Tsotsi

Been dabbling in and out of this comp since it's release. I cant even count how many shattered bandcamp hearts i've created. You're review has tipped me though, gonna buy later today. The Zopmanika track is straight bliss, probably the standout for me. Sykespico nails it too. I'm normally a little disappointed when an artists single strays from their latest album, Hypnoxock breaks that wall down like it's 1989, track is stellar and it's great to him sticking with Goa. You're right about all these artists really starting to cement their place as new school heroes. Probably why Compilations are coming out so hot at the moment

Artists: Various Title: psychedelic Depths Label : Manifold Studios and Ektoplazm Release: 2018 Tracklist: - 01 - Cybered & Opsy - Chidlren Of Paradise (138 BPM) 02 - Sulima - Cybertech (141 BPM) 03 - Manifold - Time For The Heist (142 BPM) 04 - Cybered & Sulima - Sweaty Brains (140 BPM) 05 - Himmelkompass - Fabula (135 BPM) 06 - Cold Project - All Of The Stuff (137 BPM) 07 - Faxi Nadu & Algae Bloom - Deep Rescue (130 BPM) 08 - Mediatek - Joolsoon (130 BPM) 09 - Spatial Feature - Jankia (132 BPM) 10 - Quite-K - Echoes (132 BPM) Oh look it's Ektoplazm, let’s see what 2018 has had them bring to us. Darkpsy, hi-tech, full-on, techno, techtrance, techtrance. Techtrance it is. The Russian Manifold Studio and Ektoplazm team up to give us a compilation of spicy zesty music. The comp starts fast ranging from 138 all the way up to 142 (WOAH!). I don’t listen to a lot of techtrance so i can’t say if it’s unique or not but it certainly has a strong psychedelic edge, very smooth transitions and really cool progression. Each song takes you somewhere different but vaguely familiar (Think energy charged dreamscapes) . Tracks 5 - 10 slow it right down but still reach the extra techy biosphere. Faxi Nadu is a nice surprise, teaming up with Algae Bloom to drop it down to 130 bpm. Most tracks are pretty dark and made for long drives down computer generated, electroluminescent polygonic roads. Like Tron, or that highway in the Netherlands. Take your pick. Depending on what you like i’m sure a song or two will stand out here, for me it was the faster 1st half of the comp. If this is what a Russian takeover sounds like, i’m not objecting yet. I grant it four hammer and sickles ☭☭☭☭ You can get it free via Ektoplazm or Name your Price over at Bandcamp http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/psychedelic-depths https://manifoldstudio.bandcamp.com/album/psychedelic-depths

Yea I gotta agree. This is Goa trance after all. Carefree, uplifting, insane, mind bending, soulful and beautiful music. You want a label to devote themselves to releasing it and also strive for perfection? Uh uh. No no. From what I've learnt Goa typifies a nonsense embracing, carefree spirit. I don't find that in any other genre. Let alone any other facet of life. Enjoy what we do have. You'll find its easy.

