is fun. After strong forays through the more intense, acidic side of goa trance and the fluffier stuff later in the piece, this is a neat ending. The quick shift in sound after 1:30 takes me, and more acid is never a bad thing, even after what we've just been through. The retro-ish happy vibes go down well. Each track is strong on its own right, but what makes this a great compilation is the journey. It really takes you somewhere, with each track well placed in succession with their role to play in the trip. There's common themes throughout that tie it all together, but where you start is quite different to where you finish. Suntrip continues to raise the bar. Hard to imagine a better way to spend a few euros.

His darker psy alias - Once Upon A Time - is also killer

1200 Mics is the four of them (Riktam, Bansi, Chicago, Raja Ram) but GMS is just Riktam and Bansi. They were always cheesy-ish at their peak, but now they've just given up. Their real passion is the "Riktam & Bansi" tech house / prog house project. (Which can be bland but has some gems hidden throughout their catalogue if you like that style of music.) We had GMS at a party in Aus about two years ago. The worst set I've ever seen. Ever. Just like above, commercial tracks turned in to "psytrance". When the 1200mics medley is the least cheesiest part of the set, you have a problem. I walked away after Fat Boy Slim mixed in to Zombie Nation :/ 1/3 of the crowd went wild, everyone else went to bed. Such a pity for that crucial 4am set which determines if people push through sunrise or try to get a small few hrs of sleep before their tents warm up. I felt so bad for Hypnocoustics who played after to a cleared dancefloor. Beautiful melodic sunrise to only a dedicated few compared with the bumper crowd at 3am.

Both of these guys make great tunes generally. Rastaliens is the best, but Southwild is quite decent too. Braincell can be a bit mundane at times but still plenty of fun in parts. Rastaliens at Eclipse 2012 and Lost Theory 2014 was great fun.

As I await a visit from Mr Trevor in old school mode this weekend (my birthday weekend no less - lucky me) I ponder... Are GNOTR the most under-rated of all the big old acts? Small release catalogue, yes, but so many gems. Quality acid drenching. I'm probably a bit of a unique case as I've seen them live more than any other retro act, but so much fun. And the sense of humor that Dick still exhibits today shines through right from these early days: