Tsotsi

Giving the vegans yet another chance to tell us all about it

Artist: Nibana Title: Earth From Above Label: Self-released Release date: June 1st, 2018 Its hard to want to compliment this album. On hand it deserves all the praise that it deserves, Every moment is filled with emotion that takes you on a journey from start to finish. On the other hand, I find it awkward to praise something that comes from a place of loss and pain. But on listen after listen I find the album to have less to do with pain and more to do with the beauty of life. Kevin has shared his recent journey with his late father to the world and it feels strange for me to give it the glowing review I think it deserves. Maybe I’m overthinking it. So less thinking more typing. Mind in a shell: A beautiful track with fat synths that fill every inch of every space in the room. The talking at the start is completely well placed, a theme we are gonna discover throughout the album. Earth From Above: Another powerful composition that brought me to the brink of tears. Emotions I haven’t thought to seek out from music flood through me as the journey continues up and up. The intensity builds and builds, it just won't stop. Perfect When Comes the Pain: 'Oh shit it's gonna be a sad track'. No, nothing but, nothing but beauty from start to finish. Moonset: Another emotion laden track, slightly more reserved than the others but executed just as well. A Dive into Ether: An intense intro leads us to a more intense track which I never want to end. The 4:40 break is simply too good to describe... Alright I'll try. Ethereal, enigmatic, deep AND not actually a break, just a great, lovely outro. Gods From The Machine: Hot damn can he give me at least one thing to criticise? Nope, not gonna happen, I'd call this a favourite but every track here is. A little faster and more optimistic than the rest of the album, another beauty. Legacy (With Suduaya): Oh shit, he had to go bring Sudu onto a track and it works like a charm. More optimistic still and more covered with beautiful beautiful human emotions. Thus we leave (Ft. Isabella Fabric): Nibana and Isabella prove that through the pain of losing someone close to you, comes a beauty that is a life lived. A life of experiences, connections, creations and belonging. The track itself is my favourite on the album. From where it starts to where it finishes, just wowie. Give me a live band performance please. I maintain the Ancient Greek outlook on death, that dying well is just another aspect to living the good life and a noble thing to be able to achieve. That being said I’ve never lost a loved one to sickness and until this album haven’t been able to picture myself in that situation. Kevin has granted me access into that world and shown me a a range of emotions that I have not been privy to until now. Interesting enough the album takes a more upbeat angle towards the end. Nibana's musical diversity is pretty outstanding and now I can add to that, in that he has a remarkable ability to portray emotion through music. I love every piece of dubby, psybient art that Nibana gives us, but I love this album the most. Big thanks to Kevin for releasing this. https://nibana.bandcamp.com/album/earth-from-above