Artist: Sab Kuch Milegator Title: Surrounded By Surreality Release: March 15, 2018 Label: Aint no Label could handle this (Self Release) Tracklist: Surrender to Surreality Intro Extrapyramidal Twerking On A Pyramid (RMX): Twistortion Rodeo Caramel Carousel: First you, then others & Third eye The Point Of No Yes No (Overwrite Engaged) Disorient Express Gringrinder The words ‘forest’ and ‘suomi’ never drop down in my Ecosia (Yea i save the trees) suggestion bar. One would have to assume that this is entirely due to me never having searched for those genre’s. One would be right. Then along came Klaus Akan Tea? Kaos Aiken Tah? Kana Nakan Tea? Kauas Aikain Taa! Its Kauas Aikain Taa alright. Along it came, it took 4 attempts over 3 months to wrap my head around it (I’m a slow learner), but once I got there it was well worth my time. Now Sab Kuch Milegator is back with the much more pronounceable and equally as danceable Surrounded by Surreality. With a front cover that the Astral Projection guy couldn’t fault, we are off to a good start. Surrender to Surreality Intro: Love me an intro. Love me an intro that lasts a bit longer and goes to stranger places. But this a niggly little niggle that we shouldn't dwell on. Still nice to have an intro to begin with. Extrapyramidal Twerking On A Pyramid (RMX): Did you know that Extrapyramidal was a real word? I did not. Slightly less weird than the original, i’d say more refined and a little less exciting as a result, first song of the album though so it’s really just warming us up. Twistortion Rodeo: Rick coming at cha, which is fitting because with more Rick comes more madness. Twistortion Rodeo delivers big time. Entrancing atmospheres surround you from start to finish. The 4 minute break is appreciated, always love a little broken beat. Caramel Carousel: SKM brings it down a notch with a slightly less crazy first act of the song. We got 9 minutes though, I wouldn’t expect it to stay this way. A more build focused track with some beautiful little background things going on. The voice samples, as always fit perfectly and before you know you’re lost in another one of Sab Kuch’s mental trips. First You, Then Others & Third Eye: ‘Oh hey dad’ ‘No, nothings wrong i’m just listening to music’ ‘No nothings wrong, yes this is music’ ‘Well everything is just sounds really’ ‘yea but the weird noises make melodies and create a rhythm’ ‘No i’m not trying to be clever’ ‘No please don’t send me back to the therapist! ITS JUST MUSIC!!’ ‘Well at least let me bring my headphones along’ This is the weirdness I like. Neat track name, neat little intro. A smooth ass track that’s really quite easy to get lost in. You could be forgiven for thinking that a 12 minute track could get old fast, today we forgive all. The Point Of No Yes No (Overwrite Engaged): Another great track name leads us into the darker realm of frequencies. What would we do without Rick and Morty samples? What would we do without Sabby K. The song really explodes into awesomeness at the 7 minute mark, love it. Disorient Express: My god these track titles are hot. Less twists and turns in this song but a solid Goa lead sits in the back throughout the track. One of my favourites. Gringrinder: The ultimate antidote to the bullshit Christmas cheer we all endure at the end of the year. Then again, Scandi christmas is a little darker than us out West (and the Fins, if we can really consider them Scandinavian, are the darkest of all. better sense of humor too). All these little social factors come together in this track. Also, you don’t hear a lot of explicit language in trance, which only just occurred to me now. Sab Much Milegator comes through with easily the most well planned thoughtful album to date. Negatives of this are you miss out on some of that suomi madness that we got blasted with in Kauas Aikain Taa, if like me you are the sort of person who relishes in confusion you come out of this a little less so. Positives (and there are many) are that for someone like Tsotsi, this meticulous crossing of genres creates an unrivaled listening experience. There's no point in me rating this as every piece of Goa I listen to sounds amazing to me. But what about Suomi and Forest? Well that’s a different story, no one i know (and i know three artists) nails this like Sir’ Kuch. The crossing over of genre’s, the patience, the vision in the tracks, it’s all there. I Insta purchased without regret, and based on the last two albums from the Milegator will continue to do so. https://sabkuchmilegator.bandcamp.com/album/surrounded-by-surreality

How about you review something yourself you needy little. There you go https://sabkuchmilegator.bandcamp.com/album/surrounded-by-surreality Even Oopie is trying to give you the tools to help yourself.

Purchase coming your way from me. Something about that clubby Psy you French men produce is intoxicating.

I really wasn't into old school Goa for a long time. I was all about hard punchy kicks and hardcore production. I listened to AP... nothing. Asia 2001... Nil... MWNN... Nada. Then one night, after a little bangarang, just a small hit of dat exo, only a poofteenth of some devils lettuce, a slight suckle of the cheeba, an innocent touch of da gazon, a blaze of the reggie reggie and everything changed. I thought fuck it, let's finally do this, let's listen to number 1. Tsotsi was ready. And really that's what the music was designed for in the first place, high people. The album is a gosh danged acid trip. Sometimes it takes some help to get you there, but once you here it there is no going back. The absolute rawness of tracks like Orphic trench literally felt like our boy Simon had created a sonic dragon that was spitting flames of euphoria at us. I cant even imagine the dance floors when this came on. All i knew was all of a sudden i was immersed in the demented, psychedelic, dare i say Twisted world of Possy F. It is awe inspiring work through and through, that's coming from someone who used to say that old is not gold, Tsotsi be humble. Since Twisted the world of old school has been opened up to me, funny thing is, Artha was the artist that opened new school Goa to me. What a strange but wonderful world it can be.

Anything. Any one review anything.

Artist: Merrow Title: Hybridization Label: Self Release Release Date: January 28, 2018 Tracklist:- 1. Hybridization (Lemon head mix) 2. Squid in your plate 3. Buddha's awakening 4. Floating city (Morpheus mix) 5. Xenomorph Prime 6. Cosmic Comics 7. Space Jockey (Speed light mix) A collection of new and old tracks made new again coming at cha. I of course haven't heard any of these before so to Tsotsi they are all new. We are assured plenty of acid and big leads, on that front Merrow delivers big time. The Lemon Head mix of Hybridization doesn't waste any time giving us what is promised, with a thumping kick and wild electro leads being held back until just the right moment before they are released into an explosive climax. one of my favourites on the album and a great way to start. Squid on your Plate comes in hot with more acidic bubbles than the Black Triangle. The main melody soon takes centre stage and throws us into a fit of arm flailing madness as Merrow works his tools. Almost and anthem Squid on your plate does the job and ticks the 'melody stuck in my head' box. Yes We Can Buddhas Awakening is just what you need to stir the great Gautama out of his meditations. Although it would stir the Siddhartha right into another plane of ecstasy. The song explodes at 3 minutes, I love those Astral Projection Enlightened Evolution sounding Vvraaarps. (Of course AP don't own that sound I just don't know what else to describe them as). Another stormer of a track. Morpheus does some work on Floating City not wasting any time with silly intro's. It feels like the track might progress a bit slower than the other but that would be a mistake to assume. the leads build and build into a new melody comes and takes over while the old leads slash away in the back. Pretty epic and a little less conventional (in a good way) than some stuff out there. The song twists and turns right to the end and with every bit being enjoyable. Goa baby. Xenomorph Prime is a mix of Bobo the ape pushing the space buttons to make noises and more of the hectic leads we've had so far. it works well and slays along until it turns itself into one of the most memorable tracks on the album. We get to bounce along to Cosmic Comics (Great song name) nice and early. I'm getting use to knowing what to expect and sure enough another anthem surrounds us. A little less variety than the other songs so far but still plenty to make me smile. Space Jockey comes in with an epic intro to take us home at the speed of light. The kick is not really to my taste but these things generally fall back into the track as leads come in. it take a little longer than normal but finally the tracks other elements come in to keep me engaged. It's probably not the fastest track on the album but it sure feels like it. Everything comes in at such a flurry of epicness that I can't catch a glimpse of what is going on. Entrancing me through the pure speed of the track. Merrow delivers us a hot album of tracks with exactly what he promises. Each track is baked to perfection, crisp on the palette and refreshingly zesty. You could say that the tracks are similar to one another, but you could also say that post modernism has created a world devoid of truth and meaning. You'd be better off saying that American college students can't spot a hammer from a ratchet and simply don't know which tool of philosophy to use for the job at hand. Any whom, Merrow comes in remind us all exactly how epic the anthems of this genre are. The songs don't go for to long and never make your ears tired, instead I find myself always wanting more which the next song always expertly delivers. https://merr0w.bandcamp.com/album/hybridization

In Melbourne we call it Psystyle. Definitely more hardstyle than psy. But any psy in any genre is to me making it better.

Holy ghost tits! I tried caustic and that aint easy. Well done.