Artist: Jayex Album: Soul Echoes Label: Surface Tension Records Release date: July 29, 2018 1.Intro 2. Tribal Shot 3. Hypnotized 4. Spiral Attack 5. Trancedance Mission 6. Soul Echoes 7. No Matter How 8. Switch On The Night 9. Cybrain Worms 10. Beyond Psychedelic Breaks and goa. Is there anything better? Is there? The innocence of childhood? New love? Friendship? All inclusive cruise ships through the Caribbean? Nope to heck with it all. I got what I need right here. So who is jayex? I haven't heard the name, a little digging got me a killer track on 'art from the heart chapter 2' great album BTW. Heřman Hasík is Jayex's real name, if it sounds like it's a name from the dark forests of the Bouzov Micro-region of the Czech Republic to you that is because you have an eye for the truth. Other alias is Smoke Visions. This albums boasts breakbeat goa and psychedelia. Does it deliver? Oh yea, but let's get to that now. Intro: Straight electricity entering the airwaves. Jayex let's us have a very little taste of what's to come. As always it could be longer but does the trick anyway. Tribal Shot: a hot track that gets better and better the deeper in you go. Vocals sit delicately on top of baselines and synths. At 135bpm I'd be happy to play this in a trance or techno set. Although the goa is distinct. Hypnotized: Jayex slows it down another notch with a heavy psychedelic number. Every aspect is super groovy and comes in and out at just the right time. The little offbeat\breakbeat part at the end of each break is really cool too. Love it. Spiral Attack: Sweet sweet intro, better than honey in my morning tea. And then BOOM! Didn't see that coming. At first wasn't a fan. But weird kicks always take me a little time to get used to. Sure enough by the time we reach the main break I'm well adjusted. 4 listens in I love it. Trancedance Mission: In it now with the Goa, or is it Proto? I Don't know I'm 25, which is still old enough to call something good, which this track certainly is. I normally don't go crazy for key changes but here it's not so bad. The song constantly changes direction and intensity with expert fashion, another great track. Soul Echoes: What does the title track have to offer us? How does a slow build into a climax of breakbeat sound to you? Sounds sort of good to me. A shorter track than the others, and honestly I was expecting something to happen after the breakbeat. You can't let the little things bring you down though, still a decent track. No Matter How: Some ocean sounds and spooky synths open the track up for us. Followed by another unexpected track. I thought the bass could have been jacked up a bunch in this track, instead it feels like something other than a track that belongs on this album. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it, but you know, context. Switch On The Night: Another techno'y track which is easy to stomp your feet too. The baseline is super freaky and soon has you lost in it. fairly minimal but what he Jayex uses he uses well. The outro is neat too. Cybrain Worms: The track title is actually pretty apt, this song is the closest representation I can find to cybrain worms. The breakbeat with that heavy baseline and the chanting in the background is just too hot. One of my favourite tracks. Beyond: Time to close the album and what better way to do it than a full Goa trance track. The baseline is funky, the synths are sweet and the overall vibe is just great. On a few extra listens this track and the intro seem to fit together well. Another favourite of mine. Overall I like the album a lot. The ingredients that Jayex uses to create each track he uses just the right amount of, a little paprika here, a little oregano there. The Breakbeat Goa combination is really hot and the slower tracks are anything but boring. I honestly look forward to hearing more from Jayex and think that this album is a blast. I thought the production of tracks 2 and 3 stood out as particularly good. Here is a link. Oh and you can pay as you please. https://surf10rec.bandcamp.com/album/soul-echoes

Wwoooah. I'm only 3 tracks in but shit. Nice work

I could only reccommend gubbology and Sab Kuch Milegator. They are the only ones I listen to though. More goa\suomi\forest

I'd take a revival in the NT, WA, TAS, or just about anywhere in Australia.

Yeeeeeeeeeeees. Have been wondering to myself for weeks when the next Mamoman release will be.

Bandcamp is saying that digital download will be available after physical sales are done. Buy buy buy people! Tsotsi needs a little digi download

I don't know anything about making Goa or even what all the tools are that get used. But first of all your tracks are pretty hot. It sounds like practice is just gonna get you where you want to go, Recursion gives good advice, just mess around. Goa Burst is my fav track. After listening to Generational Happieness I was gonna tell you to tease us with the elements of your tracks next act before bringing them all the way in. Maybe before the break or just during. But I heard you do this in Goa Burst.

I mean shit, the world needs more visuals.

Keep em coming Open Source amigo. This genre needs more visuals.

All really hot tracks with the last and fastest being my fav. Glad I know Maiia303 is your side project. I somehow missed the distinction in names between that and your main project.

It was by far the freshest and most unique track on the album. Thoroughly enjoyed. The triplets worked a treat. Its nice to know you had fun making the track as well, keeps things spicy.

If they bomb then no problem, the hardstyle will wipe the memory from your brain. ;O

Artist: Ephedra Title: What The Future Brings Label: Goa Madness Records Release: May 18, 2018 Tracklist: - 1. In Search Of Flying Saucers 2. Flying Into The Night 3. Twisted Keys 4. Machiavellin? 5. Savannah Monk Trail (Ephedra & Imba) 6. Cosmic Collaboration (Proxeeus & Ephedra) 7. Return To the N Life 8. Deep inside Feelings 9. Floating Souls Ok whats going with you bunch? Triquetra, Morphic Resonance, Sab Kuch, Lectro Spectral, Geomagnetic/Timewarp comps and the rest of the 2018 release gang (you're all great) and now Ephedra. You graduate from middle school? Finally got yourselves real jobs? Get yourselves married? Have a couple of kids? Cause 2018 has been a year of mature music. A year of well thought out, technical bangers that have got me hitting puberty. Now Ephedra comes in to bring to add a little extra flavour. To show that the big boys know when to hold back till just the right point, when to build but not explode, when to reserve their tracks to create anticipation, when to just make nice sounds and not stress about all the hooha. 2018 got us all grown up. In search of Flying Saucers - UFO's. mystery. space. aliens. New Mexico the home of the Roadrunner. The kick Is hot the leads are perfectly reserved coming in and out but never to insane. This is the patience Im talking about. A really really good track. Flying Into The Night - a little break beat introduces us into spacier and faster feeling track. The leads twirl and slice away in the back, being brought forward at perfect moments as the rest of the track balances out. The melody is infectious as its shot at you over and over again. The track is pure hyperspace listening material, put it on and before you know it you’ve reached galaxy NGC 7320 All Aboard Twisted Keys - we don’t slow down here, a short moody intro keeps the journey rolling. Little tribal drum taps in the background are beat out with the lightest of fingers before leads takes centre stage & zip us away. Once again Ephedra balances the elements and layers out with exquisite grace. Nothing in this song is monotoned & just as you think the frenzy has ended Ephedra takes it up a notch and finishes with some great knob fiddles. Machiavellian - Ah señor Niccolò, the espouser of the old greek and roman value systems as well as the man that had the personality trait of deceit, self interest and manipulation named after him. The only manipulation in this song is that of Ephedra’s tools over your brain. Ephedra darkens things up a bit while keeping a coherent flow throughout the song. A perfect track for workplace craftiness, backstabbing a trusted confidant and dancing in any dark location of your picking. Epehdra & Imba - Savannah Monk Trail - Love the choral vocals and the drums in the intro. Another cool baseline and kick combo then takes us off to a happier place where elastic leads extend in and out. More squelches, an elephant and tribal chants set this track apart from the others. Imba and Ephedra’s mojo works in fine balance with each other, proven as the track increases in intensity from start to finish. A fav Ephedra and Proxeeus, Cosmic Collaboration - I gotta say I was excited when I saw these two together on a track, even more so the the title suggested that these two came up with some sweet sweet hallucinogenic Himalayan Cliff Bee Mad honey for us all to sip on. They did, much more melodic than I expected while still completely psychedelic and of course totally banging, another welcome and successful combination of talent. Return to the N Life - A title that would also work well for an Ice Cube album, Return to the N life takes us back into the land of classic ephedra. Another mature track that despite not really standing out I would still play at any party, yea even my nephews 6th birthday party. Once again Ephedra shows a lot of skill with his instruments and thought in production. Deep Inside Feelings - Ephedra gets all sentimental and opens up his electrifying feelings to us. I love when he strips the baseline away, a metaphor for his struggle to balance an minimalist life with the pressure to succeed (I don’t know, sounds cool though). The song is hot hot hot but nothing prepares you for whats next. Floating souls - The closing track. What's it gonna be? Which way will he take this? Many questions and only one answer. Ecstasy. Ephedra takes us away from all earthly feelings and into a land of the beyond. I don’t know exactly what it is….Yes I do, the intensity, leads, melody, dreamy floatiness and all the other things that make Goa trance just so incredible. This goes up there with Experiments into some of my favourite Goa trance tracks of all time. That’s that, what I will call a perfectly balanced album. This is by far my favourite Ephedra album, the patience in the track development all the way to the actual track development really stand out here. It’s a skill that comes with experience and with 3 albums under his belt it seems like Ephedra is getting plenty of that. Like all good middle school graduations, Ephedra has matured his sound into something completely delightful for the ears. Big shout out to Goa Madness for their support of great artists and 3 big blasting Ephedra albums. https://goamadnessrecords.bandcamp.com

Also its an album made up of Tracks. ;)

Cover was hard to get past I agree, A chance at some geographical learning. You search 'black triangle acid' ill search 'black triangle vagina'....