Artist: The Maniac Album: Necronomicon II Label: Timewarp Release: 3rd March 2018 Tracks 1 - Throne Of Azathoth 2 - The Crawling Chaos 3 - Worship Of Shub Niggurath Last I heard The Maniac was being just that, creating full length albums on his smartphone, like a Maniac. That's something huh. Well, we have either upgraded our soft and hardware or really tricked out his skill pool on that phone. A darker journey through the nether worldly regions of our planet leave me feeling strangely nice. Throne of Azaroth is absolute madness that I haven't been able to get enough of. His leads swirl and screech, twist and turn more than Zuckerberg trying to get out of accepting responsibility for losing our data. The Crawling Chaos is my 3rd favourite track here with some beautiful melodies. Still dark but not as dark as to whats coming. Worship Of Shub Niggurath The Undertaker Wrestlemania of this EP. This track is hot, the bells the beat the rhythm. Absolute fire from start to finish. The Maniac has stepped it up a bunch and successfully pulled of a dark broody themed EP. The EP is the perfect thing to put on when summoning faeries and demons from the other side. Or just when you wanna dance solo in your basement on top of a Ouija Board. https://timewarprecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-maniac-necronomicon-ii-timewarp078-timewarp

Something about the album cover is just so epic.

Artist: Fractal Vivesection Album: Through The Vortex Label: Timewarp Release November 25, 2013 There's something deeply alluring about the sort of main room goa trance that Fractal V put out on this album. If Goa was the sort of genre that had big 6 month promotions for stadium shows in capitol cities, Fractal V would be headlining. This is full power orchestral trance that blasts you through vortex after vortex with non stop energy pulsing through you. The use of vocals is Al Dente, the looping in some parts of the song could come across as repetitive to some but for me it just adds to the intensity of the builds. The variety between tracks is just right with each one being equally as uplifting as the last. Interplanetary Voyage - Alarmingly sweet. We are introduced to the album, and before we know it shot into interplanetary space. An entrancing album opener that leaves me open for more. Traveling Apart - Diffidently amazing. an absolute orchestral treat for our ears. We have guitar, strings and vocals, with nothing overused. My favourite on the album for sure with full jumping up and down a part of the package. Interstellar Gliding - Shockingly good, i love the phaser sounds at the start, cutting through the air like it aint a thing. The singing comes through the same, cutting its way above the track and floating through the air. One of my favourite tracks on the album. My Name is Trance - Terribly enjoyable. The vocals lift me up and send me floating through trance land. The main lead is a little much after a while but when it leaves the rest of the song doesn't let up and carries it self forward right to a beautiful end. Molecular Instability - Appallingly ethereal. Here i was thinking that this album was going to be full of lightness. What a goofball, Space isn't full of light. In fact there is more darkness than anything in this universe. More nothing than something. Unlike this track which is most certainly more something than nothing, sneaky little guitar. You'll see. Distant Echos - Fearfully soft. Love a long intro, love organic instruments, love builds. love the main break, love the echos. All Bueno over here Tachyon - Hopelessly wonderful. The string instruments are a treat and leave a little hoping for what is to come. And they do come back in all their grace. Subconscious Flashback - Timorously pleasant. FV comes in with a slower softer track. The leads go on for like 168 bars before changing, very cool track with a little bit of something special making me raise my hands to the sky all the way to the end. Travelling Apart (Part 2) -Diffidently sensational. A floating outro eases us out of the many vortex's we have been shot through. 3:18 isn't quite enough to slow my heartbeat down but it's a start. Timewarp are tricky to navigate. You find an album, you earmark it for later and before you know it 3 more albums are out that require attention. Then Neogoa release something that is obviously going to poke at you till you give it a listen. Before you know it your 'to listen' list is taking up too many Giga bits and you gotta start fresh. Into the Vortex was a complete chance listen one night before going to bed but which ensured i did not go to bed. A complete surprise. If you are a full powered trance fan who can go an hour without letting themselves up from a punchy kick, then this album is for you. https://timewarprecords.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-vortex