Like MrAnarchy said the challenge of deeper styles can be a bunch of fun to dive right into. I'm not a dark psy guy though, the kicks annoy me to no end. Throw a Goa kick on though, that's another story. I was too busy being impressed with the maturity of the music rather than the emotional feel of it. It doesn't take me off into a deep spacey floating trance but rather into the industrial depths of the world, but that's still a part of the world and my mind that I want to explore. I can't help but picture Cristian composing the album and being completely taken aback by his finesse. I feel that along with Triquetra's Ecstatic Planet we have seen two very mature pieces of work.

Hola all, I'm off to mexico, Cuba and south America today. Whose got the goss on the hot parties, record labels to follow and festival activity? All advice more than likely getting put into action.

I just did a re-listen to CD 1. I appreciate Cactus, Siam, Innerself and Concept on another level now. Instead of flowing their leads through the rest of the track elements it feels like they drop it down from above like lighting. Cutting through all the layers. The way they position their tracks is pretty hot.

And for those of you that want to see that badass live performance

Title: Porta Apertus Artist: Various Label: Portal Borealis Records Date: Feb 2018 Tracklist:- 1. MightyOak - Blinking Into Nothingness (07:08) 2. Wattsun - Morphosis (05:44) 3. Drumspyder - Vlashko Horo (Kousk Remix) (04:43) 4. Fat Elvis & Fat Pat - Fat Pelvis (04:06) 5. Alyag - OptiMystic (04:36) 6. Metadream - Abyss (05:53) 7. npc89 - Time (04:04) 8. Fractal Frequencies - Embracing Darkness (08:05) Keep it smooth, keep it psychedelic, keep it groovy. This is the mantra I get from this compilation. ranging across a series of psychedelic genres Portal Borealis have brought us a listening sensation. They've also put themselves on Tsoti's radar and opened me up to atlas 3 other albums from them. Each song is wildly different from the last and showcases absolute talent. Away we go Blinking Into Nothingness: A beautiful start and introduction to the album. The song progressing into deep dubby atmospheres that are all to easy to be lost in Morphosis: An emotional instrumental groove quickly envelopes you as you get drawn down into your amygdala. the instruments really are beautiful and exquisitely designed. I get filled with a mixture of introspective thoughts as the song progresses. Vlashko Horn (Kousk Remix): A thick tribal intro turns into a thick tribal bassy thang. The organic sounds are wonderful, the high's have me clicking along while the lead has me swaying. A perfect track for the jungles of the amazon, a trip down the nile or a dark night in the Rockies. A favourite on the track. Fat Pelvis: Fat Elvis & Fat Pat combine names to bring us Fat Pelvis. A dark dubby dreamscape that'll send chills through you as you walk home alone at 3 in the morning. Wear a jumper and thermals for this one. OptiMystic: Lovely track name that brings the mood back up with an absolute banger of psychedelic influenced drum and bass... The only drum and bass Tsotsi likes. This track is energy from start to finish. another favourite. Perfect for Street fighter influenced battles against your mortal enemy. Abyss: Metadream brings us an energy charged dark track. Psychedelic as all hell. Time: I gotta disagree with the premise. From the moment we are born our body starts to live. We open ourselves up to experiences and stimuli that we have the choice to engage with and grow from. Still, very relaxing track with lovely piano work and subtle scratching, the final vocal sample is uplifting like the rest of the track. love it. Embracing Darkness: a slower more ambient outdo that cools you down and leaves you in a complete state of mellow rest. The vocals are lovely, the instruments are lit what more could you want. All in all I can't recommend this compilation enough. It's variety of tracks stands out and carries you along for a complete start to finish listening experience. The track placement is well considered and appreciated. With a Name Your Price attached you really have nothing to lose. https://portalborealis.bandcamp.com/album/porta-apertus

Check out what the Matsuri digital crowd is up too. I've found Record labels pretty responsive to party advice

Thanks amigo. Since i don't hear a lot of samples in Goa i find them pretty refreshing and definitely funny. I guess they could snap you out of the trance a little but it would only be to make me giggle. Cheers Void, it took me a few listens to let my brain slow everything down and process it but well worth the work

Make another album. Let me buy something! ... But also thanks for the freebies