1. Hypnoxock - Eurythmia (Goamadness Records) 2. VA - 604 Syndroms (Mamoman Records) 3. Gubbology - Anachronism (Troll N Roll Records) 4. VA - Dimensional Gateway 5 (Neogoa Records) 5. Goatree - Black Star of the Death (Neogoa Records) 6. VA - Terraformer (Global Sect Music) 7. VA - Goa Trance Legacy Vol. 3 (SpaceDock Records) 8. Jaraluca - Fate Morgana (Goamadness Records) 9. VA - The Spirit of Goa (Fresh Frequencies) 10. Sadle - Organo Genesis (Geomagnetic Records) Downtempo 1. Nibana - Shumatsu Nu Tani (Self Release/Ektoplazm) 2. Symbolico - Connectika (Merkaba Music) 3. Ender - Fierce Equanamity (ektoplazm) 4. 36 - SYNE 5. Suduaya - autumnal retreat EP (Self release) 6. GMO vs. Dense - Distances (Cosmicleaf Records) 7. Catchall - original structures (plexus music)

Whoop whoop. Hot release, been on this for 5 days now. not stopping soon

Some serious bush prog here, every track comes at me from another angle. Buying for sure

Artist: Lectro Spektral Daze Title: Infinitely Intricate Unfolding Kaleidoscope Label: Neogoa Records Release: Feb 23 2018 Tracklist: 1. Experiences And Encounters 2. Acid Feels 3. Observing From All Around 4. Matter Into Energy 5. Seen Something 6. Thoughts They are Like Flames 7. Yellow And Green And Blue Patterns 8. Wave After Wave I gotta say at first i was confused. Lectro Spektral Daze does some great stuff, some of my favourites, his use of breaks is intelligent, the builds keep me guessing and the fun just jumps from all his tracks. The confusion however came from my first few listens on my car speakers and a pair of little in ear phones. The highs and Lectro’s use of sweeps caused me to wince in pain. For example in Acid Feel at the 4 minute mark the washed out sweep made me pull my earphones out and turn the volume down. At 6 min the highs build to a similar discomfort I went through some of his older tracks and heard similar sweeps and highs that didn’t cause me the same discomfort. Then Neogoa were all ‘lets review this bad boy aye’. So i thought, it must just be me, the team themselves couldn’t have messed mastering up that badly (I'll always believe in you Neogoa). And so I should, on proper speakers everything changed. 'When you face animosity you don't give up, you turn the biggest loudest rig you have access to on and hit play' 1. Experiences and Encounters - Nice little intro, and a cool kick and bassline, very Lectro Spektral styled. The progressive influences come through in the beginning and it doesn't take long before the track (Almost explodes into energy), if those leads were just a little louder, if they just roared a little more. Regardless the melody doesn't get old and we soon come to the first big break, it’s a good one too, then the track really blasts off, i love that lead that comes in around 6:20 coulda listened to that for the rest of the track really. 2. Acid Feels - A warm acid filled track, that doesn't take long to draw you into a deep trance. Overall a pretty positive track. The pain from the washy sweeps is gone and the high builds teetered on the edge of painful without actually crossing the line. 3. Observing From all Around - Starts without much messing around, cool knob turning and big drums lead us into our first melody. The use of one off sound effects and connected samples is pretty sweet. It really takes off at the halfway point. And that break at 6 min! Thats what im here for, This really where Lectro stands out from the crowd, the change of direction is awesome. A great track and favourite of mine. 4. Matter into Energy - Another short intro, very educational all the same, and we are met by warm full-on sounding pads.A floaty sense of funk surrounds fills this track. As the promo track to the album this didn't really grab me, after a few more listens I’m turnt right up. Another great break, this time more intense. Instead of over-layering with melodies other sounds and fx are used to keep your interest. 5. Seen Something - A light star spangled first act leads us into another cool melody which takes center stage. I would’ve liked the leads after the first melody to roar at me a bit more, instead they are placed deeper into the track drawing me in. The broken beats around 5 min are sweat and another LSD trademark i appreciate. This is one track however where we coulda dressed the kick drum up in a little tree costume and sent it to the backstage to offer the rest of the song more room to move. 6. Thoughts They are Like Fire - They do don't they? Who'd have thought. We get some cool loops and wacky sounds drawing us into the track before the melody takes over, not overly complex but lasts longer than the other melodies we have heard so far. 7. Yellow And Green And Blue Patterns - Goa trance can be a little bit like a game of rugby. Sometimes the Full Back has the ball and takes center stage, other times they just sit there to support the rest of the team. Sometimes the Wing gets the ball and takes center stage, they get some help from the others but it's really all them going for it. For the first half of this song i would have liked more focus on the ball carriers. So much coolness happening but not a lot taking focus...It deep tho. That being said, this was without a doubt my favourite track, Why? You guessed it, that break is beautiful. Tear inducing, uplifting, beauty. This is what i came here for. The purity of the second half of this track is unreal. 8. Wave After Wave - Who is that lady? Is that the weird girl from American idol, i gotta find her . . . - Mary roach, My God Lectro, did you get Mary to talk about acid on your track? My lord, has she changed her name to Guilbeaux yet? The rest of the track is too hot to trot, another favourite of mine, the chopped up melody and broken beats take over and make me to jump around. The voices in the back are a great addition. Lektro’s strong focus on breaks, nice use of builds and jump inducing fast paced changes have been mixed into a deeper style of trance. While at any point he could have brought parts of his track into stronger focus, what we get instead is balanced deep listening journey. I agree with the label when they say “...putting the listener into a unique state of deep trance led by trademark LSD melodies and pulsating drum-kicks…”. I enjoyed all tracks and loved three. I think Lectro has real talent, the album isn’t crawling with influence from other artists which tells me this amigo has his shit together. The work also shows that Neogoa is willing to release something a little bit different and unique. That being said I think the album could have gone a different direction into masterpiece territory, it’s art no doubt, good art too. Random snippets of sound, good melodies and awesome changing flow, more focus could have gone into bringing out some of the ‘bigger’ sounds, This may have taken away from the deep trance state induced rhythm of LSD, but it could have paid off big as well. Don’t get me wrong, the work is incredible and i was happy to purchase it, but i feel LSD has the potential to release the Magnum Opus. I read somewhere that what really separates the great originals from the rest is sheer volume of work. From art to engineering, more albums means more greats. If you catch my drift. https://neogoarecords.bandcamp.com/album/infinitely-intricate-unfolding-kaleidoscope

Allow me to formally rescind that ridiculous statement. I was to distracted by production back when I said that to listen properly, not to mention lack of scope in what I was talking about. I went from progressive straight to Proxeeus and Artha so my idea of psychedelic was something that would spin me out while listening to it. Plenty of old school does that for me now.

Ive been meaning to do one, just waiting to see if anyone else wants to beat me to it

Still haven't been to a goa party, if I had I would want songs to be played pretty much all through with only a focus on track selection. When it comes to prog, I'm probs not gonna get lost in the music, I want a DJ to make me move, cool transitions, sweet fx, big builds, and keep me guessing in what they will do next. Just don't stop the beat every 30 seconds. For full on I like tracks to get a little crazy, layering is a must, maybe a mid ground between prog n goa.

Love your tracks Ablass, look forward to listening to this

I'm pretty sure their first song from the 2017 album (back to goa 92) is the same deal. Old etnica or something. This made me wonder. What is the etiquette with things like this? Does Goa go beyond the bounds of owning music. Or does no one care enough to do anything about it?

Of course Global sect are releasing a Centevra album Agreed on Precession of the Universe completely. I'm stuck between the Sonic Elysium remix and the original. But it's an absolutely incredible track

Been keeping my eyes on this one for a while, purchasing later this week also